Various Artists - Rock and Roll Doctor: Lowell George Tribute

As the guitarist, vocalist and primary songwriter for Little Feat, Lowell George was one of the biggest cult heroes of the '70s, creating a body of work that was deeply set within the blues tradition yet fiercely idiosyncratic and weird. It was the kind of music that earns a large cult following, but doesn't guarantee good covers, since its very quirkiness is among its most appealing traits. Basically, it's a question of matching the right artist with the right song, something that happens about half of the time on Rock N Roll Doctor (A Tribute to Lowell George). By the time the tribute record was released in 1998, his "Willin'" had long been established as a classic, the kind of song that could be covered by anyone -- along with "Dixie Chicken," it's one of the rare universal songs in George's catalog -- but Rock N Roll Doctor doesn't include either of those songs, or "Fat Man in the Bathtub." Instead, its 13 tracks are all relatively obscure, known to hardcore fans but not casual listeners, and this album is a record made by hardcore fans for hardcore fans. That doesn't mean it's necessarily all successful. Eddie Money wasn't really meant to sing the title track, and a couple of cuts, ironically including Little Feat's reworking of "Honest Man," are a bit too reverant to his memory (the group erases that negative with a storming "Cold, Cold, Cold," performed as a duet with Bonnie Raitt). But the best songs -- the Bottle Rockets and David Lindley's "Rocket in My Pocket," Jackson Browne's "I've Been the One," Taj Mahal's "Feats Don't Fail Me Now," J.D. Souther's "Roll Um Easy," Allen Toussaint & Leo Nocentelli's "Tow Trains" and especially Randy Newman & Valerie Carter's "Sailing Shoes" -- demonstrate that George's songs can live on, provided that the artists perform them with as much imagination as he wrote them with. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alan Mirikitani Guitar, Percussion, Vocals (Background) Allen Toussaint Vocals, Producer, Performer America Butler Vocals (Background) Ann Lozinski Production Coordination Arlan Schierbaum Keyboards Arturo Velasco Trombone Bernard "Bunchy" Johnson Drums Bernard Matthews Engineer Bill Cooper Assistant Engineer Bill Payne Wurlitzer, Organ (Hammond), Producer, Piano Bill Wray Producer Bob Salcedo Engineer Bobby Schneck Guitar, Vocals (Background) Bonnie Raitt Producer, Performer, Vocals, Slide Guitar Brian "Breeze" Cayolle Sax (Tenor), Sax (Baritone) Brian Henneman Vocals, Guitar Brian Reeves Mixing, Producer Brian Young Assistant Engineer Britt Bacon Engineer Buddaheads Performer Carl Sealove Digital Editing, Bass Carlene Smith Vocals (Background) Charles Moore Bass Chris Hillman Guitar (Acoustic), Performer, Vocals Clarence Clemons Saxophone Cory Reeves Clarinet (Alto) Cory Sipper Vocals (Background) Dan Savant String Contractor Darrell Leonard Trumpet David A. Helfant Executive Producer David Lindley Performer, Slide Guitar David Stenske Viola Dennis Walker Producer Don Markese Sax (Tenor) Doug Sax Mastering Duane Seykora Engineer Ed Cherney Producer, Mixing Eddie Money Performer Elizabeth George Photography Ellis Hall Keyboards Erika Duke-Kirkpartick Cello Eunice Green Vocals (Background) Fred Tackett Guitar Harry Kim Horn Arrangements, Trumpet Herb Pedersen Producer Hitoshi Adachi Executive Producer Howard Willing Assistant Engineer Ian Zenith Percussion, Drums Inara George Performer Ira Ingber Engineer, Organ, Producer, Guitar J.D. Souther Producer, Drums, Percussion, Vocals (Background), Performer Jackson Browne Performer, Vocals, Producer Jai Winding Piano James Saez Assistant Engineer Jamie Cohen Executive Producer Jay Dee Maness ? Jeffrey Young Organ Jennifer Warnes Vocals (Background), Performer, Vocals Jim Keltner Sampling Jimmy Haslip Bass Joe Sublett Saxophone John Jorgenson Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar John Porter Producer, Guitar John Tyree Mixing Assistant John Wittenberg Violin Jon Cleary Piano Julia Waters Vocals (Background) Karie Prescott Viola Karla Bonoff Vocals (Background) Kathy Sebastian Production Coordination Keisuke Kuwata Performer, Vocals Kenny Aronoff Drums Kenny Edwards Vocals (Background) Kenny Gradney Vocals Kevin McCormick Bass (Acoustic), Bass (Electric) Larry Fulcher Bass Larry Hirsch Engineer Larry Lee Producer, Mixing Leo Nocentelli Piano, Vocals, Performer Little Feat Performer, Producer Mario Diaz de Leon Violin Mark Goldenberg Keyboards, Mixing, Engineer, Producer, Guitar, Programming Mark Ortman Drums Martin Kibbee Liner Notes Mauricio-Fritz Lewak Drums Maxine Willard Waters Vocals (Background) Merry Clayton Vocals (Background), Performer Mick Weaver Organ Monique Rozendaal Production Coordination Norman Ludwin String Bass Paul Barrére Harmonica, Guitar, Vocals, Slide Guitar Peter Kent Concert Master Phil Perry Vocals, Performer Randy Jackson Bass Randy Newman Vocals, Performer Raymond Anthony Myles Vocals (Background) Richard Bosworth Engineer, Mixing Richard Hayward Drums, Vocals Ricky Lawson Drums, Performer, Percussion, Arranger Rik Pekkonen Mixing, Engineer Robert Read Mixing, Engineer Ross Hogarth Producer, Engineer, Mixing Ry Cooder Guitar Sam Clayton Vocals, Percussion Scott Goudeau Guitar Sean Tauzier Mixing, Engineer Shaun Murphy Bass Shinichi Tomikawa Design Skip Edwards Keyboards Stephan "Kenyatta" Simon Percussion Stephanie Gylden Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant Steve Duncan Drums Stuart Brawley Assistant Engineer Taj Mahal Guitar, Performer The Bottle Rockets Performer Tom Parr Guitar Tom Ray Bass Tony Braunagel Drums Tony Maiden Guitar Tracy Griffin Trumpet Valerie Carter Vocals, Performer Van Dyke Parks Accordion, Arranger, Producer, Piano Wil Miller Trumpet Yasuo Yagi Cover Design Yoshiro Nagato Art Direction