Little Feat

Little Feat - Hoy-Hoy! - 1981 - Warner Bros. Records

Perhaps realizing that Down on the Farm wasn't the proper swan song for Little Feat, the group persuaded Warner Brothers to release a compilation of rarities and overlooked tracks as a swan song and farewell to fans. Filled with live performances, obscurities, album tracks, and a new song apiece from Bill Payne and Paul Barrere, Hoy Hoy is a bit scattered, a bit incoherent, a little bewildering, and wholly delightful -- a perfect summation of a group filled with quirks, character, and funk, traits which were as much a blessing as they were a curse. Hoy Hoy is one of those rare albums that may be designed for diehards -- who else really needs radio performances, early recordings from before the band was signed, and outtakes, especially if they're surrounded by early album tracks? -- but still is a great introduction for novices. That doesn't mean it's as good as such masterpieces as Sailin' Shoes, Dixie Chicken, or Waiting for Columbus, but it does capture the group's careening, freewheeling spirit, humor, and musical versatility, arguably better than any single album. That's one of the nice things compilations like this can do -- they can summarize what a band was all about in a way a straight studio album couldn't. So, that's why it may be a good gateway into the band for novices, even though it's missing such essentials as "Willin'" and "Fat Man in the Bathtub," but it's truly for the dedicated, who will not only love the rarities (and these live cuts are hotter, on whole, than Columbus) but will savor the context. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/hoy-hoy-r11763/review

Little Feat was formed in 1969 when Lowell George and Roy Estrada left or were fired from The Mothers of Invention. Through numerous personnel changes the band have successfully blended jazz, funk, and country into their own unique style of rock. Little Feat are a monumental band in the history of rock music. Generally classified as a Southern Rock band, Little Feat's musical styles covered many musical genres and the band included many exceptional musicians including Paul Barrére, the amazing Bill Payne, and the late Lowell George. "Hoy-Hoy!" is a great compilation album from Little Feat with plenty of rarities among it's nineteen tracks. Sound quality varies but this is to be expected from an album compiled of demos and live performances over a long period of time. The album is VHR by A.O.O.F.C. If you are not familiar with this band, listen to their "Sailin' Shoes" and "Dixie Chicken" albums. Although many people will disagree, it is the opinion of A.O.O.F.C that the band's "The Last Record Album" is their greatest work, as it incorporates elements of all Little Feat's musical styles, and includes beautiful melodic ballads like "Long Distance Love", sophisticated Southern Rock tracks like "One Love Stand", and some superb jazz rock/fusion tracks like "Day or Night". "Hoy Hoy!" was released in 1981, but it's worth mentioning that Little Feat released several great albums after that period. Check this blog for more LF releases.

TRACKS / TRACK NOTES / COMPOSERS

A1 Rocket In My Pocket (acoustic demo) - Lowell George 0:51
A2 Rock And Roll Doctor (alternate version) - Martin Kibbee, Lowell George 3:11
A3 Skin It Back (live from Lisner Auditorium) - Paul Barrère 4:42
A4 Easy To Slip (original Sailin' Shoes version) - Lowell George, Martin Kibbee 3:19
A5 Red Streamliner (live from Lisner Auditorium) - Fran Tate, Bill Payne 5:00

B1 Lonesome Whistle (Lowell George demo) - Hank Williams , Jimmie H. Davis 3:13
B2 Front Page News (original melody) - Bill Payne, Lowell George 4:51
B3 The Fan - (recorded live at Ultrasonic Studios in Hempstead, New York on September 19, 1974.) - Lowell George, Bill Payne 6:16
B4 Forty-Four Blues: How Many More Years (original first album version) - Chester Burnett aka Howlin' Wolf 3:20

C1 Teenage Nervous Breakdown - (original 1969 demo) - Lowell George, Martin Kibbee 1:27
C2 Teenage Nervous Breakdown (live from Lisner Auditorium) - Lowell George, Martin Kibbee 3:46
C3 Framed - Jerry Leiber , Mike Stoller 2:44
C4 Strawberry Flats - (original first album version) - Bill Payne, Lowell George 2:21
C5 Gringo - Bill Payne 6:36

D1 Over The Edge - Paul Barrère 4:20
D2 Two Trains - (1973 live version) - Lowell George 3:19
D3 China White - (Early '70's Lowell George demo) - Lowell George 3:14
D4 All That You Dream - (from Lowell George Tribute Concert, featuring Linda Ronstadt) - Bill Payne, Paul Barrère 4:50
D5 Feets Don't Fail Me Now - (1976 live extract) - Lowell George, Paul Barrère, Martin Kibbee 1:54

MUSICIANS

Lowell George - Guitar, Vocals, Background Vocals
Patrick Simmons - Guitar, Vocals, Background Vocals
Paul Barrére - Guitar, Vocals
Dean Parks, Elliot Ingber, Ry Cooder - Guitar
Robben Ford - Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Fred Tackett - Guitar, Mandolin, Trumpet
Chuck Rainey, Kenny Gradney - Bass
Roy Estrada - Bass,Vocals
Bill Payne - Keyboards, Percussion,Vocals, Background Vocals
Gordon DeWitte/Gordon de Witty - Organ
David Foster - Piano
Rick Shlosser, Jim Keltner - Drums
Richie Hayward - Drums, Vocals
Sam Clayton, Bobby LaKind - Percussion, Vocals, Background Vocals
Paulinho Da Costa, Ted Templebean, Milt Holland - Percussion
David Sanborn - Saxophone
Jerry Jumonville, Tower of Power, Lee Thornburg - Horn
Allen Toussaint - Horn Arrangements, Vocal Arrangement
Linda Ronstadt, Luther Waters, Maxine Willard Waters, Oren Waters - Vocals
Fran Payne, Rosemary Butler, Michael McDonald, Lee Lawler, Nicolette Larson, Emmylou Harris - Vocals, Background Vocals
The Waters, Maxine Dixon - Background Vocals

WIKIPEDIA ALBUM NOTES

Hoy Hoy! is the name of a Little Feat collection released in 1981 two years after the band's break-up following the death of founder Lowell George. Originally released as a double album and later a single CD, it contains alternate versions and live recordings of many Feat tracks as well as some previously unreleased material. 'New' tracks are as follows: "Lonesome Whistle" - the old Hank Williams track, "Gringo" - a Bill Payne track now frequently performed live by Little Feat since their 1988 reunion. This 1981 recording features David Sanborn on saxophone and Nicolette Larson on backing vocals. "Over The Edge" - a Paul Barrere track recorded in 1981 for a movie made by his brother. "Framed" - an obscure Leiber and Stoller track, covered here by the original four-piece line-up of Little Feat. "China White" - a Lowell George demo from the early 70s featuring among others Jim Keltner (drums) David Foster (piano) and guitar work by Fred Tackett (who would later join Little Feat when they reformed in 1988). Three of the live numbers ("Skin It Back", "Red Streamliner" and "Teenage Nervous Breakdown") were recorded in August 1977 at the Lisner Auditorium in Washington DC for the live Waiting For Columbus album. These were later included on the 2002 deluxe edition. The performance of "Red Streamliner" features Michael McDonald and Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers on backing vocals. "The Fan" was recorded live at Ultrasonic Studios in Hempstead, New York on September 19, 1974.

BIO

Though they had all the trappings of a Southern-fried blues band, Little Feat were hardly conventional. Led by songwriter/guitarist Lowell George, Little Feat were a wildly eclectic band, bringing together strains of blues, R&B, country, and rock & roll. The bandmembers were exceptionally gifted technically and their polished professionalism sat well with the slick sounds coming out of southern California during the '70s. However, Little Feat were hardly slick -- they had a surreal sensibility, as evidenced by George's idiosyncratic songwriting, which helped the band earn a cult following among critics and musicians. Though the band earned some success on album-oriented radio, the group was derailed after George's death in 1979. Little Feat re-formed in the late '80s, and while they were playing as well as ever, they lacked the skewed sensibility that made them cult favorites. Nevertheless, their albums and tours were successful, especially among American blues-rock fans. However, Little Feat weren't conceived as a straight-ahead blues-rock group. Their founding members, Lowell George (vocals, guitar, slide guitar) and Roy Estrada (bass), were veterans of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. George had a long musical career before joining the Mothers. As a child, he and his brother Hampton performed a harmonica duet on television's Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. During high school, he learned how to play flute, which led to him appearing as an oboist and baritone saxophonist on several Frank Sinatra recording sessions. He formed the folk-rock group the Factory with drummer Richard Hayward in 1965. Before disbanding, the Factory made some recordings for Uni Records, but the tapes sat unreleased until the 1990s. Following the group's demise, George joined the Mothers of Invention, where he met Estrada. Zappa convinced George to form his own band after hearing "Willin'," but the guitarist was reluctant to begin a band until he participated in a brief Standells reunion. George and Estrada formed Little Feat in 1969 with Hayward and keyboardist Billy Payne. Neither their eponymous first album in 1971 nor 1972's Sailin' Shoes were commercial successes, despite strong reviews. As a result, the group temporarily disbanded, with Estrada leaving music to become a computer programmer. When the group reconvened later in 1972, he was replaced by New Orleans musician Kenny Gradney. In its second incarnation, Little Feat also featured guitarist Paul Barrére and percussionist Sam Clayton, who gave the music a funkier feeling, as demonstrated by 1973's Dixie Chicken. The band toured heavily behind the record, building a strong following in the South and on the East Coast. Nevertheless, the group remained centered in Los Angeles, since the members did a lot of session work on the side. Though the band was earning a cult following, several members of the group were growing frustrated by George's erratic behavior and increasing drug use. Following 1974's Feats Don't Fail Me Now, Barrére and Payne became the band's primary songwriters and they were primarily responsible for the jazzy fusions of 1975's The Last Record Album. Little Feat continued in that direction on Time Loves a Hero (1977), the double-live album Waiting for Columbus (1978), and Down on the Farm (1979). Frustrated with the band's increasingly improvisational and jazzy nature, George recorded a solo album, Thanks I'll Eat It Here, which was released in 1979. Following its release, George announced that Little Feat had broken up, and he embarked on a solo tour. Partway through the tour, he died of an apparent heart attack. Down on the Farm was released after his death, as was the rarities collection Hoy-Hoy! (1981). After spending seven years as sidemen, Payne, Barrére, Hayward, Gradney, and Clayton re-formed Little Feat in 1988, adding vocalist/guitarist Craig Fuller and guitarist Fred Tackett. The heavily anticipated Let It Roll was released in 1988 to mixed reviews, but it went gold. Each of the group's subsequent reunion albums -- Representing the Mambo (1989), Shake Me Up (1991), and Ain't Had Enough Fun (1995) -- sold progressively less, but the band remained a popular concert attraction. On the latter album, the band traded the strongly Lowell George-esque voice of Fuller for female singer Shaun Murphy; this lineup went on to release Under the Radar in 1998 and Chinese Work Songs in 2000. Numerous compilations and live recordings peppered the next few years, followed by 2003's Kickin' It at the Barn, the group's first album for their own indie label, Hot Tomato Records. Rocky Mountain Jam arrived in early 2007. Join the Band followed in 2008 on Proper Records. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/little-feat-p4764/biography