Yes it can work. I use a CyclePro rear rack on the front. It was laying around in my spare bike parts pile, so figured why not use it? Had to fabricate a mount to get it on there correctly, but in the end it works fine. It's carried my gear over about 3,000 miles of touring so far without a problem. Asphalt, dirt, gravel, everything.

That said, low riders are probably preferable. Keeping the weight low on the steering end makes sense to me. Maybe some day I'll go that route.