I think most people think of the glory years of Little Feat as the early period with their main songwriter Lowell George who died on June 29, 1979.
The band reformed in 1987 with Craig Fuller who was then replaced by Shaun Murphy in 1993. Bill Payne (vocals and keyboards) has been an ever-present member and Paul Barrere (vocals and guitar) and Kenny Gradney (bass) have been members since 1972.
The Studio Albums of Little Feat
The Lowell George studio albums established their reputation as a hard to categorise but exciting band. They combined rock with the blues, country and funk to create a unique sound.
- Little Feat (1971)
- Sailin’ Shoes (1972)
- Dixie Chicken (1973)
- Feats Don’t Fail Me Now (1974)
- The Last Record Album (1975)
- Time Loves A Hero (1977)
- Down on the Farm (1979 and completed by the other band members after Lowell George’s death)
The reformed group also recorded studio albums but they were mainly a great live band and we see that we the number of live albums released for the periods both before and after Lowell George’s death.
BestEverAlbums.com ranks the first three albums as the best Little Feat albums except for their great 1977 live album, Waiting For Columbus.
The Live Albums Of Little Feat
I suspect these will divide fans of Little Feat between the traditionalists and the people who have loved their more recent performances.
- 1973 – Live At Ultrasonic Studios, Long Island, April 1973
- 1973 – American Cutie
- 1973 – Late Night Truck Shop
- 1976 – Live At Winterland Valentine’s Day 1976
- 1976 – Live In Holland 1976
- 1977 – Waiting For Columbus
- 1995 – Live from Neon Park
- 1998 – Extended Versions
- 2001 – Live at the Ram’s Head
- 2000 – Down Upon the Suwannee River
- 2003 – Highwire Act: Live in St. Louis
- 2004 – Barnstormin’ Live (vols 1 & 2)
- 2005 – Rocky Mountain Jam
What Is The Best Live Albums By Little Feat?
Waiting For Columbus from 1977 is the obvious answer as it’s the one that is featured in the best live albums lists produced by critics. While it is the best known live album, is it really the best?
That’s why I’ve given you two votes to help dilute the influence of Columbus purely because it’s the one that most people will have heard and own. Dedicated Little Feat fans may well say that one or more of the 1973 or 1976 performances are better.
Alternatively I can understand some people saying that the performance levels of the band after its reformation in 1987 was even better and they still had the chance to perform the Lowell George classic Little Feat songs.
Loading ...What Are The Best Live Albums Of All Time?
My problem of fitting Little Feat into categories means that I’ve included waiting For Columbus in the polls to find the best blues rock live albums, the best classic rock live albums and the best Southern rock live albums.
But are they good enough to get your votes in these categories against some stiff competition?
Loading ... Loading ... Loading ...My aim is to help you to find the best live albums through readers polls, my own reviews and from bringing in Amazon reviews.
You can see the complete list of readers polls at Live Album Polls.