This exclusive Record Store Day vinyl reinstates the lone solo album from Little Feat founder and chief songwriter, Lowell George, honoring the 45^th anniversary of that single LP with a newly remastered and expanded double-LP edition. By doing so, Rhino, the Warner Records imprint for this release, has defined well the adage, ‘a good problem to have.’ That problem, as it were, is that the second of the two records- comprised of outtakes and alternate versions- is so good, it threatens to outshine the original.

All opinions are just that. They are, by nature, subjective. It’s a good bet, though, that those fans of the 1979 original thanks I’ll eat it here will be more than pleased with the treatment it’s given on the reissue; with a mastering that harkens back to the first press, if not conspicuously improves upon it. Yet, it’s the companion album- assembled by the wonderfully conscientious keeper of the Feat flame at Rhino, Jason Jones- that is the sweeter treat. Even with, and more likely because of the array of George’s count-ins, talk-backs, and false starts left in and scattered throughout the 11 tracks, (on “Two Trains,” there is the full gamut) the loose and more informal nature of both the recording and the presentation of these cuts exudes an intrinsic excitement that reflects more fittingly on the dervish that was George. And, quite honestly, that can be unapologetically preferable to the otherwise terrific proper album.

Not to mention a mix and sequence that display George’s quirk and quality as both a singer and a guitarist that absorb and hold rapt. Versions, in particular, of the aforementioned “Two Trains,” “Easy Money,” and the closing “Backyard Blues (Play Something Sweet),” swing with a veracity surely worth the price of admission. Doubling up with this second LP is a fantastic way to pay tribute to an album that often slips, for one reason or another, under the radar but now should be indispensable in a collection. A good problem to have and a better problem to own.