Little Feat-Highwire Act Live in St. Louis (2003)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Music	Main Menu Audio Booklet Gallery-Photo Featurette-Little Feat Close Up In St Louis Discography Web Links
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	133:16 (Case: 144)
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (71:24)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Warner Vision	Starring	Paul Barrere Bill Payne Fred Tackett Richie Hayward Sam Clayton Kenny Gradney Shaun Murphy
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (1536Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.75:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.75:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

    I count myself amongst the fans of Little Feat's rockin' mix of southern rock, boogie, blues and Cajun. I own quite a few of their albums spread across their career from their very early stuff through to more recent recordings. They have a relaxed laid-back style which appeals to me, whilst maintaining the beat and rhythm of the best rock. This was my first opportunity to get a look at them in concert.

    Little Feat first formed in 1969 in California and are still a going concern today, and unlike some other groups still going around from that era have maintained a significant proportion of the line-up from their glory days in the 1970s. The only main member missing is Lowell George, one of the founders of the group and certainly the main creative force in the early years. The group still performs many of his songs. The albums recorded from 1971 to 1977 contain most of the well known numbers and certainly make up a fair proportion of the tunes performed here. Having said that there are also some newer tunes, some of which are pretty darn good. Unfortunately, Lowell died of a heart attack in 1979, but had already left the group at that point. The group had a hiatus after that until 1988 when they recorded a new studio album, Let it Roll, which was quite successful.

    The members of the group playing in this show are:

• Paul Barrere - Singer/Guitar, joined in 1973
• Bill Payne - Singer/Keyboards, joined before first album in 1971
• Fred Tackett - Guitar/Trumpet/Mandolin, appeared on first album but not full member until later
• Richie Hayward - Drums, joined before first album in 1971
• Sam Clayton - Congas/Percussion/Vocals, joined in 1973
• Kenny Gradney - Bass, joined in 1973
• Shaun Murphy - Vocals, joined in 1995, first female member

    This concert was recorded in 2003 at a theatre called The Pageant in St Louis in front of a very appreciative crowd using digital video and audio recording. This is a very enjoyable show, performed by a group of musicians who have been playing together for a very long time and who know their material very well.

    In detail the tracks included are:

1. Time Loves A Hero (5:58) From their 1977 album Time Loves A Hero. Bill Payne lead vocals. Good low key version of one of their best tunes.
2. Day or Night (9:35) From the 1975 album The Last Record Album. Paul Barrere lead vocals. This is probably the weakest track in the concert, with lots of aimless jamming after a good solo by PB.
3. Cadillac Hotel (6:51) From 1995 album Ain't Had Enough Fun. Shaun Murphy lead vocals. Good newer tune, well played.
4. Spanish Moon (7:58) From the 1974 album Feats Don't Fail Me Now. Sam Clayton lead vocals. Unfortunately, Sam's voice is pretty rough these days and so this classic track does not really come off that well.
5. Skin It Back (7:45) From the 1974 album Feats Don't Fail Me Now. Paul Barrere lead vocals. Nice guitar solo by Paul Barrere.
6. Cajun Girl (6:48) From their comeback 1988 album Let It Roll. Paul Barrere lead vocals. Fred Tackett on mandolin. Bopping Cajun tune.
7. Night on the Town (7:03) From their latest album Kickin' it at the Barn (2003). Paul Barrere lead vocals and some nice slide guitar. This is a great track which shows they are still producing good new music.
8. I'd be Lyin' (6:10) From their latest album Kickin' it at the Barn (2003). Shaun Murphy lead vocals. Not quite as strong as the other new track but certainly not bad.
9. The Blues Don't Tell It All (6:07) From their 1998 album Under The Radar. Shaun Murphy lead vocals.
10. Old Folks Boogie (7:06) From their 1977 album Time Loves A Hero. Paul Barrere lead vocals. Includes a cool piano solo from Bill Payne and some great guitar by Paul Barrere.
11. Oh Atlanta (4:53) From the 1974 album Feats Don't Fail Me Now. Bill Payne lead vocals. A good version of one of their best known songs featuring a slide solo by Fred Tackett. 
12. Dixie Chicken (13:44) From their 1973 album Dixie Chicken. Paul Barrere lead vocals. This is a track they regularly like to turn into a long jam during concerts, and this is no exception, although Paul Barrere says at the end 'That was a small serving of Chicken'. Includes one of the worst Rock'n'Roll excesses, the bass solo.
13. Tripe Face Boogie (7:18) From their 1972 album Sailin' Shoes. Bill Payne lead vocals. This one includes some trumpet from Fred Tackett and a slower jazzy jam in the middle.
14. Fat Man in the Bathtub (11:50) From their 1973 album Dixie Chicken. Paul Barrere lead vocals. Another long jam including a drum solo!
15. Let It Roll (9:34) From their comeback 1988 album Let It Roll. Paul Barrere lead vocals. Tasty guitar by Fred Tackett.
16. Willin' (8:06) The only track included from their first album, 1971's Little Feat. Paul Barrere lead vocals. This is a slower version than I have heard before and includes some Mandolin by Fred Tackett. Probably the highlight of the show.
17. Feats Don't Fail Me Now (6:25) From the 1974 album Feats Don't Fail Me Now. Paul Barrere lead vocals. A fitting finale to the show.

    All-in-all this is a very enjoyable concert film which includes an entire concert of one of my favourite American bands. Fans should definitely get this unless they think the band died with Lowell George.

Video

    The video quality is excellent and I can find no fault with it.

    The feature is presented in a 1.75:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced.

    The picture was clear and sharp throughout with excellent detail levels and no evidence of low level noise.

    The colour was excellent.

    There were no noticeable artefacts.

    There are no subtitles.

    The layer change occurs at 71:24 and is well placed between songs.
    

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is very good. The only issues I had with the sound were problems with the original performance rather than the transfer (at least of the Dolby Digital 5.1 track anyway).

    This DVD contains three audio options, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s, a DTS soundtrack encoded at 1536Kb/s and a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s. I started out listening to the DTS track but was quite disappointed and ended up listening to the Dolby Digital 5.1 track for the rest of the concert. I found the DTS track to be muffled and a little muddy whereas the Dolby Digital track was very clear and precise. The Stereo track will do nicely for those without surround sound.

    Vocals were generally clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync. Paul Barrere's enunciation left a little to be desired and occasionally his vocals were a little difficult to decipher.

    As with many concert films the surround speakers were used mostly for crowd noise rather than carrying the instruments. This works well in providing realistic concert atmosphere

    The subwoofer provided nicely integrated bass which added depth to the music.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu has a nice intro and provided access to audio options and song selection functionality. It also included some pretty cool music.

Booklet

    A four page booklet is included which has a blurb by Paul Barrere, photos and a credits listing.

Photo Gallery (1:09)

    A small collection of stills from the concert.

Little Feat - Close Up in St Louis (11:09)

    This featurette includes interviews with all the band members and includes details about the band's history, how the name came about, their cover art and what they have been up to lately. Worth watching.

Discography

    Pictures of the album covers for all their albums. If you have not seen them, Little Feat's album covers are some of the best ever.

Weblink

    A link is provided to www.littlefeat.com for news and tour information.

    This concert has been released in the same format in Region 1.

    The video quality is excellent.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The disc has a small selection of extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall