Rooster Rag

Featuring Little Feat's first new material in nearly a decade and drummer Gabe Ford on drums in place of the late Richie Hayward (who passed in 2010), Rooster Rag proves that the band is among the strongest Americana roots-rockers in a field that just saw Levon Helm take to the sky. The Willie Dixon–penned Little Walter classic "Mellow Down Easy" brings out the best in Sam Clayton, who sings it with all the grit in his soul. Paul Barrere cruises through the loose groove of "Just a Fever." Feat's four singers provide plenty of variety, and the group brings Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter to collaborate with Bill Payne on writing four tracks, including the funky rockers "Salome" and "Way Down Under" and the fiddle-fired title track. A touch of reggae informs "Jamaica Will Break Your Heart," while Fred Tackett nails the vocals on the bluesy mandolin and organ of "Church Falling Down." Decades on, Little Feat continues to showcase the understated beauty that naturally occurs when expert musicians get together and play in a room.