Lyrics Should Be Included!

Maybe I am old skool, but, this is what I truly believe.

Having grown up in Dartmouth, NS as a teenager during the 70s, there wasn't a hell of a lot to do for entertainment, except smoke pot, drink beer & booze and listen to all the great music being released in that decade. Buying and collecting LPs and amassing a diverse & large collection of LPs was something of a teenage social status for us. Especially amongst my guy friends.

Some of my fondest memories during the mid to late 70's was coming home from a record buying venture, first sneaking off to the garage and smoking a bowlful of hash or a skinny spliff, then proceeding to seclude myself with the headphones on & sitting in my room listening to my newest musical wares. For me, the seduction of the LPs' 12 x 12" graphic art was enough to captivate me endlessly, whether it was expansive painting on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew cover or the exotic menagerie on Santana's Abraxas or any of the Roger Dean, Hipgnosis, Creem designed album covers. They were so beautiful! (This would explain my current obsessive collection of Japan Mini LP CDs). Most all of these albums came with lyrics printed within the inside cover art design or on a lyric sheet included inside, most times printed on the sleeve containing the LP. There were times when lyrics were not included and that was generally just a bummer.

This is what I would consider a connection with the music. One is listening to the music, following the lyrics and immersing themselves in the accompanying artwork. Quite the experience (One reason I have despised the CDs introduction is the complete lack of that experience one gets with a CD). Perhaps this is one reason why so many young adults are now turning to LPs instead of CDs or digital files. They are seeking that some of that same experience.

But all of this is not reason for lyrics to be imperative with every release.

My point for this declaration is simply:

1. We are denying the listener part of the experience of listening to popular music. If that part of the experience is taken away from the music fan, then it becomes just another reason to consider the music disposable.

2. Lyrics engage the listener to read and use their imagination (Something I fear is lacking more & more in this day and age, as I see it in my students. (Thank you MTV, MuchMusic and Video Games for spoon feeding our kids with images, pre-determined stories for the music and denying them the ability to form their own imagination - Yes, I hate slick, record company issued videos now.)

3. Lyrics help tell the songs' story. Sometimes the story and purpose of the songs' story can get lost in the recording process and without printed lyrics alongside, it can often be indecipherable. I guess, if I was a songwriter, I would want my fans and listeners to understand the words and "hear" the meaning of the song. I truly believe a song is more than just chords, melodies, riffs and hooks. A song is personal and has a story with it.

Record companies, labels AND artists need to ensure that the music fan can develop an experience & connection with their music and the only way to do that is through interaction with the fans/consumers (this is happening thanks to the 'Net and events like "Record Day" at retail stores in Canada & USA), good music (not shite), quality packaging (INCLUDING LYRICS) and accompanying live performances/tours.

If you give the people what they want (and deserve) then the labels will find that their sales will increase and could, possibly, be something more of a reflection of the old skool days, which is something I know that many in the business wish for.

Welcome to the New Electric Church

Welcome to the New Electric Church. For the uninitiated, the original Electric Church was a quasi-spiritual belief that electric music brings out emotions , feelings, and creative ideas in people, and encourages spiritual maturity. Popularized in the 1960s during the Psychedelic era, primarily by artists & musicians, maybe its original ideology still has some relevance today (Uh, forget what is called the "Electric Church" today and preaching from the web).

Consider all the Electronic music that emerged since John Cage, Pierre Schaeffer, Karlheiz Stockhausen, Terry Riley and Edgar Varese began dabbling and experimenting in the 1930s and 1940s - the 1960s oscillating & synthesized sounds of The Silver Apples, Martin Denny, Wendy Carlos, & The Wozard Of Iz, the 1970s Electronic Ambient music of Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Jean Michel Jarre, and all of the surreal Electronic music since the 1970s from the likes of Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Tangerine Dream, Cluster and Klaus Schulze. Consider, even the pop-tinged 1990s Electronica of The Chemical Brothers, The Orb, Aphex Twin or the modern Electronic sounds of The Boards Of Canada. It all emanates from the same "wavelength" - man's fascination with new sounds and man's relentless pursuit to uncover newer sounds.

As much as I like to "Rock out" or groove to R&B, Funk & Soul, nothing gives me a more pleasing (quasi-spiritual) experience than the near "out-of-body" feeling I get when I listen to Electronic music (Kraftwerk live was almost a religious experience). Besides, nothing comforts me better when I sleep that the barely audible ambient/electronic music playing in the background while I nod off (My favorite music to achieve this ecstasy is Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois' Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks)

I am aware that Electronic music and Ambient music have grown in popularity over the decades. One of my students, last week, told me that he was really digging Eno's Ambient 1: Music For Airports, as he had never heard it before. Immediately, I was compelled to direct him to a multitude of other albums, but I know it might have been a turn off at that point. Let him discover more himself, I told myself.

So, I turn to this trusty blog to help me mention a few other Electronic/Ambient albums that I think others will find interesting and, possibly, enjoy...

Brian Eno - Discreet Music, Music For Films, Neroli, Lightness: Music For The Marble Palace

Robert Fripp & Brian Eno - No Pussyfooting, Evening Star, Equatorial Stars

Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene & Equinoxe

Ryuichi Sakamoto - Comica (Brilliant Ambient Album!)

Tangerine Dream (Early Years) - Atem, Zeit, Green Desert

Tangerine Dream (Virgin Years) - Phaedra, Stratosphear, Ricochet, Encore

Roedelius & Morgan Fisher - Neverless

Klaus Schulze - Moonwind, Irrlicht, Cyborg, Dune

George Harrison - Electronic Sound

David Bowie - Low (Side 2)

The Future Sound Of London - ISDN, Dead Cities, Amorphous Androgynous

Air - Premieres Symptomes

Boards Of Canada - Music Has The Right To Children, Trans Canada Highway

Bill Laswell - Axiom Ambient

Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk I, Kraftwerk II, Autobahn, Trans Europe Express, Radioactivity

Buckethead - Colma

Cluster & Eno - Cluster & Eno

The Fireman (Paul McCartney) - Strawberries Oceans Ships Forests

Flying Saucer Attack - Rural Psychedelia

Harmonia - Musik Von Harmonia

John Cage - Nova Musicha .1 (Compilation)

Luke Vibert & BJ Cole - Stop The Panic

M Frog - M Frog

Moebius & Plank - Rastakrautpasta

Moebius, Plank & Neumeier - Zero Set

Neu! - Neu!, Neu 75

Nik Tuner's Sphyinx - Xitintoday

Peter Namlook & Klaus Schulze - Dark Side Of The Moog (Series)

Popol Vuh - Einsjäger & Siebenjäger, Future Sound Experience

Silver Apples - Silver Apples

Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music

For anyone with an escalating interest in Ambient and/or Electronic music, check out any of the above albums and you will not be disappointed. If you can think of any I might be interested in then please email me or post it in your comment. Thanks! Oscillate onwards!

A Wizard A True Star

Since I would never speak on behalf of all die hard Todd Rundgren fans, I can only speak for myself about him. As selfish as this sounds, I am glad that Todd has never become another mainstream pop figure or a household name. It makes the music that much more personable. I like the fact that, since I discovered Todd's music in 1972, it has remained virtually undiscovered by millions. (I admit when I hear people say "Todd Who??" I come very close to dismissing them altogether & when I encounter other Todd fans they are quickly placed on a higher pedestal, so I can be judgmental sometimes - big surprise there!).

Even during my years employed in the radio and music business, most of colleagues and peers were aware of him and a few of his songs, but only a couple shared the same level of passion for Todd's music. Heck, sometimes it made it hard to find someone to go with me to see him perform. Thankfully, my daughter has grown into and become a member of the new generation of Todd fans and has seen him live with me. She mentioned once that she was strongly considering for her next personal tattoo it would be of the flowers from Something/Anything? cover art (Oh yeah, Daddy would be proud!).

Anyway, Todd is currently on tour in support of his newest release Arena. The best news, though, is what is coming up on the horizon on Sept. 6, 2009 in Akron, Ohio.

At 8pm Todd Rundgren will perform A Wizard A True Star in its' entirety, for the first time ever in his career, at a special concert performance in Akron, Ohio. http://www.awatslive.com/

If the album he was planning to perform in its' entirety was Something/Anything? I might strongly consider it. If the album to be performed was, say, Todd then I might struggle with keeping my credit card in the ol' wallet. But, when I learned that he was performing A Wizard A True Star, I could hardly contain myself. That credit card was whipped out so fast the pin number is still spinning. I am on the edge of my seat and will remain there until Sept. 6 at 8pm.

A Wizard A True Star! Holy crap! My Rundgren radar tells me I would not be far off by saying that A Wizard A True Star is his most enjoyable album ever. Sandwiched in between 2 other fantastic albums - Something/Anything and Todd, AWATS is a remarkable elpee worth of tunes.

Sequenced and mixed like one long medley, AWATS was ground breaking music for Todd and also, at the time, for the industry, having squeezed slightly less than 56 minutes of music onto one LP disc. If I am not mistaken, it was the longest running full album available at the time. There was NO other album like it at the time in 1973. It was an incredibly unique listening experience and still is after 35 years.

Even some of Todd's guests from the Something/Anything side 4 recordings participated on AWATS, including Rick Derringer, David Sanborn, Moogy Klingman, John Siegler, John Siomos and the Brecker Brothers. The Rundgren camp also now included the French synthesizer player M. Frog Labat. The vocal tracks were primarily all Todd along with drums, guitars, bass, keyboards et al.

The music was other worldly. The lyrics were at times funny, other times almost hallucinatory and some songs were so emotionally inspiring. Songs like "Just One Victory", the album closer, is one of the most elevating & inspirational songs I have ever heard. The song "International Feel" seemed to evoke a question of allegiance to his fans, for which we willingly enlisted...

Here we are again, the start of the end,
but there's More
I only want to see if you'll give up on me
But there's always More
There is More, International Feel
And there's More, Interplanetary Deals
But there's More, Interstellar Appeal
Still there's More, Universal Ideal
Still there's More, International Feel
I swear something lies
in your ears and your eyes
'Cause there's More
You hear and you see yet you do not believe
That there's always More
(I know)

Then there is the painfully sweet "Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel". That one line in the first verse "Today I saw a car crush my little dog under its' wheel, It did not even stop, it just sped off and out of sight" pierces the heart in such a graphic & realistically cruel way, yet the rest is so motivating and reassuring.

Sometimes I don't know
I just don't know what to feel

Sometimes I don't know what to feel
Everything I thought that I knew starts to look so unreal
There's a ringing in my head that keeps me awake at night
Sometimes I don't know what is right
Today I saw a car crush my little dog under its wheel
It did not even stop, it just sped off and out of sight
Sometimes I just feel so afraid
But I know that no one else has it made
So if I just believe in myself
I won't need no help from nobody else and I can make it alone
And everything will be cool, I got to keep on keepin' on
There's nothing else I can do

Sometimes I don't know what to do
Someone said the world's going to end and I think its true
I thought there was some love in the world
but I guess I'm wrong
Sometimes I just feel so alone
I don't want to admit to my friends that I feel confused
I wonder what I'd do with myself if the world was gone
Something makes me stay on my feet
Don't you dare admit to defeat
And if I tell myself it's all right
I can comfort myself through the night
and watch another day dawn
And everything will be cool

Non sensical, yet far from novelty-ish, many of the songs were filled with catchy hooks, improbable sounds and more witty lyrics - "You Need Your Head", "Rock N' Roll Pussy" (Supposedly Todd's rebuttal to John Lennon), "Just Another Onionhead", "Hungry For Love".

Side two's medley of Philly soul gems "I'm So Proud", "Ooh Baby Baby" "La La La Means I Love You" and "Cool Jerk" is still one of his most applauded recordings (because when Todd records a cover song it is usually done with such precision, dedication and love).

The Dali-esque cover art of the LP, by Arthur Wood, aptly portrayed the music contained within. The finished artwork was groundbreaking and unique itself with its' die cut gatefold sleeve featuring a hallucinogenic looking portrait of Todd with strong surreal influences from Dali and maybe a little LSD. BTW - Wood characteristically implanted some hidden message within the painting but the meanings of those message remain untold to this day, even to Todd himself.

The picture on the inside of the album gatefold sleeve showed Todd, shirtless in the stylish glam, pants and boots, while shaving in front of a mirror. Surrounding him were all sorts of objects, paraphernalia, memorabilia, toys, stuffed animals, the works. The entire shot was colored in light blue/white mix. There was a poem by Patti Smith inside introducing the album and a postcard for fans to send in to Bearsville Records so they could have their name placed on a poster made available on the next album), plus a full lyrics sleeve printed in the same light blue/white tone. A stunning example of great LP album art from the early 1970s. A very cool item for any LP collection if you can find an original gatefold version.

There simply isn't one mediocre song on this album. As a teenager stuck in Dartmouth, NS, there wasn't even a need to do any drugs before listening to this record. The album art, the lyrics and the final mix of the songs was more than enough to fill your head with surreal images.

I am glad A Wizard A True Star was never a mainstream hit. I am glad more people have never heard of Todd Rundgren. That way, Todd fans like myself are able to treasure his music that much more. Being a Todd Rundgren fan is a distinguished role and kinda sets us apart from everyone else. Just like Todd.

Tune In, Turn On & Drop Out With CRACKER!

Without any doubt, without any hesitation and without reservation, I join the minimal (and still growing) legion of fans who consider Cracker to be the best universally undiscovered band out of the USA in the past 20 years. Let me go a step further by saying that Cracker are so damn good, the Rolling Stones should get some refining lessons from this band. In fact, the music Cracker is making is just what the Stones should have been doing the past 20 years.

Cracker (yes with a 'C' not a 'K') have a brand new album out - Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey! Just released in the past week, it's a winner for those who enjoyed earlier albums such as Kerosene Hat, The Golden Age, Gentleman's Blues or the more recent Forever, and you will relish and enjoy every moment with the new album.

There are some obvious stand out songs, ranking up there with past classics, including the up tempo rockers "Yalla Yalla (Let's Go)", "Show Me How This Thing Works", "Time Machine" and the infectious Camper-ish "Hand Me My Inhaler". Songs such as "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me", "I Could Be Wrong I Could Be Right" are every bit as good as previous fan favorites such as "Low" "Eurotrash Girl" or "Guarded By Monkeys". My overall favorite from the album has to be "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out With Me".

There is even some cool guest appearances from the likes of John Doe (X), Patterson Hood and Adam Duritz (Counting Crows).

For me, the bias is like an undercoating. I had the good fortune to work with band when they came to Toronto a few times during their years on Virgin Records (yeah, I know the label is still something of a sore spot for the band). Fortunately, despite being a employee of Virgin, David Lowery and Johnny Hickman were great guys to hang out with. This just makes listening to their music that much more pleasurable. (Maybe they remember the time we were driving in a van back from a retail conference gig up North in cottage country and we almost crashed the van trying to avoid the 100 pound porcupine in the middle of the road!)

Look, if you like the Stones, you will like Cracker. You may even grow to love them as much as us die-hard Cracker fans. See them on tour as well. They just announced a bunch of North American dates (sadly, only one in Canada but luckily in Toronto June 23 - Woo Hoo!)

You can see a list of dates at this website - http://www.crackersoul.com/

Album Of The Week - "Avenue B"

I do not ever want to sound repetitive in my blog in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of other armchair musical slugs out there, but I just gotta say this...IGGY POP IS A GOD. Gods are able to perform spectacular feats and impress their followers with such displays of brute strength and compassion. Iggy easily fits that criteria.

There, I said it. With not an ounce of shame attached.

So, consider this about Iggy Pop - Not only is he revered in virtually all musical circles as one of the Godfathers, Granddaddies, Pioneers and Instigators of Garage/Punk Rock, but of all his contemporaries of the past & present, he is clearly one of THE most diverse recording artists. His vocal range is one that most rock vocalists would die for. He can scream, he can growl, he can croon. Over the years, his collaboration recordings range from Ryuichi Sakamoto, to Peaches, to SUM 41 to Les Rita Mitsouko to Debbie Harry to David Bowie to Medeski, Martin & Wood. The styles of his musical contributions extend from Punk to Hard Rock to Alternative to World Music to Easy Listening to Modern Jazz and coming soon, his foray into New Orleans Dixie Jazz on his forthcoming new album Preliminaires

All of this preamble, brings me to my choice for Album Of The Week - Avenue B, released in 1999 and Produced by Don Was. Most do not "get" this album and I have even heard quite a few Iggy fans claim they think its okay but generally do not prefer this album. I suspect it ranks a few notches below Soldier or Party.

However, I disagree (as usual when it comes to Iggy). I believe this to be one of his BEST and clearly one of his most under rated recordings. I love listening to this album. When a track comes up on my iPod, I am tempted to break the flow of the iPod "shuffle" and just listen to this album in proper order.

First off, the verbal interludes. These are more in line with his non-musical poetry and so entertaining to hear him "speak". "No Shit", "Afraid To Get Closer" (this one makes me wanna cry) and "She Called Me Daddy" (with its sarcastic snicker before the final verse). Iggy had never delivered these types of spoken word recordings before. I envisioned what it might be like to listen to a full album of him reciting poetry (Heaven!).

Then off Avenue B, is one of his BEST cover songs ever - Johnny Kidd & The Pirates "Shakin' All Over". The way the guitar chugs along with the shuffled beat driven by a penetrating bass line - such a great groove. As Dick Clark might say, its' got a good beat and its' easy to dance to!. "Corruption" sounds like it could have been on his American Caesar album, another great and under rated album of Iggy's. To me, the most entertaining track is his collaboration with Medeski, Martin & Wood, the Alt-Jazz trio, "I Felt The Luxury", the closest Iggy has come to lounge music ever. He sounded like a natural for some Jazz tinged music (I wonder if this is where the idea for doing a Jazz album came from).

For further proof of this albums' potency, check out the DVD Live At Avenue B, recorded in Europe. Songs from the album received their first (and only) live presentations. As always, too, Iggy is in fine form as the consummate front man.

Perhaps, the reason Avenue B fails to register so favorably with his legion of fans, is because most of his fans are still waiting for Raw Power II or are not advanced enough themselves to appreciate such grand gestures of diversity. For me, Naughty Little Doggie is the "dog" of his canon of work. It just isn't Avenue B. No way. Not ever.

The Only Magazine I Allow in My House

Yes, this Magazine. One of the things I love most about the group Magazine, is that whenever you run into someone else who also admires their recordings and albums, it is like a breath of fresh air. You automatically know this person can relate to the appreciation of their music with you and quite possibly much more. I am sure there are many other bands who give their admirers the same sense of feeling and understanding, but Magazine was altogether different.

Releasing only 4 studio albums during their short and under appreciated existence during the very later part of the 1970s, the Manchester based Magazine just offered something musically that NO ONE else was offering at the time, before or since. Their music was genre defying, despite being arbitrarily lumped into the Punk and New Wave categories. The guitars of John McGeogh (may he rest in peace - I was fortunate to have met him once after a P.I.L. show in Toronto) was so mesmerizing and entertaining and like a cross between Mick Ronson and David Gilmour. The lyrics of band leader Howard Devoto were like poems from an apocalyptic Oscar Wilde. The bass of Barry Adamson is still of legendary proportions, and went on to provide foundation for Nick Cave's Bad Seeds. The keyboards of Dave Formula rivaled Pink Floyd and Hawkwind in one fell swoop making the piano and organs sound so inspirational and ominous. This was post-punk progressive music that screamed poetic angst, disillusionment & displacement.

Magazine's first album Real Life, was not like a debut album that remains a pinnacle of some band's careers leaving albums that followed unnoticed (Many bands have suffered this fate). Real Life was a remarkable introduction to yet another "new" band to emerge from the UK mid-70s Punk & New Wave explosion. It was very good, very good indeed. More punk sounding than their later albums. The band's first single "Shot By Both Sides" featured no keyboards at all and the guitar-bass-drums punk style helped the song into the UK Top 50. The Hammond B3 organ and quasi-Ska shuffle that opens the album in the song "Definitive Gaze" is very catchy & opens up into a more bountiful sound, complimented by Devoto's sneering vocals. Other classic Magazine songs were initiated on this album - "Shot By Both Sides", "The Great Beautician In The Sky", "The Light Pours Out Of Me".

In my humble opinion, their second album Secondhand Daylight was the perfect musical snapshot of the band at their best with more experimental, synthesizer-based material. A slight lineup change saw new keyboardist Dave Formula join the band too which was essential to this newer experimental style. The ultimate Magazine song resided on this album, the one song that galvanized all their fans - "Permafrost". The lyrics were unforgettable.

Thunder shook loose hail on the outhouse again
today I bumped into you again
I have no idea what you want
but there was something I meant to say

As the day stops dead
at the place where we're lost
I will drug you and fuck you on the permafrost

There's not much that I miss
I'm far too forgetful for that
sugar's sweet some of the time
it's hard to keep some things in mind

As the day stops dead ...

Other songs from Secondhand Daylight, like "Feed The Enemy" (a great instrumental that opens the album), "The Thin Air", "Back To Nature", "Talk To The Body", "Believe That I Understand", "Rhythm Of Cruelty" all fit the same pattern and molded perfectly with each other. The result was their most memorable album for their fans.

The third album, The Correct Use Of Soap, was no toss away either. In fact, it is a perfect followup. Songs like "Song From Under The Floorboards", "Model Worker", "Because You're Frightened" was deemed their most commercially acceptable and successful album. (Unfortunately, none of their albums cracked the Top 100 albums in the USA and they only placed 2 songs in the outer regions of the UK Top 50).

Unlike most of their contemporaries, Magazine were "intelligent". For example, "A Song From Under The Floorboards" introduced me to to Dostoevsky. I had read that the lyrics were an alternate translation of "Notes From The Underground" (sadly the Public Education system and English class never introduced me to such world renowned authors). There was even a Kafka-esque reference in one of the lines. Absolutely brilliant literary words set to song...

I am angry I am ill and I'm as ugly as sin

My irritability keeps me alive and kicking

I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit

I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it

This is a song from under the floorboards

This is a song from where the wall is cracked

My force of habit, I am an insect

I have to confess I'm proud as hell of that fact

I know the highest and the best

I accord them all due respect

But the brightest jewel inside of me

Glows with pleasure at my own stupidity

This is a song from under the floorboards

This is a song from where the wall is cracked

My force of habit, I am an insect

I have to confess I'm proud as hell of that fact

I used to make phantoms I could later chase

Images of all that could be desired

Then I got tired of counting all of these blessings

And then I just got tired

This is a song from under the floorboards

This is a song from where the wall is cracked

My force of habit, I am an insect

I have to confess I'm proud as hell of that fact

Most will easily dismiss their final studio album Magic, Murder And The Weather. In fact, I am sure most of the band members and Devoto himself see it as a limp swan song. I, personally, enjoyed this album immensely. My favorite has always been "Suburban Rhonda" followed by "About The Weather" and "Come Alive" with its introductory swirling keyboards. Sure it is not as good as their previous three albums, but good nonetheless.

Also, if you have the urge check out some their B-Sides that have appeared on compilations released since and as well on the 2007 remasters of their Virgin catalogue. Worth listening to is their send up of Captain Beefheart's "I Love You You Big Dummy".

The influences this band left are incredibly subtle. Listen to Radiohead and you can hear it. Listen to the Goth bands and you will hear it. God, even Morrissey covered "A Song From Under The Floorboards" (good but not as great as the original).

This is the only Magazine I allow in my house.

My Love Of Little Feat

Foot fetish? No, no, no. (never could figure that fetish out). I distract. Little Feat, the glorious band from the late 60s and 1970s founded by guitarist and songwriter Lowell George (RIP). Formed as something of an inspirational off shoot from Frank Zappa's The Mothers Of Invention, in the hollow suburbs of Los Angeles, but not as eclectic as The Mothers, Little Feat led by Lowell George marked their musical territory and developed a style that borrowed from the California Folk Rock scene, New Orleans Jazz and Zydeco and flirtations of Southern Rock, all woven together by the Blues and Rock n' Roll.

Witty & introspective lyrics and some serious grooves and hooks. My first introduction to them was early mornings before working at a Mental Hospital, while my friend Jim and I smoked our brains out before work. Sitting there in an early 70s Oldsmobile, cranking up some BASF tapes of various Little Feat albums taped by Jim. This musical introduction had a profound effect on me and the beginning of a love for this band that has remained with me. Those various mornings, I heard all the albums - Dixie Chicken, Sailin' Shoes, Time Loves A Hero, Feats Don't Fail Me Now, Last Record Album and, of course, the brilliantly recorded live album - Waiting For Columbus. Admittedly, my appreciation for their debut self titled album wouldn't come for many years.

Sailin' Shoes sported the gem "Cold Cold Cold" and the brilliant "Willin'". Dixie Chicken slipped a wee bit for memorable songs except for "Fat Man In The Bathtub", but lots of really good depth tracks. Feats Don't Fail Me Now was the masterstroke of a 4th album and hosted some of their all time best songs - "Rock N' Roll Doctor", "Oh Atlanta", "Skin It Back" and the title track. The Last Record Album followed suit the next year with another great selection of Feat songs, more of which were now being written by Bill Payne and Paul Barrere, as Lowell George's substance abuse problem began to show the wear. Time Loves A Hero in 1977 showed more of the same new finesse in their song writing with more Feat classics - "Old Folk's Boogie" "Time Loves A Hero" and " Rocket In My Pocket". Most all of these classics were covered on one of the best live albums ever recorded - Waiting For Columbus.

This is high recommendation for all of the younger music fans out there - if you are looking for a band and a sound you've never heard (quite possibly), then come to the world of Little Feat. It's easy for it to become a fetish. http://www.littlefeat.net/