New Music Tuesdays: Little Feat 'Rooster Rag'

Little Feat returns with Rooster Rag, their first album of new material since 2003’s Kickin' It at the Barn.  Rooster Rag is a solid effort from one of the hardest working and most grossly overlooked bands around.   

The highlight of the album are the four songs written by Little Feat’s Bill Payne and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter. These include the title track (a bluegrass romp with Bob Dylan and Levon Helm’s ace fiddle player, Larry Campbell) and “Way Down Under,” a rocker complete with vintage Hunter lyrics: “Jam down the throttle all the way/ To seventh heaven by break of day.”

Paul Barrere belts through the enjoyable “Just a Fever” while Fred Tackett takes a more serious approach with “One Breath at a Time.” Sam Clayton kicks it all into overdrive with his rendition of the Willie Dixon classic “Mellow Down Easy,” and Mississippi John’s Hurt’s  “Candy Man Blues,” a longtime staple of Little Feat’s live set, is finally included on a studio release.   

From start to finish, this is an excellent album and one that continues in the tradition of Little Feat’s perfect blend of rock, R&B, blues, and Americana and stands out among Little Feat’s best studio work since Chinese Work Songs.  


The Showbiz Kids Rating: 7 out of possible 10
-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids