Two degrees in Bebop, a Ph.D. in swing/He's a Master of Rhythm, he's a rock & roll king." Lowell George's résumé, when it appeared on 1974's Feats Don't Fail Me Now, seemed only a slight exaggeration. At the time, George, as leader of Little Feat, was dean of the cool school. His lyrics were witty but studiously inconsequential, and his music was beginning to suggest a whole new...