Rhino -- The Lefsetz Letter

I was trying to explain Lowell George to Felice.

Last week I went to Rhino in Burbank to do my inaugural podcast.

God, what a schlep. Took me an hour. Never mind the respite for refueling at Quizno's where I ate with strippers. If you've ever been to Burbank you know what a disconnect this is, Burbank's Okieville, then again, don't all strippers come from the midwest? And it was fascinating being in an office, with all the PEOPLE! I didn't know anybody, but they all knew me, which I don't have a problem with! And, after b.s.'ing with David Dorn, I went into the "studio" to cut my piece. They'd told me I could play anything on WB, however I found out that afternoon I was limited to thirty second snippets, which 86'ed the piece I was going to do on Andrew Gold, wherein I was going to play the entire "One Of Them Is Me" at the end, so I went with Plan B, Lowell.

That's kind of the problem. Lowell was always B. And today, when we're only concerned with A, when marginal talents like Chris Martin rule, there's no place for the legacy of Lowell George, unless you were exposed to it the first time around, when sales weren't equated with quality, when just one listen to "Long Distance Love" told you this was a talent that eclipsed almost anything on the hit parade.

So I'm downloading tracks. The same ones I played the snippets of at Rhino. To give Felice the flavor.

There's the end of Bonnie Raitt's "I Feel The Same". James Taylor's "Angry Blues". And, of course, Feat classics like "Juliette" and "Fat Man In The Bathtub". And then, waxing rhapsodic, I started talking about the first Robert Palmer album, wherein "Sailin' Shoes" segues into "Hey Julia" then "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley". But I didn't download those, it just seemed TOO far off point. But when I got the latest Robert Palmer compilation from Universal in the mail today, I had to fire it up, to hear this trilogy.

Actually, I discovered Robert Palmer via "Give Me An Inch", from the second album. Wow, what a SOUND! Before strings had a dirty name. Before Robert started belting. He's so SMOOTH! Makes you melt, like locking eyes with someone you've gone out with a few times and now realize you're going to not only fuck, but have a relationship with.

And loving "Give Me An Inch" so much, I purchased the FIRST Robert Palmer album, "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley". I dropped the needle and...

One could argue the best part of Little Feat's "Sailin' Shoes" album is the cover, with the cake on the swing, the cake with the slice removed, that slice resembling...the opening all of us males want to penetrate? Still, there's some great stuff on the record. "Cold Cold Cold", "Tripe Face Boogie", and my number one bump skiing song, "Easy To Slip". And a quiet version of the title track.

Robert Palmer's cover is funky in the way most OTHER Little Feat material is. And it's good, but what makes it great is the way it devolves into "Hey Julia". The song just slows down, breaks down and turns into something else. You think it's over, but it's CONTINUING!

And the same thing happens at the end of "Hey Julia". You get that funky Little Feat bass and Lowell George slide and suddenly you've got the drippingest white soul music of the era. "Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley" was written by Allen Toussaint, and it SOUNDS like it.

All told, the trilogy is just shy of ten minutes. I've heard it on XM, but never on commercial radio. It's music like this that made us fans. You dropped the needle on this, and you needed MORE!!

(P.S. They tell me my podcast debut is still a month plus away, so you can't hear it yet!)

Bob Lefsetz, Santa Monica-based industry legend, is the author of the e-mail newsletter, "The Lefsetz Letter". Famous for being beholden to no one, and speaking the truth, Lefsetz addresses the issues that are at the core of the music business: downloading, copy protection, pricing and the music itself. His intense brilliance captivates readers from Steven Tyler to Rick Nielsen to Bryan Adams to Quincy Jones to EVERYBODY who's in the music business. Never boring, always entertaining, Mr. Lefsetz's insights are fueled by his stint as an entertainment business attorney, majordomo of Sanctuary Music's American division and consultancies to major labels.

While Rhino may occasionally disagree with some of Bob's opinions, we certainly agree with his right to state them. At the bottom of each column we give you, the reader, the opportunity to respond and we encourage you to do so. We will post select comments.

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Comments:

Robert Palmer was always THE voice of white soul. He was smooth, funky and man could he sing (and look damn good doing it too). For the unitiated who only know him through "Addicted to Love" et al, you owe it to yourself to pick up at least his '70s albums, all with stellar high points. (For the casual listener, choose your RP compilation wisely, as the featured early tracks are typically HORRIBLY remixed. And avoid Addictions, Volume 2 altogether..just dreadful.) It should be noted too that before settling on his own band, Palmer's backing players on his early records included none other than Lowell George and Little Feat and that badass Naw'lins band, the Meters. (And yes, WEBN in Cincy was a great station in the '70s but no longer, as seems to be the trend in radio...but's that another column...right, Mr. Lefsetz?)
Jay

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Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley

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