Little Feat - Time Loves a Hero

Japanese limited edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork. Album Description

Not bad- but Little Feat were better than this

This album suffers from minimal input from the "big toe" Lowell George, who pulled a Jim Morrison during the recording sessions and only showed up on occassions. Therefore the rest of the Feat had to fill the void, even using synthesizers to simulate the sound of George's signature slide guitar on some tracks, like the solo on "Rocket in My Pocket". That's my biggest complaint with this one, LG's brilliant guitar playing is practically non-existent. It may have actually saved the jazz-fusion tracks "Dog Day at the Races" & "Red Steamliner" from mediocrity. As they are, they're cringe-inducing and unlistenable to me. The synthesizers have run amok on those two particular tracks. Fortunately the rest of the disc doesnt suffer. The title track "Time Loves A Hero", "Keepin' Up with the Joneses", and the simple acoustic guitar closer "Missin' You" being the real standouts, and exemplary of the clasic Little Feat sound, before complacency began to set it and the gradual decline of one of the greatest American bands. July 26, 2008

The best Lttle Feat recording

I have listened to all of the LF recordings and have seen them perform 3 times over a period of 15 years. What makes Time Loves a Hero special is its appeal to a broad audience. I played Day at the Dog Races during a guest DJ slot on a jazz radio station and stumped everyone. When I revealed the artist there was an initial sense of shock from the listeners but the overall response was very good.
I love the Feat and wish they would record more music like Time Loves a Hero. October 19, 2007

one of a kind

I'm not a big Little Feat fan, but I really like lots of guitar jamming and jazz fusion, and lately that's the kind of music I've been listening to.

Time Loves a Hero captures exactly the kind of music I'm interested in. Even though I haven't heard the entire thing, the songs I have heard really opened my eyes to the band. Going in a jazzy direction helped keep their songwriting fresh and enjoyable. I really like it. June 17, 2007

NOT WHAT I HOPED FOR IN THIS LONG-AWAITED REMASTER

I had high hopes for this recent remastered re-release of the entire Lowell George-era Little Feat catalog.

As Warner Brothers domestically has never bothered itself, other than the 2000 Rhino box set, to bring the LF catalog properly into the digital world, the announcement a few months ago of the Japan release was a pleasant and exciting surprise.

Unfortunately, upon arrival, I found the Japan mastering to be a major disappointment.

Rhino did a pretty good job on their set, but the highs, especially the clarity in the percussion, were lackluster. As LF's powerhouse rhythm section is one of the band's greatest trademarks, this was always a lamentable aspect of the box.

On the 2007 Japan mini-sleeve version of "Time Loves A Hero", the missing highs & clarity are there, but the midrange is severely compromised.

All of Japanese editions of the earlier studio albums exhibit the same discrepancy, in varying degrees, when compared against the box discs. It's barely noticeable when A/B'ing tracks from the first album, but the midrange deficiency grows progressively more pronounced as you move chronologically thru the catalog. Obviously, as recording progressed, more care and time to the production and engineering was given to each successive recording, so the better the source material, the more the pronounced the midrange anomaly becomes.

On "Time", it's just glaring. The warm richness of tone on the Rhino is completely missing in the 'sleeve edition. It's like the music is emanating from an FM-band radio with the treble boosted.

The 'sleeve version of "Waiting For Columbus" is the same exact fabulous-sounding expanded-track remaster set that Rhino released in 2002. As that is the jewel of the LG-era catalog, that's a welcome relief.

So, listening to the great LF studio catalog is actually more frustrating than ever, given the choice between diminished clarity and detail or a compromised midrange. Argggh.

Yes, they all sound better than the crappy old WB domestic individual CD's, but it's a tepid endorsement I proffer. This is something you usually don't see on the Japanese remasters, so it's an expensive disappointment. However, I'll be keeping the 'sleeve set, as the great Neon Park artwork brings back fond memories.

In 1978, I attended a pre-show WB party for the band at the top of the Washington Plaza hotel before their Paramount Northwest appearance, for which I had front-row seats, a fantastic show. All of the band members were in attendance at the party, except for Lowell George. It was explained later he was still recovering from a hepatitis bout three weeks before, and needed to rest.

The party was a quiet, relaxed, low-key affair with a fabulous panoramic view of the Seattle Harbor and Olympic Mountains. Each of the band members graciously signed the inside gatefold of my "Waiting For Colombus" album cover. Years later, I remembered thinking that except for Emmylou Harris, those cats were the nicest people I ever met in my three years in "the business".

I had replaced the two factory LP's with great-sounding white label vinyl test pressings supplied by a friend in the Tukwila WEA office. I still have that set today; it's one of my most prized possessions from that era, and I'll never let it go.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 13.5MM X 13.5MM cardboard-sleeve, precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, everything else packaged with the original LP is precisely replicated and included, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and die cuts. An English-language lyric sheet is also included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have Japan-dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2 or K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "OBI" ("oh-bee"), a Japan-language promotional strip. The OBI often also lists the original album's release date, the Japan street date of that particular disc, the catalog number, and mastering info. Bonus tracks are always only listed on the OBI, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork.

The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake copies of Japan `sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Also, there are older Japan mini-sleeve releases that have been supplanted with newer ones, usually with updated audio (such as JVC-Japan replacing older K2-mastered titles with new K2HD mastered releases).

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common with some of the Japanese companies (but, again, not always). Mini-sleeve collecting can get expensive quickly, so, if you're a novice, it is highly advisable to seek the advice of an experienced `sleeve collector! May 31, 2007

An album that hasn't aged well ...

It's a common enough story in popular music: backing band with aspirations pushes out front man in decline. Only insiders will ever know whether Lowell George jumped or was pushed from the creative heights to which he led Little Feat in the Dixie Chicken era. This album certainly occupies a much lower place, in which, as another reviewer put it, jazz-rock noodling and synthesizers replace the "country with a funky beat" that (for me) defines the `real' Little Feat.

By the time of this album, Little Feat was effectively two bands: one backing Lowell George's synthesis of rock, country, and funk; and another without him, dabbling in now-dated 70s-style fusion with little lasting appeal. Some people like either or both of these versions, but not me: I'd take a few cuts from this one, ignore then next two, and leave Dixie Chicken in my CD changer permanently. October 13, 2006

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