Little Feat : Best Of Little Feat

Full title is: Best of Little Feat

  Bill Payne - Accordion, Keyboards, Marimba, Vocals
  Craig Fuller - Guitar, Accordion, Vocals, Button Accordion
  Fred Tackett - Dobro, Guitar, Mandolin, Trumpet, Vocals
  Kenny Gardney - Bass, Vocals
  Kenny Gradney - Bass (Electric), Vocals
  Lowell George - Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals, Cowbell
  Paul Barree - Dulcimer, Dobro, Harmonica, Vocals
  Paul Barrere - Dulcimer, Dobro, Harmonica, Vocals
  Richard Hayward - Percussion, Drums, Vocals
  Roy Estrada - Bass, Bass (Electric), Vocals
  Sam Clayton - Percussion, Conga, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
  Shaun Murphy - Percussion, Vocals

There have been many Little Feat compilations released over the years, but Rhino's 2006 The Best of Little Feat is the first single-disc hits collection to appear in the U.S., so it shouldn't be surprising that it's tilted ever so slightly toward the American market, where Little Feat was still touring steadily and successfully at the time of this disc's release. That means that it has a healthy dose of recordings from the reunited Little Feat -- four tracks, actually, which is a pretty high percentage for a 17-track collection. Since the reunited Little Feat has actually been together longer than the classic Lowell George -fronted lineup, this does make some sense, and the selections are good, even if it is strange that 'Hate to Lose Your Lovin',' the first single from their 1988 comeback, Let It Roll, and a radio hit, is missing. Of course, there are some odd oversights from the George years -- most notably Sailin' Shoes is somewhat underplayed, with that song, 'Easy to Slip,' and 'Teenage Nervous Breakdown' all MIA, but other standards like 'Feats Don't Fail Me Now' and 'Two Trains' are nowhere to be found either. These omissions mean that this Best of Little Feat is not the definitive single-disc overview of the group, but as a sampler it's not bad: there's plenty of great music here and as such it does serve as a rather effective introduction to the band, even if it doesn't tell a neophyte everything they should know about the group. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Little Feat formed in Hollywood, CA in 1969, and the spirited, off-kilter Americana of their music reflects the wild and woolly time and place in which they were born. Two founding members were veterans of Zappa's Mothers of Invention including legendary frontman Lowell George a pedigree that further influenced their idiosyncratic sound, a crowd-pleasing, genre-transcending fusion of rock and roll, Dixie-boogie, blues, folk, funk, jazz, roots music, and more. Following George's death in '79 and a subsequent hiatus, original Feat-ers Bill Payne and Richie Hayward along with 1972 additions Paul Barrere, Sam Clayton, and Kenny Gradney formed the core of the re-launched Feat in 1988. They remain one of rock's most enduring acts, still driven by ace musicianship and inspired songwriting. This new collection Rhino's first single-disc Feat retrospective is an essential overview of the musical heroes that Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page once called his, favorite American group. Spanning 1970-1998, 17 key tracks totaling over 75 minutes of music.