This collection of Little Feat has to be one of the highlights of the year. A group, who like Creedence was from California, but had a sound born of the swamp, is finally getting the treatment they have always deserved. Always known as a musicians band, Little Feat was hard to pigeonhole, thus they never got the radioplay they deserved. But a listen to the songs here will attest to the fact that this was a band who could cover many styles but always keep their sound. From the early tracks and outtakes of disc 4 to the live tracks from Waiting for Columbus, the Feat takes the listener on a musical journey. With Lowell Georges tasty slide to Bill Paynes keyboard work, to Richie Haywards controlled yet frantic drumming, you hear ragtime with Dixie Chicken, country with Willin`, and Southern Rock with Two Trains. Rhino should again be commended for another incredible set, so buy this and learn what Linda Ronstadt, The Doobie Brothers, and Bonnie Raitt have always knew. This band is the best, and with this set there is now no excuse.

First of all, the packaging is better than any boxed set I've ever owned or seen. Rhino deserves a lot of credit for making a package that any consumer would appreciate (wake up other record companies, this is how you add value to prereleased "product"). The writeup, graphics, photographs and sound quality are superb! Now for the songs: I like the emphasis on Lowell for Discs 1,2 and 4 - which I think is a good move. Some of the non Lowell penned songs are great as well (I was knocked out by "Day at the Dog Races" and "All that You Dream"). I must admit some of the others may never grow on me ("Gringo") - but this is also true of some of the later Lowell stuff "Jazz Stuff in 10"). Disc four is great, its interesting to hear how some of the songs developed, and there are some great tracks I've never heard before. Disc three has the slickest studio sound (Richie Hayward's drums sound superb) and may take the longest to grow on me. Although I think they should have taken more cuts from "Let it Roll" (a superb album proving that the band can still make great music), the tracks are quite nice (ie. "Borderline Blues"). I have no problem with the rotating lead singers (this was always a hallmark of the band), but I fear the other discs may make a case that the songwriting peak of the band may have passed. However, I don't think these musicians have passed their peak in terms of performers. My biggest criticism of disc three is that Paul Barrere sings most of the songs, and although he's good, I think Craig and Shaun brought something to the table that he doesn't. I saw Little Feat support the "Let it Roll" album, which remains the best concert I've ever seen and I'm glad they're still making music. If I could've changed anything in this box, I would've substituted some tracks with those from "Let It Roll" and "Waiting for Columbus". Other than that, this is one heck of a collection.

This is one of the better box sets I have seen; it doubles not only as a best-of, but includes some interesting studio nuggets as well. My only problem is that the original version "Teenage Nervous Breakdown" was left off in favor of a live version, which is not as good. Other than that, this set works both as an introduction to new fans and as must for old timers. Long live Little Feat!