Name: Rooster Rag
Brand: Rounder
SKU: 24424635
Availability: OutOfStock

Rooster Rag

Rating

Album: Rooster Rag
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Church Fallin Down	More Info...
2)	One Breath at a Time	More Info...
3)	Candyman	More Info...
4)	Blues Keep Comin	More Info...
5)	Mellow Down Easy	More Info...
6)	Rooster Rag	More Info...
7)	Salome	More Info...
8)	Just a Fever	More Info...
9)	Rag Top Down	More Info...
10)	Jamaica Will Break Your Heart	More Info...
11)	Tattoo Girl	More Info...
12)	Slippin and Slidin	More Info...

Performer Notes

For the better part of two decades, Little Feat have been a touring band that occasionally records, surviving the rough and tumble of the road and of life itself. Founding member Richie Hayward passed in 2010, by which time Gabe Ford had taken over his drumming duties, and 2012's Rooster Rag marks the first time Ford has anchored a Feat studio recording, but it's also the group's first collection of new material in almost a decade. The last was the 2003 Kickin' It at the Barn -- Join the Band, a star-studded stroll through their back pages, appeared in 2008 -- and Rooster Rag feels a bit more focused than that ambling affair, lacking some of the casual virtuosity of Kickin' but gaining the presence of Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, who co-wrote three tunes with Bill Payne here. Hunter's presence elevates "Rooster Rag," "Salome," "Rag Top Down," and "Way Down Under," giving the album an anchor of songs that feel fleshed out, not just amiable jams with words laid on top. To these songs, the strongest Feat have cut in many years, add a pair of strong blues covers (Mississippi John Hurt's "Candy Man Blues" taken as a shuffle," a cleanly funky version of Willie Dixon's "Mellow Down Easy"); a good, almost gritty rocker from Paul Barr‚re and Stephen Bruton in "Just a Fever"; and a pair of plain songs from Fred Tackett ("Tattooed Girl," "Church Falling Down") that he redeems with a pair of low-key charmers ("One Breath at a Time," "Jamaica Will Break Your Heart"). There's just enough mess to keep this aligned with Feat's ramshackle latter-day charms, but Rooster Rag doesn't stray too far from the path; it stays right on track, is relatively lean, and amply illustrates all of Little Feat's enduring charms. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Professional Reviews

Q (Magazine) (p.105) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he album hits its stride especially well on 'One Breath At A Time''s New Orleans-style funk and guitarist Fred Tackett's beautifully insouciant 'Tattooed Girl.'"

Mojo (Publisher) (p.97) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Paul Barrere's slide guitar and Tackett's mandolin are sublime, as are the legendary rhythm section of bassist Kenny Gradney and percussionist Sam Clayton..."