Little Feat
Late Night Truck Stop Live At Ebbetsfield, Colorado 19th July 1973




Label: Burning Airlines
Released: 2001
Recorded: 1973
Source: Original CD 
Size Torrent: 581 MB
Format: FLAC






While Little Feat continue, to this day, to gig and release records, for many fans the band officially ceased to exist on June 29th 1979 - the day that Lowell George, their lead singer, guitarist and songwriter, succumbed to heart failure in Arlington, Virginia. This must irk the band somewhat, but it has to be remembered that it was George who originated their southern-fried funk sound and, along with Ry Cooder, defined the sound of late 1960s slide guitar playing. To most, Lowell George, until his hard living caught up with him, was Little Feat. As the majority of West Coast bands moved from psychedelia into country-rock, George - an eclectic genius who had paid his dues as one of Zappa's Mothers Of Invention, pushed Little Feat towards a more surreal vibe. He had a love of all musical styles from country and folk to jazz and the avant garde and it was his "cartoon consciousness" which permeated their eminently danceable tunes and suffuses this sweaty live recording. 

Late Night Truck Stop captures the band at their peak in 1973, at Ebbetsfield, Colorado, when they reformed with an expanded six-piece line-up. This allowed a more soulful approach, owing much to the New Orleans funk of bands such as the Meters - indeed, one of the highlights here is the gorgeous "On Your Way Down" by Alan Toussaint. Lowell was known to prefer a smaller, intimate gig, actually producing the band's own bootlegs - such as their classic Electric Lycanthropy set - from such gigs and this album is from that mould. Rumbling percussion, courtesy of Richie Hayward and Sam Clayton, propels classic numbers such as "Dixie Chicken" and "Fat Man In The Bathtub" while the set is peppered with more laid back examples of Lowell's songcraft such as "Willin'" and "Sailin' Shoes". This is the sound of a band that loved to play together. Their more complex arrangements never waver from the goal of letting the audience have a good time and, as the sleeve notes from Bob Harris reiterate, they had the "God-given groove". Amen to that...





Personnel

Lowell George: Guitar, Vocals; 
Paul Barrere: Guitar, Vocals; 
Kenny Gradney: Bass, Vocals; 
Bill Payne: Keyboards, Vocals; 
Sam Clayton: Percussion, Vocals; 
Richie Hayward: Drums, Vocals. 





Track Listing


Disc One

01. Apolitical Blues  
02. Two Trains  
03. Got No Shadow (Part 1)  
04. The Fan  
05. Texas Rose Cafe  
06. Snakes On Everything  
07. Cat Fever  
08. Fan Man In Bathtub  
09. Walkin' All Night  
10. Sailin' Shoes 


Disc Two

01. Dixie Chicken  
02. Hamburger Midnight  
03. Got No Shadow (Part 2)  
04. On Your Way Down  
05. Willin'  
06. Cold, Cold, Cold