Little Feat
Sailin' Shoes

THE REVIEW

Little Feat are probably the greatest American band of the seventies. This is proven by their many splendid studio albums at the beginning of the decade and a monumental live album ("Waiting For Columbus"), now considered among the greatest in the history of rock. The band was formed in 1969, around the charismatic figure of the guitarist-songwriter Lowell George, one of the most legendary figures in rock, who tragically died at the age of only 34 after a life of excess and drug abuse. The disappearance of Lowell left an unfillable void in the world of rock, a gigantic loss and a great regret.

Already from the first album ("Little Feat") released in 1970, one could glimpse the great potential of a group that shortly thereafter would forcefully enter the annals of significant rock history. In 1972, the album that granted them a passport to eternity was released. "Sailin' Shoes" is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful albums filled with real emotion and pure rock poetry that has ever been heard. The music is a skillful blend of the fathers' blues, R&B, folk, country, rock and roll, gospel, and even funk; in some ways, it could be considered even a southern rock band if it wasn't for the fact that their sound was too intelligent and not at all beefy, unlike that of contemporary colleagues The Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, or ZZ Top; instead, Little Feat carried with them an absolute, elusive, and innate refinement in the arrangements and music approach, possessed only by the greatest, which study and application alone cannot give.

Thus, Little Feat are a completely unusual band in rock history; this is due to the strong intellectual charge possessed by the brilliant leader and an approach to music that was both cultural and passionate, which will never again be equaled. More than the debut, this second album is a deep groove carved into the guts of America, from the foundations of bluegrass, rhythm'n'blues, field folk, and gospel. Partly children of Charlie Patton, Woody Guthrie, The Band in particular, and the most American Rolling Stones of Exile On Main Street, Little Feat line up, in this masterpiece album, one classic after another. The opening is entrusted to "Easy To Slip," a piece characterized by a scratching melodic line, splendidly enhanced by Lowell's warm voice, which lies on a sound carpet made of odd times and creative keyboards that weave bold and complex textures. The second track, "Cold, Cold, Cold," is a sly, lazy, boiling, and drunken R&B, worthy of the best Rolling Stones. But the first great masterpiece of the album is surely the delightful and very sweet ballad "Trouble," a rural, cadenced and relaxing piece but never trivial; it could be defined as a perfect ballad. Then it’s the turn of "Tripe Face Boogie," another bustling and untameable rhythm'n'blues that bubbles with anarchic and depraved spirits. We then arrive at the heart of the album, where the greatest piece of Little Feat's entire career is located, as well as one of the most beautiful rock ballads of all time: "Willin'." Even just one song like this would be enough to write the name Little Feat among the best groups ever to exist. Two minutes and forty seconds capable of changing a life. In this case, the life is that of our Lowell, who after this piece will be appreciated and taken as a model by countless artists of great caliber: Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, above all. "Willin'" is an immortal piece to be listened to in strict silence, an absolute classic that can thrill even after a thousand listens, imbued with pure poetry and embellished by Lowell George's magnificent slide guitar that gives us endless chills. 

But it doesn’t end here: there’s still room for the rustic, raw, and genuine blues of "A Apolitical Blues," for the unbridled, frantic, jittery, and very fast R'n'R of "Teenage Nervous Breakdown," and for the third and final great masterpiece bearing the album's name: "Sailin' Shoes" is a piece that skillfully blends the blues with the gospel tradition and completely lets the innate class of the ingenious leader shine through.

After this great album, Little Feat would compose at least two more great records: "Feats Don’t Fail Me Now" and especially "Dixie Chicken," for many the highest artistic point of this great, misunderstood Californian band.