Little Feat - Down on the Farm

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

Definitely NOT Down and Definitely ON THE FARM...

Little Feat is such an unusually talented and funky band - probably one of the best American bands of all time. And I think that this is their strongest CD. Many Litte Feat songs have such incredibly complex rythmns and beats; they almost seem to not follow a steady beat, yet the songs are very tight and in their own way, are never off beat. Very unique songs! This CD, from 1979, was Lowell George's last, as he died right after the production. It has 4 very solid tunes - Perfect Imperfection, Front Page News, Straight From The Heart, and Wake Up Dreaming. I remember buying this album right after it came out and I played it to several friends - withing a month or so, all of them bought the album. Very high praise indeed - this a wonderful CD. You can't go wrong. June 24, 2006

For completists only

Down On the Farm would be Little Feat's final studio album to feature their leader Lowell George as the band would complete the release soon after his untimely death. While their previous release, Time Loves a Hero, showed an exciting new direction in fusion, Down on the Farm sounds like the band phoned it in. The great songs as well as their strong musical interplay were gone and a very glossy production didn't help matters.

The title track is the best song here and remains a staple of their live show. "Six Feet of Snow", which the band still performs in a much stronger bluegrass version, and "Kokomo" are the only other tracks you could all decent and would have been better if they weren't so overproduced. The rest of the album comes off sounding way too professional, kind of like when the Allman Brothers Band went adult contemporary in the early-80's. In fact, Lowell George's vocals sound very similar to Dickey Betts at times. The performances have very little passion and the album gets progressively worse from "Be One Now" to the end. Based on the fact that George's death was a severe blow to the band, you can forgive them for this release and the band would put out several strong albums after they regrouped in the late-80's. However, I would recommend this only to a diehard fan who wants to have their entire catalog.
May 25, 2006

An Often Underrated Album!

"Down on the Farm" was the last album to feature leadsinger, guitarist and songwriter Lowell George. Actually George had left the band before the album was finished, and sadly during a solo tour in 1979 he died from a heart-attack. George had always been the driving force in the band, but due to healthproblems ( drugs/alcohol) his position in the band had diminished after "Feats Don't Fail Me Now".

The previous album "Time Loves a Hero" had very little input from George and their musical style had become much more slick and and funky.

After George's death the other bandmembers decided to finish the album they had been working on before George left. Fortunately George had recorded vocals for most of the tracks, and he wrote 5 of the songs on the album. The album is often referred to as one of the weaker albums from the George era, a fact I never understood. It's no exaggeration that it's one my personal favourites.

George's vocals were never better and his songs are outstanding. "Be One Now" is simply heartbreaking. "Kokomo" and "Six Feet of Snow" are as good as anything on "Dixie Chicken" or "Feats". The title track written by Barrere is catchy and funky and featuring one his strongest vocal performances - I used to believe it was George singing.

Among the rest of the album's tracks "Straight From the Heart", written by George and Payne also deserves to be brought out.

The final two tracks could be the reason that the album as a whole is often underrated. They are nice tracks; a little too polished for my taste, with very litle, if any, input from George. Still a great album. May 12, 2005

Only for the greatest of Feat enthusiasts

This album was created using bits and pieces of an unfinished album found in Lowell's studio after his death. Be warned that Lowell never heard anything close to the final version of these songs. To credit him with co-production of "Down on the Farm" was a compliment to him at best and a commericial-backed white lie at worst. The truth is somewhere in between.

Having said the above, I'm still glad his buddies released it because it gave the world a few more nuggets of his slide work and amazing voice to hold onto in his absence. August 1, 2004

Some gems with a couple of misfires... but what gems!

Many people are bit hard on this album, Lowell George's last with the group before his untimely death. While it may not be as brilliant as "Dixie Chicken" or "Feats Don't Fail Me Now," it is a definite improvement over "Time Loves A Hero." This is largely because Lowell contributions to this album are much greater than the previous one. And the songs he has written or co-written are great. "Kokomo" and "Be One Now" are the George standouts and Barrere contributes one of his best songs, "Perfect Imperfection." "Six Feet of Snow" is the band's one foray into Zydeco and is pretty good, too. The only real misfires on this album are the overlong closer, "Feel the Groove," and "Wake Up Dreaming." "Front Page News" is alright and the title track is solid. This is maybe not the best Feat album but it ranks pretty closely with "Last Record Album" and even the weaker tracks are quite listenable. And, as always, Lowell's voice and slide guitar playing are gorgeous and the entire band plays brilliantly. January 17, 2004

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