For most
bands to be recognized as having an influence on a wide and diverse scale most
bands would have to have racked up an armload of certifiable hit records and
sold a boatload of albums to have the necessary reach.
The simple
fact that they were comprised of former members of Frank Zappa’s backing band,
the Mother’s of Invention, may have been enough to give the band Little Feat
the cache they would need to be influential, but at the end of the day they
could be one of the few band’s that could wear the tag “no-hit wonders.”
Now,
longtime Rolling Stone Magazine
editor/contributor Ben Fong-Torres as taken on the overdue task to attempt to
explain the phenomenon that is Little Feat; a band who’s artistic reach
certainly exceeds it’s commercial success. In Willin’ - the Story of Little Feat, the all-to-familiar tale, an oddly
typical rock bio, features many of the usual suspects that that negatively
impact so many bands; the drugs, the romantic machinations, the in-fighting and
of course the musical differences.
The wide
breadth of musical styles the Little Feat incorporated into its sound, ranging
from; rock to blues to R&B and jazz with dash of funk and country combined
and delivered with a unique skill level can easily explain the impact the band
had on it’s casual and fellow musician fans.
Fong-Torres
does a nice job of unearthing some early childhood tidbits from frontman Lowell
George’s family that offer insight into unique dynamic that was part and parcel
of the band’s career.
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