Canned Heat – Internal Combustion (1994)

During the 1980s the interest in the type of music played by Canned Heat was revived and, despite the past tragedies and permanent instability, the band appeared to be revitalized. In 1985, Trout had left to join John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, so Vestine was once again back in the band and he brought with him new musical talent from Oregon in James Thornbury (slide guitar and lead vocals) and Skip Jones (Bass). They were dubbed the “Nuts and Berries” band by de la Parra, due to their love of organic food. It was not long before former members Larry Taylor (replacing Jones) and Ronnie Barron returned to round out the group. Versions of this lineup would record the live album, Boogie Up The Country, in Kassel, Germany, in 1987 and also appear on the Blues Festival Live in Bonn ’87 Vol 2 compilation. Barron, just as before did not last long in this lineup, nor did Vestine, who was once again ousted from the band due to pressure from Larry Taylor. Replacing Vestine on lead guitar was Junior Watson; his style emulated Hollywood Fats (who died in late 1986) and was perfectly suited for the band as witnessed by the well-regarded album, Reheated. Unfortunately, the album was released only in Germany in 1988 due to disagreements with the Chameleon Music Group Record label. In 1990, the “Would-Be” lineup of James T, Taylor, Watson and de la Parra also recorded a sequel live album in Australia entitled Burnin’ Live.

The lineup dissolved in the early 1990s as Junior Watson went his own way and Mandel came back into the fold, bringing along Ron Shumake on bass to take some of the load off of Larry Taylor. Mandel, however, left the band after a few tours, so female singer and guitarist Becky Barksdale was brought in for a tour of France, Germany and Hawaii; but lasted no longer. Smokey Hormel was also considered, but only played one gig before friction between de la Parra and Larry Taylor caused Taylor to bitterly go his separate way with Hormel in tow.

The revolving door that was Canned Heat continued as Vestine and Watson made their returns to the lineup as the “Heavy Artillery” band. Several former members including Mandel, Barron and Taylor joined up in de la Parra’s effort for the album, Internal Combustion, which was released in 1994, but saw only limited release due to the returning manager Skip Taylor’s falling out with Red River Records. In 1995, (by wikipedia)

This is an amazing album.
Every track likens back to The Biker Blues era of yesterday. I Used to be bad starts off the rompin’ and rollin’.
I saw this line up at the Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival. Great album and great show. If you like Rockin blues, this is a must have. (Todd Elving)

Personnel:
Fito de la Parra (drums, percussion, vocals on 06., 09. + 10.)
Ron Shumake (bass)
James Thornbury (vocals, guitar, harmonica)
Henry “The Sunflower” Vestine (guitar)
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Ronnie Barron (piano on 03. + 11.)
Bill Bergman (saxophone on 11.)
Daniel Fornero (trumpet on 11.)
Ira Ingber (guitar on 01., 02., 04., 06. – 10., percussion on 01.)
Stephen Kupka (saxophone on 11.)
Nick Lane (trombone on 11.)
Harvey “The Snake” Mandel (guitar on 01., 02., 04.,06., 07., 09. + 10.)
Carl Sealove (bass on 04.)
Larry “The Mole” Taylor (bass on 01., 02., 07., 09. + 10.)
Ruby Valdez (vocals on 09.)
Junior Watson (guitar on 03.,05., 08. + 11.)
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background vocals (on 10.)
Giovanni Arreola – R.J. Rose

Tracklist:
01. Nothing At All (Ingber/Tigerman, Sealove) 4.38
02. 24 Hours (Jarrett) 4.11
03. I Used To Be Bad (Barron) 3.26
04. The Heat In Me Is Up (Ingber/Sealove) 5.03
05. Gamblin’ Woman (Hemphill) 3.17
06. Dear Mother Earth (Wallace/Parra) 5.28
07. I Might Be Tempted (Ingber/Tigerman) 4.23
08. (You’ll Have To) Come And Get It (Carter) 3.59
09. Vision Of You (Ingber/Tigerman) 5.22
10. It’s Hot (Boyd) 3.59
11. John Lee Hooker Boogie (Parra) 5.05

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Alternate front + back cover

More from CANNED HEAT:

Canned Heat – Boston Tea Party (1970)

30 years ago, I got this concert from a friend on a tape … Canned Heat “Canned Heat: Live At The Boston Tea Party”;

Time for blues and boogie with the Canned Heat, having guests on a couple of tracks a band called Kaleidoscope (*) (with David Lindley and Chris Darrow). Recorded at the Boston Tea Party, a club that welcomed artists like Led Zeppelin, Velvet Underground, Allman Brothers Band, Procol Harum, Jethro Tull, Mountain, Santana and many more.
The 8th track is about 40 minutes long, now that’s something that definitely I would not call easy-listening 🙂 (by soundabord.blogspot)

The Boston Tea Party, one of the most famous sixties rock venue in the world, opened on Friday January 20, 1967 in an abandoned temple at 53 Berkeley Street. Two years after (July 12, 1969) the club had moved to an old warehouse on 15 Landsdowne Street (it was originally a club called The Ark which failed a few days earlier as the Tea Party was looking for a bigger place and they took it over). The club closed on December 29, 1970.

This appearance at The Tea Party in Boston winds up becoming some of the last for Alan Wilson, since he died in September of that year. The band went through a number of personnel changes over the years, but the surviving three members have kept things going and are still widely popular throughout the world.

(*) Kaleidoscope was a California psychedelic-folk band from the 60’s, built around the nucleus of David Lindley and Chris Darrow. They join Canned Heat for the last tune. Forty minutes of blues boogie jammin’ !!!

Personnel:
Bob Hite (vocals, harmonica)
Harvey Mandel (guitar)
Adolfo de la Parra (drums)
Larry Taylor (bass)
Al Wilson (guitar, vocals, harmonica)
+
Kaleidoscope (feat. David Lindley and Chris Darrow)

Tracklist:
01. Intro 1.18
02. I Found Love (Leigh) 5.12
03. Catfish Blues (Petway) 13.55
04. Bullfrog Blues (Traditional) 6.07
05. Gonna Find A New Woman (unknown) 6.41
06. Killing Floor (w/ members of Kaleidoscope) (Burnett) 6.00
06. Bring It On Home (Dixon) 5.59
07. Kaleideheat Boogie Jam w/ Kaleidoscope 39.43

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Canned Heat – Los Angeles (1967)

Right damn fine SBD for a 1967 club tape, with a few spots o’ bother.
Warts: Repaired dullspots & dropouts but surely missed a few. Vocal mikes were too hot & probably not that great quality & sometimes a bit distorted, but painstakingly repaired it where possible. #04 had 4 tape chew glitches in middle – mostly fixed 2 & other 2 used split second patch (still audible but minimized) & another spot 1min before end only partially repaired, still has split second of hiss. #07 had many micro glitches now mostly fixed as are major mike distortion breakup glitches 2/3rds thru. Repaired/smoothed out between song splices. Removed overlapped (repeated) clapping segment after #09. #10 lessened worst mike distortion spots. #13 major mike distortion breakup glitches mostly fixed.
– In ‘67 it was essentially sets at the Grove, not shows. The club was rarely emptied between performances (info courtesy of Alan Bershaw).
– Early & Late “Show” attributions are guesses in some cases, related to announcements & Bokelman list.
– 1967 Ash Grove Canned Heat tapes exist from January 8,13,14,20 & March 29 so there are hours more!
– The same Mark Andes on bass who was a founding member of Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne & Firefall.
– Frank Cook was also the drummer & manager for early Pacific Gas & Electric (from 1967-1970).

This earliest Canned Heat live tape I found yet, was recorded in an unknown club and feature the original Canned Heat w/Frank Cook on Drums! Again the song-list here includes some tracks not available from any other known Canned Heat recording! Those of you who
downloaded in June my Canned Heat compilation “Tracks” already have nearly half of the tracks here, but these tracks were remastered in a different way from my own tape & here’s the complete performance, from a different source!

CANNED HEAT’s Club performance here is kind of rough and unpolished, but full of “Heat” and some tracks here are standing clearly in the tradition of the great “Blues Shouters” as Howlin Wolf or Big Joe Turner! The general quality is great, but on some tracks the Bear’s vocals are quite oversaturated! I did my best to polish this & also used the better channel (with less dropouts) of this mono sbd recording! (theultimatebootlegexperience7.blogspot)

Personnel:
Mark Andes (bass)
Frank Cook (drums, vocals)
Bob Hite (harmonica, vocals)
Henry Vestine (guitar)
Alan Wilson (guitar, harmonica, vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Alley Special (Holmes) 4.11
02. Big Road Blues (Wilson/Hite/Cook/Vestine/Taylor) 3.09
03. There Is Something On Your Mind (McNeely) 9.25
04. Dust My Broom (James) 5.12
05. 300 Pounds Of Heavenly Joy (Dixon) 4.01
06. Pet Cream Man (Hutto) 6.56
07. Bullfrog Blues (#1) (Harris) 3.21
08. E Shuffle (unknown) 5.29
09. Instrumental (unknon) 1.15
10. Madman Blues (Hooker) 4.14
11. Terraplane Blues (Johnson) 4.25
12. Rollin’ & Tumblin’ (Newbern) 4.48
Track 13. Bullfrog Blues (#2) (Harris) 5.44

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Canned Heat – The New Age (1973)

The New Age is the ninth studio album by Canned Heat, released in 1973. It was the first album to feature the talents of James Shane and Ed Beyer. Clara Ward also appears on the album in her very last recording. Influential Rock Critic Lester Bangs was fired from Rolling Stone for writing a “disrespectful” review of this album upon its release:

Hey, kids and bluesbusterbrowns of all ages, guess who’s back? No, not the Plaster Casters Blues Band – it’s Canned Heat! The originators of Boogie in the flesh! And it sure is refreshing to see ’em too, what with all these jive-ass MOR pseud-dudes like John Lee Hooker ripping off their great primal riffs and milking ’em dry.
How did we love Canned Heat? Let’s count the ways. We loved ’em because they scooped out a whole new wrinkle in the monotone mazurka; it wasn’t their fault that a whole generation of ten zillion bands took it and ran it into the ground sans finesse after Canned Heat had run it into the ground so damned good themselves. We loved ’em because they’ve always held the record for Longest Single Boogie Preserved on Wax: “Refried Boogie” from Livin’ The Blues was 40-plus minutes of real raunch froth perfect for parties or car stereos, especially if they got ripped off – and a lot of it was even actually listenable. We loved ’em because Henry Vestine was an incredible, scorching motherfucker of a guitarist, knocking you through the wall. And we loved ’em because Bobby Bear was so damned weird you could abide his every excess.

But Canned Heat disappeared from the sets for awhile there, just sorta flapped up and boogied into the zone and what was really sad was that nobody missed ’em. Even though they were always real fine journeymen, they never made a wholly and entirely good album, of course, but they’ve consistently had their moments. And The New Age, which of course is no new age at all, has just as many of ’em as any of the others. There’s “Keep It Clean”, a happy highho funk churn like unto their cover of Wilbert Harrison’s “Let’s Work Together”, which means it could very well be hitbound. There’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music”, Bear Hite’s obligattortilla in deference to the traditions, his utter lack of imagination, and all that. He’s been listening to some old New Orleans R&B this time, so it’s OK even if he does still sing like a scalped guppy.

“Framed” is just a reprise in new drag of their classic about being busted in Denver that was on Boogie with Canned Heat, and that was just a new-drag on old Bo Diddley and “Jailbait” riffs. “Election Blues” is the required slow blues chest retch. “So Long Wrong” is one more low down blackboned gutgrok funk-lurking album-closer boogie just like lotsa their other yester highlights. Vestine still knows how to play so’s to make you feel like ringworms are St. Vitusing in your heartburn, and Hite scrapes your intestines widdat bass good as Mole Taylor ever did. “Lookin for My Rainbow” even has Clara Ward and her jive bombers just for a tintype taste of authenticity, but it’s boring as old View Master slides and most of the rest of the songs are just some kinda nondescript clinkletybonk tibia-rattling in pursuit of yeehah countryisms so let ’em dry rot in the grooves.
Buy this album if you’ve gotta lotta money or don’t care much what you blow your wad on, but don’t pass up any of the really cosmic stuff like the Stooges for it or the shadow of Blind Lemon Jefferson will come and blow his nose on your brow every night. (Lester Bangs – Rolling Stone # 136)

Bob Hite proved fat was really where it’s at for good rocking white men who play blooze’n’boogie. Okay, all that bulk killed him in the end, but the output of Bob and the varied Canned Heat line-ups, particularly through 1966 to 1974, proved even more substantial than The Bear’s waistline.

New Age was a pretty ironic title even on its release in 1973. Don’t be fooled, even though this is a pretty mellow album by Heat standards, it’s not lift music for stressed-out executives.

Even if the Great White Blues Boom had already disappeared up its own bottleneck, New Age’s roots are very much 12-bar, though most of the tracks are self-penned and confident enough not to be imitative of the Chicago style that originally brought Canned Heat both fame and infamy.

Instead, New Age is framed by the opening whip-crack pace of “Keep It Clean”, and ends with “Election Blues”, all slide and bar-room keyboards. The former is a song of hope that Richard Nixon would get thrown out of power, the latter a bitterly laidback post-election blues. The boys knew then the New Age wasn’t gonna come, but even big Bob didn’t know just how bad it would get. (by Randy Bones)

Personnel:
Ed Beyer (piano)
Bob Hite (vocals)
Richard Hite (bass)
Adolfo de la Parra (drums)
James Shane (guitar)
Henry Vestine (guitar)
+
Clara Ward (vocals on 05.)

Tracklist:
01. Keep It Clean (B,Hite) 2.46
02. Harley Davidson Blues (Shane) 2.38
03. Don’t Deceive Me (B.Hite) 3.12
04. You Can Run, But You Sure Can’t Hide (Beyer) 3.15
05. Lookin’ For My Rainbow (Shane) 5.24
06. Rock And Roll Music (B.Hite) 2.29
07. Framed (Leiber/Stoller) 5.07
08. Election Blues (Beyer) 6.04
09. So Long Wrong (Shane) 5.36

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Canned Heat – 70 Concert Recorded Live In Europe (1970)

Canned Heat ’70 Concert Recorded Live in Europe is a 1970 live album by Canned Heat. The album is taken from various locations on live concert European tour right before Alan Wilson’s death and is the band’s first officially released live album. (by wikipedia)

This platter captures the 1970 incarnation of Canned Heat with Bob “The Bear” Hite (vocals), Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson (guitar/vocals/harmonica), Larry “The Mole” Taylor (bass), Aldolfo “Fito” de la Parra (drums), and newest addition Harvey Mandel (guitar), who had replaced Henry “Sunflower” Vestine (guitar) in 1969. They headed across the Atlantic in the spring of 1970 on the heels of “Let’s Work Together” — a Wilbert Harrison cover that charted within the Top Five in Europe. That outing yielded the combo’s first concert disc, Live in Europe (1971) — which had been issued almost a year earlier in the U.K. as Canned Heat Concert (Recorded Live in Europe) (1970). These are also among the final recordings to feature Wilson, whose increasing substance abuse and depression would result in an overdose prior to having re-joined the band for another stint in Europe in the fall of the same year.

Indeed the brooding “Pulling Hair Blues” from this effort is marked not only by some decidedly dark and strung-out contributions, but more subtly, Hite’s tentative introduction of Wilson — indicating he had not been playing for the duration of the set. The Heat’s performance style has shifted from the aggressive rhythm and blues of their earliest sides to a looser and more improvisational technique. The opener, Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “That’s All Right Mama,” is given a greasy mid-tempo groove over Hite’s vocals . Mandel shines as his guitar leads dart in and out of the languid boogie. Although presented as a medley, “Back on the Road” is more or less an inclusive number with only brief lyrical references to “On the Road Again.” Mandel’s sinuous fretwork melds flawlessly with Wilson’s harmonica blows. The powerful rendering of the aforementioned “Let’s Work Together” is a highlight, with Canned Heat in top form as Wilson’s electric slide riffs recall their seminal sound. (by Lindsay Planer)

Personnel:
Bob Hite (vocals)
Harvey Mandel (guitar)
Fito de la Parra (drums)
Larry Taylor (bass)
Alan Wilson (slide guitar, vocals, harmonica)

Tracklist:
01. That’s All Right Mama (Crudup) 9.03
02. Bring It On Home (Dixon) 6.18
03. Pulling Hair Blues (Wilson/Taylor) 9.21
04. Medley:
04.1.Back Out On The Road (Hite)
04.2.On The Road Again (Jones/Wilson/Johnson) 6.01
05. London Blues (Wilson) 7.54
06. Let’s Work Together (Harrison) 4.51
07. Goodbye For Now”(de la Parra/Mandel) 3.26

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Canned Heat – Live At Topanga Coral (1971)

Live at Topanga Corral is a 1971 live album by Canned Heat. The album is taken from a 1969 concert at the Kaleidoscope in Hollywood, California and not at the Topanga Corral as the title suggests. Canned Heat was under contract to Liberty Records at the time and Liberty did not want to do a live album, so manager Skip Taylor told Liberty that the album had been recorded in 1966 & 1967 at the Topanga Corral and released the record with Wand Records to avoid legal complications. The record has been bootlegged and reissued countless times, and is also known as Live at the Kaleidoscope.(by wikipedia)

This is one of the strongest documents to feature Canned Heat in concert. However, contrary to the title, these performances are not from the Topanga Corral — where the Heat were the house band off and on during the mid-1960s. Instead, it was later revealed the origins were actually from a Los Angeles club called the Kaleidoscope circa 1968. They most likely hail from the same batch of tapes that yielded the 4-plus-minute epic “Refried Boogie,” which spread over Sides Three and Four on the Living the Blues (1968) two-LP package. The personnel includes Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson (guitar/harmonica/vocals), Larry “The Mole” Taylor (bass), Henry “Sunflower” Vestine (guitar), Bob “The Bear” Hite (vocals), and Aldolfo “Fito” de la Parra (drums). Indeed, these recordings were made prior to the rapid drug-related decline and eventual replacement of Vestine — who is actually in top flight throughout — with Harvey Mandel in mid-1969.

Original frontcover

Another factor in the chronology is the soulful interpretation of standard blues numbers, which would be incrementally abandoned for longer and more rambling psychedelic jams by the time of Live in Europe (1970). However, the difference between the early 1970s incarnation and this ‘classic’ lineup seems to lie primarily in their respective approaches. This seminal aggregate explores more traditional outlets such as the languid approach to B.B. King’s “Sweet Sixteen,” sporting some incendiary fretwork from the coupling of Wilson’s smooth slide and Vestine’s sinuous and punctuating leads. The former further exemplifies his bottleneck prowess on a rollicking reading of Elmore James’ “Dust My Broom” that swings solid from tip to tail. As does the upbeat and slightly Creole-flavored “I Wish You Would,” landing somewhere between the Yardbirds’ aggressive take and Billy Boy Arnold’s original. While interested parties are encouraged to find this set, caveat emptor, as the exact same material exists under a bevy of monikers. Most notable among these are Live at the Kaleidoscope 1969 (2000), Very Best of the Blues Years (2000), and as part of a two-fer with Vintage (1969) on Live at the Topanga Corral/Vintage (2001) — which arguably boasts the best sound, having been remastered. (by Lindsay Planer)

In other words: One of the best Canned Heat concert ever recorded !

Personnel:
Bob Hite (vocals)
Fito de la Parra (drums)
Larry Taylor (bass)
Henry Vestine (guitar)
Alan Wilson (slide guitar, vocals, harmonica)

Tracklist:
01. Bullfrog Blues (Hite/la Parra/Taylor/Vestine/Wilson) 7.21
02. Sweet Sixteen (Josea/King) 10.57
03. I’d Rather Be The Devil (Johnson) 5.10
04. Dust My Broom (James) 5.46
05. Wish You Would (Arnold) 8.03
06. When Things Go Wrong  (Whittaker) 9.08

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Canned Heat – Boogie Up The Country (1988)

During the 1980s the interest in the type of music played by Canned Heat was revived and, despite the past tragedies and permanent instability, the band appeared to be revitalized. In 1985, Trout had left to join John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, so Vestine was once again back in the band and he brought with him new musical talent from Oregon in James Thornbury (slide guitar and lead vocals) and Skip Jones (Bass). They were dubbed the “Nuts and Berries” band by de la Parra, due to their love of organic food. It was not long before former members Larry Taylor (replacing Jones) and Ronnie Barron returned to round out the group. Versions of this lineup would record the live album, Boogie Up The Country, in Kassel, Germany, in 1987 and also appear on the Blues Festival Live in Bonn ’87 Vol 2 compilation. Barron, just as before did not last long in this lineup, nor did Vestine, who was once again ousted from the band due to pressure from Larry Taylor. Replacing Vestine on lead guitar was Junior Watson; his style emulated Hollywood Fats (who died in late 1986) and was perfectly suited for the band as witnessed by the well-regarded album, Reheated. Unfortunately, the album was released only in Germany in 1988 due to disagreements with the Chameleon Music Group Record label. (by wikipedia)

“Now the new revitalized Canned Heat wants to bring their classic hitsand new songs to the public.  This new band brings  with its current members, a new strong, contemporary, original sound with the same down to earth Rhythm & Blues and Boogie roots that have characterized the band throughout the years. Canned Heat is happening in the Eighties ! Catch them and watch out ! It´s heavy …” (taken from the original liner-notes).

Personnel:
Adolfo “Fito” De La Parra (drums, percussion, vocals)
James T. (guitar, vocals, harmonica, flute)
Larry Taylor (bass, vocals, guitar)
Henry Vestine (guitar)

Tracklist:
01. Intro (Ansage) 0.26
02. Mercury Blues (Douglas) 3.24
03. Take Me To The River (Green/H0dges) 4.10
04. Rollin’ And Tumblin’ (Morganfield) 3.34
05. Amphetamine Annie (Hite/Wilson/Vestine/Taylor/de la Parra) 4.16
06. Bullfrog Blues (Hite/Wilson/Vestine/Taylor/de la Parra) 3.11
07. Sweet Home Chicago (Johnson) 4.28
08. Kidman Blues (Estes) 5.58
09. Going Up The Country (Wilson) 2.51
10. Let’s Work Together (Harrison) 4.32
11. Trouble No More (Morganfield) 4.31
12. Younderswall (James) 4.21
13. Boogie (Taylor) 17.31
14. Outro (Absage) 0.29

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