Allen Toussaint gets the writing credit for River Boat, but if you’re looking to assign credits for the groove you can lay them right in front of Little Feat. Not quite as tasty as some of the band’s own gems, perhaps, but funk to burn. It’s around this point that one notes in passing that Palmer was considered for lead vocal duties when the Feat reformed in 1987. There was one slight difficulty with that concept, and it came in the form of a career that was starting to take off around Addicted to Love and a disinclination to find himself back in a band.
The title track, as noted before, mightn’t quite be up there with the mighty Toots but ain’t too shabby, close to five and a half minutes of Palmer and Little Feat hitting a fine reggae groove with warm vocal harmonies and a great rolling piano solo from Bill Payne.
The move from vinyl to CD with the subsequent removal of the need to flip the disc means that
Here with You Tonight, which would have kicked off Side Two, mightn’t be quite as effective following straight after Pressure Drop, but it’s a fine way to start the second half of proceedings. Great vocals, the guitar work is spot on, and the rhythm section cooks as it lopes along.
Lowell George’s Trouble follows, kicking off with a lurching tuba and Payne’s piano, and though I’d prefer the original for the vocals, the guitar work pops and starts through, the rhythm section choogles, and the whole thing displays a remarkable degree of chemistry.
But the best is still to come. Palmer’s Fine Time might have a false start, but once they hit the groove it’s a slow burn that would have been right at home on Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley. The backing smoulders as Palmer’s vocal swoops in and out of the funk like a nesting magpie as he chastises his girl for her sense of timing when it comes to announcements about the future.