Strike Up the Band
Hot Tomato
The first studio album of new original music from the sixth lineup of Little Feat, “Strike Up the Band” emits not so much of a good-time vibe as an introspective one — and understandably so, as the band is now 56 years old and down to its last original member.
Co-founder/keyboardist Bill Payne contributes five compositions, one of which (album centerpiece “Bluegrass Pines”) is from a batch co-written with late Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter that yielded four songs on 2012’s “Rooster Rag,” which would have been “Strike’s” studio/all-new predecessor if not for its cover of Mississippi John Hurt’s “Candy Man Blues.”
True, there’s 2024’s Grammy-nominated “Sam’s Place,” recorded at Sam Phillips Recording Studio in Memphis. But that’s an all-blues affair featuring conga player Sam Clayton singing lead on every number (all but one of which are covers). So the last studio album of all-new original music actually was 2003’s acoustic-leaning “Kickin’ It at the Barn.”
Good New Music emailed Little Feat multi-instrumentalist Fred Tackett to ask, “Why the long dry spell?”
“We spend a lot of our time touring and then writing songs,” he explained, “and the recordings come when we have the songs and the time to record.” Fair enough, Fred.
But Little Feat also has seen perhaps more than its fair share of personnel departures over the years. Co-founder, slide guitarist, lead singer and chief songwriter Lowell George died in 1979, after seven albums. George’s replacement Craig Fuller (of Pure Prairie League, who joined when the band reconvened nearly 10 years later) left in 1993. Fuller’s replacement, female vocalist Shaun Murphy, stayed for 15 years. Gabe Ford replaced original drummer Richie Hayward after his death in 2010. And newest members Scott Sharrard and Tony Leone joined in 2019 and 2020, respectively — Sharrard stepping into the shoes of recently deceased longtime guitarist Paul Barrere, and Leone taking over on drums.
“We definitely take our career as it comes,” Tackett told GNM. “Craig had other things he wanted to do when he left. In the case of Shaun and Gabe, their leaving was a band decision to make a change. Things change when you are living the life.”
Sharrard (former musical director for Gregg Allman) and Leone (Levon Helm, Phil Lesh) have gelled nicely with the group, especially after extensive touring in 2019 marking the band’s 50th anniversary and again in 2023 marking the 45th anniversary of landmark double-live LP “Waiting for Columbus.” Once again the band is a well-oiled machine, poised to continue growing its well-earned legacy.
“Midnight Flight,” written and sung by Sharrard, rocks hardest among the album’s tracks and doesn’t even feature slide guitar, while “4 Days of Heaven 3 Days of Work” — another horn-enhanced rocker, by Payne/Sharrard/Leone — is a slide showcase.
The aforementioned “Bluegrass Pines” boasts vocal support from Larry Campbell and wife Teresa Williams, as well as acoustic guitar by Molly Tuttle. It’s anything but bluegrass, however, with its Southwestern lilt punctuated by not-incongruous electric slide from Sharrard.
Whimsical numbers “Bayou Mama” and “Too High to Cut My Hair” deliver on the promise of their titles: the former, co-written by Payne and Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke, is kind of a slower, piano/slide-driven sequel to “Cajun Girl”; the latter features an occasional trademark growl from Clayton, and was inspired by Tackett’s second thoughts about getting a trim from his wife.
“Running Out of Time With the Blues” is a slow shuffle proving Leone to be a competent singer-songwriter in his own right, and gives Tackett a chance to show off his ability on mandolin — something he does frequently on the album.
Sharrard’s title track, featuring backup gospel vocals by sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe, is the best of the introspective cuts comprising the rest of the record. More mandolin work by Tackett emphasizes the song’s sentimentality, while Sharrard tastefully solos on resonator.
With its freshly solidified latest lineup, there’s no reason not to expect a higher rate of releases from Little Feat.
Tracks
1. 4 Days Of Heaven 3 Days Of Work
2. Bayou Mama
3. Shipwrecks
4. Midnight Flight
5. Too High To Cut My Hair
6. When Hearts Fall
7. Strike Up The Band
8. Bluegrass Pines
9. Disappearing Ink
10. Love and Life (Never Fear)
11. Dance A Little
12. Running Out Of Time With The Blues
13. New Orleans Cries When She Sings
Total time: 1:1:13
External links
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