As individuals, guitarists Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett have notched some of the most impressive accomplishments in Rock history. Barrere joined Little Feat in 1972, three years after Lowell George assembled the band, and immediately showed his worth as a songwriter, penning Feat classics “Skin It Back,” “All That You Dream,” Time Loves a Hero” and “Down on the Farm.” In addition to being the spark plug for reviving that band in 1988, Barrere has recorded and toured with an incredible array of music icons, including Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, Robert Palmer, Taj Mahal, Jack Bruce and Phil Lesh, among others. He’s also recorded three solo albums, three with The Bluesbusters and three duo sets with Roger Cole.
Tackett has similarly stellar bullet points on his résumé. His long reputation as an invaluable session musician includes contributions to the works of Jimmy Webb, The Fifth Dimension, Glen Campbell, Bonnie Raitt, The Supremes, Rod Stewart, Harry Nilsson, Tom Waits, Van Dyke Parks and Jackson Browne, among dozens of others. A friend of George’s when he formed Little Feat, Tackett wrote for and accompanied the band in the studio and co-wrote songs for George’s only solo album, 1979’s Thanks, I’ll Eat It Here, released just before his tragic death. When the Feat regrouped in 1988, Tackett was invited to become a full member, a role he has maintained for the past three decades, and in the new millennium, Tackett has finally recorded two solo albums.
As an acoustic duo, Barrere and Tackett revisit Little Feat’s catalog in a stripped-down setting and bring a whole new perspective to some of the most familiar and beloved songs of the last five decades, like “Willin’,” “Dixie Chicken” and “Down on the Farm.” The musicians have released a pair of live albums and a live DVD, and they also perform semi-regularly as Dead Feat, populating their live sets with classic Grateful Dead and Little Feat covers. There is a subatomic technical and philosophical synergy between Barrere and Tackett that radiates like sunshine and rises like the tide every time they take the stage together. Let it roll, indeed.
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This article appears in May 3-10, 2017.