Customer Reviews

Dixie Chicken

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

DIXIE CHICKEN is Little Feat's best album ever, perfecting the group's blend of Allman Brothers, New Orleans funk, country, and island influences. The opening title track is an interesting tale of Crescent City nightlife, and "Fat Man In The Bathtub" and "On Your Way Down provide unusual humor. This album was the template for artists ranging from roots-rockers such as Los Lobos and John Hiatt to even some of the dance music of today.

"Dixie Chicken" is, quite simply, Little Feat's masterpiece. The title track, and "Fat Man in the Bathtub," are probably the funkiest (and quirkiest) songs they ever wrote, but the whole album is a hearty stew of funk, blues, country, R&B, and good ol' rock & roll.

In short, this is American music at its best. Serious fans already own this disc, and for casual fans, it's the right place to start.

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

It was quite a complement to bassist Roy Estrada that when he left Little Feat to rejoin the Mothers, he should be replaced by no fewer than three musicians: a bassist, another guitarist and another percussionist. SAILIN' SHOES had been well-regarded but commercially unsuccessful (until its CD re-release). Lowell George continued to write songs about his drugs habit, which was getting worse: going from 'cocaine trees' to the 'Fat Man in the Bathtub'.

Paul Barrere auditioned on bass and failed. Thankfully George gave him a second chance -- this time, on guitar. Barrere's guitar noodles are vital to the Feat sound.

What overpowers me about this album is the barrage of excessively good tracks: no sooner have you got over the perfection of 'Dixie Chicken', than you have the intricate rhythms and guitar work of 'Two Trains' to handle. And then the acoustic marvel that is 'Roll Um Easy'. Outstanding tracks keep coming, and they still haven't reached either of my two favourites, the keyboards-led 'Kiss It Off' and the gorgeous love-song, 'Juliette'. The keyboards are excellent throughout this album. Malcolm Cecil, who introduced Stevie Wonder to the synthesizer prior to MUSIC OF MY MIND, provides the dominant instrumental contribution to 'Kiss It Off' (as he did on the Doobie Brothers' CAPTAIN & ME).

The album is a masterpiece, but commercially it dived, at least initially. Maybe it was something as crazy as the cover, which is one of Neon Park's plainest and least surreal, which failed to attract enough buyers. Warner Brothers didn't know what to do with the LP, later re-issuing it as a very cheap double LP with SAILIN' SHOES.

By the time that THE LAST RECORD ALBUM was released, people began to appreciate DIXIE CHICKEN's classic status. Lowell George could do no wrong -- at least on record -- and everyone seemed to want him on their album, including Robert Palmer, the McGarrigle sisters and Jackson Browne. It is simply a brilliant album, with a huge variety of styles, all smouldering within an undefinable New Orleans genre.

...stuff. And Little Feat has always been a cult classic because of the fact they didn't, and wouldn't, be pigeonholed into any genre. Without such definable music, the band had no other choice than to become rock's best-kept secret of the 1970s. Had the critics paid more attention to them, chances are their 1973 album DIXIE CHICKEN would rank not just as Little Feat's best, but one of rock's all-time greats. In some ways, it is, but it wasn't that way until their leader Lowell George passed away. At the time of DIXIE CHICKEN, George was the man in charge, even as his drug habit was beginning to get worse and slowly he would disappear from his own band, a la The Beach Boys. But he was still in top form as the classic title track shows. Probably Feat's best-known song, and their one true classic, it was a song even Garth Brooks could sink his teeth into. Other great George originals include "Fat Man In The Bathtub" (his heavily-veiled ode to his drug addiction), "Roll Um Easy" and "Two Trains". The prodigious mixture of R&B, blues, jazz, soul, and other non-white music genres will help even the most left-footed listeners get up and move. Even at this point, other Feat members including keyboardist Bill Payne and guitarist Paul Barrere were beginning to come into their own as songwriters. Their contributions "Walkin' All Night", the instrumental "Lafayette Railroad" and "Kiss It Off" manage to stand right alongside the top-notch George songs, and of course this would be called on a lot more when Lowell lost control of himself. In my opinion, a Little Feat album is often hit-and-miss, but never boring. But with DIXIE CHICKEN, it manages to keep your attention for the 37 minutes or so that it takes. And because it features other relative unknown legends of the time like Bonnie Raitt and Bonnie Bramlett performing on here, DIXIE CHICKEN is a great document of some of the most talented, yet painfully neglected musicians ever.

...stuff. And Little Feat has always been a cult classic because of the fact they didn't, and wouldn't, be pigeonholed into any genre. Without such definable music, the band had no other choice than to become rock's best-kept secret of the 1970s. Had the critics paid more attention to them, chances are their 1973 album DIXIE CHICKEN would rank not just as Little Feat's best, but one of rock's all-time greats. In some ways, it is, but it wasn't that way until their leader Lowell George passed away. At the time of DIXIE CHICKEN, George was the man in charge, even as his drug habit was beginning to get worse and slowly he would disappear from his own band, a la The Beach Boys. But he was still in top form as the classic title track shows. Probably Feat's best-known song, and their one true classic, it was a song even Garth Brooks could sink his teeth into. Other great George originals include "Fat Man In The Bathtub" (his heavily-veiled ode to his drug addiction), "Roll Um Easy" and "Two Trains". The prodigious mixture of R&B, blues, jazz, soul, and other non-white music genres will help even the most left-footed listeners get up and move. Even at this point, other Feat members including keyboardist Bill Payne and guitarist Paul Barrere were beginning to come into their own as songwriters. Their contributions "Walkin' All Night", the instrumental "Lafayette Railroad" and "Kiss It Off" manage to stand right alongside the top-notch George songs, and of course this would be called on a lot more when Lowell lost control of himself. In my opinion, a Little Feat album is often hit-and-miss, but never boring. But with DIXIE CHICKEN, it manages to keep your attention for the 37 minutes or so that it takes. And because it features other relative unknown legends of the time like Bonnie Raitt and Bonnie Bramlett performing on here, DIXIE CHICKEN is a great document of some of the most talented, yet painfully neglected musicians ever.

It's great to see that the Feats still maintain an audience after many of their 70's rock bretheren have become pitchmen for new golf hardware or mutual funds. Just don't call them a "Southern Rock" band and please don't compare them to the Dead; their sound transcends both. Just as New Orleans as a city has a complexity of cultural influences and a cosmopolitan feel that make it more interesting than, say, Atlanta, Little Feat managed to create a workable hybrid using rythmic, lyric, and textural subtlety that put them in a category all their own. With the possible exception of Steely Dan they represented the pinnacle of American rock in the seventies. From the first bars of "Dixie Chicken" you know this is a potent and spicy mix of Big-Easy funk and blues-rock cooked up with the right amount of LA studio sheen. With their third album they found the right combination of personnel and their sound crystallized to a degree not found before or after. Even the inevitable, borderline "throw-away" songs (there's always a couple on any rock album, I won't mention which ones they are on this one) have enough musical interest that you won't lift the needle or hit the skip button. Strong throughout, this is a virtuoso band caught at the height of their powers; it's worth it just for "Fat Man in the Bathtub" alone. By the way, as someone who saw both Little Feat and the Grateful Dead perform live in the mid-seventies, I can say without question that the Feats actually had a sense of meter and structure and could really play their instruments (enough about that).

I enjoy this album. I give it only three stars because it is a bit uneven. Nonetheless, the strong tunes are smile provoking and easy to dance to. I find that a song like Dixie Chicken stays in my head for quite awhile. That guitar player sure can play, too. If you are interested in music based on New Orleans Jazz and American Southern Rock, or if you simply enjoy music that is fun to listen to, this album will be interesting to you.

...maybe. This, the first album from the reformed Little Feat, is a much looser, funkier album than "Sailin' Shoes" or their debut. This is attributed to the inclusion of bassist Kenny Gradney, guitarist Paul Barrere and precussionist Sam Clayton and their musical mixing input. "Dixie Chicken" is a watershed album and the title track "Two Trains" and "Fat Man in the Bathtub" are brillaint tunes. But the album is much more than just those three songs. "Walkin' All Night," "Roll Um Easy" and "On Your Way Down" are just as good (although I think "Juliette" is kind of a dud). What makes this album a winner, though, is the direction it pointed the group in. Never again would they be considered the non-southern southern rock band. They became a funky groove machine that played all styles of music and, by God, played them well. A perfect place to start.

While "Little Feat" and "Sailin' Shoes" are essential for Feat fans, this disc should be in everyone's collection. With the addition of Sammy, Kenny and Paul, these gentlemen found their groove and never lost it. Most name the title track, "Fat Man.." and "Two Trains" their favorites. My tastes lean towards the curios: "Kiss It Off", "Layafette Railroad" and "Walkin' All Night". While perhaps not as intense as later offerings, "Dixie Chicken" remains a strong entry (and some people's favorite) in the pages of Featdom. If you only buy one Feat disc, grab "Waiting For Columbus". But make this or "The Last Record Album" you're second choice.