When Little Feat released The Last Record Album in 1975, the Californian rock collective stood at a crossroads. Their distinctive fusion of funk, soul, country and blues had earned them a loyal cult following, but their fifth studio album hinted at the creative tensions and personal struggles that would soon define the band’s future.
Issued through Warner Bros. Records, The Last Record Album arrived during a prolific period for Little Feat, led by the mercurial Lowell George. The title and its cover art, designed by Neon Park, were a playful nod to The Last Picture Show – the 1971 black-and-white masterpiece about the decline of small-town America. Park’s surreal artwork transformed Hollywood Boulevard into a desert landscape, complete with a Jell-O mould parodying the Hollywood sign, and a bleak undertone that seemed to foreshadow both George’s own fading enthusiasm and the band’s impending creative turbulence.
By 1975, Little Feat’s lineup included George (vocals, guitar), Bill Payne (keyboards), Paul Barrère (guitar), Kenny Gradney (bass), Richie Hayward (drums) and Sam Clayton (percussion). Though united in musical brilliance, their creative differences were starting to surface. Payne and Barrère were writing more of the material, subtly shifting the band’s sound from George’s swampy Southern funk toward a slicker, jazz-inflected rock style.
The record runs for only eight songs, yet within its concise runtime lies some of Little Feat’s most beloved moments. All That You Dream and Mercenary Territory showcase Barrère and Payne’s sophisticated songwriting, while George’s Long Distance Love remains one of the most soulful ballads in the Feat canon. “Those that succeed are quite good,” wrote Stephen Thomas Erlewine for AllMusic, praising the album’s highlights while noting that “it’s clear the band is beginning to run out of steam.”
The irony of the album’s title was not lost on fans or critics. The Last Record Album was never meant to be the band’s swansong, but the phrase hinted at exhaustion. Within two years, George would all but withdraw from the group, focusing instead on his 1979 solo record Thanks I’ll Eat It Here, released shortly before his death that same year.
Still, the album carried commercial weight, peaking at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 and No. 51 in Australia’s Kent Music Report. John Peel’s 1976 Festive Fifty ranked Long Distance Love at No. 26, reflecting the track’s enduring appeal to UK audiences. In 2000, The Last Record Album was voted No. 555 in Colin Larkin’s All Time Top 1000 Albums, a testament to its slow-burning legacy.
Adam Sweeting of The Guardian later reflected on the record’s bittersweet undertones, recalling how Lowell George used medical bills from drummer Richie Hayward’s 1974 motorcycle accident as sleeve decoration – a chilling metaphor, given Hayward’s later health struggles and eventual passing in 2010.
Carly Simon covered One Love Stand on her 1976 album Another Passenger, keeping the Feat spirit alive in her own smoky, East Coast style. Linda Rondstadt covered ‘All That You Dream’ on her 1978 album ‘Living In The USA’. Linda sang backing vocals on the original Little Feat version. Nearly five decades later, Elvis Costello paid tribute with his version of Long Distance Love on Long Distance Love: A Sweet Relief Tribute to Lowell George, released in 2024, proving that George’s emotional reach transcends time.
The Last Record Album may not have been Little Feat’s most cohesive release, but it captured a band wrestling with its own brilliance. The record set the stage for 1977’s Time Loves A Hero, an album that leaned fully into jazz-fusion and would become the group’s final major statement before George’s death.
Half a century later, The Last Record Album stands as both an artefact of 1970s American rock and a poignant chapter in one of the most musically adventurous bands of their era – a record caught between brilliance and burnout, love and loss, and the restless spirit of a band forever chasing the groove.
Tracklisting
Side One
Romance Dance (Barrère, Gradney, Payne) – 3:49
All That You Dream (Barrère, Payne) – 3:52
Long Distance Love (George) – 2:43
Day Or Night (Payne, Fran Tate) – 6:24
Side Two
One Love Stand (Barrère, Gradney, Payne) – 4:26
Down Below The Borderline (George) – 3:41
Somebody’s Leavin’ (Payne) – 5:07
Mercenary Territory (George, Hayward, Elizabeth George) – 4:27
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
