CANNED HEAT AND JOHN LEE HOOKER - HOOKER 'N HEAT 1971. Sometimes a collaboration that looks good on paper can go horribly wrong (Bowie 'N Jagger, Metallica 'N Reed, Skittles ‘N Scotch, etc.). But every so often, they can come out glorious. Being a backing band playing behind John Lee Hooker must have been like being G.G. Allin's life coach. But Canned Heat did a staggeringly good job of doing the seemingly impossible : backing an elder blues icon who was used to playing alone, and who liked to change chords and tempos whenever the hell he felt like it. The immense respect between the acts is palpable on the recording, and it was a high note for Alan Wilson to leave this realm on. He is on the recording, but was dead by the time the cover photo was taken (hence the framed portrait on the back wall in the pic). If you do not own this, it would be a good idea to come to the WPKN Music Mash in lush and verdant Bridgeport, CT on Saturday and take this LP home. You can then make informed decisions about "Burning Hell", and "Whiskey and Wimmen."
-John G.
Bad Kitty Music #15: Mississippi Fred McDowell
Bad Kitty Music #14: Gram Parsons
Bad Kitty Music #13: Sleepy Hollow
Bad Kitty Music #12: The Everly Brothers
Bad Kitty Music #11: Albert King/Otis Rush
Bad Kitty Music #10: Uriah Heep
Bad Kitty Music #9: George Thorogood & The Destroyers
Bad Kitty Music #8: Bob(by) Darin
Bad Kitty Music #7: Todd Rundgren
Bad Kitty Music #6: The Rockets
Bad Kitty Music #5: Rush
Bad Kitty Music #4: Dr. John
Bad Kitty Music #3: Terry Reid
Bad Kitty Music #2: Roy Buchanan
Bad Kitty Music #1: Bobby "Blue"Bland
1 comment:
I'm a Canned Heat stan (buy every reasonable copy of Hallelujah I run across), and it's surprising how relaxed this record is. The opposite of those "X in London" albums which feel kind of perfunctory, more like Fleetwood Mac in Chicago. It is the album that made me love Alan Wilson. There used to a blues doc on Prime that detailed how involved Wilson was in searching out the old blues men using the lyrics and places from their songs. According to Wikipedia, he re-taught Son House how to play House's own songs.
Post a Comment