Underground cult classic Feats Don’t Fail Me Now is a creaky half century today. To mark the occasion, here’s a track by track overview.
Rock & Roll Doctor
I first came across Little Feat on one of those Old Grey Whistle Test compilation programmes around 1986 or 1987. It was quite a lengthy haul of clips, and many of the acts I’d never heard of before. In the case of Little Feat, it was a short snippet of Rock & Roll Doctor from their appearance on the show in March 1975.
Actually, I don’t think I was that impressed. There was a beardy singer who sounded a bit like Kermit The Frog. There was a guy rocking the cabasa. The gum chewing drummer was having a whale of a time, grinning and shaking his head at the prospect of playing live in a disused BBC broom cupboard.
When I first got into record collecting in the ’90s, my bible was Colin Larkin’s Top 1000 Albums Of All Time. I had all three of the updated volumes – partly because I liked to read critical thoughts on classic LPs, partly because it was a good opportunity to try out new bands and singers’ albums, and partly because I am a sad case.
Little Feat had a few albums in the lists, so on a whim, I decided to try out Feats Don’t Fail Me Now on the basis of Rock & Roll Doctor, the only track I was vaguely familiar with. After my initial disinterest in the ’80s, this time around, I really enjoyed it. Still do. It’s a strong opening track that plays to their strengths: sturdy playing, distinctive guitar work and a danceable rhythm. Should be on prescription.
Oh Atlanta
Trying to pin down what category Little Feat fall into is harder than you think. The best I can manage is rock meets country meets blues meets funk. It’s a curious hybrid that shouldn’t work on paper, but on audio, it does.
A secret of Little Feat’s success – and especially on this album – is to shove one of the respective genres to the forefront. Oh Atlanta has more of a country slant, helped by the likes of Bonnie Raitt and Emmylou Harris warbling in the background.
Although it’s not one of my go-to tracks on the album, Oh Atlanta still serves its purpose well. The chorus is guaranteed to lodge in the think tank after just one spin. Payne’s bar-room piano playing conjures up an instant spit ‘n’ sawdust ambience. If you’re not a country music fan, you might still like it on account of its infectious groove. Kind of like Willie Nelson doing a duet with KC And The Sunshine Band.
Skin It Back
While the late Lowell George took lead vocal duties for the most part, other band members stood up to the plate for one or two others on this album. Keyboardist Bill Payne sang Oh Atlanta while guitarist Paul Barrére takes the lead on Skin It Back, one of the best on Feats.
Barrére’s raspy drawl suits this slab of slinky funk rock well. Non-stop touring and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyles tend to be moaned about rather than celebrated and the relentless grind is pondered upon here. The line “It’s those rock and roll hours/Early graves without flowers” proved to be eerily prophetic, given George’s prematurely early death five years later.
Down The Road
George returns to the microphone stand and will stay there for the rest of the album. Down The Road has more of a heavier blues slant than most, with the mix of Richie Hayward’s taut drumming and George’s sliding guitar work making that authentic bluesy sound.
Feats Don’t Fail Me Now highlights a major strength of Little Feat in that each band member gets a fair slice of the cake. Down The Road gives each musician the chance to prove his worth – there’s also Payne contributing a very distinctive piano motif and also Sam Clayton giving it some welly on the congas.
Spanish Moon
One of the band’s most celebrated grooves, Spanish Moon is dominated by the irresistible brass and horn playing from Tower Of Power, who were frequent guests on virtually album in the ’70s by artists from Cat Stevens to Elton John.
Given that disco, funk and dance were starting to impact the charts in the UK, it’s odd that Little Feat never really made it big in Blighty. It took five years for the band to crack the case with The Last Record Album in the UK album charts, with Time Loves A Hero finally breaking the Top 10 two years later in 1977. Still, at least this year, Feats Don’t Fail Me Now did at least graze three of the official album charts’ Top 50s at the end of June.
Feats Don’t Fail Me Now
Another gem, the title track has that loose sense of spontaneity that’s sorely lacking in the 21st century. I’m sure it’s me being an old fart, but I’m struggling to picture any modern-day band that could come up with anything as fun, fresh and funky as this.
Lowell George’s lead vocal is well complemented by Sam Clayton’s baritone. It’s a fun jam that’s not meant to be taken seriously – although I’m sure more sensitive types won’t be impressed by Lowell’s “semi-smokin’ mama” having “the biggest truck in town”.
The Fan
The seedier side of groupie attention is explored in this heavy prog workout. The lyrics are sparse but concisely tell the tale in no-nonsense fashion (the opening line salvo is “Heard you got an infection/Just before your lewd rejection”).
This leaves the band to concentrate on the instrumentation, which hits its peak here in every respect. Hayward’s drumming propels the track along at a hell of a lick, the guitar work is top dollar, and there’s a superb contribution from Payne who really goes to town on the synthesisers towards the end. Marvellous, and easily a Top 3 for me (along with Skin It Back and the title track).
Cold Cold Cold/Tripe Face Boogie
After such a strong run of tracks, Feats Don’t Fail Me Now’s conclusion is a bit of a swizz. The band’s perfectionism meant that a reworking of Cold Cold Cold and Tripe Face Boogie was inevitable, but meshing both together after only two years feels like a bit of a cop-out. The originals are on 1972’s Sailin’ Shoes, and could technically be a medley of sorts if you skipped Trouble, the track in between.
On its own terms, the medley is well played and jammed, but coming after many great classics, it’s a disappointing way to finish an album that has otherwise stood the test of time brilliantly.
(Cover art credited to Neon Park)
