Little Feat Playing on 'Japanese Girl'

I've been listening to Akiko Yano's amazing 1976 debut, which features backing by Little Feat (on top form) for the whole of Side 1, and there doesn't seem to be much info about it online, so I was wondering if perhaps someone on this here highly knowledgeable and friendly forum could shed some light on how exactly a 21 year old Japanese singer managed to recruit the Feat for her first album?

Listen here:

 

Hello,

Lowell George was a very-much-in-demand producer right from the early 1970's until his untimely death in mid 1979. And Little Feat were often employed as the "band" for many a great record session in the 1970's, Akiko Yano being one of those sessions.

This recording is mentioned in the Little feat book Willin', but it suggests that Lowell George was employed as producer, & so he naturally brought in his band for yet another backing role. If it's a Warner Brothers Album, you may find more information from them.

Robert Palmer also had Little Feat backing him up on the albums "Sneaking Sally through the alley" & "Pressure Drop" if you'd like to hear more.

Cheers,

Gregster

 

Hello,

Further investigation suggests that Bill Payne ( Keyboards ) did not play on these sessions, & that Lowell is also credited for playing flute on one of the tracks along with his much celebrated slide-guitar-work. I sourced this further information from the book "Rock and Roll Doctor" by Mark Brend. I hope this helps a little more.

Cheers,

Gregster

 

Thank you for the info. I used to own those Robert Palmer albums, as I was a huge Feat fan back in the 70's, but I only found out about this Akiko Yano a short time ago. I love Lowell's guitar work on track two, where he's playing slide but with a Japanese type melody.

 

The band minus Richie Hayward played on the jazz drummer Chico Hamilton's album "The Master" on Stax.
I'm not sure how or why that happened but it's a great Feat like album, all instrumental and worth checking out.
Here's a link to the cover and details.

http://www.discogs.com/Chico-The-Master/master/168330

 

Hello,

As mentioned, Lowell George was in very high demand as a producer, as he had an ability to let the musicians settle in to their own parts as they wanted to, & only offering advice / guidance if they strayed too far from what was needed. In other words, he was easy to get-along-with, a party-animal, & most importantly, he got results ! There's been many records that have had his hand in recording / producing that have made stars out-of-people, & perhaps unluckily, that same luck didn't quite get LITTLE FEAT to the same souring heights of success that they deserved.

There's also a really good DVD released only late last year titled "Feats First, the life & music of Lowell George" that I've found to be a most excellent biography of the man, & his effect on his peers & friends through the course of his short but celebrated music career. You'll be quite surprised a how well the film displays the times of the late 1960's & 1970's of the music scene in & around California, & why it was the place to be. It's a very involving & personal glimpse into the professional & sometimes personal life of a real "shooting star", taken away from us way-too-soon. Check it out !!!

Cheers,

Gregster

 

I'll have to give this a spin. I can't even remember where or when I bought it