Thanks I'll Eat It Here

• Artist: Lowell George
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1979
• Total Time: 33:47
• Genre: Rock

Review

Thanks I'll Eat it Here is strikingly different from the fusion-leanings of Little Feat's last studio album, Time Loves a Hero. Lowell George never cared for jazz-fusion, so it should be little surprise that there's none to be heard on Thanks. Instead, he picks up where Dixie Chicken left off (he even reworks that album's standout "Two Trains"), turning in a laid-back, organic collection of tunes equal parts New Orleans R&B, country, sophisticated blues, and pop. George wasn't in good health during the sessions for Thanks, which you wouldn't tell by his engaging performances, but from the lack of new tunes. Out of the nine songs on the album, only three are originals, and they're all collaborations. That's a drawback only in retrospect -- it's hard not to wish that the last album George completed had more of his own songs -- but Lowell was a first-rate interpreter, so even covers of Allen Toussaint ("What Do You Want the Girl to Do"), Ann Peebles ("I Can't Stand the Rain") and Rickie Lee Jones ("Easy Money") wind up sounding of piece with the original songs. George's music rolls so easy, the album can seem a little slight at first, but it winds up being a real charmer. Yes, a few songs drift by and, yes, Jimmy Webb's vaudevellian "Himmler's Ring" feels terribly out of place, but Lowell's style is so distinctive and his performances so soulful, it's hard not to like this record if you've ever had a fondness for Little Feat. After all, it's earthier and more satisfying than any Feat album since Feats Don't Fail Me Now and it has the absolutely gorgeous "20 Million Things," the last great song George ever wrote. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
What Do You Want the Girl to Do?	Allen Toussaint	Lowell George	(4:46)
Honest Man	Lowell George, Fred Tackett	Lowell George	(3:45)
Two Trains	Lowell George	Lowell George	(4:32)
I Can't Stand the Rain	Don Bryant, Donald Bryant, Bernard Miller, Ann Peebles	Lowell George	(3:21)
Cheek to Cheek	Irving Berlin, Van Dyke Parks, Lowell George, Martin Kibbee	Lowell George	(2:23)
Easy Money	Rickie Lee Jones	Lowell George	(3:29)
20 Million Things	Lowell George, Jed Levy	Lowell George	(2:50)
Find a River	Fred Tackett	Lowell George	(3:45)
Himmler's Ring	Jimmy Webb	Lowell George	(2:28)
Heartache [#]	Lowell George, Ivan Ulz, Betty	Lowell George	(2:28)

Credits

Darrell Leonard (Horn), John Phillips (Saxophone), Paul Stallworth (?), Dean Parks (Guitar), Dean Parks (?), George Massenburg (Engineer), Bobby Bruce (Violin), Maxine Willard Waters (Vocals), Donn Landee (Engineer), Jimmy Greenspoon (Piano), Luis Damian (?), Ron Koss (?), Arthur Gerst (?), Chuck Rainey (Bass), Roberto Gutierrez (Guitar), Bruce Paulson (?), Steve Madaio (?), J.D. Souther (Vocals), Stephen Bruton (?), J.D. Souther (?), Ron Koss (Guitar), Bonnie Raitt (Vocals), Denny Christianson (?), Elizabeth George (Photography), Jim Keltner (?), Bobby Bruce (?), Jim Gordon (Drums), Lowell George (Producer), Floyd Sneed (Drums), James Howard (?), Jimmy Greenspoon (?), Nicky Hopkins (?), Jim Gordon (?), Fred Tackett (?), Roberto Gutierrez (?), Herb Pedersen (?), Nicky Hopkins (Keyboards), Dennis Christianson (Horn), Roberto Gutierrez (Vocals), Bobby Marks (Photography), David Paich (?), Jim Price (Horn), The Waters (?), Dennis Belfield (?), Jim Self (?), James Newton Howard (Keyboards), Jeff Porcaro (Drums), Lowell George (Guitar), Richard Hayward (Drums), Lowell George (Vocals), David Foster (?), Luis Damian (Guitar), Floyd Sneed (?), David Foster (Keyboards), Peggy Sandvig (?), Jim Keltner (Drums), Jim Price (?), Gordon DeWitte (Keyboards), Chilli Charles (?), Brad Kanawyer (Design), Darrell Leonard (?), Jerry Jumonville (Saxophone), Maxine Dixon (?), Lee Herschberg (Digital Mastering), Maxayn Lewis (?), Maxayn Lewis (Vocals), Jeff Porcaro (?), Bill Payne (Keyboards), Joel Peskin (Saxophone), Bill Payne (?), Michael Baird (?), Jerry Jumonville (?), Paul Stallworth (Bass), Fred Tackett (Guitar), John Phillips (?), Chuck Rainey (?), Gordon DeWitte (?), Bonnie Raitt (?), Stephen Bruton (Guitar), Herb Pedersen (Vocals), Michael Hollyfield (Design), Richard Hayward (?), Dennis Belfield (Bass), Joel Peskin (?), Chilli Charles (Drums), Michael Baird (Drums)