..:: audio-music dot info ::..


Main Page     The Desert Island     Copyright Notice
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz


John Lee Hooker: The Best of John Lee Hooker & Canned Heat

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Disky Records
Released: 1996
Time:
 55:59
Category: Blues
Producer(s): Robert J. Hite, Jr., Skip Taylor
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.johnleehooker.com
Appears with: Canned Heat
Purchase date: 2000.04.17
Price in €: 5,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] You Talk Too Much (Hooker) - 3:14
[2] Burning Hell (Besman/Hooker) - 5:27
[3] Bottle up and Go (Hooker) - 2:27
[4] World Today (Hooker) - 7:44
[5] I Got My Eyes on You (Hooker) - 4:24
[6] Whiskey and Wimmen' (Hooker) - 4:35
[7] Just You and Me (Hooker) - 7:40
[8] Let's Make It (Hooker) - 4:04
[9] Peavine (Hooker) - 5:05
[10] Boogie Chillun No.2 (Besman/Hooker) - 11:33

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


John Lee Hooker - Vocals

Canned Heat:
Henry Vestine - Guitar
Antonio Barrada - Bass
Bob Hite - Vocals
Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra - Drums
Alan Wilson - Guitar, Vocals

Bruce Harris - Executive Producer
Dino Lappas - Engineer
Kevin Reeves - Engineer, Digital Remastering
Steve Kolanijan - Liner Notes, Compilation Producer
Tom Tucker - Photography
Henry Marquez - Art Direction
Robert Laverdiere - Design
LuAnn Graffeo - Art Direction
David Eno - Project Coordinator

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Canned Heat And John Lee Hooker's '70 outing Hooker 'N Heat is served upwith a sonic edge that brings you the listener right into the recording studio when listening to this limited edition Mofi gold CD. This 2 CD set is a must on the gold format for every Blues enthusiast. The grit, mud,smoke, sleaze & fire of these performances all come to the brim of this melting pot in its rawest form ever thanks to mofi's excellent digital overhaul and the exceptional transfer to the gold CD format. The studio chatter between 'The Hook' & The Heat on some tunes is enjoyable, as you can sense that the chemistry was right on the money during these historic sessions which unleashed 17 tunes on the public in '70. All the original liner notes & pix are included along with a few new added pix to spice things up. This release in particular stands out as a landmark in both artists' recorded legacy and is a must for every 'Hook' & 'Heat' fan! This recording has stood the test of time and will for many more years to come.But remember, to really enjoy and hear this release the right way, get this CD now for it will not be around forever.

Jay Siekierski



These ten songs were originally released as part of a 1971 album (on Liberty 35002); this reissue, despite the lack of historical liner notes, isn't exactly short value, clocking in at 56 minutes. Canned Heat gets top billling, but really it's Hooker's show, as he sings all the tracks and takes all the songwriting credits for the material, which includes remakes of classics like "Dimples," "Boogie Chillen," "Burning Hell," and "Bottle Up and Go." With Hooker fronting a White blues-rock-boogie group, this doesn't offer the optimum circumstances to hear the man. But it's not bad either, Canned Heat playing with spirit and relative economy, although the 11-minute "Boogie Chillen" is excessive.

Richie Unterberger, All-Music Guide



Biography:

A hard-luck blues band of the '60s, Canned Heat was founded by blues historians and record collectors Alan Wilson and Bob Hite. They seemed to be on the right track and played all the right festivals (including Monterey and Woodstock, making it very prominently into the documentaries about both) but somehow never found a lasting audience.
Certainly their hearts were in the right place. Canned Heat's debut album -- released shortly after their appearance at Monterey -- was every bit as deep into the roots of the blues as any other combo of the time mining similar turf, with the exception of the original Paul Butterfield band. Hite was nicknamed "The Bear" and stalked the stage in the time-honored tradition of Howlin' Wolf and other large-proportioned bluesmen. Wilson was an extraordinary harmonica player, with a fat tone and great vibrato. His work on guitar, especially in open tunings (he played on Son House's rediscovery recordings of the mid-'60s, incidentally) gave the band a depth and texture that most other rhythm players could only aspire to. Henry Vestine -- another dyed-in-the-wool record collector -- was the West Coast's answer to Michael Bloomfield and capable of fretboard fireworks at a moment's notice.

Canned Heat's breakthrough moment occurred with the release of their second album, establishing them with hippie ballroom audiences as the "kings of the boogie." As a way of paying homage to the musician they got the idea from in the first place, they later collaborated on an album with John Lee Hooker that was one of the elder bluesman's most successful outings with a young white (or black, for that matter) combo backing him up. After two big chart hits with "Goin' up the Country" and an explosive version of Wilbert Harrison's "Let's Work Together," Wilson died under mysterious (probably drug-related) circumstances in 1970, and Hite carried on with various reconstituted versions of the band until his death just before a show in 1981, from a heart seizure.

Still, the surving members -- led by drummer Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra -- continued touring and recording, recruiting new vocalist Walter Trout; he was replaced in 1985 by James Thornbury, who fronted the band for the next decade. After Thornbury exited in 1995, Canned Heat tapped Robert Lucas to assume lead vocal duties; they soon recorded The Canned Heat Blues Band, which sadly was Vestine's last recording with the group -- he died in Paris in December 1997 in the wake of the band's recent tour. Boogie 2000 followed two years later.

Cub Koda & Bruce Eder, All-Music Guide
 

 L y r i c s


Currently no Lyrics available!

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


Currently no Samples available!