Little Feat: Rooster Rag (Vinyl LP)

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Rooster Rag reveals the same sophistication of all post-Lowell George-era Little Feat releases, except that this sophistication sounds progressive, more like the band is having a good time making the music. Rooster Rag is the first recording without original drummer Richie Hayward, who passed away in 2010 from liver cancer. Longtime drum technician Gabriel Ford takes over the drumming duties; as with George's death in 1979, all would be okay, but thjings would never be the same. This album is something other than greater than the sum of it's parts. The blanket presence of Paul Barrere's underrated slide guitar causes this disc to reveal that these seasoned musicians can still draw from their peers. Payne/Hunter's Salome, Rag Top Down and Way Down Under, and Tackett's One Breath at a Time all bear the influence of slide guitarist Sonny Landreth's unique style, being assimilated by Barrere in his own slide guitar playing. Barrere does not merely imitate, as he is too great a guitarist for that. Rather, he incorporates Landreth's method to great effect. His distinctive vocals open the disc with the band's concert standard, Mississippi John Hurt's Candy Man Blues. the disc closes with percussionist Sam Clayton singing Willie Dixon's contribution to Little Walter Jacobs' Mellow Down Easy. This is a fine evolution of a respected American band. Candyman Blues, Rooster Rag, A Church Falling Down, Salome, One Breath at a Time, Just a Fever, Rag Top Down, Way Down Under, Jamaica Will Break Your Heart, Tattooed Girl, The Blues Keep Coming, Mellow Down Easy