Sailin' Shoes | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 1972 | |||
Recorded | Late 1971 | |||
Studio | Amigo Sounds, Sunset Sound TTG Studios, Los Angeles | |||
Genre | Rock and roll [1] [2] | |||
Length | 38:00 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Ted Templeman | |||
Little Feat chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [1] |
Rolling Stone | (favorable) [3] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
Sailin' Shoes is the second studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1972. Produced by Ted Templeman, it marked a shift away from the sound of the band's eponymous debut, to that of their subsequent album, Dixie Chicken . It also introduced the cover artwork of Neon Park to the group, and was the last album appearance of original bassist Roy Estrada.
The music of Sailin' Shoes is a mixture of pop, rock, blues and country. [2] Highlighted by a reworked group version of "Willin'", the album also featured such enduring tracks as "A Apolitical Blues," "Easy to Slip" and the title track, all by guitarist and lead vocalist Lowell George, the second co-written with Martin Kibbee, credited as "Fred Martin", a former band-mate from The Factory, and the first appearance of the "George/Martin" credit on a Little Feat record. The track "Texas Rose Cafe" is a tribute to a post-Houston concert visit by Lowell George and others to the hippie restaurant/club/beer garden. During refreshments upstairs George had said that he liked the place so much that he was going to write a song about it and it would be on their next album. It turned out to be true and not just so much "beer talk".
It was the last full Little Feat record to be produced by an outsider, until 1977's Time Loves a Hero , with each of the three interim albums being produced almost entirely by Lowell George. Noted Los Angeles-based session percussionist Milt Holland played percussion on "Easy to Slip" and "Trouble" and he also played tabla on the follow-up album Dixie Chicken . Ron Elliott of the Beau Brummels played rhythm guitar on "A Apolitical Blues" and Debbie Lindsey provided the female vocals on "Cold, Cold, Cold" and the title track.
With his design for a "sailing shoe" of a cake swinging on a tree swing, the album's front cover by Neon Park seems to be an allusion to The Swing by painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. [5] Park himself said of the cover: "The Sailin' Shoes cover was inspired by Louis XIV. I'd just seen Rossellini's film about Louis XIV. And it seemed to relate a lot to Hollywood. A situation ruled by someone who kept everybody under his thumb by keeping them in hock from buying fancy clothes seemed to relate to Hollywood somehow. Actually, the only thing that was missing was the Hollywood sign, which I was going to put in the background. I thought that would be gauche. But I had a chance to pick up on that later with The Last Record Album .” [6] [5] The cover design also includes a giant snail and Mick Jagger dressed as Gainsborough's The Blue Boy [5] as Park had been inspired by the film Performance . [6]
It was voted number 469 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). [7] In 2008 the album was released as Gold CD by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.
Record World said that "Easy to Slip" "features passionate vocal harmonies and one of the finest rhythm sections that ever rocked." [8]
Side One
Side Two
A remastered and expanded edition of Sailin' Shoes was released on June 23, 2023. This new edition is a 2-CD set, with the original album on disc one, and bonus material on disc two labeled as Hotcakes, Outtakes & Rarities. Tracks 12 to 21 were recorded live in Los Angeles on August 28, 1971.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Sailin' Shoes (demo)" | George | 2:57 |
2. | "Easy To Fall (Easy To Slip) (demo for The Doobie Brothers)" | George & Martin | 2:41 |
3. | "Texas Rose Cafe (demo for The Doobie Brothers)" | George | 3:24 |
4. | "Cold, Cold, Cold (alternate version)" | George | 4:17 |
5. | "Roto/Tone" | Elliott Ingber | 4:07 |
6. | "A Apolitical Blues (alternate version)" | George | 3:46 |
7. | "Boogie - Tripe Face Boogie" | Payne, Hayward | 3:58 |
8. | "Trouble (alternate version)" | George | 2:23 |
9. | "Doriville" | George | 2:44 |
10. | "Willin' (alternate version)" | George | 3:00 |
11. | "Easy To Slip (Mono Single Version)" | George & Martin | 3:22 |
12. | "Tripe Face Boogie" | Payne, Hayward | 4:30 |
13. | "Hamburger Midnight" | George, Estrada | 3:41 |
14. | "Cat Fever" | Payne | 5:19 |
15. | "Willin'" | George | 4:06 |
16. | "Strawberry Flats" | Payne, George | 3:11 |
17. | "Got No Shadow" | Payne | 5:08 |
18. | "Texas Rose Cafe" | George | 4:05 |
19. | "Snakes On Everything" | Payne | 4:18 |
20. | "Hot Rod (Eldorado Slim)" | Payne, George, Hayward. Estrada | 5:08 |
21. | "Teenage Nervous Breakdown" | George | 3:01 |
Additional
Lowell Thomas George was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who was the primary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder/leader for the rock band Little Feat.
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, keyboardist Bill Payne, drummer Richie Hayward and bassist Roy Estrada in 1969 in Los Angeles. The band's classic line-up, in place by late 1972, comprised George, Payne, Hayward, bassist Kenny Gradney, guitarist and vocalist Paul Barrere and percussionist Sam Clayton. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving members re-formed Little Feat in 1987 and the band has remained active to the present.
Little Feat is the debut studio album by American rock band Little Feat, released in 1971 by Warner Bros. Records.
Feats Don't Fail Me Now is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1974, on the Warner Bros. label. The cover was designed by Neon Park.
The Last Record Album is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1975.
Time Loves a Hero is the sixth studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1977.
Waiting for Columbus is the first live album by the band Little Feat, recorded during seven performances in 1977. The first four shows were held at the Rainbow Theatre in London on August 1–4, 1977. The final three shows were recorded the following week at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C., on August 8–10. Local Washington radio personality Don "Cerphe" Colwell can be heard leading the audience in a "F-E-A-T" spellout in between the first and second tracks.
Down on the Farm is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Little Feat. The album was completed and released shortly after the death of the band's founder and frontman, Lowell George, in 1979. It was their last original work for nine years. The band had announced their break-up in June 1979 during the making of the album. Little Feat would reform in 1987.
Representing the Mambo is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1990. It peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard 200. The band supported the album with a North American tour. "Texas Twister" and "Rad Gumbo" were released as singles.
Shake Me Up is the tenth studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1991. It was the last album they recorded with frontman Craig Fuller. It is also their only album to feature no lead vocals from keyboardist Bill Payne.
Live from Neon Park is the second live album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1996. The name of the album was a suggestion of a Little Feat fan in commemoration of the then-recent passing of long-time Little Feat album cover artist and friend of the band, Neon Park.
Down Upon the Suwannee River is the fourth live album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 2003.
Dixie Chicken is the third studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1973. The artwork for the front cover was by illustrator Neon Park and is a reference to a line from the album's third song, "Roll Um Easy".
Hoy-Hoy! is 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. The cover is illustrated by Neon Park.
Thanks I'll Eat It Here is the only solo album by rock and roll singer-songwriter Lowell George. While George is best known for his work with Little Feat, by 1977 Lowell felt that they were moving increasingly into jazz-rock, a form in which he felt little interest. As a result, he began working on his own album. Thanks I'll Eat It Here is an eclectic mix of styles reminiscent of Little Feat's earlier albums – in particular Dixie Chicken, on which the track "Two Trains" originally appeared. The album was released just before the death of Lowell George in 1979 and has cover art by Neon Park containing several pop-/cult references including a picnic scene, mirroring Édouard Manet's Le déjeuner sur l'herbe, which shows Bob Dylan, Fidel Castro and Marlene Dietrich as Der Blaue Engel with an open copy of Howl beside them.
Pressure Drop is the second solo album by Robert Palmer, released in 1975. Palmer is backed by Little Feat and other musicians. The title track is a cover version of the reggae hit by Toots & the Maytals. However, many other songs on the album use "New Orleans funk ... along with smooth, dated disco ballads smothered in strings". Continuing his association with Little Feat started by his cover of "Sailing Shoes" on his 1974 debut album Sneaking Sally Through the Alley, Feat was used as backing band on several cuts, most notably Lowell George's slide guitar on "Here With You Tonight". George also contributed the tune "Trouble" on which Feat pianist Bill Payne plays the intro. David Jeffries' review says that the album is considered "too blue-eyed and polished for fans of Palmer's more gutsy moments" but concludes that "Pressure Drop has grown into the great overlooked album in Palmer's discography". In June of 2009, the album was ranked as No. 20 on Mojo's list of the 50 best records released by Island. The album peaked at No. 136 in the US.
Barnstormin' Live is a Little Feat live performance that was first released as two single CD albums, Volume One and Volume Two, in early and late 2005. It was then reissued as a single boxed set in 2006.
Join the Band is a 2008 album recorded by Little Feat. Their first studio album in five years, it features no new original songs but is a set of collaborations with other artists such as Bob Seger, Emmylou Harris, Dave Matthews and Inara George. It was released on July 1, 2008.
Happy End is the third and final album by Japanese folk rock band Happy End. It was recorded in Los Angeles, produced by Van Dyke Parks and features several American session musicians such as Lowell George and Bill Payne of the band Little Feat.
"Willin'" is a song written by Lowell George while he was a member of the Mothers of Invention; when he sang a demo for Frank Zappa, Zappa suggested that the guitarist form a band. He did just that, and the song was subsequently recorded by Lowell's band Little Feat. The song was included on Little Feat's 1971 self-titled debut album. The band re-recorded the song at a slower tempo to much greater success on their 1972 Sailin' Shoes album. A live version recorded in 1977 appears on their 1978 album Waiting for Columbus.