The sound on the first Little Feat is markedly different from the other 1970's Feat albums. Don't expect the polished sound of albums like "Time Loves a Hero", "Down on the Farm" or "The Last Record Album".

The line-up changed after this album, which may be part of the explanation to the sound change.

As usual most of Lowell George's songs are great; some even outstanding. On this album several of his songs are written with Bill Payne, who also wrote a couple of the songs alone.

Though the sound may be rougher than on most later Feat albums, most trademarks of the band are already shown here; the fat slide-guitarplaying, the great voice of Lowell George and of course the unique songwriting.

Some of the biggest Little Feat classics come from this debut-album. Songs like "Truck Stop Girl", "Willin'", "I've Been the One" are standout-songs.

Lesser known tracks like "Brides of Jesus" and "Taking My Time" are almost equally strong.

Interesting that some of these songs were actually released by other artist before this album came out. The Byrds recorded "Truck Stop Girl" for their "Untitled" album, and their version with Clarence White's vocals up-front is my clear favourite version of that song. Seatrain recorded "Willin'" for their 2nd 1970 album. My favourite version of that song is Little Feat's own re-recording for the "Sailin'Shoes" album, though this first version is also great.

When making this debut album, Little Feat was still raw, energetic and rocking with the influences laid bare for everyone to see. The songs are not as instantaneous as on the later albums - you have to dig into them patiently and create images in your head while reading the lyrics from the booklet. The band's rawness is best exemplified by the first version of "Willin'", where Lowell's vocal performance is not an artistically successful one by any means, but here he really sounds like the kind of man the song tells about. "Crazy Captain Gunboat Willie" is an absurd story which almost feels like an outsider amongst the songs filled with grittiness and the-world-wears-you-out attitude, but it might be the song you remember best after your first listen, and sort of paves the way for getting into the rest of the material.

Lowell George became rather unhappy with this album himself, he felt it wasn't precise enough - but you should ignore that opinion and enjoy the original idea of what Little Feat should be, before increasing musicianship and polished production slowly started to ruin the creativeness and cause George to lose his interest in the band.

Little Feat hit one out of the park their first time to bat with this one. The original lineup (Roy Estrada on bass, Richie Hayward on drums, Bill Payne on piano & keyboards, & Lowell George on guitar) here and on "Sailin' Shoes" was a little looser and more country-rock (when Estrada left, he was replaced by Ken Gradney and, with the addition of second guitarist Paul Barrere and percussionist Sam Clayton, a more pronounced New Orleans funk vibe crept in). But this album is every bit as good as "Shoes," "Dixie Chicken," and "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" (their other absolute classics). The compositions (penned mostly by George, with a handful by Payne, and with a few contribtions from Estrada & Hayward) are remarkably fresh and inventive, even today. And the energy on the disc! The playing is simply first-rate. George's slide never sounded more searing than on cuts like "Hamburger Midnight" and Payne's piano is as expressive on the honky tonk classic "Truck Stop Girl" and as lush as on "Snakes On Everything." And, with this lineup, the band's identity is a bit more quirky/cracked than it would become, and the sense of playfulness permeates the tunes. As the '70s progressed, things got a bit more jazzy as Estrada bailed, George's contributions lessened, and the others decided they wanted to sound like Steely Dan or the Doobie Bros. as opposed to kicking all those bands' asses by sounding like Little Feat! But here, Little Feat shines it all it's boogie woogie, rockin', country-fried splendor. "Dixie" and "Feats Don't Fail" may be more popular or reknowned but their first album stands up to the best they've done handily.

The amount of musicians Frank Zappa once had in his camp is almost innumerable, but nearly all of them have had much bigger careers on their own in whatever they did. This was definitely true for guitarist Lowell George. His humor was no doubt on par with that of Zappa's legendary wit, but somehow it seemed more accessible, making his endeavor into his own bandleading with Little Feat perfect sense. With another Zappa alumnus bassist Roy Estrada, drummer Richie Hayward, and classically trained keyboardist Bill Payne, George established all the hallmarks that would make Little Feat cult legends on their 1971 debut.

While the common knowledge is that Lowell was the man in charge for about the first 5 years of Feat's history, he wasn't the only one making the important musical contributions. Bill Payne proves himself a more-than-capable songwriter on LITTLE FEAT, which would stand him in good stead once Lowell's role in the band began diminishing. For now, though, Lowell was holding his own on early classics like "Strawberry Flats" (co-written with Payne), "Hamburger Midnight" (co-written by Estrada), "Crack In Your Door", "I've Been The One" & "Crazy Captain Gunboat Willie". Lowell's one-of-a-kind humor is hard at work on these feel-good rockers with his famous slide guitar to make them distinctly Feat songs.

Despite his talent for wordplay, Lowell's not afraid to get all soft-hearted as songs like "Truck Stop Girl", "Brides Of Jesus" & "Willin'" show. The version of "Willin'" on this album is drastically different from the more famous version on 1972's SAILIN' SHOES, basically a solo recording by Lowell himself, along with Ry Cooder's bottleneck guitar. Which version is preferable will depend on the listener, but I rather think this version is a demo that somehow made it onto the album for whatever reason. Yet it's still quite good, and it's easy to see why this became a bit of a standard cover song throughout the decade.

Bill Payne's humor may not have been as wild as Lowell's, but he still knew how to rock out as good as him. "Snakes On Everything" appropriately opens up the album with a rocking good time, while "Takin' My Time" is about as close to a sweet love song as the album gets, even if it is one of love's end. Bonnie Raitt would improve on "Takin' My Time" for her 1977 album SWEET FORGIVENESS, and even make it the title for her 1973 album. A fitting tribute from someone who was one of Feat's biggest fans as well as a frequent guest on their albums.

At the same time Little Feat was establishing themselves as talents in their own right, they were also willing to pay tribute to those who inspired them. "Forty Four Blues/How Many More Years" is the band's tribute to blues great Howlin' Wolf, and their performance is actually the album's best. Lowell lets Ry Cooder take over guitar duties while he simply sings (sounding quite like Wolf himself) & wailing on harmonica; Bill Payne demonstrates his excellent keyboard prowess, showing that his classical background didn't prevent him from cutting loose.

Little Feat would of course become one of the 1970s biggest cult acts, selling only a few albums in their lifetime, but winning a devoted concert following on the side. The follow-up SAILIN' SHOES & 1973's DIXIE CHICKEN would soon be considered alongside the other bests of the decade, if not until decades later. However, it all started with a modest (both in production values & success) debut that was essentially a good start, yet small compared to the wonders that would soon appear. Nevertheless, LITTLE FEAT is a good reminder of how small Little Feat started out before they became "king of the cult bands".

This album is worth buying if only for Forty Four Blues: How Many More Years. People go on and on about how no Feat album can match Dixie Chicken. Well, I loved Dixie Chicken, too, but if you like Lowell George, ANY of the albums he was part of are worth the price, if only to really experience his growth and change over the years.