Southern Rock is a term given to music that isn’t quite Country music but has arisen out of the Southern American area of the USA. One of the greatest bands to pop up in this genre are Little Feat. With legendary guitarist Lowell George and many other talented musicians on this record, this definitely should be an interesting and exciting listen, way back in 1973. Without any further hesitation, let’s take a listen to Little Feat’s greatest and best-known album and hear where it takes us.

Dixie Chicken is the first track here, launching straight into it with deep basslines, congo drums, some upbeat piano and gorgeous electric slide guitar. Instantly, you can hear how fantastic this song is, and it is a gorgeous and very Southern Rock groove to boot. There are female backing vocals throughout as well, which is icing on the cake. Nonetheless, this music is fantastic and the singing sounds semi-wasted, likely intentionally. Still, this is instantly gorgeous and great. The music present comes across as neo-Country music and is loveable and totally enjoyable. In the second half is a gorgeous and upbeat slide guitar solo that sounds brilliant. With lyrical references to Rock and Roll music and living a life abroad, this is a fantastic and soulful listen. Great tune at hand, even if you are not a fan of Southern Rock or borderline Country music. There are pretty harmonies and harmonica in the fade out. Excellent.

Two Trains begins with a Classic Rock organ, cocked wah-wah guitar and a great exploration into sound. Singing about looking back into the then not-so-distant past, Little Feat continues with their wonderful Southern Rock tunes. Yes, this is following a formula, but the sounds present are very catchy, awesome and worth repeat listens. Nonetheless, a passionate and energetic tune with loads of overdriven and fuzz-laden slide guitar within. There are many wall-of-sound style layers on this tune, and this song is truly awesome. Great music to hear if you want Classic Rock style Country music with lyrical Surrealism to it. Brilliant.

Roll Um Easy is obviously a song referring to smoking. It begins with slow and nicely melodic acoustic guitar with some deep and meaningful singing about smoking for personal enjoyment. A great slow and lovely melodic tune, and although this is not specifically about tobacco, marijuana, both or something else, it is a pleasant and enjoyable listen throughout. A top sounding tune to lie back, smoke and relax to, this is a fantastic song. Excellent work, and very pleasant Southern Rock to hear.

On Your Way Down begins with some odd sounding and melodic piano. It illuminates this brilliant song, and soon enough, we enter 1970s heaven. This makes the listening experience even more excellent than what you’d typically consider for Southern Rock. A beautiful, semi-psychedelic and really brilliant listen, this blows away a lot of the sell-out music on the radio today, and is invincible musically without question. A wonderful, thoughtful and accomplished listening experience, this sounds truly awesome. This piece is a bit more of an established jam track, and runs for over five minutes. Still, there is nothing boring nor wasteful musically here, in particular the solo section with some amazing Fender guitars is truly gorgeous. Overall, this is a very great piece for Country music loving USA to play inside their pickup truck. Catchy, interesting and well delivered, this is a must listen from this album. Mindblowing and awesome, this sounds top notch. The outro continues the extended jam feel and sounds mindblowing. A great musical mixture, all the way through to the fade out.

Kiss It Off begins with some Progressive Rock sounding organ, tabla Indian drums and acoustic guitar. Obviously, these guys enjoyed their drugs. Despite that, this is a very wacky and interesting sounding tune that sounds really top. This is very much inspired by some of the things that Progressive Rock was doing at the time (it was 1973, after all) and is a bit different from the rest of the album so far. All in all, this piece does a fine job at producing a fine sonic template for the fluttering vocals to go over. Gloriously good, Little Feat exceed beyond expectations. Not a moment is wasted listening to this album, it ends with a ghostly fade out.

Fool Yourself begins with a basic drum beat, some good intertwined guitars and keyboard, before additional acoustic guitars enter and some great and confident singing begins. This is a simple tune that hits the spot. There is no doubt that a release like this has inspired the Eagles own legendary music on their 1976 Hotel California album, and elsewhere. In short, moving and emotional songs from an album such as this has really stood the test of time. A really cool, varied and lovely listen, this is truly monumental. A truly great exploration of everything great of Southern Rock, Little Feat do amazing wonders. A melodic, interesting and hardworked sounding tune, this album is solid gold. Great.

Walkin All Night begins with some interesting slide guitar, followed by some interesting dual tracked guitars, organ and a vocal that sounds intense. This song is likely about chasing promiscuous women around town, and it is not for those who consider love a sacred thing. There is some excellent slide guitar and a cheeky, raunchy sense of humour on this song. A truly awesome tune, even for a less popular track on this album, it sounds very catchy and wonderfully melodic. Really excellent music, this sounds like a really A Grade tune. The touch of piano and other instrumentation on this album are really fine and great, and the chorus is super catchy. Nice and interesting listen with a dramatic finish. Good work guys.

Fat Man in the Bathtub is a weird listen from this album, as the title indicates. It has some marching style drums, awesome slide guitar and punchy piano. A really quirky and quintessential listen for Little Feat and Southern Rock fans, this is Salvador Dali style American territory, stuff that many simply would not get or understand. Still, this is one of the more popular songs from the album and frankly, it is great for what it is. A lively, powerful and interesting tune which is well structured and variable, it perfectly matches the wacky lyrics and slide guitars galore are here on this song. This is a good, decent and punchy listen that is definitely worth it for a bit of a strange laugh. It’s exactly intended to be. Great song and album so far, this is an excellent and energetic tune which ticks all the right boxes. Good work from everyone in the band, the outro has some more marching style snare drum playing and multitracked female vocals. Nice, if you dig quirky music.

Juliette begins with some pretty melodic organ playing and multitracked overdubs to make quite a moody piece of music. It sounds really pretty, and soon enough the rest of the band follow. This continues the theme of Southern Rock derived from Country music with surreal lyrics and many interesting twists and turns. This tune is quite clearly a devotional love song, and it just sounds pretty and brilliant. A really cool tune, this is something to lie on the bed, put your headphones on and close your eyes to in concentration for the lovely music here. It is simply that great, and there is not a bad nor dull moment on this album. This song finishes up with some great piano and meshed up overdubs to boot. Excellent, an album that can’t be beat.

Lafayette Railroad is a different sounding piece with precise bass driven grooves, congo drums, organ and quirky slide guitar. This is a very different sounding and clever jam that Little Feat had created here, it simply sounds irresistable music to go. This is a wonderfully interesting and quirky piece compared to everything before it on the album. No singing or lyrics present, this tune is straight up amazing. A lush and interesting 1970s Southern Rock tune that demands to be heard, this is just like a decent KFC meal set to music. Great sounds abound throughout, the piece ends with a slow and subtle fade out.

This is a brilliantly played and performed album and kickstarted Little Feat’s amazing run of quintessential 1970s releases that were loved by fans and applauded by critics. Although this may be a turn off to those who may think this is Country music, it is not unbearable to hear like a lot of Country music is. This is Southern Rock at its finest, and still sounds brilliant today. The cover art says it all, pure sensual brilliance.

A good and audibly edible piece of Dixie Chicken.

9/10