Lowell George was the guitar virtuoso, vocalist and songwriter for Little Feat. In this collection of 25 songs, artists as Elvis Costello, Ben Harper and Dave Alvin interpret and perform his diverse catalog.George, born in Hollywood, California was a member of Frank Zappas Mothers of Inventions before leaving that band and forming Little Feat with Bill Payne. Lowells tenure in the band was for 7 years until his death and in that time, they released eight albums. While George died in 1979, his legacy lives on through this album.

Before emerging as a cult star in the 1970s, Lowell George was a presence on the L.A. folk-rock/psychedelic scene in the 1960s. With his group the Factory, he only managed to release one single during this time. Lightning-Rod Man rescues 15 tunes cut by this unit, including the single and over a dozen outtakes and demos. Almost exclusively original material, most of these tracks were recorded in 1966 and 1967. They show the group pursuing a slightly eccentric folk-rock vision that neither bears much similarity to George's more famous work nor matches the best work done in this genre by their L.A. peers. At times they echo Kaleidoscope in their vaguely spacy, good-natured folkish rock; just as often, they take cues from Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa in their skewed blues-rock and obtuse songwriting. In fact, Zappa himself produced and played on a couple of the demos, and one-time Mothers of Invention members Elliot Ingber and Roy Estrada show up on a few others. A few songs cut toward the end of the decade feature a heavier, bluesier sound that show George edging in a different direction. An enjoyable vault find, but not a major revelation.