A BIG FEAST OF LITTLE FEAT
Rhino Presents Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990,
Featuring Studio Albums, Live Recordings, And Outtakes By The Legendary Group
13-CD Boxed Set Available March 4
LOS ANGELES – Little Feat blended a wide range of musical styles to create a sound that’s as indescribable as it is unforgettable. During the band’s celebrated tenure with Warner Bros. Records it recorded nine studio albums between 1971 and 1990 that included such classic tracks as “Dixie Chicken,” “Rocket in My Pocket,” “Fat Man In the Bathtub” and “Willin’.”
Rhino drives from Tucson to Tucumcari to bring fans a boxed set that includes all of those studio albums, plus a generous helping of live recordings and studio outtakes. Presented in a clamshell box, RAD GUMBO: THE COMPLETE WARNER BROS. YEARS 1971-1990 will be available on March 4 for a suggested list price of $74.98.
Singer-guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Billy Payne formed the band in 1969 with drummer Richie Hayward and bassist Roy Estrada. The quartet recorded two acclaimed albums — its self-titled debut and Sailin’ Shoes. Each featured a different version of “Willin’” – one stripped down with Ry Cooder on slide guitar and the other backed by the full band.
Little Feat’s sound and line-up evolved in 1972 when Kenny Gradney replaced Estrada on bass and the band added second guitarist Paul Barrere and percussionist Sam Clayton. Over the next seven years, the group recorded five studio albums and many of its greatest songs – “Roll Um Easy,” “Oh Atlanta, “All That You Dream,” “Time Loves a Hero” and “Down on the Farm.” During that time, Little Feat also recorded Waiting for Columbus, a stellar live album that captured the band in its prime. RAD GUMBO includes a disc of additional performances left off the original that were released in 2002 on the expanded edition of the album.
Sadly in 1979, George died from a heart attack and the band stopped recording for nine years. In the interim, Little Feat released Hoy-Hoy!, a collection that mixed alternate versions of songs and live recordings with some unreleased material.
The band reunited in 1988, adding guitarist Fred Tackett and singer Craig Fuller, who was a founding member of Pure Prairie League. This new line-up recorded two successful albums for Warner Bros. Records – Let It Roll and Representing the Mambo. The albums featured memorable songs like “Rad Gumbo,” “Let it Roll” and two #1 hits on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart – “Hate to Lose Your Lovin’” and “Texas Twister.” The final disc of this collection highlights outtakes from Hotcakes & Outtakes: 30 Years of Little Feat, a four-disc retrospective collection released by Rhino in 2000.
RAD GUMBO: THE COMPLETE WARNER BROS. YEARS 1971-1990
Album Listing
Little Feat (1971)
Sailin’ Shoes (1972)
Dixie Chicken (1973)
Feats Don’t Fail Me Now (1974)
The Last Record Album (1975)
Time Loves a Hero (1977)
Waiting For Columbus – Live (1978)
Bonus Disc from Waiting for Columbus: Expanded Edition
Down On the Farm (1979)
Hoy-Hoy! (1981)
Let It Roll (1988)
Representing the Mambo (1990)
Outtakes from Hotcakes and Outtakes (2000)