Time Loves A Hero
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Album Summary
By 1977, Little Feat was a band in transition — the creative tension between founding visionary Lowell George and the rest of the group was pulling in new directions, and 'Time Loves A Hero' reflects that beautifully complicated moment. Recorded and released on Warner Bros. Records and produced by Little Feat themselves, this album saw the ensemble side of the band stepping further into the spotlight, with keyboardist Bill Payne and the rest of the crew stretching out into jazz-inflected, horn-drenched territory. The sessions captured a band that was looser, sweatier, and more collectively driven than ever before, leaning into a sound that felt like New Orleans had a long conversation with Muscle Shoals and neither one wanted to go home.
Reception
- Critics at the time were divided — some longtime fans felt the album drifted from Lowell George's more focused songwriting, while others embraced the band's expanding ensemble sound with open arms.
- The album performed modestly on the charts but found its deepest appreciation among the devoted cult following Little Feat had built through years of relentless touring and word-of-mouth reverence.
- The title track and 'New Delhi Freight Train' were particular standouts praised by reviewers who recognized the band's ability to blend rock, R&B, and jazz into something that defied easy categorization.
Significance
- 'Time Loves A Hero' stands as a testament to the democratic power of a band firing on all cylinders — it showcased Little Feat not as a vehicle for one genius but as a genuine collective, years ahead of the jam-band ethos that would later sweep American music.
- Tracks like 'Old Folks Boogie' and 'New Delhi Freight Train' helped cement Little Feat's reputation as one of the most genre-fluid American rock bands of the 1970s, blending boogie, funk, and New Orleans second-line rhythms into a seamless whole.
- The album captures a pivotal cultural moment in mid-70s American rock where the boundaries between jazz, R&B, and roots rock were gloriously dissolving, and Little Feat was one of the most soulful and honest guides through that territory.
Tracklist
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A1 Hi Roller 117
3:15
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A2 Time Loves A Hero 136
3:47
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A3 Rocket In My Pocket 167
3:25
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A4 Day At The Dog Races 123
6:27
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B1 Old Folks Boogie 87
3:31
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B2 Red Streamliner 162
4:44
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B3 New Delhi Freight Train 158
3:42
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B4 Keepin' Up With The Joneses 141
3:51
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B5 Missin' You 82
2:21
Artist Details
Little Feat is one of the most soulful, funky, and utterly original American rock bands to ever come out of Los Angeles, forming back in 1969 under the visionary leadership of the late, great Lowell George, whose slide guitar work and gritty songwriting blended rock, blues, R&B, country, and New Orleans funk into something that just couldn't be put in a box. They never quite got the mainstream radio love they deserved, but musicians and serious music lovers knew the truth — albums like Dixie Chicken and Feats Don't Fail Me were nothing short of masterpieces, dripping with groove and Southern-fried soul. Little Feat stands as one of the great unsung treasures of the American rock era, a band that influenced everyone from Bonnie Raitt to the Grateful Dead, and whose music still feels like a warm night in New Orleans with a cold drink in your hand.
