•
Rating:
The Little Feat were the most interesting Californian band of the Seventies. Their highly unique musical offering defies any precise categorization and unfolds in a wide horizon of sound ideas that includes rock elements, blues twists, a touch of country, southern energy, soul spirit, and healthy improvisation.
Lowell George, a son of Frank Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, is the true creator of such originality. He is the "small-footed" man who inspires and composes the group's most significant songs, turning them into immortal classics with his warm, sometimes melancholic black voice and his unsurpassed slide-guitar technique. An instrument that James Taylor, the Grateful Dead, and Jackson Browne could not resist, often collaborating with Lowell George. "Waiting For Columbus" is proof that the Little Feat were one of the greatest live bands of all time. Alongside Lowell George's undeniable capabilities, we find great personalities like guitarist Paul Barrere, pianist Bill Payne, and drummer Ritchie Hayward, all musicians with significant past ensuring the group a high technical rate. The musical world of Little Feat is seasoned with much originality and fantasy. Just take a look at the colorful album covers, drawn by Californian painter Neon Park, or listen to the long creative jam sessions with which they transform their songs in live performances.
"Waiting For Columbus", released in 1978, was preceded by some extraordinary studio efforts (notable are both "Sailin' Shoes" and "Dixie Chicken"), and for the occasion, the band was accompanied by the horn section of Tower Of Power, making Little Feat's borderless music even richer. The union among the musicians is perfect, Lowell George's voice is at the peak of its expressive maturity, and the tracks, which are enriched compared to studio recordings, reach dizzying heights thanks to the musicians' great ability. The rhythms and slide of "Fat Man In The Bathtub", the elongated "Dixie Chicken" and "Sailin' Shoes", the strange beats of "An Apolitical Blues", the immortal "Willin'" and "Tripe Face Boogie" are the perfect alternative soundtrack of a journey through canyons and small towns in past California populated by bikers, truckers, mountaineers, and losing heroes. "Waiting For Columbus" is one of the best live records in rock history and represents the artistic testament of the original group.
Lowell George would dissolve the band in 1979 to focus on a solo career. A career of great promise that, after a splendid solo debut ("Thanks I'll Eat It There"), would never take off due to his untimely death. A fate similar to that of many other great names in rock, depriving the Californian music scene of the time of a charismatic, shy, silent, and irreplaceable figure.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
03 All That You Dream (04:25)
All That You Dream
-- Barrere, Payne
I've been down, but not like this before
Can't be round this kind of show no more
All, all that you dream
Comes to shine in silver lining
And clouds, clouds change the scene
Rain starts washing all these cautions
Right into your life, stop to realize
Just what is true, what else can I do
Just follow the rules
Keep your eyes on the road that's ahead of you
I've been down, but not like this before
Can't be 'round this kind of show no more
All of the good, good times were ours
In the land of milk and honey
And time, time has its scars
Rainy days they turn to sunny ones
Livin' the life, livin' the life lovin' everyone
I've been down, but not like this before
Can't be 'round this kind of show no more
08 Mercenary Territory (04:27)
Mercenary Territory
-- George, Hayward, George
Is it the lies?
Is it the style?
It's a mercenary territory
I wish you knew the story
I've been out here so long dreamin up songs
I'm temporarily qualmless and sinking
I've did my time in that rodeo
It's been so long and I've got nothing to show
Well I'm so plain loco
Fool that I am I'd do it all over again
Is it the style?
Is it the lies?
Is it the days into nights
Or the "I'm sorrys" into fights
Now some kind of man, he can't do anything wrong
If I see him I'll tell him you're waiting
'Cause I'm devoted for sure but my days are a blur
Well your nights turn into my mornings
Well I did my time in that rodeo
Fool that I am I'd do it all over again
Is it love keeps you waiting so long
Makes you say I'll see you around
The forces that be, they just don't see
While your nights turn into my mornings
Is it the style?
Is it the lies?
Is it the days into nights
Or the "I'm sorrys" into fights
09 Spanish Moon (04:49)
Well the night that was high, we got into town
Was the night that the rain, it froze on the ground
Down the street I heard such a sorrowful tune
Comin' from the place they call the Spanish Moon
Well I stepped inside, and stood by the door
While a dark-eyed girl sang, and played the guitar
Hookers, and hustlers, filled up the room
I heard about this place they call the Spanish Moon
One false step, you get done in
It's a cold situation
If that -- that don't -- kill you soon
The women will down at the Spanish Moon
I pawned my watch, and I sold my ring
Just to hear that girl singing, (hear that girl sing)
Don't take long, to wake up ruined
The women will down at the Spanish Moon
Loading comments slowly
