This is a distinct record with a very distinct sounding Little Feat. It's much harder rocking than their later selves. It's possible it's the time this was recorded, but this really sounds very much like a Stones record - like the 5th and 6th sides of Exile, but with better storytelling and a very loose George Lowell singing like it's the end of a great late night at an old pub.
Really, really great songwriting here, too. The band would record a lot of these songs later, with "Willin'" a major example. But this album is just different. Frankly, it's the only Little Feat record I love, but DAMN is it a record! Highly recommended, particularly if you've only heard Waiting For Columbus, or some of their later stuff.
George Zandona
June 5, 2021
While I may not be a Featophile, I do own Little Feat's self-titled debut, Sailin' Shoes, their much-acclaimed double live album, Waiting for Columbus as well as the band's four-disc box set on Rhino records, Hotcakes & Outtakes, which I bought mainly for the three songs "Rat Faced Dog," "Doglines," and "Wait Till The Sh*t Hits The Fan" from sessions for Little Feat. As the AllMusic review points out, this LP was a commercial failure. However, its critical reputation has grown by leaps and bounds since its initial release. To this day, I just don't understand why this impressive but underappreciated masterpiece doesn't get the recognition it so clearly deserves. As one of Little Feat's principal songwriters, along with Bill Payne, Lowell George certainly had a unique view of the world and much has been written about his overindulgent lifestyle which led to his untimely death. Little Feat's debut is a special record that really is unlike anything else in their discography since it doesn't rely on the funky R&B sounds of their later releases. In fact, Little Feat's first record is a weird and wonderful mix of laidback blues, honky-tonk country, and rootsy southern rock combined with clever songs about unusual characters. Legendary bottleneck slide guitarist Ry Cooder also plays a key role here contributing to "Willin'" and the Howlin' Wolf medley "Forty Four Blues/How Many More Years" that's reminiscent of his guest work on Captain Beefheart's Safe as Milk from 1967, and The Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed from 1969. Highlights include the brilliant Waco, Texas referencing "Strawberry Flats," "Truck Stop Girl" (later covered by The Byrds), the soulful, gospel-like "Brides of Jesus," the trucker anthem "Willin'" (now a standard that's been interpreted by many artists including Gregg Allman, The Black Crowes, Steve Earle, and Linda Ronstadt), and the gorgeous ballad "Takin' My Time." For fans of The Band, The Byrds circa 1968-1970, and The Flying Burrito Brothers this album is (in my opinion) a necessary purchase.
Yo,
I bought this album on CD decades ago, & love it dearly. It's sound is remarkably excellent, regardless of its age, as it was really well produced, & I don't know why it isn't more popular...This music business & its clients are strange ones for sure, & have no doubt that if you should purchase a copy, you'll be wondering the same thing...How can you possibly love Little Feat, & not have their debut in your collection ??? How can Rhino release the following albums in a 50-year celebration, & omit this amazing debut album ???
The tunes within it are many & varied in styles, yet intricately performed & produced. Little Feat from their very beginning displayed the "Americana-stew" of anything goes, & manifests as Little Feat gumbo already. There's a rawness to Lowell's voice indicating a young man searching out all his voices facets, as each track is sung differently, with a few having a Howlin' Wolf type rawness performed with some success. Bill Payne sings quite well too, & his own-penned-songs are lovely. The playing from everyone is superb, & you definitely realize that this is not simply another band from L.A...Even as a quartette, the boys delivered the goods as expected & followed that up on successive albums. In fact, imo, there are more immediately memorable tunes on this record than on some later more successful ones. And it's way more consistent in quality tunes than say "Down on the Farm" could only hope to ever be.
It's an incredible debut album that is a must have for anyone that calls themselves a Little Feat fan. And 50+ years later, remains an amazing period time-capsule...What was the music scene like in America circa 1970 you ask ?...Put on this album for your answer. Wolfman-Jack would approve !
Enjoy, & play it often !
Pete Harper
January 27, 2025
Little Feat’s debut is a unique album- although much of the music is country, blues and rock based- Lowell George’s odd song structures and quirks often break from the template of those styles.
After a brief stint with Frank Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention, Lowell George along with Mother’s bassist Roy Estrada, keyboardist Bill Payne and drummer Richie Hayward (who played on LG’s first band, The Factory), formed Little Feat in late 1969. (Fun fact: The Factory made two appearances on the TV shows F Troup and Gomer Pyle in the late 60’s as fictional bands.)
Released at the very beginning of 1971, Little Feat’s debut immediately established the band, and specifically Lowell George, as a unique band with a singular sound and vision. His songs Truck Stop Girl (co-written with Bill Payne) and Willin’ were recorded by the Byrds the previous year, with Truck Stop Girl being included on their album, “Untitled”. This and Van Dyke Parks’ cover of Sailin Shoes were my introduction to Little Feat and LG.
There is a bit of an imbalance between the two sides of the record as side one has the superior songs; all six of them are great from Payne’s Snakes On Everything to Hamburger Midnight. Side two is still strong, but most of the songs are not as good as anything on the first side- although Crack The Door and the closer Crazy Captain Gunboat Willie are high quality. Comparatively, the blues medley covers of Roosevelt Sykes’s Forty Four Blues and Chester Burnett’s How Many More Years, as excellent as it is, seems like space that could have been used for one or two of the several original compositions that were left off the album. They had recorded several other songs during these sessions that turned into outtakes, including The Fan, but decided not to develop further.
Guest musicians included Ry Cooder (who’s solo debut had been released a month prior to Little Feat’s and had used Estrada and Hayward in the sessions) as well as Sneaky Pete Kleinow (Flying Burrito Brothers).
highlights: Strawberry Flats, Truck Stop Girl, Willin’
Arie Biesheuvel
January 12, 2025
Until punk came along, Little Feat was my favorite band of the 70s. More than 50 years later, and many great albums later, know that the first two Little Feat albums are still exceptional. These albums were remarkable then, and now should be considered to belong to the best albums ever made. What to say? Listen people, and listen again, this album is absolutely fantastic!!
Cody Engelke
August 29, 2024
It's definitely a great album, but there aren't any songs that I could listen to repeatedly without getting tired of. Nothing really stood out to me as being particularly great or memorable. At the same time, however, there's nothing bad either.
