Little Feat - Live from Neon Park

by Nicky Crewe

published: 13 / 10 / 2018

Label: Floating World
Format: CD X2

Enjoyable double CD reissue of Little Feat’s live performances from 1996 which prove just how enduring and exciting their music can be

Review

This is a double CD reissue of Little Feat’s live concert release from 1996. The title of the album refers to Neon Park, aka Martin Miller, their talented sleeve designer, who had died in 1993. It’s a tribute to him and the wonderful art work he made for them, as distinctive as the music contained in those surreal-looking packages. There’s another significant death in the Little Feat story, that of lead singer and song writer Lowell George. He had died back in 1979. At the time there was talk of a rift in the band and his passing wasn’t the last we would hear of Little Feat. They reformed in the late Eighties, with Paul Barrere on guitars and vocals, Sam Clayton on percussion and vocal, Kenny Gradney on bass, Richie Hayward on drums and vocal and Fred Tackett on guitars, mandolin and trumpet. In the late Eighties they brought in Craig Fuller from Pure Prairie League. In 1993 Shaun Murphy from Detroit joined them and she stayed as their vocalist for the next fifteen years. This album was recorded at Roseland Theatre, Oregon; The Fillmore in San Francisco and the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Very much the home ground of the band, the excitement and appreciation of the audience adds to the listening experience. It’s a big rock show with drum solos and horn sections, guest artists, medleys and a set list of classic Little Feat numbers. Favourites from the early albums 'Sailin’ Shoes', 'Dixie Chicken' and 'Feats Don’t Fail Me Now' are included. You certainly wouldn’t be disappointed if you’d seen and heard these concerts. Lowell George’s daughter Inara guests on versions of 'Sailin’ Shoes' and 'Dixie Chicken'. I was lucky enough to see Little Feat on their 1975 tour. Having seen them with Lowell George, I was fulfilled as a fan. In listening to Shaun Murphy’s versions of these familiar and much loved songs, I am so impressed to hear how she reinterprets them. Little Feat’s music is too good to have ended with the death of Lowell George. This is a great recording of a band at the top of their game. It’s a must for the fans, but hopefully it will encourage others to discover their music too.

Track Listing:-

1 Introductions
2 Two Trains
3 Spanish Moon/Skin It Back
4 Rock and Roll Everynight
5 Down on the Farm, Willin'
6 Hate to Lose Your Lovin'
7 Can't Be Satisfied/They're Red Hot (Hot Tamales)
8 Cadillac Hotel, Changin' Luck
9 You're Taking Up Another Man's Place
10 Oh Atlanta
11 Texas Twister
12 Fat Man in the Bathtub
13 Representing the Mambo
14 Long Distance Love
15 Rad Gumbo
16 Dixie Chicken
17 Feats Don't Fail Me Now
18 Sailin' Shoes
19 Let It Roll/High Roller