Little Feat: Let It Roll
[purchase]
By 1988 Little Feat were beyond their commercial prime - their best years by most accounts being the latter part of the 70s. Having lost lead guitarist and founder Lowell George in 1979, the band continued with many of the core members (Paul Barrere on guitar, Richie Hayward on drums, Bill Payne on keyboards ...) through the 80s and 90s. Bill Payne and Paul Barrere still tour today as did Richie Hayward until his death in 2010. Aging rockers they may be, they still sound great today: check them out here, where you can watch and hear more of their music online.
Their 1988 studio album Let It Roll was their first studio album following Lowell George's death. Released in July of 1988, the album turned gold the following year. Many of the songs from the album were penned by a late-comer to the band, Craig Fuller, formerly of Pure Prarie League. Linda Ronstadt, Bob Seger and Bonnie Raitt provide additional vocals on the album. At various times during their history, in addition to the above musicians, the members of the band have played with Frank Zappa, Ry Cooder, Joe Walsh, Jackson Browne ... the list goes on and on.
More often than not, Little Feat's music has a funky Cajun beat - a New Orleans kind of sound - that veers to boogie (cf. a song of theirs from the Salin' Shoes album called Tripe Face Boogie). And of course, the term boogie carries plenty of meaning in the disco world of the 1980s and beyond. This song is no exception: the band really gets down.
This version of the song Let It Roll, from the album of the same name, recorded live at the Starlight Bowl, Burbank in 1990, is one of many Little Feat live recordings available for free under a Creative Commons license here. Like almost all of the live Little Feat songs hosted at "archive", the recoding shows off the band's many talents: excellent driving force, tight group work and that funky rocking roll.
Guest post by KKafa
