boogie with canned heat

Canned Heat served up some loose psychedelic rock with righteous rhythm and blues for this sweet and syrupy home style electric jam.  'Boogie With Canned Heat' was produced by Skip Taylor and Dallas Smith at Liberty Studios in Los Angeles with Bob “The Bear” Hite on vocals; Alan Wilson on slide guitar, vocals, and harmonica; Henry Vestine on lead guitar; Larry Taylor on bass; Adolfo de la Parra on drums; with Dr. John on horn arrangements and piano.  

Wilson explains:   "Toward the beginning, my first thought was to try and combine the two diverse styles of postwar blues: single-string lead guitar, of which B.B. King is the daddy (T-Bone Walker you could argue, but I think B.B. King is the daddy) and Kings Albert, Freddie, and Al, all the Kings and the rest of them – try to combine that thing, which almost exclusively had been done with horns as harmonic background, and add it to the modal-type feeling of the more primitive style of Mississippi-born Chicago guys like Muddy Waters. In other words, basically it was playing Henry against myself in terms of the two-guitar setup. That was the original idea I had. Most of our early arrangements, and this is reflected on the first album, combine thee two factors in the same song, whereas now we have become somewhat more of a blowing band, in person anyway. We still do a few of those older items but we do a lot more improvising now, and some looser structures. This would be like the boogie [Fried Hockey Boogie] on our second album, where everyone takes a solo.  We feel that recording blues can be approached successfully sometimes by using the tricks of the studio – over-dubbing, multitracking, and the like. At first we were very leery of this – except for Larry. He, from the beginning, wanted to do this, and the rest of us were primarily very afraid that it would create a situation of nonspontaneity. What we discovered, however, is that it can actually create more spontaneity  because there need be no concern by the soloist that if there’s an excellent rhythm track laid down and his solo is sub-par the whole thing must be junked and done over again. Every aspect can be blocked off one at a time.   Also I find it difficult to argue against a system that allows one person to appear five or six times on a record if necessary. For example, on 'On The Road Again' [second LP] I appear in six different capacities – three tamboura parts, harmonica, vocal, and guitar, all recorded at different times. The tamboura we had to work with was one of the poorest I’ve ever seen; it had no buzzing quality whatever. To put together a good drone it would not have been sufficient to play it once, so to get that buzz-type of drone that is characteristic of the instrument we overdubbed this low-grade tamboura two additional times to create the proper tinkling sensation. If we had done it only once you would have heard individual notes being plucked, which makes for a lousy tamboura drone.  At first I had philosophical objection to playing harmonica at the same time I was singing, because that seemed unreal, but I was prevailed upon to try it and it certainly did come out better. Four Henrys appear on 'World In A Jug' [second LP] at one time. Actually, it’s three Henrys and one of me in certain sections. In this new album, generally speaking, Henry appears both in the rhythm track and the solo. We found that the result was more spontaneous sounding than was the case on the first album."

'Boogie With Canned Heat'  went to number sixteen on the US album chart due to the huge success of 'On the Road Again'.  It is the biggest selling album of their forty-eight year career.  










http://www.cannedheatmusic.com/









"On the Road Again" was a worldwide smash hit.  It charted at number sixteen in the US and number eight in the UK; but was a number one seller in many markets.  Wilson adapted it from 'On the Road Again' by Chicago bluesman Floyd Jones 
who had adapted it from 'Big Road Blues' by Delta bluesman Tommy Johnson.  Bob “The Bear” Hite considered:     “The public here [in the UK] and in the States haven’t bought ‘On The Road Again’ because it’s a blues record – but because its a different sound. But it is a blues and it’s good that they will accept a number that’s blues-based...We are not knocked out because it’s a commercial success, because commercial acceptance isn’t what we are aiming for. But thank the Lord, they are buying it and listening to it and it may bring a few of the kids, who are nurtured on rock and pop, into the blues camp...It’s nice, but if the next single doesn’t happen, it’s nothing to worry about. Our concern is the music, not the money.”



Well, I'm so tired of cryingBut I'm out on the road again
I'm on the road again
Well, I'm so tired of crying
But I'm out on the road again
I'm on the road again
I ain't got no woman
Just to call my special friend
You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow -
In the rain and snow
You know the first time I traveled
Out in the rain and snow -
In the rain and snow
I didn't have no payroll
Not even no place to go
And my dear mother left me
When I was quite young -
When I was quite young
And my dear mother left me
When I was quite young -
When I was quite young
She said "Lord, have mercy
On my wicked son."
Take a hint from me, mama
Please don't you cry no more -
Don't you cry no more
Take a hint from me, mama
Please don't you cry no more -
Don't you cry no more
'Cause it's soon one morning
Down the road I'm going
But I ain't going down
That long old lonesome road
All by myself
But I ain't going down
That long old lonesome road
All by myself
I can't carry you, baby
Gonna carry somebody else




Woodstock:

"On the Road Again" part 1


"On the Road Again" part 2


Woodstock Boogie










 'Boogie With Canned Heat' 
 full album:



01 00:00 "Evil Woman" (Larry Weiss)
02 02:56 "My Crime" (Canned Heat)
03 06:57 "On the Road Again" (Floyd Jones, Alan Wilson)
04 11:57 "World in a Jug" (Canned Heat)
05 15:26 "Turpentine Moan" (Canned Heat)
06 18:22 "Whiskey Headed Woman No. 2" (Bob Hite) 
07 21:17 "Amphetamine Annie" (Canned Heat)
08 24:51 "An Owl Song" (Wilson)
09 27:36 "Marie Laveau" (Henry Vestine)
10 32:51 "Fried Hockey Boogie" (Larry Taylor)