THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Little Feat have released a new Deluxe Edition of Feats Don’t Fail Me Now this summer, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the legendary group’s fourth studio album. It joins Rhino’s growing list of Little Feat reissues, including last year’s Deluxe Editions for Sailin’ Shoes and Dixie Chicken and 2022’s massive Waiting For Columbus box.
The Deluxe Editon of Feats Don’t Fail Me Now includes the original studio album, newly remastered from the original multi-track and two-track stereo tapes. It will also also feature rare and unreleased outtakes from the sessions, including alternate takes of album tracks like Rock & Roll Doctor and Oh Atlanta, plus early versions of songs destined for future albums, including Long Distance Love (The Last Record Album) and an unfinished version of Day At The Dog Races (Time Loves A Hero).
The presence of any session outtakes from Feats Don’t Fail Me Now is a minor miracle. The studio where the band made the album, Blue Seas Recording Studio in Baltimore, was a converted barge that sank into the harbor in 1977. Until recently, the session tapes were believed to be lost. As a tribute to the album’s birthplace, Little Feat will return to Baltimore this summer to play a special show celebrating the 50th anniversary of Feats Don’t Fail Me Now.
The CD version of Feats Don’t Fail Me Now includes a show recorded in Paris at L’Olympia in February 1975. The setlist leans heavily on songs from Feats Don’t Fail Me Now, while also weaving in earlier classics like Willin’ and Fat Man In The Bathtub. An exclusive CD featuring unreleased live performances recorded at The Rainbow in London in January 1975 is also available.
Originally released in August 1974, Feats Don’t Fail Me Now was the band’s fourth album overall, but only the second recorded by the classic lineup of singer-guitarist Lowell George, drummer Richard Hayward, keyboard player Bill Payne, singer-guitarist Paul Barrere, bassist Kenny Gradney and percussionist Sam Clayton. The album also features the R&B funk group Tower of Power on horns.
When it came out, the album received glowing reviews for its funky grooves and standout tracks like Rock & Roll Doctor, Oh Atlanta and the lead single Spanish Moon. The album went gold and was the band’s first to reach the Billboard Top 200, peaking at No. 36.”
