Dixie Chicken
Two Trains
Roll Um Easy
On Your Way Down
Kiss It Off
Fool Yourself
Walkin' All Night
Fat Man In The Bathtub
Juliette
Lafayette Railroad
Led by the songwriting genius Lowell George, Little Feat formed in Los Angeles in 1969, and although the blues was the foundation of their sound, they happily mixed it with country, funk, soul and rock to much effect – perhaps the finest example of how blues rock in the US in the 70s could adapt its sound.
Rumour has it Frank Zappa fired George from the Mothers Of Invention for mentioning drugs in the song Willin’. Striking out with his own band proved the making of Lowell George. Willin’ appeared on 1971’s Little Feat, and again on 1972’s Sailin’ Shoes (so George could play the slide part handled on the debut by Ry Cooder, as George had damaged his hand at the time)
Guitarist Paul Barrere joined the group in 1972 before their classic third album, Dixie Chicken, with fellow newcomers, Louisiana musicians Kenny Gradney and Sam Clayton.
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in January 1973
- Aerosmith - Aerosmith
- Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band
- Approximately Infinite Universe - Yoko Ono
- Holland - The Beach Boys
- Who Do We Think We Are - Deep Purple
- Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player - Elton John
- The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Rick Wakeman
- Artificial Paradise - The Guess Who
- Back in '72 - Bob Seger
- Doug Sahm and Band - Doug Sahm
- GP - Gram Parsons
- Heartbreaker - Free
- In Concert - Derek and the Dominos
- Let Me Touch Your Mind - Ike & Tina Turner
- Naked Songs - Al Kooper
What they said...
"Partially due to the New Orleans infatuation, the album holds together better than Sailin' Shoes and George takes full advantage of the band's increased musical palette, writing songs that sound easy but are quite sophisticated, such as the rolling Two Trains, the gorgeous, shimmering Juliette, the deeply soulful and funny Fat Man in the Bathtub and the country-funk of the title track, which was covered nearly as frequently as Willin'." (AllMusic)
"The problem with Lowell George isn't so much that he doesn't write good songs as that he doesn't write great ones. He's immersed in blues – it's his idiom. But his own boast to the contrary, "eloquent profanity" doesn't come easy to him, and it should – in a real blues artist, the secret of a simple trope like Two Trains is that it seems spontaneous and conventional both at once, while George's clenched throat and staggering slide bear witness to his creative effort." (Robert Christgau)
"Released in 1973, Dixie Chicken is now considered a watershed and landmark album for the band. The title track for the album has gone on to be the band's signature song, and the album included several other fan favourites such as Fat Man In The Bathtub. Stylistically, the record exhibited a particular affinity for New Orleans and included one song by that city's legendary singer/songwriter/producer Allen Toussaint called On Your Way Down." (David V. Moskowitz: The 100 Greatest Bands Of All Time, 2015)
What you said...
Adam Ranger: A band I have not really listened to before today, so it was good to put that right. Not sure what I expected, but it was probably Southern rock, what I actually got was a form of funky swamp rock. And I liked it.
It's not an album I would necessarily rush to put on again. But I would certainly not turn it down or off it came on my playlist. Great songs that just move along, and a surprisingly good voice. Not sure why that surprised me, but it did.
I imagine this band at its height would have been great to see live. A few different styles here. Including funk, bluesy rock and an Exile-era Stonesy tune in Fat Man In The Bathtub. I like It!
Brian Carr: The Club to the rescue! Due to Lowell George’s connection to Frank Zappa, I always wanted to check out Little Feat but haven’t until this week. I had heard the title track in passing a handful of times, but wow, I really dug this album a lot. Southern funky grooves without extended jams that often lead me to tune out. I particularly loved the slow burns Roll Um Easy, On Your Way Down and Kiss It Off. The instrumental closer Lafayette Railroad also caught my ear, but there was nothing at all on Dixie Chicken that I didn’t like.
Mike Canoe: Dixie Chicken is a much darker and more despondent album than the raucous title track might suggest. Bandleader Lowell George's voice is deep in the mix, reminding me of other famously "murky" albums like the Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street or There's a Riot Goin' On by Sly & the Family Stone. Like those albums, it also feels like an "end of the dream" record, where the ideals and optimism of the 60s gave way to the cynicism and paranoia of the 70s. Harder drugs, harder women, harder to get up and face the day. Well-played dismay.
John Davidson: Little Feat are one of those bands that defy easy categorisations, part southern rock, part Stonesy blues, sprinkled with a little funk, but ultimately just themselves.
Lowell George has a great voice and does most of the songwriting, but the musicianship (and the vocal harmonies) make this fully a band album where everyone seems to carry their weight.
Despite a couple of mid-tempo numbers (Dixie Chickens and Two Trains) the overall impression is a very relaxed album. One to savour on the banks of a lazy river with a cool drink and some amiable company. 8/10.
Greg Schwepe: Thanks to this week’s selection of Little Feat’s Dixie Chicken, I can now cross Little Feat off of my “I Should Really Check This Band Out Because I’d Probably Really Like Them” list. And yes, I’ve known OF Little Feat for a long time, knew a little about what they were about, who some of the members were…and that’s about it.
As soon as I hit Play on the title track Dixie Chicken, it confirmed pretty much everything I figured Little Feat would be. Funky, swampy piano, growling vocals, female harmony vocals, cool drumbeats, harmonica, lots of slide guitar. And at the risk of repeating myself in a review, I had another “why did I wait this long to check this band out?” moment.
And then it’s rinse and repeat for the remainder of the album. The same sweet vibe that keeps you chuggin’ along. Similar instrumentation but maybe more piano and organ on one song (On Your Way Down), or something in a more acoustic vein (Fat Man In The Bathtub). Not a bad track on the album for me.
If you’re looking for laid back music that keeps any part of your body moving rhythmically, well this is it. The kind of stuff I could listen to back to back for a week, or two. 9 out of 10 on this one for me.
Philip Qvist: Little Feat is another one of the bands that I have heard a lot about, without hearing much of their music - so Dixie Chicken is a first for me.
It's not a bad album, but not something that will appear on my Essential Playlist. That said, it is solid enough with plenty of good songs on it, as band leader Lowell George did most of the heavy lifting here with the singing and songwriting.
My favourite tracks were On Your Way Done (written by Allen Toussaint) and Juliette, but there are no obvious duds on Dixie Chicken. A good record - with a 7 from me this week.
Steve Pereira: Yeah, it's a nice album. But it's just a little too, well, nice. I've tried over the years to get into it, because there are those who respect this album. But for that New Orleans r'n'b vibe, I'd rather go to Exile On Main Street (which in that odd cross-influencing way that musicians have, was influenced by early Little Feat, and then in its turn influenced Dixie Chicken).
And for a bit more spice on the chicken leg of New Orleans r'n'b, I'd rather go to Dr John's Gris Gris. For the swamp rock vibe I'd rather have the awesome Brothers And Sisters album by The Allman Brothers. And for the lazy smile while rocking on the back porch vibe I'd go for the well-stoned yet stunningly over-looked Okie by J. J. Cale.
Dixie Chicken reminds me of those four albums, and – for me – falls so behind them that I can't enjoy the album.
Final score: 7.67 (43 votes cast, total score 330)
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