The band hails from the Echo Park area of L.A., right there in the shadows of Dodger Stadium. And these boys know how to play. Band members Rob Waller (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Lacques (guitars, vocals), Paul Marshall (bass, vocals) and Shawn Nourse (drums), do a lot of songs about life on the road-something we as bikers can relate to.
Aided by some very accomplished pedal steel and fiddle. One listen to songs like Yolo County Airport, Getting Home Tonight, and especially Highway Down, and you'll be firing up that your chrome machine and heading outta town. The lyrics are easily as good as anything Springsteen has written in describing the lure of the open road. And the haunting Good and Foolish Times stands right up there with the best Nashville has to offer, maybe better even.
I can't wait to see these guys live. If country music floats your boat prepare for the high tide.
4 Wheels
Flashback Of The Month
Feats Don't Fail Me Now
Little Feat
Warner Bros.
OK, I'm willing to go out on a limb here, Little Feat's 1973 effort, Feats Don't Fail Me Now, is one of the best rock and roll records ever made.
Before his untimely death in 1979, singer/songwriter/guitarist Lowell George and the boys made some awesome music and all of their albums are must-haves. Lowell and Roy Estrada (bass) were alumni from, among others, Zappa's Mothers of Invention. But Little Feat was a whole new thing and they won over critics and began slowly building a cult following from coast to coast. This album is epic road music, practically made (unintentionally perhaps) for an extended motorcycle trip-or at least a blast out to some country roads.
LF's music conjures up a lot of southern imagery, some of it sultry and some of it silly. Their music is difficult to compare to other rock bands because they don't fit neatly into any category. Just listen to a song like Oh Atlanta, which evidences some of the tastiest slide guitar and boogie woogie keyboard work ever committed to disc. If you read these pages, you already know bikes and bar music go together and this band, was one of the best. Not Evo good-Panhead good. In fact, this album is a good argument for why some people still hang onto their vinyl records. Every track is stellar, and Rock and Roll Doctor, Down the Road, and Spanish Moon sound just as good today as they did then. The hallmark of a great song is when you don't want it to end and that's the way it is with the 10-minute medley Cold, Cold, Cold/Tripe Face Boogie. It starts out in 1st gear, but hits the rev limiter half-way through. At this point it might be a good idea to check your speedometer. Little Feat would go on to make more fine albums, even after Lowell's demise. But this one was as good as it gets.
5 Wheels