Little Feat "Sailin' Shoes" [1972]

Likely but inexplicably trying to prove that Graham Parsons is not the only drug zombie to dabble in major-label country music without any real country roots, Lowell George and his band Little Feat on "Sailin' Shoes" try to musically construct the slogan: "Cocaine - Not Just for Rockers Anymore." With his studio hack associate, piano-plunker Bill Payne, and assorted other jobber-mentality musicians in tow, George writes songs about traveling the country and learning nothing but how to continue being a miserable fat-fuck. With a voice like loud sandpaper and a slide guitar like a squealing greased pig, George not only assaults country but boogie, blues and rock too -- an equal-opportunity offender. It's easy to see what's eating him (and what he's eating), and with the most songs about whorehouses this side of ZZ Top, also easy to see how he tries to placate his torment. Too bad none of it works. For sure the black crows from "Dumbo" would have had a field day if they'd actually seen Lowell George two inches off the ground; hopefully he gathered some joy from being everyone's clown before kicking the bucket a few years later.