Live in Holland 1976 is an ideal companion piece to the previously released Little Feat DVD Skin It Back recorded in Germany in 1977. On the latter, Lowell George was no longer titular leader of the group, but rather well into his withdrawal from that role as he acquiesced to the creative input of keyboardist Bill Payne and guitarist Paul Barrere (even to the point of leaving the stage during the instrumental “Day at the Dog Races”).
Watching and hearing Live in Holland, depicts how fully engaged Lowell George is in every aspect of the performance, even when he casually lights a cigarette just before his bottleneck formally introduces guitarist Paul Barrere’s “All That You Dream.” Far from the portly figure of his later years, George’s unpredictable blues-derived phrasing as he sings is right in line with the tantalizing slide guitar work with which he adorns the joyfully ramshackle movement of the group, all the details of which are captured in Steve Scoville’s edit from the original tapes.
George’s influence is such it cannot be coincidence then how naturally this music comes to the sextet. While it’s quite obvious the exertion drummer Richie Hayward expends to keep the bedrock rhythm moving, in line with that of percussionist Sam Clapton- whose congas pop around the sounds of his partner’s kit on the opener “Skin It Back”- the beat never stops as Little Feat slide into “Fat Man in the Bathtub.”
With two cuts from these recordings aren’t not included on the DVD (“One Love Stand” and (“Oh Atlanta), this medium is only slightly less representative of Little Feat at the arguable peak of their career, not just in terms of unified performance, but the recognizable style, derived from The Meters of New Orleans and the dirty blues of Howlin’ Wolf in equal measures in “Rock and Roll Doctor” and “Dixie Chicken.”
And if the Feats studio recording with that very titles captures this fully-formed approach with a clarity equal to this concert piece, it’s impressive in the extreme to hear pieces from that record. Earlier originals like “Cold Cold Cold” and tunes recorded subsequently like “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now,” carry a spontaneity deriving from melodic fillips from Bill Payne’s array of keyboards as well as Kenny Gradney’s rubbery bass.
Lowell George’s easygoing eccentricity permeated all of Little Feat at the time of this show at the Pinkpop Festival, nevertheless maintaining a camaraderie allowing Payne and Barrere to go back and forth in instrumental dialogue with the all the friendliness George and Barrere do later on. By the time of Skin It Back a year later, this continuity had cracked, leaving the band not exactly a shadow of its former self, but certainly not the formidable one on Live in Holland 1976.
One Response
Well written review. Thanks for the video.