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Feats Won't Fail You Now on New Rhino Box Set

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Little Feat box

Rhino is giving the complete albums treatment to another classic rock artist on the Warner Bros. label: the eclectic combo Little Feat. Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990 will feature all 11 studio and live albums the band cut for the label, as well as two additional bonus discs of rare material.

Formed by ex-Mothers of Invention guitarist Lowell George, Little Feat first rose to prominence for their killer rock-blues style, particularly both versions of the song "Willin'" from the band's first two albums. (Each version featured a distinctive slide guitar part, the latter played by George and the former by Ry Cooder, filling in for George after a model airplane accident hurt his hand.) It was notably covered by Linda Ronstadt on Heart Like a Wheel in 1974.

Lineup changes in 1972 - bassist Roy Estrada was replaced by Kenny Gradney and guitarist Paul Barrere and percussionist Sam Clayton were added to the existing lineup with George, keyboardist Bill Payne and drummer Richie Hayward - led to an interesting stylistic shift: albums Dixie Chicken and Feats Don't Fail Me Now were decidedly funkier, with heavy influences from New Orleans-style jazz. Collaborations with drummer Chico Hamilton and singer Robert Palmer would follow (Palmer covered their "Sailin' Shoes" and the band backed him on many of his early records).

But tragedy struck at the end of the decade when George died of a heart attack bought on by overindulgence. An album, Down on the Farm, was completed in 1979, and Hoy-Hoy!, a collection of outtakes and alternates, was released two years later. All was not over, though: in 1987, the band reformed with singer/songwriter/guitarist Craig Fuller and guitarist Fred Tackett. Resultant album Let It Roll and single "Hate to Lose Your Lovin'" were considerable hits. The band departed Warner Bros. in 1990, and Fuller himself would leave in 1993, but Barrere, Gradney, Tackett and Clayton (plus Gabe Ward on drums, following Hayward's 2010 passing) continue to tour and record under the Little Feat banner, releasing Rooster Rag, their 15th album, in 2012.

Rad Gumbo features, in addition to all of the band's studio albums (Little Feat (1971) to Representing the Mambo (1980)) and Hoy-Hoy!, the double-disc 2002 expanded edition of George-era live album Waiting for Columbus (featuring the complete, reordered album program on Disc 1 and Disc 2, followed by performances mixed for possible album release but ultimately unused and outtakes later issued on Hoy-Hoy!) and a bonus disc of tracks released on the 2000 box set Hotcakes & Outtakes (we're waiting on official confirmation from Rhino as to which tracks feature on this disc).

Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990 is available February 25. Hit the jump for order links and all the info we have thus far!

Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990 (Warner Bros./Rhino, 2014)

Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.

Disc 1: Little Feat (Warner Bros. WS 1890, 1971)

  1. Snakes on Everything
  2. Strawberry Flats
  3. Truck Stop Girl
  4. Brides of Jesus
  5. Willin'
  6. Hamburger Midnight
  7. Forty-Four Blues/How Many More Years
  8. Crack in Your Door
  9. I've Been the One
  10. Takin' My Time
  11. Crazy Captain Gunboat Willie

Disc 2: Sailin' Shoes (Warner Bros. BS 2600, 1972)

  1. Easy to Slip
  2. Cold Cold Cold
  3. Trouble
  4. Tripe Face Boogie
  5. Willin'
  6. A Apolitical Blues
  7. Sailin' Shoes
  8. Teenage Nervous Breakdown
  9. Got No Shadow
  10. Cat Fever
  11. Texas Rose Café

Disc 3: Dixie Chicken (Warner Bros. BS 2686, 1973)

  1. Dixie Chicken
  2. Two Trains
  3. Roll Um Easy
  4. On Your Way Down
  5. Kiss It Off
  6. Fool Yourself
  7. Walkin' All Night
  8. Fat Man in the Bathtub
  9. Juliette
  10. Lafayette Railroad

Disc 4: Feats Don't Fail Me Now (Warner Bros. BS 2784, 1974)

  1. Rock & Roll Doctor
  2. Oh, Atlanta
  3. Skin It Back
  4. Down the Road
  5. Spanish Moon
  6. Feats Don't Fail Me Now
  7. The Fan
  8. Medley: Cold Cold Cold/Tripe Face Boogie

Disc 5: The Last Record Album (Warner Bros. BS 2884, 1975)

  1. Romance Dance
  2. All That You Dream
  3. Long Distance Love
  4. Day or Night
  5. One Love Stand
  6. Down Below the Borderline
  7. Somebody's Leavin'
  8. Mercenary Territory

Disc 6: Time Loves a Hero (Warner Bros. BS 3015, 1977)

  1. Hi Roller
  2. Time Loves a Hero
  3. Rocket in My Pocket
  4. Day At the Dog Races
  5. Old Folks Boogie
  6. Red Streamliner
  7. New Delhi Freight Train
  8. Keepin' Up with the Joneses
  9. Missin' You

Disc 7: Waiting for Columbus (Live) (Warner Bros. 2BS 3140, 1978)

  1. Join the Band (Live @ Lisner Auditorium, Washington D.C. - 8/10/1977)
  2. Fat Man in the Bathtub (Live @ Lisner Auditorium. Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  3. All That You Dream (Live @ Lisner Auditorium, Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  4. Oh Atlanta (Live @ Lisner Auditorium, Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  5. Old Folks' Boogie (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/4/1977)
  6. Dixie Chicken (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/3 and 8/4/1977)
  7. Tripe Face Boogie (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/2 and 8/3/1977)
  8. Rocket in My Pocket (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/2/1977)
  9. Time Loves a Hero (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/4/1977)
  10. Day or Night (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/4/1977)
  11. Mercenary Territory (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/2/1977)
  12. Spanish Moon (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)

Disc 8: Waiting for Columbus: Expanded Edition (bonus disc from Warner Bros./Rhino R2 78274, 2002)

  1. Willin' (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  2. Don't Bogart That Joint (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  3. A Apolitical Blues (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/3/1977)
  4. Sailin' Shoes (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/10/1977)
  5. Feats Don't Fail Me Now (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/9/1977)
  6. One Love Stand (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/9/1977)
  7. Rock and Roll Doctor (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/9/1977)
  8. Skin It Back (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/2/1977)
  9. On Your Way Down (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/10/1977)
  10. Walkin' All Night (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  11. Cold, Cold, Cold (Live @ The Rainbow Theatre, London - 8/4/1977)
  12. Day at the Dog Races (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/9/1977)
  13. Skin It Back (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  14. Red Streamliner (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  15. Teenage Nervous Breakdown (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)

Disc 9: Down on the Farm (Warner Bros. HS 3345, 1979)

  1. Down on the Farm
  2. Six Feet of Snow
  3. Perfect Imperfection
  4. Kokomo
  5. Be One Now
  6. Straight from the Heart
  7. Front Page News
  8. Wake Up Dreaming
  9. Feel the Groove

Disc 10: Hoy-Hoy! (Warner Bros. 2BSK 3538, 1981)

  1. Rocket in My Pocket (Acoustic Demo)
  2. Rock 'n' Roll Doctor (Alternate)
  3. Skin It Back (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  4. Easy to Slip (Original Sailin' Shoes Version)
  5. Red Streamliner (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  6. Lonesome Whistle (Lowell George Demo)
  7. Front Page News (Original Melody)
  8. The Fan (Live 1974)
  9. Forty-Four Blues (Original Little Feat Version)
  10. Teenage Nervous Breakdown (Original 1969 Demo)
  11. Teenage Nervous Breakdown (Live @ Lisner Auditorium Washington D.C. - 8/8/1977)
  12. Framed
  13. Strawberry Flats (Original Little Feat version)
  14. Gringo
  15. Over the Edge
  16. Two Trains (Live 1973)
  17. China White
  18. All That You Dream (Live from Lowell George Tribute Concert feat. Linda Ronstadt)
  19. Feats Don't Fail Me Now (Live 1976)

Disc 11: Let It Roll (Warner Bros. 25750, 1988) 

  1. Hate to Lose Your Lovin'
  2. One Clear Moment
  3. Cajun Girl
  4. Hangin' on to the Good Times
  5. Listen to Your Heart
  6. Let It Roll
  7. Long Time Till I Get Over You
  8. Business As Usual
  9. Changin' Luck
  10. Voices on the Wind

Disc 12: Representing the Mambo (Warner Bros. 26163, 1990)

  1. Texas Twister
  2. Daily Grind
  3. Representing the Mambo
  4. Woman in Love
  5. Rad Gumbo
  6. Teenage Warrior
  7. That's Her, She's Mine
  8. Feelin's All Gone
  9. Those Feat'll Steer Ya Wrong Sometimes
  10. The Ingenue
  11. Silver Screen

Disc 13: Selections from Hotcakes and Outtakes (Warner Bros./Rhino R2 79912, 2000)

Track list to be determined

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Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, holding positions at Legacy Recordings and Rhino Records and contributing to Allmusic, Discogs, City Pages, Ultimate Classic Rock and Mondo Records, for whom he penned liner notes for his favorite piece of music: John Williams' Oscar-winning score to 'E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.' Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.

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Comments

  2. I notice there's no mention whether these albums have received a long overdue remastering. Also, if I read this correctly, all the "bonus" material has been previously released, on either the expanded Waiting for Columbus or the box set.

    Reply

    • None of the press releases we've ever gotten on Rhino's complete boxes mention remastering. Unfortunately, the packages never seem to, either. It's apparently a closely guarded secret!

      While we're still waiting on the contents of that last disc, you are correct: everything on this box has been out before. It's nice, though, that they're including bonus material. They could've omitted it, as they did with ZZ Top or the Ramones.

      Reply

      • True, Mike. I just wish WEA/Rhino would make a little more effort on their reissues. Sonic upgrades are a no-brainer, but previously unheard bonus material would really be nice. They did it with the recent Moondance packages. I think among the majors Sony and their Legacy program have really gone the extra mile in both areas.

        Reply

  3. Once again, WB is consistently inconsistent in the mastering of these albums...

    I've gotten through the Lowell George-era albums, and it's obvious that "Dixie Chicken" and "The Last Record Album" are not remastered, though everything else is (and, in my opinion, they're well done).

    Though the argument can be made that they sound fine as is (I personally feel they are dull), I have to ask the question why take the time to remaster SOME, not ALL? In the case of "The Last Record Album", they even took the time to chop off the 3 live bonus tracks (which I'm happy about), yet left the mastering alone.

    Sony does these sets right: best available remasters or brand new remasters ACROSS THE BOARD, informational booklet, thicker cardboard sleeves. WB always misses the mark.

    Reply

  4. I can confirm what Rob just wrote, it seems that all the albums in the box with the exception of those two (“Dixie Chicken” and “The Last Record Album”) have been remastered.
    Why that is, beats me.
    By the way (coincidentally?) in the same days Warner Japan has re-released the mini-lp 2007 japanese remasters for most of these albums, including those two.They're not partucularly expensive, about $20 each, probably less if you shop around. It would be interesting to compare them to what's in the box

    Reply

    • Could it be because at the time the masters of both Dixie Chicken and Last Record Album were considered Masterful and that nobody wanted to mess with the 'perfect imperfection'? 🙂

      Reply

      • There might be more than a grain of truth to it... Particularly referring to DC which doesn't honestly sound 'bad'.
        But the difference in sound between, say, Sailin' Shoes and LRA in this set is huge...

        Reply

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