"When Lowell [George] and I first got together," Little Feat co-founder Bill Payne remembered to author Bob Mehr in 2022, "our philosophical discussions became about what kind of band we want to be in.  We're not going to be a blues band...but we'll play some blues. We're not going to be a country band...but we'll play some country.  The idea was that it was supposed to be eclectic and not just one thing."  That ethos guided Little Feat for seven studio albums on Warner Bros. Records through 1979 including one released shortly after the death of guiding light Lowell George.  Now, two of those beloved LPs are returning to CD and 180-gram vinyl in remastered and expanded editions from Rhino.  On June 23, Little Feat's second and third albums - Sailin' Shoes (1972) and Dixie Chicken (1973) - will return as 2CD and 3LP editions, anticipating a fall tour in which both albums will be performed in full on back-to-back evenings.

1972's Sailin' Shoes was the second album from the original Little Feat lineup of singer-guitarist Lowell George, drummer Richard Hayward, keyboard player Bill Payne, and bassist Roy Estrada. Producer Ted Templeman (Harpers Bizarre, The Doobie Brothers) helmed the LP which blended pop, rock, country, blues, and soul.  George penned and sung the majority of the album, though Payne contributed three songs (one of which, "Tripe Face Boogie," was co-authored by Hayward).  The album spawned numerous signature songs which would later be covered by the band's many fans, including "Sailin' Shoes" (Van Dyke Parks, Robert Palmer), "Easy to Slip" (Bob Weir, Black Crowes), "A Apolitical Blues" (Van Halen), and "Teenage Nervous Breakdown" (Nazareth).  The most famous, though, is "Willin," a re-recording of a Lowell George tune from Little Feat's debut.  The Byrds, Phish, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, and Mandy Moore have all sung the ode to "weed, whites, and wine" - as did Linda Ronstadt on her seminal 1974 album Heart Like a Wheel.

The upcoming expansion adds previously unreleased demos, alternate versions, and outtakes, as well as a newly unearthed and previously unreleased complete concert recorded at Los Angeles' Palladium on August 28, 1971. This live set, drawing on songs from both Little Feat and Sailin' Shoes, marks the only existing multi-track recording to feature the original lineup of the band.  The 2-CD and 3-LP sets include new liner notes by rock historian David Fricke.

With Dixie Chicken (1973), bassist Roy Estrada was out, and three new members were in: guitarist Paul Barrere, percussionist Sam Clayton, and bassist Kenny Gradney.  Joining George, Payne, and Heyward, the new six-piece unit broadened the Feat sound to encompass New Orleans-style R&B and funk; this lineup would remain stable through Lowell George's death and the band's first break-up.  George took the producer's chair for Dixie Chicken, writing or co-writing most of the songs.  George and Payne co-wrote "Lafayette Railroad," and Payne joined Barrere to write and sing "Walkin' All Night."  Musician Fred Tackett (who would join the reformed Little Feat in 1988 and remains a member today alongside Payne and Gradney) shared "Fool Yourself," while the band tapped the catalogue of New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint for "On Your Way Down."  Bonnie Raitt, Gloria Jones, Bonnie Bramlett, and Danny Hutton all contributed background vocals to the rollicking record; Wrecking Crew drummer Milt Holland appeared on Dixie Chicken as he had on Sailin' Shoes.

Numerous previously unreleased session recordings debut on the new expanded edition, including alternate takes of "Roll Um Easy," "On Your Way Down," and "Juliette." An unreleased live set from Paul's Mall in Boston was recorded on March 1, 1973 boasting tunes from Dixie Chicken ("Two Trains," "Walkin' All Night") and the band's previous two albums ("Willin'," "Got No Shadow.").  As on Sailin' Shoes, rarities from the 2000 Hotcakes and Outtakes box set round out the bonus material.  Onetime Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally has written the new liner notes.

Little Feat will launch The Albums Tour this fall celebrating both Sailin' Shoes and Dixie Chicken; they're currently touring with the Boogie Your Spring Away tour which will morph, as of July 12, into the Boogie Your Summer Away jaunt.

Both deluxe editions on two CDs or three 180-gram LPs hit stores on June 23.  You'll find the track listings and pre-order links below.

Little Feat, Sailin' Shoes: Deluxe Edition (Warner Bros. LP BS 2600, 1972 - reissued Warner/Rhino, 2023)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1: Original Album (2023 Remaster)

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"

CD 2: Hotcakes, Outtakes, Rarities

1. "Sailin' Shoes" - Demo *
2. "Easy To Fall" (early version of "Easy To Slip") - Demo for Doobie Brothers (first issued on Hotcakes and Outtakes, Warner Bros./Rhino R2 79912, 2000)
3. "Texas Rose Café" - Demo for Doobie Brothers (first issued on Hotcakes and Outtakes, Warner Bros./Rhino R2 79912, 2000)
4. "Cold, Cold, Cold" - Alternate Version *
5. "Roto/Tone" (first issued on Hotcakes and Outtakes, Warner Bros./Rhino R2 79912, 2000)
6. "A Apolitical Blues" - Alternate Version *
7. "Boogie" (early version of "Tripe Face Boogie") (first issued on Hotcakes and Outtakes, Warner Bros./Rhino R2 79912, 2000)
8. "Trouble" - Alternate Version *
9. "Doriville" (first issued on Hotcakes and Outtakes, Warner Bros./Rhino R2 79912, 2000)
10. "Willin'" - Alternate Version *
11. "Easy To Slip" - Mono Single Version (Warner Bros. promotional single WB 7553, 1972)

Thank You! I'll Eat It Here: Live at the Palladium, Los Angeles, CA (8/28/71)

12. "Tripe Face Boogie" *
13. "Hamburger Midnight" *
14. "Cat Fever" *
15. "Willin'" *
16. "Strawberry Flats" *
17. "Got No Shadow" *
18. "Texas Rose Café" *
19. "Snakes On Everything" *
20. "Hot Rod" *
21. "Teenage Nervous Breakdown" *

Little Feat, Dixie Chicken: Deluxe Edition (Warner Bros. LP BS 2686, 1973 - reissued Warner/Rhino, 2023)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
3LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1: Original Album (2023 Remaster)

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"

CD 2: Hotcakes, Outtakes, Rarities

1. "Two Trains" - Demo
2. "Fat Man In The Bathtub" - Demo
3. "Walkin' All Night" - Alternate Version *
4. "Roll Um Easy" - Alternate Version *
5. "On Your Way Down" - Alternate Version *
6. "Eldorado Slim" (first issued on Hotcakes and Outtakes, Warner Bros./Rhino R2 79912, 2000)
7. "Juliette" - Alternate Version *
8. "Hi Roller (Ace In The Hole)" (first issued on Hotcakes and Outtakes, Warner Bros./Rhino R2 79912, 2000)
9. "Dixie Chicken" - Alternate Version *

Icepick Eldorado: Live at Paul's Mall, Boston, MA (4/1/73)

10. "Two Trains" *
11. "Got No Shadow" *
12. "On Your Way Down" *
13. "Walkin' All Night" *
14. "Fat Man In The Bathtub" *
15. "Willin'" *
16. "A Apolitical Blues" *

(*) previously unreleased