Published on Oct 24, 1997
Live albums are always difficult things to produce — how does
one capture the power and charisma of a band’s stage performance on
a slab or two of vinyl?
For Lowell George and Little Feat, their first live effort
Waiting For Columbus was even more difficult for the band.
For the better part of two years, George and the band had been
involved in a power struggle, with George often on the losing end
of the battles. The trippiness of Little Feat’s earlier efforts was
often pushed aside for more tuneful crafts – and I don’t know if
that was necessarily for the better.
So one could understand if it sounded like George’s heart wasn’t
really into the performances captured on this double album.
(Actually, there wasn’t much power left in George’s heart; he died
one year later of a heart attack while touring behind his solo
album.) And while some of the performances on
Waiting For Columbus do flash back to the band’s glory days,
more often than not it falls into the same traps that snag more
live albums than I care to count.
George helps to kick off a festive mood early on with numbers
like “Fat Man In The Bathtub” and “Old Folks Boogie,” which show
off how good Little Feat could be by mixing slight irreverence with
New Orleans-laced blues-funk. But more often than not I found
George’s guitar work hidden in the mix — and more and more
guitarist Paul Barerre seemed to come forward as the new de facto
leader of the band.
The addition of the Tower Of Power Horns definitely expands the
band’s sound on this one — it almost makes it sound like a studio
effort at times. (I guess a little more audience in the mix would
have helped.) But the problem with
Waiting For Columbus — as with many live albums – is that
it’s more gauged for the long-time fan, and not the casual browser
who may stumble on this one as an impulse buy. I consider myself to
somewhat be a Little Feat fan, but I don’t recognize numbers like
“Oh Atlanta” and “Mercenary Territory” that well. (It’s also been
some time since I dusted off anything by Little Feat from the
Pierce Archives.)
The overall feel that I get from
Waiting For Columbus is that George should still have been
the leader of the group. It’s not that I have any problems with
Barerre — cuts like “Time Loves A Hero” do shine — but the feel
just isn’t right. On the other hand, when George steps up to the
microphone for numbers like “A Apolitical Blues” and “Willin’,” he
makes the most of his time in the spotlight. (I also found it
interesting that the loudest audience reactions came from drug
references on side four, especially from “Don’t Bogart That
Joint.”) The second record of this set contains some of the more
exciting performances from this set – not surprisingly, George is
iften leading the band on these.
It sometimes is sad to listen to this album when you realize
that it was George’s swansong with the band. Little Feat was left
to finish
Down On The Farm after George left the band and subsequently
died; they broke up following completion of that album (only to
reunite in 1988). Little Feat was a band that deserved a better
fate than they were dealt in the ’70s, had we only listened when we
had a chance.
Waiting For Columbus is a picture of a band locked in a
fatal power struggle, though that struggle results in some lively
performances. Long-time fans will enjoy this one. But, if you’re
just starting to get your feet wet with Little Feat, you may wish
to check out some of their studio work before tackling this
one.