Little Feat Creates Blues Magic with ‘Can’t Be Satisfied’

Photo: Fletcher Moore

Little Feat Creates Blues Magic with ‘Can’t Be Satisfied’

“You want to know what’s as fun as listening to Little Feat on Sam’s Place?” says Bill Payne of the acclaimed and iconic band Little Feat. “Watching the video of ‘Can’t Be Satisfied!’ You are brought into the studio with us. The smiles are real, the music kicks, and you can’t get much closer to the action than this!”

“Can’t Be Satisfied,” a rollicking cover of the classic Muddy Waters-written song, is the second offering from the jumping Sam’s Place (Hot Tomato Productions/MRI). Due out May 17, it marks their first new studio album in 12 years; first-ever blues album; and the first one to feature linchpin conga player Sam Clayton on lead vocals on every song. The video was filmed at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, TN and directed by Grant James and Jesse Lauter.

“Can’t Be Satisfied”

 
Stream the new single HERE

“This song was one we played back-to-back for many years with ‘Hot Tamales,’” says Bill Payne about “Can’t Be Satisfied.” “Tony Leone got hold of the rhythm track and gave it new life with a walking tempo. Yes, it’s a dark song with pistols in the face and the like, but there is a joy in the track, uplifting and impossible not to love.” The song features special guest Michael “The Bull” LoBue on harmonica.

The members of Little Feat 2024 are Bill Payne, Keyboards and Vocals; Sam Clayton, Percussion and Vocals; Fred Tackett, Guitars and Vocals, Kenny Gradney, Bass; Scott Sharrard, Guitars and Vocals; and Tony Leone, drums and vocals. Their individual musical chops and collective chemistry light up the nine-track Sam’s Place, which was waxed at Sam Phillips Recording in Memphis, TN (August 2023), except for “Got My Mojo Working (Live),” recorded live at the Boulder Theatre in Boulder, CO (December 17, 2022). This is the first Little Feat album recorded with new members Sharrard and Leone.

“You can’t make a blues album without playing some Muddy Waters,” says Scott Sharrard, “and Little Feat has performed this on live shows over the years. What sets this rendition apart is Tony Leone’s nod to Levon Helm with the drum groove. This arrangement takes you from Mississippi, up to Chicago and lands down in Arkansas, where both Fred Tackett and Levon Helm were born.”

“Can’t Be Satisfied” follows the album’s first single/video “You’ll Be Mine,” a cover of the Willie Dixon-written chestnut popularized by Howlin’ Wolf. Watch the video HERE Pre-order/pre-save the album HERE.

Sam’s Place is a joyously blues-soaked party. The band’s longtime friend, the beloved Bonnie Raitt, provides vocals on the Muddy Waters gem “Long Distance Call,” a duet with Sam, and the album’s other special guests are Michael “Bull” LoBue on harmonica, Marc Franklin on trumpet, and Art Edmaiston on saxophone on select songs.

Little Feat emerged from the pandemic with their sense of humor, chops, and collective joy in playing intact—and their creativity has been renewed with Sam’s Place The idea for the album started with Bill, but the whole band jumped in. They started working on songs at sound checks. Sam, Scott and Fred wrote a new song, “Milk Man.” Visiting backstage at a FEAT show, Bonnie Raitt suggested the Howlin’ Wolf tune “You Will Be Mine.” Scott suggested “Why People Like That,” a Bobby Charles tune. Sam chose the Willy Dixon-penned “Don’t Go No Further,” a deep Muddy track. And they included a live version of “Got My Mojo Working.”

Scott had recorded in Memphis, and they eventually found their way to the second Phillips (the first was Sun Studios, where Elvis began his career) studio there, complete with Jerry Lee Lewis’s piano, which Bill noted “practically played itself.” FEAT’s a rock band, but as Scott observed, at the end “the blues is home,” and they basically recorded it live in the studio, in the tradition. Their playing is at an all-time high, and Bill thought their musical conversation was “flawless.”

Little Feat will be busy this summer on the road. From touring with the Tedeschi Trucks Band to headline shows with The Wood Brothers, Los Lobos, Marc Broussard, Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel, The Steel Wheels, and Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley, there will be plenty of chances to boogie with the band. For their Baltimore, MD show on June 14, Little Feat will perform their classic 1973 album, Feats Don’t Fail Me Now, in its entirety. Tickets are available HERE.

Track listing Sam’s Place
1. Milkman- Written by Sam Clayton (ASCAP), Fred Tackett for Hoceanna Music (ASCAP), and Scott Sharrard for Brickyard Blues Music BMI
2. You’ll Be Mine – Written by Willie Dixon for Hoochie Coochie Music (BMI)
3. Long Distance Call – Written by Muddy Waters for Watertoons (BMI)
4. Don’t Go No Further – Written by Willie Dixon for Hoochie Coochie Music (BMI)
5. Can’t Be Satisfied – Written by Muddy Waters for Watertoons (BMI)
6. Last Night – Written by Walter Jacobs for ARC Music (BMI)
7. Why People Like That – Written by Bobby Charles for Street People Songs (BMI)
8. Mellow Down Easy – Written by Willie Dixon for BMG Bumblebee (BMI)
9. Got My Mojo Working (Live) – Written by Preston Foster for Dar Music, Inc (BMI)

Little Feat website