Posts Tagged ‘Lowell George’

LITTLE FEAT – ” Live At Ebbets Field ” 1973

Posted: June 12, 2016 in MUSIC
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Little Feat – In Concert from Ebbets Field, Denver Colorado – Late Show – July 19, 1973 –

I can’t believe this concert is 43 years old.

Perennial, desert-island favorites Little Feat played this weekend, in concert from Ebbets Field in Denver – recorded on July 19th, 1973. For fans, it’s the late show – if you’re new to Little Feat, they had the hands-down reputation of being one of the best American live bands of the 70s, and they were always a pleasure to see live in concert.

Not that their studio albums weren’t great – they were. But like many bands at the time, seeing them live and hearing them in the confines of a recording studio were two different things. And Little Feat were a great band to catch live. Guided by the musical genius of Lowell George, Little Feat were an institution beginning in 1969 when George had left Frank Zappa’s The Mothers Of Invention and teamed up with Bill Payne, along with Mothers alumnus Roy Estrada and Fraternity Of Man drummer Ritchie Hayward. The band underwent a number of personnel and direction changes in the coming years; breaking up in 1978 and with Lowell George going solo before sadly succumbing to a heart attack in 1979.

Although Little Feat had reunited in 1987, it was the early period that stuck in most fans minds – and this concert from 1973 is a reminder of just how admired they were – prompting even Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page to declare in a 1975 Rolling Stone interview that Little Feat were his favorite American band.

Live at Ebbet’s Field. July 19th, 1973

Lowell George: Vocals and Guitar
Bill Payne: Keyboards
Paul Barrere: Guitar
Sam Clayton: Percussionist
Richie Hayward: Drums
Kenny Gradney: Bass

Hit the play button and find out why.

If someone recorded these shows in 1973 off of FM radio, they definitely had a top-notch tuner and reel-to-reel tape recorder. But I’m wondering if these weren’t “pre-FM tapes” because the quality is superb and the noise levels quite low. In addition, the tuning, stage comments, and repeated songs are all included. The link listed below is to a description of the venue and the recordings, and suggests these really were professional recordings at the venue. The crowd noise, comments (including banter with the band) and ambience add character to the show.

The performances are, as I am discovering as I explore the many shows on Internet Archive, typically outstanding for mid-70’s Little Feat. Most of the songs are from Little Feat’s typical stage shows for the time, but “Snakes on Everything” adds an interesting (and not overlong) jam and “Texas Rose Cafe” is another song I don’t see popping up on other recordings.

I am increasingly sorry I was unable to catch this band live in 70’s, especially but in part due to the airplay from the fantastic WHFS, whose DJ Cerph introduces the band on the “Waiting for Columbus” live CD recorded at George Washington Univ’s Lisner Auditorium. Both Cerph and Lisner are still going strong today in DC. For the songs repeated on the two discs (perhaps the come from two distinct sets) it is interesting to hear the variatons.

Doing a little exploring, I found this link, http://stillisstillmoving.com/?p=325, which says that “Ebbets Field” was really a small club in an office building. And they professionally recorded a lot of shows, some of which have apparently been released piecemeal on CD.

LITTLE FEAT – ” Dixie Chicken ” Live On The Midnight Special

Posted: April 22, 2016 in MUSIC
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Little Feat perform Dixie Chicken with Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt and Jesse Winchester Live in 1977 on ‘The Midnight Special’………..I just wish it had been an extended version going into ‘Tripe Face Boogie’!!!

Lowell George , the original lead singer, songwriter, and slide guitarist of Little Feat, would have turned 71 years old today. What better way to celebrate this American music legend than by watching this performance of “Dixie Chicken” featuring special guests, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, and Jesse Winchester.

LINDA RONSTADT – ” Willin’ “

Posted: January 20, 2015 in MUSIC
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thought I should add Linda Ronstadt’s version , recorded live for the BBC TV’s Old Grey Whistle Test, Taken from the “Heart Like A Wheel” album. Linda Ronstadt had brought in producer Peter Asher, who had worked on her previous superb album “Don’t Cry Now“, and multi-instrumentalist and arranger and Singer Songwriter Andrew Gold. The collaborative efforts of Asher and Gold have been credited over the years as contributing significantly to the album’s artistic success. 

LITTLE FEAT feat LOWELL GEORGE – ” Willin “

Posted: January 20, 2015 in MUSIC
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Little Feat performing “Willin'” probably their best known song. Written by and sung here by the hugely talented and sadly missed Lowell George Live in 1977 from the Rockpalast video recorded in Germany. What an amazing band collectively they were then….such sensitivity for each others playing.

There are three stories about the genesis of Little Feat. One has it that George showed Zappa his song “Willin’,” and that Zappa fired him from the Mothers of Invention, because he felt that George was too talented to merely be a member of his band, and told him he ought to go away and form his own band. The second version has Zappa firing him for playing a 15-minute guitar solo with his amplifier off. The third version says that Zappa fired him because “Willin'” contains drug references (“weed, whites and wine”). George often introduced the song as the reason he was asked to leave the band. On October 18, 1975 at the Auditorium Theater in Rochester New York while introducing the song, George commented that he was asked to leave the band for “writing a song about dope”

In any version, Zappa was instrumental in getting George and his new band a contract with Warner Bros. Records. The eponymous first album delivered to Warner Bros. was recorded mostly in August and September 1970, and was released in January 1971. When it came time to record “Willin’,” George had hurt his hand in an accident with a model airplane, so Ry Cooder sat in and played the song’s slide part. Lowell’s accident is referenced on the cover art of the band’s 1998 album Under the Radar. “Willin'” would be re-recorded with George playing slide for Little Feat’s second album Sailin’ Shoes, which was also the first Little Feat album to include cover art by Neon Park, who had painted the cover for Zappa’s Weasels Ripped My Flesh.

LITTLE FEAT – ” Live at Pink Pop Festival Holland ” 7th June 1976

Posted: January 17, 2015 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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littlefeatholland

Little Feat are one of the most influential American bands of the seventies. Founded by Lowell George and Bill Payne in L.A. in 1969 they produced a series of highly original albums over the next decade featuring an eclectic blend of rock n roll, blues, country, folk, soul and jazz before the death of Lowell George in 1979 brought the first phase of the band s existence to an end. This CD+DVD live set captures the band at their best and for many years this was a renowed bootleg, the band s performance at the famous Dutch festival Pinkpop on 7 June 1976 the band s classic line-up at the peak of their powers performing many of their best known tracks.

This  CD + DVD of the live show packaged in a slimline CD jewelcase. First ever release of this 1976 concert in any format. The four surviving members of this classic line-up are still performing and recording as Little Feat today. Includes the classics: Rock And Roll Doctor , Dixie Chicken , Feats Don t Fail Me Now , Skin It Back , Teenage Nervous Breakdown , Fat Man In A Bathtub and more. Now available on Amazon.

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