But the lyrics and the song, of conveying meaning in the context of these extemporaneous whimsies make the difference. They can play for hours, as the average track time of six minutes attests. The band, more than ever, arguably can jam. It’s this songwriting ability which makes Kickin’ It at the Barn, Little Feat’s latest release successful. Likewise their songs were versatile and provided a decent accent to George’s dark dank dances of aperitifs, cheap alcohol, and bad cocaine the true stories of his “time”. Tracks such as “Time Loves a Hero”, “All that You Dream”, and “Oh Atlanta” prove Payne and Barrere could not necessarily match their savant hero George’s ability, but could at least tap into those spirits. Which meant Payne and Barrere had begun to spend their time extemporizing on the themes, waiting for George to appear or as irony would probably have it, waiting for Columbus.Īs songwriters the duo have often been undersold as well on Waiting for Columbus. Likewise, George also didn’t deem rehearsal time a decent use of “time”. Payne in interviews makes the comment that by 1975 George wasn’t around enough to tell them “yes” or “no” on given issues.
While the band’s improvisational spirit, their ability to play with the creativity of, say, the Grateful Dead but with the tautness of a really good band, was a direct reflection of Payne and Barrere incessant practicing. Keyboardist Bill Payne and guitarist Paul Barrere in particular were writing more adventurous material, which had a Steely Dan by way of Nawlins vibe. But even in listening to Waiting for Columbus the band’s other members were not just beginning to assert themselves but had started to gestate George’s brain trust. He was ridiculously talented, a synthesist of various sounds, endowed with a Frank Zappa influenced droll wit, and gifted with a tremendous set of lungs. The majority of the band’s great songwriting can be heaped with overflowing romantic panegyrics upon Lowell George. Which then reaches a contentious point regarding Little Feat’s success. The quintessential live album, mixing the Allman Brothers’ blues based jams with New Orleans rhythms, it also presented Lowell George’s swan song. Ask the common music epicure, and Little Feat reached their zenith with 1978’s Waiting for Columbus.
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