''Sailin' Shoes'' is the second studio album by the American rock band

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, bassist Roy Estrada (both formerly of the Mothers of Invention), keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward in ...

, released in 1972. Produced by

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American musician and record producer. Among the acts with whom he has had a long relationship are the rock bands Van Halen and Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced ...

, it marked a shift away from the sound of the band's eponymous debut, to that of their subsequent album, '' Dixie Chicken''. It also introduced the cover artwork of Neon Park to the group, and was the last album appearance of original bassist

Roy Estrada Roy Estrada (also known as "Roy Ralph Moleman Guacamole Guadalupe Hidalgo Estrada" and "Orejón"; born April 17, 1943) is an American former musician. He is best known for being the original bassist of both the Mothers of Invention and Little Fea ...

Music and recording

The music of ''Sailin' Shoes'' is a mixture of pop,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

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. Highlighted by a reworked group version of " Willin'", the album also featured such enduring tracks as "A Apolitical Blues," "Easy to Slip" and the title track, all by guitarist and lead vocalist Lowell George, the second co-written with Martin Kibbee, credited as "Fred Martin", a former band-mate from

The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's art studio in Manhattan, New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famous for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities, and ...

, and the first appearance of the "George/Martin" credit on a Little Feat record. The track "Texas Rose Cafe" is a tribute to a post-Houston concert visit by Lowell George and others to the hippie restaurant/club/beer garden. During refreshments upstairs George had said that he liked the place so much that he was going to write a song about it and it would be on their next album. It turned out to be true and not just so much "beer talk". It was the last full Little Feat record to be produced by an outsider, until 1977's '' Time Loves a Hero'', with each of the three interim albums being produced almost entirely by Lowell George. Noted

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-based session percussionist

Milt Holland Milton Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian perc ...

played percussion on "Easy to Slip" and "Trouble" and he also played tabla on the follow-up album '' Dixie Chicken''. Ron Elliott of

the Beau Brummels The Beau Brummels were an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino (lead vocals), Ron Elliott (lead guitar), Ron Meagher (bass guitar), Declan Mulligan (rhythm guitar, bass, harm ...

played rhythm guitar on "A Apolitical Blues" and Debbie Lindsey provided the female vocals on "Cold, Cold, Cold" and the title track.

Artwork

With his design for a "sailing shoe" of a cake swinging on a tree swing, the album's front cover by Neon Park seems to be an allusion to '' The Swing'' by painter

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Jean-Honoré Fragonard (; 5 April 1732 (birth/baptism certificate) – 22 August 1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific art ...

. Park himself said of the cover: "The ''Sailin' Shoes'' cover was inspired by Louis XIV. I'd just seen Rossellini's film about Louis XIV. And it seemed to relate a lot to Hollywood. A situation ruled by someone who kept everybody under his thumb by keeping them in hock from buying fancy clothes seemed to relate to Hollywood somehow. Actually, the only thing that was missing was the Hollywood sign, which I was going to put in the background. I thought that would be gauche. But I had a chance to pick up on that later with '' The Last Record Album''.” The cover design also includes a giant snail and

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

dressed as Gainsborough's '' The Blue Boy'' as Park had been inspired by the film ''

Performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

''.

Reception

It was voted number 469 in the third edition of

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

'' (2000). In 2008 the album was released as Gold CD by

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL or MoFi) is a record label that specialized in the production of audiophile issues. The company produces reissued vinyl LP records, compact discs, and Super Audio CDs and other formats. History Recording engine ...

. ''

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'' said that "Easy to Slip" "features passionate vocal harmonies and one of the finest rhythm sections that ever rocked."

Cover versions

" Willin'" has been covered numerous times by various artists. *In 1972

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, record producer, singer, and former Warner Bros. Records executive whose work encompasses orchestral pop, elaborate recording experiments, Ame ...

covered "Sailin' Shoes" on his album '' Discover America''. *In 1973, the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth covered "Teenage Nervous Breakdown" on their album '' Loud 'n' Proud''. *In 1974, backed by

The Meters The Meters (later The Funky Meters) are an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), George Porter Jr. (bass), Leo Nocentelli (guitar) and Art Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their o ...

and Lowell George, Robert Palmer covered "Sailin' Shoes" on his debut solo album '' Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley''. *In 1975, Robert Palmer covered "Trouble" on his album ''

Pressure Drop Pressure drop (often abbreviated as "dP" or "ΔP") is defined as the difference in total pressure between two points of a fluid carrying network. A pressure drop occurs when frictional forces, caused by the resistance to flow, act on a fluid as i ...

''. *In 1977,

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with the Other Ones, later known as the Dead ...

covered "Easy to Slip" on his solo release '' Heaven Help the Fool''. *In 1988,

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

recorded a cover of "A Apolitical Blues" on their album, ''

OU812 ''OU812'' (pronounced "Oh You Ate One Too") is the eighth studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1988 and is the band's second album to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. Van Halen began work on the album in September 1987 ...

'', although the song is not included on cassette and vinyl copies of the album. *In 2022, The Black Crowes recorded a cover of "Easy To Slip" on their covers EP, ''

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

''.

Track listing

*All tracks written and sung by Lowell George, except where noted. Side one #"Easy to Slip" (Lowell George, Fred Martin) – 3:22 #"Cold, Cold, Cold" – 4:01 #"Trouble" – 2:19 #"Tripe Face Boogie" (

Richie Hayward Richard Hayward (February 6, 1946 – August 12, 2010) was an American drummer best known as a founding member and drummer in the band Little Feat. He performed with several bands and worked as a session player. Hayward also joined with fri ...

Bill Payne William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949, in Waco, Texas) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest A ...

) – 3:16 #" Willin'" – 2:57 #"A Apolitical Blues" – 3:28 Side two #"Sailin' Shoes" – 2:53 #"Teenage Nervous Breakdown" – 2:13 #"Got No Shadow" (Payne) – 5:08 #"Cat Fever" (Payne) – 4:37 (lead singer: Bill Payne) #"Texas Rose Café" – 3:42

Deluxe edition

A remastered and expanded edition of ''Sailin' Shoes'' was released on June 23, 2023. This new edition is a 2-CD set, with the original album on disc one, and bonus material on disc two labeled as ''Hotcakes, Outtakes & Rarities''. Tracks 12 to 21 were recorded live in Los Angeles on August 28, 1971.

Personnel

;Little Feat * Lowell George - lead vocals (except "Cat Fever"), backing vocals, guitar,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

- lead vocals ("Cat Fever"), backing vocals,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

, piano,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

- backing vocals, bass *

- backing vocals, drums, percussion Additional *

- percussion on "Easy to Slip" and "Trouble" * Sneaky Pete Kleinow -

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

on "Willin'" and "Texas Rose Café" *Debbie Lindsey - backing vocals on "Cold Cold Cold" and "Sailin' Shoes" * Ron Elliott - rhythm guitar on "A Apolitical Blues"