THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF DUCK DANGER

  As we age, we see clearer the things that influenced us in our youth.  The genius that we were exposed to that we took for granted. Two such groups, seemingly unrelated, had a monumental impact on how I looked at words - as wordplay and as lyrics.  The comedy sketch troupe, The Firesign Theater and the band, Little Feat.  Individually, both genius in their own right. Firesign - collectively, Proctor, Bergman, Ossman, and Austin - masters of double-entendre, the parody of meaning, and of delivery.

  On the other hand, Lowell George - with his Brian Wilson-like quest to capture the ‘sound in his head’ - offered a mastery in alliteration and “cartoon consciousness” with his lyrics. “Lady in a turban in a cocaine tree” would fit right into any Firesign sketch, as every Little Feat song should be playing on the way to Future Fair.

  Both battled with a short-sighted record label unsure of how to market them; and both were best when listened to as a whole. The sum of the parts were good, as later years would show, but together it was genius. Sadly, I discovered them both on the backside of their peak, only to savor their genius through their records of the early half of the 1970’s.  Forget Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Story songs, Disco and Glam rock, these two groups embody what the 1970s were all about, I wish there’d been more.  

  What drives this comparison now - all these years later, I hear you ask? Just a simple overlooked clue - just look at the album art. Look close. Apparently, I had never listened to them with the dust jackets laid out side by side - otherwise I would have noticed the obvious hint. Not the same art - from the likes of Robert Grossman and Neon Park - but they exist on the same plain and beckon us into a world undiscovered.  If you’re hip, revisit. And if this is all new, seek out both Firesign and Feat, play side A of one and side B of the other, mix and match, you won’t regret it.

Somebody was paying attention!!!