Willin' (Little Feat) (LP 3011 - 3020)

Little Feat  Sailin' Shoes (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1972) *****  

Little Feat  Dixie Chicken (CD, Warner Bros Records, 1973) ***** 

Little Feat  American Cutie (Vinyl, Let them eat vinyl Records, 2013) ***

Little Feat  Feats Don't Fail Me Now (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1974) ***** 

Little Feat  The Last Record Album (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1975) ***

Little Feat  Time Loves A Hero (CD, Warner Bros Records, 1977) ***

Little Feat  Waiting For Columbus (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1978) *****

Little Feat  Down On The Farm (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1979) ***

Little Feat  Hoy-Hoy! (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1981) *****

Little Feat  Let It Roll (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1988) ****

Genre: Rock 

Places I remember: Second hand shop, MyMusic Taupo, Marbecks Records.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Dixie Chicken

Gear costume: Long Distance Love, Willin'

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I love Little Feat. I love the idea of them.

Are you kidding me? A slide guitarist, a writer and singer like Lowell George; a pianist like Bill Payne; a natural funkiness and those quirky songs! Pure joy listening to the boys when they play.

Sailin' Shoes is their second album and a triumph. So many stone cold classic Little Feat songs on this album: Tripe Face Boogie; Willin'; Apolitical Blues; Cold Cold Cold and the title track.

Third album, Dixie Chicken is another 5-star classic album. More classic Little Feat songs: Fat Man in the Bathtub; Roll Um Easy; Two Trains, Juliet and the title track. Immense!

The change in personnel for this album (Roy Estrada replaced by Kenny Gradney, Paul Barrere and Sam Clayton in) helped create the signature funky Little Feat sound that Lowell was after.  As one critic said, "It all adds up to a nearly irresistible record, filled with great songwriting, sultry grooves, and virtuosic performances that never are flashy".

American Cutie is a live document from 1973 released in 2013. It was recorded at Ebbets Field, Denver, Colorado 19th July 1973 and the quality of the sound is excellent.

Although, the performances are a bit loose as the band is in transition in 1973 with those few changes in the lineup (detailed above). Nevertheless, the versions of Willin', Dixie Chicken/ Tripe Face Boogie and Fat Man in a Bathtub are terrific.

Next studio album, Feats Don't Fail Me Now, was another classic (the streak showed no sign of ending with this album). The stage is set from the off with the pure Little Feat funk of Rock and Roll Doctor. From there it's an embarrassment of riches: Oh Atlanta; Cold Cold Cold/Tripe Face Boogie; The Fan, and the title song (again).

That streak had to end somewhere - no one outside of The Beatles has been able to sustain quality over the length of their career. The Last Record Album from 1975 was stretching their resources a bit thin, but it still contained a few dynamite songs, including Long Distance Love.

Time Loves A Hero is a weird one. There are a few strong songs - Old Folks Boogie and the title track, but Lowell is largely absent from this one - leaving it to the rest of the band. His drug ordeals are well known but he was also in disagreement about what sounds the rest of the band wanted to make.

The live album, Waiting For Columbus, is the real deal. Four sides of prime Little Feat with all their greatest songs. It's recorded during 1977 gigs and shows the band could certainly rise to the occasion in concert.

My key memory of this is playing it a lot while living on my own in the Windmill Road flat while going to Teachers' College a few streets away.

It's a lot better than the other live album from 1973 that I've featured above. The band are locked in and the arrangements are perfect. Many definitive versions of their songs like Fat Man In A Bathtub and Dixie Chicken are on display. All of the Time Loves A Hero songs now sparkle!

The album proves beyond doubt that Little Feat were one of the primo live bands of their era. 

Back to the studio they went for Down On The Farm and while it's a game of two halves (side 1 is far superior to side 2) they still show they can turn it on when they have to.

Unfortunately, this album was completed after Lowell's untimely death from a heart attack. He had been distracted by recordings for his solo album, Thanks I'll Eat It Here and so wasn't too involved in Down On The Farm.

It does contain two of my favourite Little Feat songs - Six Feet Of Snow and the title track.

Hoy-Hoy! is a double compilation of various outtakes, live versions and some intriguing unreleased songs from the archives. 

I love these kinds of anthologies when they are done well and Hoy-Hoy! is a superb set that came out two years after the band broke up following Lowell's death. It's great for those who know the band well, but it also serves as an excellent introduction to the joys of Little Feat.

The AllMusic critic sums it up well - 'Hoy-Hoy! is a bit scattered, a bit incoherent, a little bewildering, and wholly delightful -- a perfect summation of a group filled with quirks, character, and funk, traits which were as much a blessing as they were a curse'.  

The remnants regrouped in 1988 for another go around with Craig Fuller, the founding member of Pure Prairie League, in effect taking the Lowell George role - as composer and lead singer. Fred Tackett also joins the group as a guitar foil for Paul Barrère. 

It's an excellent album. Their best studio album since Feats Don't Fail Me Now. The title track is again a standout, and Hate To Lose Your Lovin' kicks off the album in spectacular fashion. 

Unfortunately, they weren't able to sustain this standard post Let It Roll, so I haven't bothered with any subsequent Little Feat albums.

Where do they all belong? I'll need to add their first album to my wants list.

Pay the man (David Lindley) (LP 3009 - 3010)

David Lindley  El Rayo-X (CD, Elektra-Asylum Records, 1981) ****  

David Lindley and El Rayo-X  Live (Vinyl, Asylum Records, 1983) ***

Genre: NZ Music, pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Bye Bye Love

Gear costume: She Took Off My Romeos

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Fun is the operative word here as David Lindley takes a turn in the spotlight.

Jackson Browne lends a hand and co-produces with Greg Ladanyi plus provides some background vocals, but this is very much Lindley's show.

In a similar way to Ry Cooder, the cover version approach works well, as Lindley is not known as a songwriter and only cowrites two songs. He manages to provide fresh approaches to well-known songs like Twist and Shout, and Bye Bye Love. Other songs are less well known but the similar musical style makes the album a coherent whole.

The live mini album (it has 3 songs a side) works well as a live document. Again - fun - is the operative word.

Where do they all belong? A nice side-bar to his work with Graham Nash and especially Jackson Browne.

Heavenly (Lighthouse Family) (LP 3006 -3008)

Lighthouse Family  Ocean Drive (CD, Wildcard Records, 1995) ****  

Lighthouse Family  Postcards From Heaven (CD, Wildcard Records, 1997) *****  

Lighthouse Family  Whatever Gets You Through The Day (CD, Wildcard Records, 2001) *****  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: The Warehouse

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Raincloud

Gear costume: Lifted

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I have a real soft spot for Tunde and Paul Tucker's 'band' - in reality a talented duo. Tunde is the vocalist, Paul is the songwriter of Lighthouse Family.

They only made three albums*, but each one is brilliant and chock full of hits, hooks, melodies and Tunde's amazingly soulful voice. I've written about them on my Destination Records blog as Greg nominated their Greatest Hits album one week.

Ocean Drive was their debut and with Lifted as track one side one, it kickstarted the album and their career.

Album number 2 - Postcards From Heaven continued the upward trajectory

with singles Raincloud, Lost in Space and High. Plus, Question of Faith and the title track. They were on a roll!

Whatever Gets You Through The Day made it three great albums in a row. Hits/ singles from this one were I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be) Free / One, Run and Happy.

I still get a joyful buzz (Lifted, if you will) from listening to Lighthouse Family.

Where do they all belong? *Blue Sky in Your Head is a reunion album from 2019 - must have a listen to it on Spotty.

Only a year (Lick The Tins) (LP 3005)

Lick The Tins  Blind Man On A Flying Horse (CD, Mooncrest Records, 1986 - re-released CD from 1991) ****  

Genre: Folk, folk rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Can't Help Falling In Love

Gear costume: Belle Of Belfast City

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Lick The Tins was a UK folk-rock band in the mid-eighties who only released the one album before disbanding - seems the flying horses went in four different directions.

Lick The Tins were:

• Alison Marr – vocals, penny whistle
• Ronan Heenan – vocals, guitar
• Simon Ryan / Martin Hughes – drums
• Aidan McCroary – bass, keyboards

All very curious because this is a great album, with a unified folk sound.

I first heard the band on a folk sampler and fell heavily for their version of Can't Help Falling In Love. This is a great song with terrific versions from Elvis, Andy Williams, and now Lick The Tins.

The rest of the album is good without living up to that song's commercial potential. Belle From Belfast City and In The Middle of the Night are both terrific songs with great hooks. Elsewhere the various male and female voices get chances to show their wares.

Where do they all belong? A great one off!

Happy (Jenny Lewis) (LP 3000 - 3004)

Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins  Rabbit Fur Coat (Vinyl, Team Love Records, 2006) ***  

Jenny Lewis  Acid Tongue (CD, Rough Trade Records, 2008) ****

Jenny Lewis  The Voyager (Vinyl, Warner Records, 2014) *****

Jenny Lewis  On The Line (Vinyl, Warner Records, 2019) ****

Jenny Lewis  Joy'all (Vinyl, Warner Records, 2023) *****

Genre: Alt pop 

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Acid Tongue; Heads Gonna Roll (On The Line)

Gear costume: Late Bloomer (The Voyager)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: The honour of kicking off the next 1000 records in my collection goes to Jenny Lewis. She is worthy!

Her first solo album (away from indie rock band Rilo Kiley) was with The Watson Twins. It is a typically assured effort on her part, and although she hasn't quite found her voice yet (that would happen on her next album), there are hints. Highlights are the title song and her cover of Handle Me With Care.

Acid Tongue is another step forward in confidence and execution. I mean, she even has a duet with Elvis Costello on the album. The material is still a little inconsistent, but the title song is both inventive and a pointer forward. Overall, she emerges as a creditable singer-songwriter with worthwhile stories to tell.

The six-year break between albums was useful because The Voyager is her first 5-star effort. Everything jells on this album, as highlights come thick and fast without any duds! The subject matter seems autobiographical as she examines/reflects on herself midlife and musically I like the description by one critic - Guitars roam wide-open spaces, couched in luxurious reverb and draped in strings; the rhythms often follow cool, steady eighth-note pulses; the surfaces always shimmer.

Her fourth solo album, On The Line, came five years after The Voyager, but given the similar cover shot, it seems a companion to it. It feels a bit more world weary than the brightness of The Voyager. Lead off song Heads Gonna Roll sets that vibe off. I love this record as it forms a different look.

The latest, Joy'All, feels a more flippant effort in comparison. The cover gives the clue with a 1970's knock-off image but don't be fooled - music this good takes work. The happy positivity of the title carries over to the songs. I also enjoy the more stripped back music on this one - definitely a second 5-star effort.

Where do they all belong? Always keen to see what she comes up with next.

I am a rabbit (Lemonheads) (LP 2997 - 2999)

Lemonheads  Lick (CD, Taang! Records, 1989) ***  

Lemonheads  It's a Shame About Ray (CD, Atlantic Records, 1992) ***** 

Lemonheads  Car Button Cloth (CD, Atlantic Records, 1996) ***

Genre: Punk rock, Alt rock 

Places I remember: Hope Collection; Kings Recording (Abu Dhabi)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: It's a Shame About Ray

Gear costume: Luka (Lick)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I am not that conversant with the world of Lemonheads. In my head Lemonheads equals Evan Dando as he's the only constant in their world. 

I obtained these three CDs in reverse order. First was Car Button Cloth, followed closely by It's a Shame About Ray. Both were bought while I lived in Al Ain.

Those two albums are dominated by Dando and display a great alt rock melodic tendency. Evan Dando has a terrific voice, so I found these two CDs very easy to like while living in the Middle East.

Ray is a brilliant alt pop/rock hooky album - the best of the three. Car etc is a bit too hit and miss for my tastes.

Lick came to me eventually and it's a pretty schizo record - equal parts Dando and punk rock squall from his soon to be departed foil - Ben Deily. This explains why I like the other two CDs more.

There are no acoustic guitars on Lick, and it's pretty easy to figure out which are Dando songs or Deily songs.

Best moment on it by far is their ripper version of Luka.

Where do they all belong? I do listen to Ray and Car Button Cloth still - their bright sounds are infectious.

Lay me back (Lee/ LeFevre) (LP 2992 - 2996)

Alvin Lee & Mylon LeFevre  On the Road to Freedom (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1974) ***  

Alvin Lee & Co  In Flight (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1974) ***  

Alvin Lee  Rocket Fuel (Vinyl, RSO Records, 1978) ****  

Alvin Lee  RX5 (Vinyl, Avatar Records, 1981) ****  

Alvin Lee  Keep On Rockin' (CD, Seagull Records, 2000) ****

Genre: Country rock, rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, Chaldon Books and Records, Amoeba Records, Melbourne record shop, The Warehouse.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: So Sad (No Love of His Own) - Hari Georgeson's song and he's playing guitar on it. (On the Road to Freedom)

Gear costume: The Devil's Screaming  (Rocket Fuel)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Alvin's first solo album away from Ten Years After is a laid back country rock affair with US gospel rock musician Mylon LeFevre and some famous guests, including George Harrison, Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Ron Wood and Mick Fleetwood. So the music is superb!

Alvin downplayed the album at the time as, "[not] a commercial effort, just an LP recorded at home with some neighbours". Some neighbours!!

I like the fact that he tried something different, but he is a bit of a shadowy presence on the album. It's kind of anti- TYA music so there is none of Alvin's guitar flash evident. Instead, it's some very tasteful country rock.

Star turn is the George Harrison song - So Sad. George plays some brilliant slide guitar on it.

Still in 1974 and still a million miles away from TYA, In Flight is a double live album featuring some of the same musicians (although none of the famous neighbours). Alvin is in playful mode - some old rock and roll numbers and nothing from his album with LeFevre.

Mel Collins is the featured player on many of these songs and he doesn't disappoint on flute or sax. 

Rocket Fuel sees Alvin back in a rock band format, rather than with guests. Styled as Ten Years Later, the band is essentially a trio with Tom Compton (drums) and Mick Hawksworth (bass).

It's a really good set of songs and Alvin is on top form as Somebody Waltz indicates (sadly the album is not on Spotify). The trio is a format that suits him.

RX5 uses an expanded personnel (which includes Chris Stainton on keyboards) and Tom Compton retains the drum stool position. 

Given it's the eighties, Alvin and the band crank it up superbly right from the off, and maintain the energy levels throughout. It's impressive and almost gives me back some faith in the eighties as a musical decade. Almost.

Keep On Rockin' is a mightily impressive set as well. It comes as a double CD- Volume 1 and 2. Like his first album with LeFevre, there are some notable guest stars along the way, including Hari Georgeson again on three songs - some lovely slide guitar from George. Others include Clarence Clemons, Jon Lord, and Sam Brown.

Given it's a really long double CD (23 songs), the high quality is maintained well. When the band is on they are flying!! Apart from the title song, there are plenty of highlights including: Ain't Nobody's Business (an Alvin Lee song); The Bluest Blues; Boogie All Day; and I Want You (She's So Heavy) - his cover of Lennon's song is a guitar blitzkrieg.

Where do they all belong? Always keen to pick up anything by Alvin Lee (who died unexpectedly, aged 68, in 2013), although I'm not a completist. That said, there's a lot more coming when we get to Ten Years After - one of my favourite bands.

Dazed and confused (Led Zeppelin) (LP 2978 - 2991)

Led Zeppelin  Led Zeppelin (CD and vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1968) *****  

Led Zeppelin  Led Zeppelin II (CD and vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1969) ****  

Led Zeppelin  Led Zeppelin III (CD and vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1970) *****  

Led Zeppelin  Led Zeppelin IV (four symbols) (CD and vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1971) *****  

Led Zeppelin  BBC Sessions (CD, Atlantic Records, 1997) ***** 

Led Zeppelin  House of the Holy (vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1973) ** 

Led Zeppelin  Physical Graffiti (CD and vinyl, Swan Song Records, 1975) ****  

Various  Physical Graffiti Redrawn (CD, Mojo Magazine, 2015) *** 

Led Zeppelin  Presence (CD and vinyl, Swan Song Records, 1976) **** 

Led Zeppelin  In Through the Out Door (vinyl, Swan Song Records, 1979) *** 

Led Zeppelin  Coda (vinyl, Swan Song Records, 1982) ****   

Jimmy Page Robert Plant  No Quarter (CD, Fontana Records, 1994) ***

Various  Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin (CD, WEA Records, 1995) ***  

Led Zeppelin  Celebration Day (CD and DVD, Swan Song Records, 2012) ****  

Genre: Rock

Places I remember: CD's from The Warehouse; vinyl - LZ, II, IV DJ Records in Otahuhu, III - music shop in Onehunga Mall, House of The Holy - David Jones Dept Store Sydney, Physical Graffiti - St Lukes' music store, PG Redrawn - Mojo Magazine, Presence/ In through The Out Door/ Coda - Marbecks Records; No Quarter/ Encomium - Hope's Collection; Celebration Day - JB Hi-Fi.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: How Many Times (LZ); Black Dog (IV)

Gear costume: Out On The Tiles (III), Archilles Last Stand (Presence)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Hunker down! I have a lot of albums by this band as they were a teenage obsession for me - one of the first bands that felt like mine and mine alone. 

Led Zeppelin III was my first taste, then the four symbols album, then I needed to back track to the debut and LZ II. By then I was gone-burger.

Led Zeppelin's debut album came out in 1968! I still find that a remarkable fact. It sounds so fresh and so damned heavy! And it's 1968!! I have touched on this album before in the blog, but it needs repeating - this is a remarkably assured debut album by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and two relative newbies - John Bonham and Robert Plant.

Every song on it is a classic and it holds up. I still get a visceral thrill out of songs like Good Times Bad Times and How Many Times.

I played Led Zeppelin II a lot in the early seventies. It has some classic songs on it - Whole Lotta Love, The Lemon Song, and Ramble On all still retain their magic. For me, it is an uneven album though, with some songs not of the same standard as those three. And it has Bonzo's solo vehicle - Moby Dick, on it.

Led Zeppelin III was, as I said, my introduction to the band back in 1971. There was a copy for sale in a music store in Onehunga that I used to visit when my mum was shopping there. I was fascinated by the cover and I must have read about the band already in Sounds. So I bought it (remember this is back in the day when I saved and scrutinised music magazines, so a purchase was a special event).

I was gob smacked! The Immigrant Song still thrills me (the opening tracks on the first four albums are all killers). The rest of the album fires along either on beds of acoustic guitars or an almost punk attitude (Bonzo's drumming is exceptional on Out on the Tiles) or else exotic sounds. It is like no other record ever. The production on this 5-star classic album is unparalleled.

I can still feel the thrill of getting home from school and seeing their fourth album, a.k.a. four symbols or four runes, on my bed where dad had left it for me (having bought it for me from DJ Records, close to where he worked in Otahuhu). 

Black Dog remains a favourite all these years later. Putting the needle down on it still charges me up and transports me back to my 13-year-old self. I turn this one up really loud! 

The album is yet another 5-star classic - every track is a masterclass in heavy blues rock. Plus, it has Stairway To Heaven on it - one of their most popular songs.

The BBC Sessions double CD shows the band off as a brilliant live act. They adapt songs for the live setting with great effect and given they are, like The Who, a power trio with an awesome singer, they make one heck of a racket.

Special mention to Robert Plant - he really is good isn't he! He has his lemon squeezed well and truly throughout these 1969 live sessions for Top Gear and other BBC sources on CD1 and the live in London 1971 set on CD2. Remarkable music and a must listen!

In 1973 our family made a trip to Sydney and, naturally, I had a shopping list with me (Moody Blues and Deep Purple were on it too). I was super excited to buy Houses of the Holy but when I got it home in Auckland, I was really disappointed. I still struggle to connect with a lot of this album. It sounds too light and flimsy to me.

It certainly doesn't pack the brutal wallop of IV or the earthiness of III, or the superior blues rock of I. Instead, Robert's singing and Jimmy's tone is higher, or else they are experimenting with different textures. They obviously needed to get this out of their system because the next album was back to their core strengths.

Physical Graffiti is a sprawling double album that I think would have been a killer single. These days they would have put it out with an album of outtakes. There are some great moments on it, but I struggle to listen to it all the way.

The great moments: The Rover; Trampled Underfoot; Kashmir; Down by the Seaside (yes, a weird one, but I love it).

In 2015 Mojo Magazine put out Physical Graffiti Redrawn as a covermount CD - with various artists covering the album, and the disparate nature of the material is truly revealed. There are some great moments though: Blackberry Smoke's The Rover; Miraculous Mule's In My Time Of Dying; Max Jury's Down by the Seaside.

I still looked forward to Presence, and my faith was rewarded big time. The first track of each side - Achilles Last Stand and Nobody's Fault But Mine are jaw-droppingly awesome (they inspire awe so this is appropriate). Wow.

The rest of the album is close to that standard too. Bonzo is in full flight and the whole band is in top form to help him out - plus the material is there.

In Through The Out Door was their final studio effort from 1979. Bonzo died in 1980 and his death killed the band as a recording unit as well. 

In Through The Out Door is dominated by John Paul Jones and isn't as strong as previous albums with the exception of Houses Of The Holy, of course. Instead, the keyboard heavy sound is dense but lacks the presence of Presence in terms of crispness.

Coda, especially on side 1, is a much better swan song than Out Door (sorry). Bonzo is brilliant, Robert's vocals are superb, Jimmy is sublime and JPJ is at his most supportive over these tracks ranging from We're Gonna Groove 1969 to songs from 1978. Side 2 isn't as interesting but great to have as a historic document.

Jimmy and Robert reunited for the MTV UnLedded project (JPJ was apparently unaware of the project and not invited in any case). 

The programme (and this album) was recorded live in Morocco, Wales and London and features interesting LZ covers done in an unplugged fashion, plus some new songs with a Moroccan string band and some Egyptian musicians. It all jells brilliantly. 

Encomium: A Tribute to Led Zeppelin is uneven obviously - as with all of these kinds of cover albums. Hootie and the Blowfish do a great Hey Hey What Can I Do (an obscure B side that I've written about before) but none of these versions improve on the originals, mainly because they keep to the original arrangement in most instances.

BTW: Robert Plant and LZ fangirl Tori Amos tackle Down By The Seaside and go for a gothic feel which doesn't work IMHO.

And, deep breath, that's it. Some lows but some cracking highs make up the LZ catalogue. What's that? Oh - you're welcome!

Where do they all belong? I'm not a completist for the band so I haven't bothered with a few of the live albums released post Bonzo, except for the 2007 Albert Hall gig - Celebration Day, with Jason Bonham, which I've written about before. Oh, and a DVD of The Song Remains The Same film. My ears are still ringing from watching that in the movies with Greg Knowles back in the day. Brother, it was LOUD!