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Girando per gli scaffali del mio negozio di dischi favorito, la mia attenzione venne catturata, anni addietro, dalle surreali copertine degli album di una a me ignota formazione, i Little Feat appunto, contraddistinte da illustrazioni a dir poco curiose, opera di un artista noto come Neon Park: una torta su un altalena, un’auto guidata da George Washington con Marilyn Monroe, un pomodoro vivente, una papera sexy ai bordi di una piscina, un papero vestito alla Humprey Bogart di Casablanca.
Proprio quest’album (’86) decisi di acquistare, trattandosi, come segnalato nel retrocopertina, di un’antologia ufficiale del gruppo, che avevo medio tempore appreso essere una delle più significative ed eccentriche formazioni americane degli anni ’70, ovvero dell’epoca, che, personalmente, ritenevo e ritengo foriera delle più interessanti innovazioni della musica di consumo contemporanea.
Ci si può chiedere, a volte, se la copertina di un album rispecchi il suo contenuto: ciò e vero, ad esempio per certi lavori dei Pink Floyd (penso allo straniamento del “maiale che vola” in Animals, alla copertina liquida di Meddle), dei Clash (il roots rock à la Elvis di London Calling rivisitato in chiave moderna e violenta), dei Talking Heads (i volti trattati dei quattro in Remain in Light rispecchiano il “trattamento” elettronico subito dalla loro musica) come pure, per converso, per tutte le copertine anonime di certi album che si vendono oggi, seriali e plastificate come la musica in essi contenuta.
La copertina di quest’antologia non fa eccezione, nel consegnare alla storia ed, allora, agli archivi, una formazione che non c’era più, a causa della prematura morte del leader Lowell Gorge (1945-1979), e, all’epoca, superata dai tempi, dalle mode e dalle esigenze di mercato della metà degli ani ’80. Al contempo, il passato cui si riferiva la copertina doveva essere stato dei più inediti ed interessanti, frullando con ironia tradizione e modernità.
Proprio questa è la ricetta dei Little Feat, formazione californiana attiva fra il ’70 ed il ’78 (poi riformatasi alla fine degli anni ’80 ad opera di alcuni membri superstiti ed attualmente sulle scene con un onesto southern rock), creata da una costola delle Mothers of Inventions di Frank Zappa come il bassista Roy Estrada, e da un atipico cantante e chitarrista slide, Lowell George, a sua volta collaboratore, per qualche tempo, del genio di Baltimora.
La musica dei Little Feat può essere presentata, infatti, come un miscuglio di blues, gospel, southern rock, cajun, jazz, country posta intellettualemente, e geograficamente, al centro del triangolo fra “Los Angeles – New Orleans – Memphis”, in cui emerge la straordinaria capacità di sintesi, ritmica, strumentale ed esecutiva del gruppo, cui si aggiunsero, negli anni, il chitarrista Paul Barrere, il tastierista Bill Payne, la dinamica sezione ritmica di Kenny Gradney (bs, in sostituzione di Estrada), Sam Clayton (percussioni) e Richard Hayward (bt), tuttora in circolazione sotto il monicker Little Feat.
Un esempio di ciò è dato da pezzi tratti dal periodo ’72 – ’74, come "Dixie Chicken", in cui si fondono accenti contro e blues dall’innegabile sapore sudista, dall’arcinota "Willin’" (tanto amata dal nostro Ligabue) e da "Trouble", manifesti di certo country rock da middle States che tanto sarebbe piaciuto a Meat Puppets e affini, alla sincopate "Rock ‘n’Roll Doctor", "Spanish Moon", "Feats Don’t Fail Me Now"con sezioni ritmiche jazz blues e dai misurati interventi di chitarra e tastiere, sempre attente a non pregiudicare la compatezza e coesione di suono, e perciò poco propense ad eccessivi assoli. Una menzione a parte merita la stralunata "Sailin’ Shoes", quasi un gospel psichedelico dall’andamento imprevedibile a dalla melodia meno semplice di quanto non sembri ad un primo ascolto. I pezzi restanti, tratti dagli ultimi album del gruppo, nel periodo ’75 –’78, sono forse meno freschi ed allineati nelle direttive di certo blues/jazz, con gemme quali "All That You Dream" e "Long Distance Love" in cui emerge l’attitudine jazzy di Payne, o le più rockeggiante "Mercenari Territori", o il boogie sghembo e lunatico di "Old Folks Boogie". La conclusiva e acustica "20 Million Things", tratta dal primo album solista di Lowell George, "Thanks I'll Eat It Here" [di cui è già presente una ottima recensione su Debaser], ha i toni malinconici del commiato, visto che la mente indiscussa ed il creatore del sound dei Little Feat sarebbe improvvisamente morto di lì a poco, a causa di una vita di eccessi.
Una raccolta eccellente per avvicinarsi al gruppo, solo come viatico verso i più densi e significativi album dei grandi Little Feat di Lowell George.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Dixie Chicken (03:55)
Ive seen the bright lights of Memphis
And the Commodore Hotel
And underneath a street lamp, i met a southern belle
Oh she took me to the river, where she cast her spell
And in that southern moonlight, she sang this song so well
If youll be my Dixie chicken ill be your Tenessee lamb
And we can walk together down in Dixieland
Down in Dixieland
We made all the hotspots, my money flowed like wine
Then the low-down southern whiskey, yea, began to fog my mind
And i dont remember church bells, or the money i put down
On the white picket fence and boardwalk
On the house at the end of town
Oh but boy do i remember the strain of her refrain
And the nights we spent together
And the way she called my name
If youll be my Dixie chicken ill be your Tenessee lamb
And we can walk together down in Dixieland
Down in Dixieland
Many years since she ran away
Yes that guitar player sure could play
She always liked to sing along
She always handy with a song
But then one night at the lobby of the Commodore Hotel
I chanced to meet a bartender who said he knew her well
And as he handed me a drink he began to hum a song
And all the boys there, at the bar, began to sing along
If youll be my Dixie chicken ill be your Tenessee lamb
And we can walk together down in Dixieland
Down in Dixieland, Down in Dixieland
02 Willin' (02:56)
Lowell George
I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow
I'm drunk and dirty don't ya know, and I'm still, willin'
Out on the road late at night, Seen my pretty Alice in every head light
Alice, Dallas Alice
I've been from Tuscon to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me: weed, whites, and wine
and you show me a sign
I'll be willin', to be movin'
I've been kicked by the wind, robbed by the sleet
Had my head stoved in, but I'm still on my feet and I'm still... willin'
Now I smuggled some smokes and folks from Mexico
baked by the sun, every time I go to Mexico, and I'm still
And I been from Tuscon to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me: weed, whites, and wine
and you show me a sign
I'll be willin', to be movin
04 Two Trains (03:08)
In 1966 I found my love
In 1967 I had all there was
And as my time went by I was satisfied
Until that situation took me by surprise
Now there's two trains runnin' - on that line
One train's me, and the other's a friend of mine
You know it would be all right, be just fine
If the woman took one train, and left the other behind
Illusion it is just the same conclusion
I don't know how to play the game
Of what it is or how it's going to be
When one train is my friend and the other train is me
Easy, Lord, I say easy, I can't push or shove that girl
So I guess I really care
Now I aint not one to hide my love behind a lock and key
But if things keep going the way they are there's no place left for me
Two trains runnin' - on that line
One train's me, and the other's a friend of mine
Be all right, be just fine
If this woman took the one train, and left the other behind
Two trains, (uh-huh yeah) two trains, (two) two trains, (keep on on) two trains
Two trains, (a little bit longer) two trains, two trains, two trains
07 Trouble (02:18)
You yelled hey when your car wouldn't start
So you got real nervous and started to eat your heart out
Now you're so fat your shoes don't fit on your feat
You got trouble
And it's tailor made
Well mama lay your head down in the shade
'Cause your eyes are tired, and your feat are too
And you wish the world was as tired as you, whoa
Well I'll write a letter, and I'll send it away
And put all the trouble in int you had today
Oh your telephone ring and you went "oh ho"
You forgot about this, and you forgot about that
'Cause you got to get back to what you doing
Goodbye, click that, so and so
You're an island and on your own
You yelled hey when the stove blew up
Upset? why yes
And the footprints on your ceiling, they're almost gone
And you're wondering why?
Well mama lay your head down, don't you cry
08 Sailin' Shoes (02:52)
-- Lowell George
Lady in a turban, cocaine tree
Does a dance so rhythmically
She's cryin', and a singin' and having a time
and gee that cocaine tree look fine
You've got to put on your sailin shoes
Put on your sailing shoes
Everyone will start to cheer
When you put on your sailin' shoes
Jedidiah, he's got a dime
Says he catch a more fish, every time
Well I've got a line, and you've got a pole
And I'll meet you at the fishin' hole
You've got to put on your sailin shoes
Put on your sailing shoes
Everyone will start to cheer
When you put on your sailin' shoes
Doctor, doctor, I feel so bad
This is the worst day, I ever had
Have you this misery a very long time?
Well if you if, I'll lay it on the line
You've got to put on your sailin shoes
Put on your sailing shoes
Everyone will start to cheer
When you put on your sailin' shoes
09 Spanish Moon (03:06)
Well the night that was high, we got into town
Was the night that the rain, it froze on the ground
Down the street I heard such a sorrowful tune
Comin' from the place they call the Spanish Moon
Well I stepped inside, and stood by the door
While a dark-eyed girl sang, and played the guitar
Hookers, and hustlers, filled up the room
I heard about this place they call the Spanish Moon
One false step, you get done in
It's a cold situation
If that -- that don't -- kill you soon
The women will down at the Spanish Moon
I pawned my watch, and I sold my ring
Just to hear that girl singing, (hear that girl sing)
Don't take long, to wake up ruined
The women will down at the Spanish Moon
10 Feats Don't Fail Me Now (02:29)
-- Barrere, George, Martin
Your daddy says I'm no good
Your momma says keep away
Got to tell you truthful girl you can never make me stay
I got something up and down this coast
Bet you my last dollar girl I can love your love the most
Don't the sunrise look so pretty
Never such a sight
Like a rollin' into New York City
With the skylight in the morning light
Roll right through the night
I said Roll
Roll right through the night
I said Roll
Semi-smokin mama, you got to give me some
Heard you got the biggest, biggest truck in town
Right on through to Baltimore you got to love me now
Give it to me gently, oh its feets don't fail me now
Feets don't fail me now
Feets don't fail me now
Don't the sunrise look so pretty
Never such a sight
Like a rollin' into New York City
With the skylight in the morning light
Roll right through the night
I said roll
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night, Roll
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night, Roll on
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll
Roll right through the night
Roll
Roll right through the night
I said Roll
Roll right through the night
Roll
Roll right through the night
I said roll
Roll right through the night
I said roll
Roll right through the night
I said roll
Roll right through the night
Said roll, yeah roll
Roll
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
I said roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
I said roll right through the night
Roll right through the night
Right right right
Roll roll
Roll on, I said roll on
I said roll roll roll roll on
Roll roll roll roll roll roll
Roll right through the night
Roll
I said roll
I said roll
Right through
The night
11 Oh, Atlanta (03:28)
Oh Atlanta
-- B. Payne
They got a place down Kentucky
Right down near Ohio
Where you can watch the planes at night
People line up just to watch them fly
I wish I was on one
I'm sittin' here thinkin' 'bout my girl back home
If I could only see her tonight
Oh Atlanta, Oh Atlanta!
I said yeah! yeah! yeah! Atlanta, got to get back to you
Well you can drop me off on Peach Street
I got to feel that Georgia sun
And the women there in Atlanta
They make us both feel glad it's only hit and run
I said watchin' them planes
I wish I was on one
I'm sittin' here thinking 'bout a girl back home
Oh Atlanta, Oh Atlanta!
I said yeah! yeah! yeah! Atlanta, got to get back to you
You take a day o' nights it's just you and me
Where the diesel plays all night
They got the boogie man goin' 'round for hell
And when they get to movin' they never stop
You just keep on playin' that down home beat
You just keep on layin' down high
I wish I was on one
Sittin' here thinkin' bout a girl back home
If I could only, oh if I could...
Oh Atlanta, Oh Atlanta!
I said yeah! yeah! yeah! Atlanta, got to get back to you
12 All That You Dream (03:51)
All That You Dream
-- Barrere, Payne
I've been down, but not like this before
Can't be round this kind of show no more
All, all that you dream
Comes to shine in silver lining
And clouds, clouds change the scene
Rain starts washing all these cautions
Right into your life, stop to realize
Just what is true, what else can I do
Just follow the rules
Keep your eyes on the road that's ahead of you
I've been down, but not like this before
Can't be 'round this kind of show no more
All of the good, good times were ours
In the land of milk and honey
And time, time has its scars
Rainy days they turn to sunny ones
Livin' the life, livin' the life lovin' everyone
I've been down, but not like this before
Can't be 'round this kind of show no more
14 Mercenary Territory (04:25)
Mercenary Territory
-- George, Hayward, George
Is it the lies?
Is it the style?
It's a mercenary territory
I wish you knew the story
I've been out here so long dreamin up songs
I'm temporarily qualmless and sinking
I've did my time in that rodeo
It's been so long and I've got nothing to show
Well I'm so plain loco
Fool that I am I'd do it all over again
Is it the style?
Is it the lies?
Is it the days into nights
Or the "I'm sorrys" into fights
Now some kind of man, he can't do anything wrong
If I see him I'll tell him you're waiting
'Cause I'm devoted for sure but my days are a blur
Well your nights turn into my mornings
Well I did my time in that rodeo
Fool that I am I'd do it all over again
Is it love keeps you waiting so long
Makes you say I'll see you around
The forces that be, they just don't see
While your nights turn into my mornings
Is it the style?
Is it the lies?
Is it the days into nights
Or the "I'm sorrys" into fights
15 Rocket in My Pocket (03:22)
Rocket in My Pocket
-- L. George
My baby called me up
She said, "Why don't you ever take me out?
Pick me up in your brand new car
You shake the short change from your old fruit jar"
I put on my dancin' shoes
We headed straight for the rhythm and blues
The music was hot, but my baby was not
I've got a rocket in my pocket, I said rocket
Ya fingers in the socket
Fingers in the socket, fingers in the socket
No way for you to stop it
That rocket c'mon, you get off it oh
Rocket, said rocket, said rocket, said rocket, said rocket, said rocket
Don't understand that girl, I can't explain
She got one foot on the platform, the other on the train
I got a rocket in my pocket, yeah I said rocket
Finger in the socket
17 Let It Roll (04:30)
Rollin' down highway 95
Sailin' through her hometown countryside
Move on over stand astride
My cruise control's in overdrive
Need to take my baby for a ride
Ooo she's like a smooth stretch of highway
Ooo she's like a cool Summer breeze
If my motor's runnin' right, we might lose control tonight
Got the shape I love to squeeze, looks that bring me to my knees
Oh please, let it roll tonight
Might be doin' more thahn fifty-five
When I sit my baby right down by my side
Where the rubber hit the road
This rig don't dig no overload
Come on, and let my baby ride
Ooo she's like a smooth stretch of highway
Ooo she's like a cool Summer breeze
If my motor's runnin' right, we might lose control tonight
Got the shape I love to squeeze, looks that bring me to my knees
Oh please, let it roll tonight
Now I know just how heaven feels
When she reach beneath my big old steerin' wheel
Dyna flow, power glide
Bored and stroked, I'm satisfied
When I take my baby for a ride
Ooo she's like a smooth stretch of highway
Ooo she's like a cool Summer breeze
If my motor's runnin' right, we might lose control tonight
Got the shape I love to squeeze, looks that bring me to my knees
Oh please, let it roll tonight
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