Little Feat
Strike Up the Band
*** out of *****
The 17th studio album from the long running Little Feat, Strike Up The Band, is a mix of their previous rock and roll sounds and styles, with modern sensibilities. Recorded in Nashville with producer Vance Powell (Phish, Chris Stapleton, Jack White) the group touches on various genres as they roll through American popular music.
The current line up of Bill Payne on keys, Fred Tackett on guitars/vocals, Kenny Gradney on bass, Sam Clayton on percussion/vocals, Scott Sharrard on lead guitar/vocal and Tony Leone on drums/vox keep the classic bands sound alive but aren't beholden to any one style like they did on their fantastic previous album Sam's Place, which dove into the blues and deservedly got the band a GRAMMY nomination.
On Strike Up the Band, Little Feat take it all in and breath it out, never in a hurry. Opener "4 Days of Heaven 3 Days of Work" brings in a full group sound with horns and a deep groove, kicking the album off right. The track has a strong influence from The Band which pops up a few times throughout the record. The title track stays in this roots rock vein as well with mandolin plucking and Larkin Poe supporting on smooth backing vocals as Payne's piano sounds excellent while "Running Out of Time with the Blues" fells like a tune Robbie, Garth, Levon, Richard and Rick could have written themselves.
Little Feat has always had an affinity for the New Orleans sound and that groove shows up with hints of The Radiators and Jon Cleary during tracks like the get down shaking of "Midnight Flight" and the aptly named "Bayou Boogie". Closer "New Orleans Cries When She Sings" is a winning heartfelt ode to the town, starting as a piano ballad before exploding into a jubilant second line celebration, toasting the famous town.
The off beat, horn laden funk wiggles out with "Too High To Cut My Hair" which deploys a wicked trumpet solo and guitar work from Sharrad while the rollicking gypsy effort "Bluegrass Pines" is a tune co-written with Robert Hunter as Molly Tuttle, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams all come onboard to lend support. Both tunes are dynamite and show the bands wide range.
The album runs long and a few efforts aren't that successful. The mid-tempo "Hearts Fall" and the AOR love song "Love and Life Never Fear" both feel a tad undercooked. "Dance A Little" sticks around too long for what it offers while "Disappearing Ink" is fine but never goes anywhere. Perhaps editing out a few of these would lead to a tighter more successful end product.
However, with the top notch Sam's Place and now Strike Up The Band, this late era incarnation of Little Feat prove that while perhaps not quite up to the original group's heights, they are still worthy of checking in on as their roots rock and roll still delivers the goods.
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