Little Feat – Dixie Chicken

• BanReport

Edited 3 years ago

By the time Dixie Chicken splintered my sunlight, little Feat were deep into their charm smokin ’ boogie pas seul of swamp rock ‘n’ roll, with an album on which Lowell George gives probably his best operation. The secrete comes across sounding effortless and close, full and warmly, with George infusing closely each song with his dry sense of humor.

All this leaves me to wonder why it is that little Feat have never reached the wide audience they were then deserving of, though possibly that had something to do with a continual shifting of personnel, with that shifting being noted in the expressions of the corporeal … however, by the time the album was put to bed, the ring had solidified, creating a persistent engagement of both music and verse.

Dixie Chicken is more lavishly produced, filled more fetid and about danceable rhythm than the slightly more raw Sailin’ Shoes, making it a laid back matter, particularly with especial guests that included Bonnie Raitt, along with a very alcoholic soulful backing scorch. Though the caption of this brilliant classic doesn ’ t end there, as the internalization of polyrhythmic tonalities learned from Frank Zappa, mix with a boiling swagger, reveal themselves and rain down nothing but bluff please at the most opportune moments.

With a huge align of New Orleans music experiences coming to fruition, Dixie Chicken closely enters the conceptual flat, fusing the album with therefore many musical variations that it sounds as if it could have been written by some wayfaring tramp-steamer Merchant Marine just back from from circumnavigating the earth.

Dixie Chicken wastes me nowadays ampere much as it did the first time it sat me down and showed me who was boss.

*** The Fun Facts : The birdcall, and the album ’ s entitle was taken from a chicken roast ad Dixie Chicken down in Laurel Canyon by Martin Kibbee, who wrote the song.

The artwork for the front cover was by illustrator Neon Park and is a citation to a occupation from the album ‘s third song, “ Roll Um Easy ”.

Little Feat intended to title the album Handcuffs & Accordions based on the Neon Parks painting. then it settle in, realizing that no one ’ s going to buy an album called Handcuffs and Accordions.

For those of you who wish the best quality, consider that Dixie Chicken was a great choice for a reissue from Mobile Fidelity but something ’ randomness gone terribly incorrectly hera sonically. The original production was not precisely a undimmed tinkling affair either, whoever engineered and mastered it is a mystery, as the accredit is a piece dim. Again, the original does have properly high frequency response, sanely sharply drawn cymbals, vocals and guitar transients. The Mobile Fidelity reissue is beyond dark, it comes across as thick and dense. I have no doubt Mobile Fidelity got hold of the headmaster tapes, but this record ‘s top end extension makes it sound as if it was sourced from a cassette played back on a machine with ailing aligned playback heads. You ’ ll find these same issues on the Waiting For Columbus Mobile High Fidelity ( second base ) reissue, where it besides leans toward dark and dull, particularly compared to the master Mobile Fidelity reprint, but one could argue that that one was besides bright and besides airy angstrom well.

Review by Jenell Kesler