Little Feat are on the verge of being too proficient for their own good. As their always excellent instrumental work evolves, some of it—Bill Payne's extended multikey-board sorties on "One Love Stand," for example—is simply overdone. Payne is a gifted and versatile player, but adding George Duke/Herbie Hancock keyboard styles to a band that is already so well-defined — from the complex layers of counter-rhythms through their world-weary, lightly cynical lyrics down to Lowell George's wryly entertaining liner notes—is a risky undertaking at best.

There remains an awful lot to like about this band. George, who is still trying hard to downplay his role in the group, offers some of the album's most cogent material. His highly expressive vocals and impeccable slide-guitar playing wrap themselves around terse, high-contrast contemporary scenarios in "Down below the Borderline," "Long Distance Love" and "Mercenary Territory." George has that knack for endlessly restating essentially similar themes with dramatic new shadings and variations.

Bill Payne and Paul Barrere (guitars and vocals) have assumed a greater responsibility for the group's material. Payne writes some lovely melodies, but that recurring "I got shafted by another woman" theme is getting real boring. Barrere is still finding his way around as a composer, but he does contribute one sure-fire winner, "All That You Dream." Highlighted by Payne's brilliant electric piano and John Hall's (Orleans) phase-funk Stratocaster picking, this one is a classic hit single possibility.

Overall, Little Feat still have a much higher batting average than just about any other American band. Ultimately, any more tendencies toward being cute and "ingrown" will cause them to risk becoming as much a self-parody as their home turf, Hollywood. (RS 205)

JEAN-CHARLES COSTA