Canned Heat

There have easily been half-a-dozen releases derived from this late-'70s reunion of the venerable psychedelic/blues band Canned Heat. Setting this package apart from King Biscuit Flower Hour's Greatest Hits Live or the DTS 5.1 DVD version From the Front Row Live (2003) is the inclusion of two "bonus" tracks -- which will be expounded upon momentarily. The specific performance featured within the main program is rare in the sense that it is one of the only available to boast a short-lived lineup lead by Canned Heat veterans Larry "The Mole" Taylor (bass/vocals), Bob "The Bear" Hite (harmonica/vocals), and Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra (drums), with Mike "Hollywood Fats" Mann (guitar) and Jay Spell (piano). The band's September 7, 1979 set was part of a larger celebration held in Brookhaven, NY and marking the tenth anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair. Suitably, the combo churns through a handful of the better-known selections that have become synonymous with their initial fame as boogie-based rockers during the late '60s. Primary among them are "On the Road Again" and the back to nature anthem "Goin' Up the Country" -- the latter having been used prominently in the Woodstock (1970) motion picture documentary and subsequent soundtrack. As such, each is met with enthusiastic responses from the gathered masses. Slightly deeper into their decade-old repertoire are sturdy updates of Amos Milburn's Crescent City soul classic "Chicken Shack Boogie" as well as William Harris' "Bullfrog Blues." The lengthy workout on "Human Conditions" -- the title track to their most recent long player -- is recommended listening for inclined parties, as is the hard-driving closer "Shake 'n' Boogie" as the band turn up the fire into a full-blown revival of the incendiary style that garnered their initial notoriety. The aforementioned supplementary sides are the incongruous additions of "Let's Work Together" and the seasonal offering "Christmas Blues." Although they are both worth having, neither seems to have a specific connection to the 1979 concert. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide