20 extraordinary albums turning 50 this year

6. Feats Don’t Fail Me Now by Little Feat

Little Feat had solidified their classic lineup on their previous album, 1973’s Dixie Chicken, and by 1974, they were a fully formed product, expanding out in all directions. Feats Don’t Fail Me Now begins with the engaging one-two punch of “Rock and Roll Doctor” and “Oh Atlanta,” before moving on to the ultra-funky Paul Barerre composition “Skin It Back.”

And they just kept getting wilder and wilder from there. The loosey-goosey title track kicks off side two before getting to the tricky rhythms of “The Fan” and the expansive “Cold Cold Cold/Tripe Face Boogie” with Bill Payne running wild on his piano.

5. Queen of the Night by Maggie Bell

I have no idea why Maggie Bell never became a star. Sure, she had a career, but she never soared the way her voice did on “Caddo Queen,” the first track on her first album. Bell had been with Alex and Leslie Harvey in Stone the Crows before their break-up.

On her debut album, she proved that she could rock with her calypso-tinged take on J.J. Cale’s “After Midnight.”  She could slow things down with “A Woman Left Lonely,” given a lovely country touch by John Hughey’s pedal steel guitar. She offers the bluesiest cover a John Prine song ever received on “Souvenirs.” She also takes intriguing looks at songs by Carole Bayer Sager and David Clayton Thomas among others. Her “Oh My My” eschews Ringo Starr’s sardonic delivery in favor of down-and-dirty blues.

Maggie Bell could give anything she sang a touch of the blues. (In the interest of balance, I happen to share a home with someone who does not like what Maggie Bell does with her songs in the least – but we somehow manage to get along.)