Customer Reviews

Sailin' Shoes

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Group founder and driving force Lowell George again dominates Little Feat's sophomore effort, writing or co-writing eight of the album's eleven tracks, including classics like the radio-friendly "Easy to Slip" (although it failed to dent the charts), the funky "Cold, Cold, Cold," the slide guitar-driven "A Apolitical Blues," the bluesy "Sailin Shoes," the hard-rockin' "Teenage Nervous Breakdown" and the band's signature song, "Willin'," repeated here from their debut album in a fuller, meatier version. Another classic Little Feat number is the Payne-Hayward "Tripe Face Boogie." Overal this is one of their best studio efforts (bested only by the follow-up, DIXIE CHICKEN the following year). This is the fulfillment of the promise shown on their debut. Sharp songwriting, impeccable playing and passion in spades. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

our greatest living blues guitarist would not be a redhead.

This is definitely the album you need to start out with if your not famaliar with Little Feat. This album is strong from the first note to the last. This is an album, when on my stereo, has to be played from beginning to end. Do yourself a favor and buy this album, you'll thank yourself later!! Definitely a classic!!

What can I say? This is a prime time recording by the world's most overlooked band. Eleven songs and every one of them are well written and arranged superbly. Not to forget the influence that many of these songs had on future artists. Just listen to Teenage Nervous Breakdown. This particular may have a fast blues style but combined with the manic vocal delivery and the rebellious lyrics certainly offers a preview of alternative/new wave music. How about the stylings of Texas Rose Cafe and the varying shifts of voice and rhythm? Not to mention the appeal of Willing and A Apolitical Blues as thos songs were covered by Linda Rondstat and Van Halen respectively. There's a wide base.

The instruments really blend superbly between the guitars, keyboards, harmonicas, bass, drums, and more. Lyrics that touches your soul. The lead off track, Easy To Slip just keeps you aware that time is so fragile. Simply put, this recording has it all!

This is Little Feat's hardest-rocking record ever. It opens with the cautionary "Easy To Slip" and keeps on going...and going...and going. I can't really mention highlights, as SAILIN' SHOES should be taken as a whole.

After an undistinguished self-titled debut, Lowell George & Co. began building their signature sound on "Sailin' Shoes." The funk is there ("Easy to Slip"), and "Willin" goes from ho-hum country ditty to Americana classic. Only "Dixie Chicken" is better.

"Sailin' Shoes" is a classic that deserves a wider audience.

I can't say that I enjoy the bulk of Little Feat's music, but occasionally, a song is completely addictive, like Sailin' Shoes. I find one or two on each album that are worth the price because I listen to them over and over.

Ted Templeman produced two albums in 1972 of note: ... and"Sailin' Shoes" by Little Feat. ... the fact that thisalbum went ignored amazes me to this day.

It's a cliche, but theresimply isn't a bad song here. From the opening organ of "Easy toSlip," you're hooked. The album rocks up a storm and blows downthe house. "Tripe Face Boogie" makes you wanna get up anddance with the neighbors. "Trouble" is one of LowellGeorge's stranger and wittier works, and the remake of"Willin'" is why everybody knows this song 30 yearslater.

If you're not a musician, this is why every musician worthhis or her muster in the 70s bowed down to these guys. Check it out.

Always an avid fan of artists or bands that never quite made the big time, Little Feat is, in my opinion, one of the most influential of any of those unsung musicians. Some may ask what influence, but that's trying to answer the question of what genre to put Little Feat in? That's probably why Little Feat never rose above their cult following: in this music business built on categorization, Little Feat wouldn't play by the rules. Too bad, because SAILIN' SHOES is one of the greatest should-have-beens of the mostly formulaic decade of the 1970s. Clearly, the songs could easily have become radio successes in spite of the quirkiness (courtesy of leader Lowell George) that was the hallmark of their music. Songs like "Easy To Slip" and "Willin'" (surprisingly, a popular cover song in the '70s) are ordinary enough to have been recorded by anyone and resulted in a hit. But had Little Feat been hitmakers, they would have fallen into a rut, and that certainly was not going to happen with them. "Tripe Face Boogie", "Cold, Cold, Cold" and "Trouble" show that even if musically, Little Feat was a composite of many styles, their offbeat humor was one of a kind. Even though Lowell George was the band's creative leader at this early point, the rest of the band must have had tongue firmly in cheek while playing these songs which overflow with George's personality. A great deal of the songs on SAILIN' SHOES would become standards, but not of rock, just simply in Little Feat's concerts, where they seemed to reach their widest audience. Slowly, as time went on, Lowell George's output in Little Feat would diminish to almost nothing. But at this early point, Lowell was undoubtedly the leader of the band, and SAILIN' SHOES is the closest we get inside his head and his heart. And the music will certainly reach those parts of you, too.

Building on the brilliant musicianship of their excellent debut, Little Feat released their sophomore effort, "Sailin' Shoes," one of their finest efforts ever. A tightly constructed release with not a bum track in sight, "Sailin' Shoes" is an even better album than their debut partly because of the more relaxed nature that was on hand after the critical acclaim that was awarded "Little Feat." In this package, the Feat outdid themselves with a reworking of Lowell George's truck driving ballad "Willin'" and they also put down "Trouble," one of their best ballads ever. Also in the selection are the clever "Texas Rose Cafe (one of my favorites)," the concert staple title track and the radio hit "Easy To Slip." Alas, despite the strong critical acclaim, the poor sales contributed to one of the many Feat breakups and bassist Roy Estrada went back to the Mothers of Invention and then to Captain Beefheart's Magic Band. Remaining members Lowell George, Richie Hayward and Bill Payne pressed on...