Poor Reviews For Little Feat's New Album 'Join the Band'

Oh dear, I just realised I totally missed any reference to Little Feat's excellent new album on Rock Revival.

Little Feat, of course are the fantastic country-rock band formed in 1969 and going thru many reincarnations until the present day.

Join the Band is their latest album released July, 1, 2008, their first 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. The tracks are mainly reworking of classic Little Feat tracks plus a few covers.

1. Dixie Chicken - featuring Vince Gill and Sonny Landreth
2. Something In The Water - featuring Bob Seger and Sam Bush
3. See You Later Alligator
4. Fat Man In The Bathtub - featuring Dave Matthews and Sonny Landreth
5. Champion Of The World - featuring Jimmy Buffett
6. The Weight - featuring Bela Fleck
7. Don't You Just Know It
8. Time Loves A Hero featuring Jimmy Buffett
9. Willin' featuring Brooks and Dunn
10. This Land Is Your Land
11. Oh Atlanta - featuring Chris Robinson
12. Spanish Moon - featuring Craig Fuller and Vince Gill
13. Trouble - featuring Inara George
14. Sailin' Shoes - featuring Emmylou Harris, Sam Bush and Bela Fleck

Unfortunately the album has recieved a very frosty reception: Here's some review excerpts and links

A cautionary word to begin with: if the word 'friends' has fabled Feat collaborators such as Dylan, Willie Nelson, Brian Wilson or John Lee Hooker leaping excitedly to mind, heightening the anticipation of what is to come, prepare to be disappointed. BBC

There's nothing wrong with a band reviewing their own history in the company of a few guests, but if the collaborators are mostly drawn from country music, it does tend to skew things too much in that direction. Which is fine if it's Vince Gill delving into the New Orleans funk of "Dixie Chicken" and "Spanish Moon", but rather less welcome if it's mainstream stalwarts Brooks & Dunn imposing their somewhat po-faced approach on the usually sublime "Willin'". The comparisons become more evident when a proper rock voice is employed, whether it's Bob Seger's brawny growl on the rollicking rockabilly R&B of "Something in the Water", or Chris Robinson's fiery Southern sneer hot-wiring his hometown anthem "Oh Atlanta". The Independent

The Feat's has invited guest musicians to "join the band" and re-record some of their greatest hits. How bad can that be, considering the back catalogue of this band? Well, I would love to say that it's all great, but it isn't. Right of the bat, there are two bad signals just reading through the cover: 1. The choice of artists and 2. the song selection. The M-Factor

Image: 429 Records