Showing posts with label Canned Heat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canned Heat. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

W.O.C.K On Vinyl - Canned Heat: On The Road Again E.P (1969) & Going Up The Country E.P (1972)

 .

Before things get too serious at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song or album at the end of each month, that could be considered to be either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.

Canned Heat
first came together in 1965 in the city of Los Angeles. The band soon became very successful attracting a large cult following while also attaining commercial success. One of the secrets of the band was their ability to compose their own material while putting their own spin on blues classics. Their legacy was cemented with their incredibly exciting live shows and their appearances at what would become legendary concert festivals such as Woodstock.

The core members of the band’s early lineups were Bob Hite on vocals, Alan Wilson on guitar, harmonica and vocals, Henry Vestine on guitar, Harvey Mandel on guitar, Larry Taylor on bass, and Adolfo de la Parra on drums. Over the years there were multiple lineup changes for various reasons including the passing of some key members. Alan Wilson passed away early on in 1970. Bob Hite passed away in 1981. Henry Vestine died in 1998 and most recently Larry Taylor passed away in 2019.


Canned Heat released their first album in 1967 entitled Canned Heat. Between 1967 and 2007, the Heat released twenty studio albums including three collaborative albums with other artists. The band has also released eleven live albums over the course of their career. There has also been twenty compilation albums released by their record companies along with 18 E.P's

This month's WOCK on Vinyl focuses on their late 1960’s work. Canned Heat a fabulous blues boogie rock band that stands along such legendary groups as The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers, Savoy Brown, and Foghat has being one of the best of all time.

One of their most popular songs was “On the Road Again” which was released on the band’s second album entitled 'Boogie With Canned Heat'. The song was a huge, huge hit for the band. It became a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 which was pretty impressive for a blues band at the time. The song reached the top 10 in multiple countries around the world including Switzerland, The Netherlands, France, Canada, Belgium and of course here in the land Down Under - Australia.

For me, it was the first 45 I ever bought (I was only 11 or 12 at the time) and it was probably the cause of my addiction with collecting records for the last 50 years (see above). 

Just as popular was their historic hit “Going Up The County.” While some Canned Heat purists may argue that some of their heavier jams and barn burners were stronger songs than “Going Up The County,” there is no denying this song’s legacy. I have a special affiliation with this one because when I was learning to play flute as a teenager, one of the most popular riffs at the time for flute (other than Jethro Tull's "Living In The Past") was Canned Heat's "Going Up The Country". 

 As a result, I purchased the E.P featured in this post (see above), to learn the riff and play it by ear. Not bad for a 14 year old I reckon.

And so, this month's WOCK on Vinyl post is dedicated to the wonderful Blues and Boogie that Canned Heat brought into the world and for me, the start of of a love relationship and passion for music in general.  And as I have not seen any other copies of these  E.P's and single over my 50 years of collecting vinyl, I think these tick the Obscure box as well.
Ripped to FLAC with some minor declicking, I think you'll find the quality is pretty damn good. Of course full artwork and label scans are included.

So enjoy some classic Canned Heat and remember not to forget to Boogie, BoogieBoogie...

Track Listing
On The Road Again (EP)
01 - On The Road Again
02 - Evil Is Going Down
03 - Rollin' And Tumblin'
04 - Bullfrog Blues

On The Road Again (Single)
01 - On The Road Again
02 - Boogie Music

Going Up The Country (EP)
01 - Going Up The Country
02 - Time Was
03 - Poor Moon
04 - Low Down



New Link 26/03/2022

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Various Artists - Rock Anthems

 (Various Artists 60-70's)

Concept was a marketing company in the vein of K-Tel. J & B was a sister company. They were based at 37 Whiting Street Artamon Sydney and later 139 Murray Street, Pyrmont. Other than that there is little information. The label was started by Theo Tambakis. He had worked at K-Tel, where he produced Hooked on Swing.

Concept was a highly prolific producer of compilations, and lasted into the CD era. The first release was in 1984 – Breakin’ It Up CC0001, and the final seems to be after CC0200D – Unforgettable Songs, in 1992. The albums were heavily promoted on radio and television.
A majority of their compilations didn't display release dates on their covers and this compilation is one of them. However, of those that have dates (see Discogs listing) a majority were released during 1987-1989, and so my guess is that this compilation was released sometime during this period


This compilation features tracks from both the 60's and 70's and in my opinion packed with 20 fantastic rock classics. But are they all Rock Anthems? Well, I'll let you be the judge.

Meatloaf - "Bat Out Of Hell" (1977)

Surging, soaring but melodic "Bat Out Of Hell" single and album (of same name) shook up the punk/new wave music scene of the late 1970's/early 80's, forcefully reminding it of hard rock's presence., but also crossing-over into 'theatrical' pop appreciation. Its perpetrator, Meat Loaf (born Marvin Lee Aday in Texas in 1948), adopted a tumultuous theatricality, which should have surprised nobody since he had already starred in the movie "Rocky Horror Picture Show". Like all of Meat Loaf's hits, Bat Out Of Hell was written by pianist Jim Steinman. He said he wrote this to be the ultimate "Motorcycle crash song." The lyrics refer to a rider being thrown off his bike in a wreck and his organs exposed. The Bat Out of Hell album spent 474 weeks on the UK album chart and became one of the top five all time best selling albums.

Elton John - "Crocodile Rock" (1972)

"Crocodile Rock" was written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in summer 1972 at the Château d'Hérouville studio in France (it was listed as "Strawberry Studios" in the album's credits), where John and his team had previously recorded the Honky Château album. It was released on 27 October 1972 in the UK and 20 November 1972 in the U.S., as a pre-release single from his forthcoming 1973 album 'Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player', and became his first U.S. number-one single, reaching the top spot on 3 February 1973, and stayed there for three weeks. In the U.S., it was certified Gold on 5 February 1973 and Platinum on 13 September 1995 by the RIAA.

The song was inspired by Elton's discovery of leading Australian band Daddy Cool and their hit single "Eagle Rock", which was the most successful Australian single of the early 1970s, remaining at No.1 for a record of 10 weeks.

Elton heard the song and the group on his 1972 Australian tour and was greatly impressed by it. A photo included in the album packaging features John's lyricist, Bernie Taupin, wearing a "Daddy Who?" promotional badge.(see right)

The Spencer Davis Group - "Gimme Some Lovin'" (1966)

The Spencer Davis group was signed by Chris Blackwell, who released their first single, a cover of the John Lee Hooker song "Dimples," in 1964. He had the group record songs written by the Jamaican composer Jackie Edwards, two of which were #1 UK hits in 1965: "Keep on Running" and "Somebody Help Me." When Blackwell set his sights on the American market for the group, he had them record with producer Jimmy Miller and asked them to write an original song that would go over well in the US. "Gimme Some Lovin'" was the result; Miller made the US release more appealing to American taste by adding percussion and a female chorus. The song served its purpose, becoming the first American hit for The Spencer Davis Group.

Gimme Some Lovin' was written by the group's lead singer, Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis was their guitarist - he was chosen as the group's namesake because he was the only one who enjoyed doing interviews). Winwood says they banged it out in the studio in the first or second take. The song was also written on the fly. In Rolling Stone magazine, bassist Muff Winwood said, "Steve had been singing, 'Gimme some lovin',' just yelling anything. It took about an hour to write, then down the pub for lunch."

Dave Edmonds - "I Hear You Knockin" (1970)

Dave Edmunds is one of those artists who is always on the verge of becoming a big name in the pop industry. It started back in 1967, when, as the lead guitarist with the UK band LOVE SCULPTURE, he reached the No 1 spot in the U.K. with Sabre Dance. In 1970 he decided to go solo and his first single, I Hear You Knockin, hit the No. 1 spot in England, selling over 3,000,000 copies. The record made Top 20 in Australia as well.

The song did very well in America, but far better in his native UK (Edmond's Welsh), where it was one of the biggest selling singles of all time to that point. He had several other UK hits, following up with another retro cover: "Baby, I Love You," which made #8 in 1973. He had a number of other hits in his native Britain, among them "Queen of Hearts" and "I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock & Roll)."

Canned Heat - "On The Road Again" (1968)

Though the blues originated in the United States, and then were a few credible American blues-rockers (such as The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Captain Beefheart's early groups), the genre was dominated by UK stars like The Roiling Stones, Cream, Fleetwood Mac, and Jeff Beck Group. At the very point where all those acts were at their peak, Canned Heat rushed into the top 40 on September 7 , 1968 with "On the Road Again" adapted from a little known record by Floyd Jones.

Based in Southern California, far from the blues' southern Delta origins, Canned Heat demonstrated with the single that a young American white band could both play the blues credibly and add enough of a psychedelic rock sheen to make it relevant in the late '60's. The modern touches were supplied by a solid rock beat and a pseudo-Eastern tamboura drone, though Al Wilson's eerie high vocal sounded literally out of this world. Canned Heat were dedicated record collectors and folklorists as well as musicians, Wilson had even helped teach legendary Delta bluesman Son House now to play guitar again when House made a comeback on the '60s folk circuit. So it was little surprise they reached all the way back to the '20s for their next hit, "Going Up the Country," which adapted elements from country bluesman Henry Thomas' "Bull Doze Blues".

T. Rex - "Get It On" (1971)

The pioneering glam rock band T. Rex (originally Tyrannosaurus Rex) could do no wrong in their native England. From 1970 to 1973, they had an astonishing ten Top 5 singles, including four #1’s. (Yes, you read that right.) The band was formed in 1967 by guitarist Marc Bolan, who was not quite 20 years-old at the time, and he teamed with producer Tony Visconti to shape the group’s records, a relationship that would continue for eight albums.

In 1971, their British label, Fly, released “Get It On” and it became the band’s second consecutive #1 chart hit on July 24. Their U.S. record label changed the name of the song to “Bang a Gong (Get It On)” to avoid confusion with a song also called “Get It On” which was released that same year by a jazz rock band named Chase.

According to T. Rex drummer Bill Legend, he and Bolan worked out the rhythm one day in Bolan's hotel room, and when the tour got to Los Angeles, the group reconvened with members of the team that worked on their first album: producer Tony Visconti and backup singers Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, who were members of The Turtles and recorded as Flo & Eddie. At Kaylan's home in Laurel Canyon, they spent all night working up the song, and the next day, they recorded it at Wally Heider Studios in LA. When they got to the studio, they had the chorus, the rhythm, and the "you're dirty and sweet" line, but Bolan had to come up with the other lyrics on the spot, indicating he wasn't thinking too hard about them. Everyone agrees that cocaine was involved throughout the process.

Joe Cocker - "With A Little Help From My Friends" (1968)

Joe Cocker's flailing arms, parodied by John Belushi on Saturday Night Live, always gave the impression of a man who was out of control, an impression sometimes heightened by Cocker's lifestyle: it belied a deep, respectful passion for R'n'B, and Ray Charles in particular. After paying hard-earned dues around northern clubs, his rise to fame was swift: a UK Number One single with his cover of 'With A Little Help From My Friends' (the friends included Jimmy Page and Steve Winwood), and notable appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight. The rambling, shambling Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour of the US, organised by Leon Russell in 1970, was a saga of exhaustion (sixty gigs in three months) and self-destruction, and the strain nearly did for him. But Cocker was made of Sheffield steel, re-emerging to duet with Jennifer Warnes on 'Up Where We Belong' and jump-start his career.

The Kinks - "All Of The Day & All Of The Night" (1964)

Given Ray Davies' later dominance, it's worth recalling that it was the Kink's guitarist Dave Davies, his frenetic younger brother, who gave the group's first singles their substantial mettle: he ripped up the speakers in his practice amp and hooked them with a couple of his Vox amps for the raw sound of 'You Really Got Me'. Dave and Ray fought constantly, like all good brotherly bands, but Ray's songwriting skills held sway. By 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion' and 'Waterloo Sunset' the Kinks had segued to the very model of an English band, with their neatly observed cameos of life in Blighty, always serious but blessed with a twinkling, crinkled smile.

From there on it was but a sprightly stroll towards some concept albums, success in America following 'Lola' ('Celluloid Heroes' was the Hollywood parallel of 'Waterloo') and obeisance from Paul Weller, Supergrass and Blur - whose single 'Country House' was an undisguised tribute to the Kinks' 1966 'House In The Country'.

"All Day and All of the Night" was released as a single in 1964, reaching No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1965. The song was included on the Kinksize Hits EP in the UK and the Kinks' second American album, Kinks-Size (1965). Like their previous hit "You Really Got Me", the song is based on a power chord riff. Both songs are similar in beat and structure, with similar background vocals, progressions, and guitar solos.

Santana - "Black Magic Woman" (1970)
Black Magic Woman was a hit for Santana, but few people know that this song was actually a cover of a 1968 Fleetwood Mac song that hit No.37 in the UK. Peter Green, who was a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, wrote the lyrics.

Many also don't know that Santana started out as a blues band, just like Fleetwood Mac. "I used to go to see the original Fleetwood Mac, and they used to kill me, just knock me out," Carlos Santana said in the book The Guitar Greats. "To me, they were the best blues band."

Santana put their own spin on the song, incorporating Latin textures, but they kept the basic sound from the original intact. Santana keyboard player Gregg Rolie sang lead on this. He later joined Journey in 1973.

On January 10th 1971, "Black Magic Woman" peaked at No.4 (for 2 weeks) on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; it had entered the chart on November 8th, 1970 and spent 13 weeks on the Top 100 (and 7 of those 13 weeks were on Top 10).

Toto - "Hold The Line" (1978)

“Hold the Line” was released back in 1978 as the band’s first single EVER and also featured in their debut self-titled album. Not many artists had the opportunity to leave such an outstanding first impression the moment they stepped into the cutthroat world of music industry. However, Toto did it with this song – it immediately reached top positions in the USA, Swedish, South African, Canadian and Australian charts. It’s also RIAA certified as “GOLD”.

The song was written by the keyboardist of the band – David Paich and the lead vocals are performed by the incredibly talented Bobby Kimball.

The song features a single-note piano percussion, which was a quite popular technique at that time. In addition, in my opinion, the song’s biggest asset would be the elegant but vigorous “creamy” guitar riff. The song simply proved that six talented session musicians, who used to back up other famous artists can actually make magic on their own from the first try!

“It started out with the piano riff that is in the intro. I started playing this riff and I just couldn’t stop playing it. I played it for days, and I started singing, “Hold the line, love isn’t always on time.” It was a phrase that just came into my head. . . it was a blessing. (The words) came to me in the night, and then I went to the verse. I wrote it in 2 hours. Sometimes songs come quickly like that, and sometimes I spend 2 years trying to finish a song,” said David Paich about the writing of the song.

Bachman-Turner Overdrive - "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" (1974)

Randy Bachman lifted a riff here and a phrase there, coming up with Bachman Turner Overdrive's rocktastic classic "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", a song that still pays his bills.

Randy recalls: “I’m looking for something, and then You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet comes along by accident. I was rehearsing and producing BTO’s third album. We needed an FM Top 40 hit, something light with a heavy bit in it. At that time, I was inspired by Traffic’s Dave Mason and his song Only You Know And I Know, which had a dang-a-lang rhythm, and the Doobie Brothers’ Listen To The Music. So I copped those jangling rhythms, changed the chords and then added some power chords of my own. I had a work in progress, in two parts: a great rhythm and a heavy riff.”

“Way back when, my brother Garry, one of four Bachman boys, had a speech impediment; he stuttered and stammered. For the ultimate tease I wrote a song like he spoke. Then I called him up and scared him by telling him it would be on the album. “The words just flowed out without thought: ‘I met a Devil woman, and she took my heart away.’ That sounded good. Then for the chorus I copied the way he’d say: ‘You ain’t seen n-n-nothing yet,’ and also the way he stumbled on ‘f-f-forget’, and the way he said ‘b-b-b baby’. I liked it as an idea but I was never going to finish it off.”

Randy would have shelved the song altogether had not Mercury’s artist liaison man, Charley Fach, intervened.

“He loved the album that became Not Fragile, but he couldn’t hear an FM radio single. He said: ‘It’s great, but we need a hit.’ I’d just done a 90-day tour, so I told him: ‘Take it or leave it. But I do have this real bad work track with an awful Van Morrison impression.’ The engineer played it to him, and within 1 second he said: ‘Put that on the album now.’ A few weeks later he phones me up and says the record is huge!

Note: The title is grammatically incorrect. It is a double-negative, although "You Haven't Seen Anything Yet" wouldn't have the same ring to it.

Status Quo - "Rockin' All Over The World" (1977)

Often dismissed as three-chord jokes, Status Quo have had the last laugh. After four decades, they've racked up over 50 UK Top 40 chart entries, even if only guitarist Rick Parfitt and guitarist/lead singer Francis Rossi have been ever-present.

They started as a psychedelic band whose excellent "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" (1967) saw them gain their only Top 40 American hit. Before tong, though, the group began chafing at their paisley shirts.

They used the album Ma Kelly,s Greasy Spoon (1970) to affirm a new direction: no-nonsense boogie. It's a path from which they have never deviated, iheir crowd pandering, be-jeaned stage act summed up by their literally head-down ax-thrashing (which iconic pose they featured on the cover of their 1972 album Piledriver) and by the tone of their sole UK No.1, "Down Down" (1974).

As time wore on though, the odd country or pop touch crept into the proceedings, their mordant song about tax exiledom, Living on An lsland, (1979) a particular surprise.

Though they write plenty of material themselves, Quo's signature song has become their version of John Fogerty's "Rockin' All Over The World", which entered the UK chart on October 8, 1977. It's stirring celebration of rock was deemed by Bob Geldof to be the perfect way to open 1985's Live Aid concert, thus securing the Quo an immortality even more elevated than their record of more UK chart entries than any other British band.

Steppenwolf - "Born To Be Wild" (1968)

In 1968, rock 'n' roll was becoming harder and more urgent, reflecting the uncertainty and danger of the times - and Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild," which entered the Billboard Top 40 on July 20,1968, sealed the band's legacy in the annals of an angry counterculture with its loud guitar riffs, dense drumming, and outlaw lyrics.

Written by Mars Bonfire (aka Dennis Edmonton), the song's second verse references "heavy metal thunder" the first time the phrase "heavy metal" appeared in song. Steppenwolf's use of the term, first used colloquially by Beat poets Herman Hesse and Williams S. Burroughs, coined the name of the emerging genre - one that dominated the U.S. charts throughout the '70s.

As Steppenwolf singer John Kay commented, "our philosophy was to hit'em hard, make your point, and move on." With its aggressive guitar riffs and lyrics that challenged both mainstream and counterculture values and prized individual freedom above all else, "Born To Be Wild," from the album Steppenwolf (1968), paved the way for bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and even now for bands like the atmospherically heavy HIM. lt also provided the perfect sonic complement to the influential Dennis Hopper/Peter Fonda biker flick Easy Rider (1969).

Free - "All Right Now" (1970)

Pure and unadulterated, Free emerged as keepers of the flickering flame jf the British blues in a quartet of beautiful balance. Paul Rodgers's Huskily yearning vocals, clothes courtesy of the small ads in Melody Maker; Paul Kossoff stretching his timeless guitar licks with his Les Paul's sustain; teenage Andy Fraser's mile-wide bass; rock-steady Simon Kirke 4/4'ing the whole together on drums. Their manifesto was nowhere better proclaimed than on their 1970 hit "All Right Now".

Alexis Korner had suggested that they call themselves Free after his own blues trio Free At Last, and seemingly erupting out of nowhere, they found themselves up amongst the headline acts at the Isle of Wight Festival of 1970. Yet they were never able to build completely on that success, not least through trying to keep Paul Kossoff's drug addiction under control. 1973's 'Wishing Well', Free's final single, was a heartfelt plea from Rodgers to Kossoff - he failed to heed the song's message, and was dead within three years.

Uriah Heep - "Gypsy" (1970)]

"Gypsy" is the debut single by British progressive rock/hard rock band Uriah Heep. It is the opening track on their first album, …Very 'Eavy …Very 'Umble, released in 1970. "Gypsy" was written by Mick Box and David Byron. The B-side of the song in most countries was "Bird of Prey", though in others, the B-sides were "Wake Up (Set Your Sights)", "Come Away Melinda" and "Lady in Black". The album version of "Gypsy" lasts more than six and half minutes, while the single version lasts less than three minutes.

To differentiate themselves from other Rock bands at the time, Heep replaced the almost obligatory guitar solo with a wild organ solo in this song. The song was one of the heaviest of its time, quickly became one of Heep's most loved songs and is now considered to be one of the most important early heavy metal compositions.

Procol Harum - "Conquistador" (1967)

Formed early 1967 in Southend, Essex, from the ashes of R&B group the Paramounts, Procol Harum's first single, the ethereal Bach-influenced  'A Whiter Shade Of Pale' gave them a huge international hit. Number 1 in the UK for six weeks, it stands as an immortal cornerstone of the celebrated 1967 Summer of Love. Royer and Harrison were replaced by Robin Trower on guitar and B J Wilson on drums during the recording of their first album, but Procol Harum received greater recognition (and healthier record sales) in the US than at home, where their first album to chart was 1969's 'A Salty Dog'.

"Conquistador" was written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, and it originally appeared on the band's 1967 self-titled debut album. It was released as a single off the band's 1972 album 'Procol Harum Live In Concert' with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and it is this version that is their most popular release. Note that the version released on this compilation is the original studio version.

Procol Harum's lyricist Keith Reid told Songfacts that the music for "Conquistador" was written before the lyrics. He added that this was unusual as "99 out of 100" of the Procol Harum songs back then, "were written the words first, and then were set to music." 

Joe Walsh - "Rock Mountain Way" (1973)

"Rocky Mountain Way" is a 1973 song by rock guitarist Joe Walsh and his band Barnstorm. The song was originally released on the album The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get. The song features Walsh using a guitar talk box, manufactured by sound engineer Bob Heil, who invented the device used by almost every rock music exponent. The distinct tone "... gives Walsh's blues stomp a futuristic wave, as if a hulking mechanical beast was looming just over those rocky mountains

Joe explained in an article for Rolling Stone Magazine - I had left the James Gang, left Cleveland and gone to Colorado because Bill Szymczyk was there and so were a whole bunch of other people I knew. We had the Smoker album pretty much done [1973's The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get] except we had this one track that was an instrumental. I couldn't think of any words and everybody was patiently waiting for me to come up with something.

One day I was in my backyard in Boulder mowing the lawn and I was thinking, "Boy, I sure hope leaving the James Gang was a good idea!" Because I hadn't really surfaced as a solo act yet. I was almost there, but not quite. And then I looked up … and there were the Rocky Mountains. It was summer but you could still see snow on the back range. It just hit me how beautiful it all was, 5,000 feet up. And that was it – the words came: "Spent the last year Rocky Mountain way/Couldn't get much higher." And the second verse is about my old management – telling us this, telling us that, time to change the batter. I got all of that at once. And I ran inside to write it down before I forgot it.

Only problem was, I forgot to shut off the lawnmower. It kept moving and went into the neighbour's yard and ate her rose bushes. Cleared a little path straight through. So those lyrics wound up costing me, I don't know, maybe 1,500 bucks. But it was well worth it. The neighbour, though, she was pissed. I said to her, "You don't understand! I got the words!" But she just looked at me. [My Life in 15 Songs: Rolling Stone, May 2016]

Cheap Trick - "Dream Police" (1979)

"Dream Police" is a song written by Rick Nielsen and originally released in 1979 by the American rock band Cheap Trick. It is the first track on the group's album of the same name. Nielsen has stated that the song "is an attempt to take a heavy thought - a quick bit of REM snatched right before waking up - and put into a pop format." He also stated that "the song was about Big Brother watching you.

"Dream Police" dates back to 1976. It was one of 22 songs the band had written for their first album, and it didn't make the cut. The song evolved as they played it live and refined it in the studio, and it was released as the title track of their fourth studio album. By this time, their live album At Budokan had been released, breaking them big with the single "I Want You To Want Me." The next single was "Dream Police," and it became one of their most popular songs, reaching #26 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100.

Rod Stewart - "Maggie May" (1971)

In the '60s, The Beatles had topped UK and U.S single and album charts all at the same time but never technically with the same product, it took Rod Stewart to achieve what even the mighty Fabs hadn't. Still the frontman of The Faces but increasingly becoming better known for his solo albums, in 1971 Stewart recorded his LP masterpiece, 'Every Picture Tells A story'. As usual, it was made up of a highly unusual mixture of folk, soul, and rock, an epic version of "I'm Losing You" rubbing shoulders with Stewarts beautiful rustic evocation of frontier life, "Mandolin Wind." It also featured a collaboration between Stewart and classical guitarist Martin Quittenton about the artist's first sexual conquest.

Despite a raunchy theme and a catchy, jangling melody set off by an arresting mandolin solo, all driven home by Stewart's unique emotional rasp, Mercury Records didn't think that the song was hit material, relegating it to a B-side, instead, "Reason To Believe" was chosen as the album's single. But fate in the form of DJ opinion intervened, and the single "Maggie May" was given the radio play she deserved; on October 9, 1971, the song topped the singles charts in the UK. it had made the top spot in the United States on October 2, the same day as the album had topped the U.S. album charts. With the album also lodged at NO. 1 in Britain, it made for an unprecedented double-double whammy.

Boston - "More Than A Feeling" (1976)

At one time, Boston’s debut release was the fastest-selling debut album of all time. Nearly everything about this album is masterfully crafted, from the volume to the layering and everything in-between. The musicianship found in every song is superb. While Tom Scholz plays several instruments, his most notable is the guitar. Although there are many good musicians out there, that’s not where Boston makes it’s case.

Take for instance the opening track “More Than a Feeling.” This debut single entered the Billboard chart on October 16, 1976 on its way to peak at No. 5. Aside from having one of the more recognizable riffs, the way everything comes into place at just the right time is something few were able to do before Boston.

It’s sound is difficult to explain without listening to the album, but I'll give it a try. Imagine a level of sound where the lead guitar is playing and the forefront, where it usually is. With Boston, Scholz found a way to make every instrument, from the drums, to the organ, to the bass; be easily heard at the same time, in just the right places for maximum effect.

There’s something about Boston's debut LP that makes it one of the best LP's of all time, and although they hit it big with their single "More Than A Feeling", this album has much, much more to offer.

This post consists of FLACS ripped from my Concept Vinyl and includes full album artwork and label scans.  This is one of my favourite compilation albums and offers a broad range of hits from the 60's and 70''s.  A couple of rarities worth mentioning on this comp: Uriah Heep's "Gypsy" (the single release being a shorter version to the album release that people are more familiar with) and Procol Harum's studio version of Conquistador (most people are more familiar with the Live version).  
The only negative I have with this comp is the absence of any Aussie Anthems, which is a bit short sighted of the part of Concept in my opinion.  But then again, this is only a Concept Record !   LOL

Tracklist
A1 – Meat Loaf (Bat Out Of Hell)
A2 – Elton John (Crocodile Rock)
A3 – The Spencer Davis Group (Gimme Some Lovin')
A4 – Dave Edmunds (I Hear You Knocking)
A5 – Canned Heat (On The Road Again)
A6 – T. Rex  (Get It On)
A7 – Joe Cocker (With A Little Help From My Friends)
A8 – The Kinks (All Day & All Of The Night)
A9 – Santana (Black Magic Woman)
A10 – Toto (Hold The Line)
B1 – Bachman-Turner Overdrive    (You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet)
B2 – Status Quo (Rockin' All Over The World)
B3 – Steppenwolf    (Born To Be Wild)
B4 – Free (All Right Now)
B5 – Uriah Heep (Gypsy)
B6 – Procol Harum (Conquistador)
B7 – Joe Walsh (Rocky Mountain Way)
B8 – Cheap Trick    (Dream Police)
B9 – Rod Stewart    (Maggie May)
B10 – Boston   (More Than A Feeling)

Rock Anthems Link (437Mb) New Link 05/01/2024

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Canned Heat - '70 Concert: Live In Europe (1970)

(U.S 1965 - Present)
.
Emerging in 1966, Canned Heat was founded by blues historians and record collectors Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson and Bob "The Bear" Hite. They gained international attention and secured their niche in the pages of rock 'n roll history with their performances at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (along with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and The Who) and the headlining slot at the original Woodstock Festival. Wilson was already renowned for his distinctive harmonica work when he accompanied veteran bluesman, Son House, on his rediscovery album, "Father of the Blues." Hite took the name Canned Heat from a 1928 recording by Tommy Johnson. They were joined by Henry "The Sunflower" Vestine, another ardent record collector capable of fretboard fireworks at a moment's notice who was a former member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. Rounding out the band in 1967 were Larry "The Mole" Taylor on bass, an experienced session musician who had played with Jerry Lee Lewis and The Monkees and Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra on drums who had played in two of the biggest Latin American bands, Los Sinners and Los Hooligans and then with The Platters, The Shirelles, T-Bone Walker and Etta James.

Canned Heat's unique blend of modern electric blues, rock and boogie has earned them a loyal following and influenced many aspiring guitarists and bands during the past 35 years. Their Top-40 country-blues-rock songs, "On The Road Again," "Let's Work Together," and "Going Up The Country," became rock anthems throughout the world with the later being adopted as the unofficial theme song for the film Woodstock.
Right from the start, Canned Heat has been at the forefront of popularizing blues music. Their second album, "Boogie With Canned Heat," included the worldwide hit "On The Road Again" and a twelve minute version of "Fried Hockey Boogie" that established them with hippie ballroom audiences as the "kings of the boogie!" Their third album, "Living The Blues," included a 19-minute tour de force, "Parthenogenesis" which displayed the quintet at their most experimental along with their incarnation of Henry Thomas' "Bulldozer Blues" where singer, Wilson, retained the tune of the original song, rewrote the lyric and came up with "Goin' Up The Country," whose simple message caught the "back-to-nature" attitude of the late '60s and went to #1 in 25 countries around the world.

The band can boast of collaborations with John Mayall and Little Richard and later with blues icon, John Lee Hooker, the musician that they initially got much of their musical inspiration from in the first place. This union first produced the spirited and revered album, "Hooker 'n Heat" and then Hooker's 1990 Grammy Award-winning classic, "The Healer." The band is also credited with bringing a number of other forgotten bluesmen to the forefront of modern blues including Sunnyland Slim, who they found driving a taxi in Chicago, Skip James, who they found in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi and took to the Newport Festival, Memphis Slim and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown with whom they recorded in France and Albert Collins. They brought Collins to California where they had their manager negotiate a recording agreement for Albert that started him on his way to becoming a well known musician throughout the world.
.

On September 3rd, 1970, the band was shattered by the suicide of Alan Wilson. His death sparked reconstruction within the group and member changes continued throughout the next two decades. On April 5th, 1981, at the Palamino in Los Angeles, gargantuan vocalist, Bob Hite, collapsed and died of a heart attack and on October 20th, 1997, Henry Vestine died in Paris, France following the final gig of a European tour.
Despite these untimely deaths and assorted musical trends, Canned Heat has survived under the leadership of Fito de la Parra since the late 70's. Since 1967, the band has toured extensively all over the world, performing at numerous festivals including Monterey Pop, Newport Pop, the Sturgis Motorcycle Run U.S.A., and the original Woodstock. They have performed at world-renowned venues such as Paris' Olympia, both Fillmore Auditoriums, The Kaleidoscope, Carnegie Hall (with John Lee Hooker), Madison Square Garden and even Royal Albert Hall and have played more biker festivals than any other band in the world.

.
They and/or their music have been featured on television (In Concert, David Frost, Merv Griffin, Midnight Special, Playboy After Dark, etc.), and in films ("Woodstock," "Flashback," and "Forrest Gump" etc.). Their legend has recently been heard and felt in various television commercials ("On The Road Again" for Miller Beer, "Goin' Up The Country" for Pepsi, Chevrolet and McDonalds, "Let's Work Together" for Lloyd's Bank, England's Electric Company and for Target Stores along with other songs for 7-Up, Levi's and Heineken Beer).

Now, more than thirty six years later, Canned Heat is still going strong. Anchored throughout by the steady hand of drummer/band leader Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra (a member since 1967), Canned Heat is well on track to carry the boogie-blues it made famous, well into the 21st century. With one of their strongest lineups ever, now together since the end of 1999, Fito on drums, Greg Kage on bass and vocals, Dallas Hodge on guitar and vocals, John Paulus on guitar and vocals and Stanley Behrens on harmonica, flute, saxophone and vocals.
Fito's book, "Living The Blues" is available through the band's website and at most popular book outlets. It is the complete and outrageous Canned Heat story of "Music, Drugs, Death, Sex and Survival" along with over 100 captivating pictures from their past.
..
Concert Review
Canned Heat '70 Concert 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. Canned Heat had toured Europe in 1970 in support of their album Future Blues, which had featured the hit single "Let's Work Together" (a #2 hit in the UK). Recordings from the tour were put out as a live album, orginally called Canned Heat '70 Concert - Recorded Live In Europe (as per this post), but later reissued with the simpler title Live In Europe. It was a great blues album, showcasing the whole band, in particular the excellent lead guitar of newcomer Harvey Mandel. The album did well in the UK, where it reached #15.

However on their return to America, both Mandel and bassist Larry Taylor left the band to work with John Mayall (who had just then relocated to California). Original lead guitiarist Henry Vestine then returned, bringing with him bassist Antonio de la Barreda.
This album 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. 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.
[Review by Lindsay Planer at AllMusic.com]
.
.
This post consists of MP3 (320kps) ripped from my vinyl copy (the album has seen better days so click removal was applied to the audiophiles) and includes full album artwork for both CD and vinyl releases.
What makes this post great is the fact that the rough sound reproduction on this 45 year old vinyl gives the listener a realistic concert experience which is lacking on any CD release.
So sit right back, crank up the bass, and as The Bear would say: "Don't Forget To Boogie!"
.
Tracklisting
01     That's All Right Mama    
02     Bring It On Home    
03     Pulling Hair Blues    

04     Medley: Back On The Road/On The Road Again    
05     London Blues    
06     Let's Work Together    
07     Goodbye For Now

.
Band Members:
Bass – Larry "The Mole" Taylor
Drums – Adolfo "Fito" De La Parra
Guitar – Harvey Mandel
Guitar, Vocals, Harp – Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson
Vocals – Bob "The Bear" Hite
Producer – Skip Taylor

.
Canned Heat Link (117Mb) New Link 12/04/2025
.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Canned Heat - Live At Topanga Corral (1970)

(U.S 1965 - Present)
.
Live at Topanga Corral is a 1970 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. The band never actually received any money for this LP.
.
Canned Heat rose to fame because their knowledge and love of blues music was both wide and deep. Emerging in 1966, Canned Heat was founded by blues historians and record collectors Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson and Bob “The Bear” Hite. Hite took the name “Canned Heat” from a 1928 recording by Tommy Johnson. They were joined by Henry “The Sunflower” Vestine, another ardent record collector who was a former member of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention. Rounding out the band in 1967 were Larry “The Mole” Taylor on bass, an experienced session musician who had played with Jerry Lee Lewis and The Monkees and Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra on drums who had played in two of the biggest Latin American bands, Los Sinners and Los Hooligans.
The band attained three worldwide hits, “On The Road Again” in 1968, “Let’s Work Together” in 1970 and “Going Up The Country” in 1969 became rock anthems throughout the world with the later being adopted as the unofficial theme song for the film Woodstock and the “Woodstock Generation.”
.

.
They secured their niche in the pages of rock ‘n roll history with their performances at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival (along with Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and The Who) and the headlining slot at the original Woodstock Festival in 1969. The band can boast of collaborations with John Mayall and Little Richard and later with blues icon, John Lee Hooker, the musician that they initially got much of their musical inspiration from in the first place. This union produced the spirited and revered album, “Hooker ‘n Heat.” The band is also credited with bringing a number of other forgotten bluesmen to the forefront of modern blues including Sunnyland Slim, who they found driving a taxi in Chicago, Skip James, who they found in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi and took to the Newport Festival, Memphis Slim and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown with whom they recorded in France and Albert Collins. On September 3rd, 1970, the band was shattered by the suicide of Alan Wilson. His death sparked reconstruction within the group and member changes have continued throughout the past three decades. On April 5th, 1981, at the Palamino in Los Angeles, gargantuan vocalist, Bob Hite, collapsed and died of a heart attack and on October 20th, 1997, Henry Vestine died in Paris, France following the final gig of a European tour. In 2008, singer/harmonica frontman Robert Lucas passed away from a drug overdose.
.
(L-R) Alan Wilson, Bob Hite, Adolfo de la Parra
Despite these untimely deaths and assorted musical trends, Canned Heat has survived. They have performed at world-renowned venues such as Paris’ Olympia, both Fillmore Auditoriums, The Kaleidoscope, Carnegie Hall (with John Lee Hooker), Madison Square Garden and even Royal Albert Hall and have played more biker festivals and charity events than any other band in the world. They and/or their music have been featured on television (In Concert, David Frost, Merv Griffin, Midnight Special, Playboy After Dark, etc.), and in films (“Woodstock,” “Flashback,” and “Forrest Gump”) etc. 
Their legend has recently been heard and felt in various television commercials (“On The Road Again” for Miller Beer, “Goin’ Up The Country” for Pepsi, Chevrolet and McDonalds, “Let’s Work Together” for Lloyd’s Bank, England’s Electric Company and for Target Stores along with other songs for 7-Up, Levi’s and Heineken Beer).

Now, more than forty-five years later and with thirty-eight albums to their credit, Canned Heat is still going strong. They have been anchored throughout the past forty years by the steady hand of drummer/band leader Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra. Joining “Fito” is original bassist Larry “The Mole” Taylor and New Orleans legend, Dale Spalding on harmonica, guitar and lead vocals. Chicago great Harvey Mandel is the regular guitarist but has been temporarily replaced by John “JP” Paulus while “The Snake” deals with serious health issues. [extract from cannedheatmusic.com]
.
..
Review - Live at Topanga Corral (aka Live at Kaleidoscope)
(The following review is contributed courtesy of music scholar Kyle Fosburgh. Please visit his website for more great reviews)
.
Fortunately for those like myself, who have never been able to see the original Canned Heat group with the “Blind Owl,” there is an assortment of good quality live recordings that we can always listen to at our leisure. 
This release was Canned Heat’s first attempt at a live record and it proved to be a musical success. They hold nothing back at this show. The album starts off with a bang as the group performs one of their live classics, “Bullfrog Blues.” This song is guitarist Henry Vestine’s time to shine. He flies on the guitar, grinding out the notes out and improvising at will in between verses and the vocal phrases. His guitar is loud and in your face, yet manages to stay out of the business of the rest of the band. Alan Wilson also performs an amazing, and rather fast guitar solo compared to the majority of his work. The ferocious Delta guitar finger picking displayed in this solo is perhaps similar to what had been last heard only by those who stood on the street corners of Greenwood, MS as Robert Johnson played his heart out way back when. “Bullfrog Blues” really exemplifies how the two drastically different styles of Alan Wilson and Henry Vestine could play off of each other so naturally. “Bullfrog Blues” is one of the many examples where Henry takes control of the lead guitar work while Alan backs him playing a classic Delta style rhythm guitar. It is a combination that was essential to the Canned Heat sound.

Another song from this album where Alan furthermore displays his incomparable Delta style, is on the groups version of “Dust My Broom.” For this song, Alan uses his slide and creates a certain aura which I like to call harsh smoothness. His guitar is loud and grinding, but at the same time, very melodic and not in your face. Canned Heat performed this song much slower in this performance than they had on the studio track and the version which they performed at the famous Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. This rendition has a deeper more bluesy sound, while their earlier versions produced more of a boogie sound. The Live at Topanga Corral version is a truly virtuosic performance and is perhaps one of the all time greatest live tracks from Canned Heat.
.
The last track on this release is a true gem called “When Things Go Wrong.” The studio cut of this song can be heard under the title “Sandy’s Blues” on the Living the Blues album from 1969. With a throwback horn arrangement, the studio track really takes you back, but if you know early blues, the live track just might take you back even further. Alan’s slide is piercing in this live performance, and the instruments create an amazing reverb throughout the Kaleidoscope club.
An interesting fact about this recorded show is that the classic boogie that Canned Heat used to end many of their shows, was in fact performed and recorded this night, but it wasn’t used on this album. It was actually used on the Living the Blues album from 1969 under the title “Refried Boogie.” The song is rather long, clocking in at around 40 minutes and taking up both sides of the original vinyl.
.
This post consists of MP3 (320kps) ripped from a CD release (my vinyl has seen better days) and includes full album artwork. The quality of the recording is not the greatest (recorded in 1969) but the music certainly makes up for this short coming.
So enjoy this classic Canned Heat recording and remember,  don't forget to Boogie, Boogie, Boogie....
.
Track Listing
01     Bullfrog Blues                      7:21
02     Sweet Sixteen                        10:57
03     I'd Rather Be The Devil       5:10
04     Dust My Broom                     5:46
05     Wish You Would                   8:03
06     When Things Go Wrong    9:08

.
Vocals – Bob Hite
Bass – Larry Taylor
Drums – Adolfo (Fito) de la Parra
Guitar – Henry Vestine
Harmonica, Vocals, Slide Guitar – Alan Wilson
.
Canned Heat Link (96Mb) New Link 17/12/2023
.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

W.O.C.K On Vinyl - Canned Heat: Christmas Album

.
Before things get too serious at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song at the end of each month, that could be considered to be either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
.
The American blues rock band Canned Heat, were formed in 1965 in California. They are probably best known for Al 'Blind Owl' Wilson's distinctive high pitched vocals, singing "Goin' up the Country" and "On the Road Again". They released their self titled debut album after an appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, but it was their follow-ups that brought them their greatest success.
The albums Boogie with Canned Heat and Livin' the Blues brought the tracks "On the Road Again" and "Goin' up the Country". The songs were a chart success and became synonymous with Woodstock, when they were included in the film and soundtrack of the event.
The band teamed up with blues legend John Lee Hooker in 1970, for their next album Hooker 'n' The Heat. The album brought them a hit with "Let's Work Together" and provided Hooker with his first top 100 charting album. Although this was overshadowed by the death of Wilson, and the loss to the band of his distinctive vocals.
The band continued to record, but as the Seventies wore on there was less of an audience for their work. Although they have a core following, for which they tour and release records, they have failed to match the heights of their late sixties period.
.
After putting out a few CDs together during the past few years, Len Fico, President of Fuel 2000 Records, suggested that the band put together a Christmas album. He had seen a few other classic groups have success with Holiday CDs and thought that the Heat might have similar success.
'Christmas Album' was released Sep 25, 2007 on the VarSse Sarabande (USA) label. Canned Heatn were: Robert Lucas (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Greg Kage (vocals, bass guitar); Barry Levenson (guitar); Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra (drums); Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, Bob 'The Bear' Hite, Henry Vestine, Larry Taylor.
Along with another old friend, Jay Spell, recorded their renditions and adaptations of some traditional Christmas songs to combine with some of their older Holiday recordings. "Jingle Bells" dates from 1857 and was originally titled "One Horse Open Sleigh" by composer James S. Pierpont. It soon became more widely known by the opening line of its chorus and has been "Jingle Bells" ever since. Just about every parent has warned their kids that "you better watch out" and "you better be good" because "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"!    
So WOCK out kids - here comes Santa and the Heat is definitely on !
.
Track Listing
01. Deck the Halls
02. Christmas Boogie with the Chipmunks
03. Christmas Blues
04. Santa Claus is coming to town
05. I won't be home for Christmas
06. Boogie at Christmas
07. Santa Claus is back in town
08. Jingle Bells
09. Christmas Blues featuring Dr. John
10. Boogie Boy
11. Christmas Blues featuring Eric Clapton and John Poppe
r

.
As usual, I'm posting December's W.O.C.K on Vinyl post alittle earlier than usual, to coincide with the Christmas season.  The Rip is taken from CD in MP3 format (320kps) and includes full album artwork.  New Improved RIP
.
MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone and I HO HO HOpe to see (and hear from) you all, back at ROCK on Vinyl next year for some more Vinyl / Bootleg releases. And as the Heat would say, 'Don't forget to Boogie, Boogie, Boogie....'
.
Canned Heat Christmas Link (45Mb) New Link 10/04/2020
.