Little Feat - The Last Record Album

Japanese Limited Edition Issue of the Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork. Album Details

The Long Goodbye

W.H. Auden said a hallmark of great artists is that they go through multiple significant career phases. Shakespeare, Beethoven, etc. But the trick if you're a rock band is that you've generally got to pull it off in six or eight years, before the drugs and the mania do you in. The Beatles, absolutely. Neil Young and the Horse, no doubt. Joni Mitchell...and, yes, Little Feat. Sailin' Shoes is incomparably fresh and crazy, Dixie Chicken both newly-funky and successfully ambitious, and The Last Record Album (in fact the last LF album before Lowell George's sad early death) is really great Rock Noir. This band is world-weary, road-weary and coked-over, but wiser and deeper in the groove for it. Dark, affecting, soulful and often just plain lovely--a fantastic record. September 13, 2008

Some of their finest work (4.5 stars)

This bluesy, rootsy band was at their best when they recorded the 32 minutes of this original album in studio. Lowell George, the lead singer, is in rare form for this album. This is one of his last recordings before his untimely death of a heart attack.

My favorites: "Romance Dance," "Down Below the Borderline" and "Mercenary Territory." Overall, the CD is very listenable--good for a drive or just to rock out the joint.

The last two cuts "Don't Bogart that Joint" and "Apolitical Blues" came as a bonus from their excellent live "Waiting for Columbus" CD. These live cuts are not quite in the spirit of the original, but they are good.

Rebecca Kyle, August 2008 August 3, 2008

"I'm Temporarily Qualmless And Sinking."

This is a great studio album from Little Feat, and while it is perhaps a bit of a transition album, Lowell George's guitar work is great, and his vocals are amazingly smooth throughout. The album is a bit inconsistent, and was short in its original configuration. Fortunately two tracks from the live "Waiting For Columbus" album flesh out the running length, although they are obviously thematically out of joint with the rest of the album.

The songwriting kudos get spread around quite a bit here: I am especially fond of "One Love Stand" written by Paul Barrére and Bill Payne, although I am not as fond of Barrére's "All That You Dream" or Payne's lengthy opus "Day or Night". For my money the best song on the album is without question "Mercenary Territory" where George's witty writing, smooth vocals, and guitar coalesce into a perfect musical masterpiece that justifies the purchase of the CD on its own.

Although this is not my favorite Little Feat CD, it is a treasured part of my audio library and I recommend it highly. July 31, 2008

A Masterpiece

This is probably the band's best studio album. It is just absolutely majestic. You have to be from another planet not to recognize that. Everything Little Feat did before it was amaturish in comparison. It's where they stopped sounding like a Grateful Dead clone. I have to say that without a doubt "The Last Record Album" is their masterpiece.
September 23, 2007

One of the best

First Ignore the clowns who talk about this album suffering from the decline of Lowell. That's pure HOGWASH. I saw the Band 5 times before and after and believe me when I tell you - you could see the point at which Lowell started to decline and it was at least several years after this album came out. I saw them right after this came out and he was trim, healthy and full of energy. I think this album displayed the synergy of the ensemble more than any of their albums before and after. The rhythm section is incredibly tight and the overall timing was fantastic. Lowell's lyrics are whimsical and humorous (rhyming mercenary with territory with story) and there are no weak songs. His slide playing is mind blowing as is the keyboard playing. This is one of the three 5 star albums they produced (Dixie Chicken and Feats don't fail me now are the others) and its scary to think what they would have done if Lowell had kept it together. BUY IT! July 9, 2007

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