Lowell George

Two degrees in Bebop, a Ph.D. in swing/He's a Master of Rhythm, he's a rock & roll king."
Lowell George's résumé, when it appeared on 1974's Feats Don't Fail Me Now, seemed only
a slight exaggeration. At the time, George, as leader of Little Feat, was dean of the cool
school. His lyrics were witty but studiously inconsequential, and his music was beginning
to suggest a whole new orientation for rock. George's trademark was the clean,... More >

You are of course familiar with the recording industry phenomenon in which a vocalist enters the studio (or many studios) with a few (or many) well-regarded musicians and they all "cut" between eight and eleven songs written by the vocalist, the vocalist's friends, and some lucky black people. Here the smartest member of Little Feat does this. Unfortunately, singing has never been his strong point, and the compositions are as flaccid as any he's ever made public. Or maybe it only sounds that way because we're used to hearing him atop Little Feat's contradictory funk, not the obliging groove well-regarded musicians usually achieve under such circumstances. (Grade: C+)