Little Feat’s classic 4th album released in 1974 and produced by frontman Lowell George was a near perfect distillation of the bands influences from blues, country, funk brewed into an irresistible mix.
Little Feat’s fourth album, “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now“, arguably ranks just a notch below the earlier “Dixie Chicken” and “Sailin’ Shoes“, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t loaded with fine examples of the group’s boundary-bending R&B-Southern rock. The last Little Feat LP where cofounder and original lead vocalist Lowell George plays a big role, this 1974 LP is also the first to feature major contributions from the group’s other members. Highlight’s keyboardist Bill Payne’s funky “Oh Atlanta.” Another is George’s “Spanish Moon,” a brassy, jazzy gem that sounds like something the late New Orleans R&B master Allen Toussaint—an apparent major influence—might have created.
Both configurations feature a rarities disc of previously unreleased studio outtakes that were once thought to be lost when the recording studio located on a boat in Maryland sank in the late 70’s. While it is true that some did sink, this is what remains from those sessions.
Like “Dixie Chicken” and “Sailin’ Shoes“, this album is now available in a multi-disc edition. Its first CD presents a remaster of the original record while a second adds seven alternate versions, four outtakes, and the single edit of “Spanish Moon.” A third and final CD delivers a consistently entertaining nearly hour-long 1975 Paris live concert that features several numbers from “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now” plus Toussaint’s “On Your Way Down” and George’s best-known song, “Willin’,” which first appeared on “Sailin’ Shoes”.
The expanded “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now“, released on June 14th, 2024, is available on 3-CD and 2-LP in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here. Both versions include the studio album newly remastered from the original multi-track and two-track stereo tapes.
On May 17th, Little Feat also issued their first new studio album in 12 years, “Sam’s Place”.
The Fat Angel Sings 