Best of

Canned Heat | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000002UDQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,714 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Best Of Canned Heat by Canned Heat

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard-luck band gets kicked in the can!, September 3, 2003

By 

chris meesey Food Czar (The Colony, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

One of the best American blues bands from the late '60's, Canned Heat could have even been greater and more successful, except for one thing: they were the original hard-luck boys. On the verge of breaking out after their first album, the Heat was busted in Denver and had to sell the rights to their songs to get out. (To this day, drummer and current bandleader Fito de la Parra relies on live work, not royalties, to help him make ends meet.) Plus, even though most of their songs were sung by the fabulous growl of Bob "the Bear" Hite, their two most famous numbers featured the vocals of Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson. Now, "Blind Owl" was a musical genius, the best harpist in the world according to John Lee Hooker, but some fans feel his falsetto vocals are an acquired taste. Their most famous song, "Going Up the Country," with the equally famous flute solo, might give the casual listener the expectation of a completely different style of music; say, the Grateful Dead at their most tribal, rather than a hard-core blues-boogie band. Wisely, "Blind Owl" is limited to three numbers on this disc (all are excellent). Luckily, "the Bear" is at his most playful and fun-living on his numbers, with "Same All Over," "Let's Work Together" (his only hit as singer), and the morality tale "Amphetimine Annie" the standouts of his seven songs. The album closes with the wonderful jam "Fried Hockey Boogie," featuring a segment from each instrumentalist. Here, Henry Vestine's guitar work will blow your mind, sending it out to orbit the solar system before bringing it back gently to earth. The band would never sound better than this. Sadly, the final reason Canned Heat never achieved the success they deserved is that both Alan Wilson and Bob Hite (and, much later, Henry Vestine) would die too young from their self-destructive lifestyle. Thankfully, they left a pretty good legacy for a band that was kicked in the can by life once too often.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Killer blues from the Woodstock era, August 9, 2003

By 

John Alapick (Wilkes-Barre, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

Best of Canned Heat is a great collection of the best of this great blues band which formed in the late-60's. Many music fans know the band today from their inclusions on several '60s compliations that have been released like Revolution Rock and their participation at Woodstock in 1969. While Woodstock was certainly their high point, Canned Heat were different from many bands from that era, concentrating on their blues roots rather than singing of free love, psychedelia, or protesting the changing times.

While Canned Heat were a blues band, they also knew of the importance of having a memorable hook in their tracks. This shows prominently on this collection, whether it's the harmonica solos on "On The Road Again", the flute (!) on their biggest hit "Going Up The Country", the horn section on "Boogie Music", or the piano on "Same All Over." But there is also some great raw blues here such as "Amphetamine Annie", and their smokin' versions of "Let's Work Together" and Muddy Waters' oft-covered classic "Rollin' And Tumblin." Having two lead vocalists in the band also worked to their advantage as well as Alan Wilson's falsetto vocals on "Going Up The Country" and "Time Was" complimented Bob "The Bear" Hite's rougher vocals on "Let's Work Together" and "Bullfrog Blues" very well. The album closes with the 11-minute "Fried Hockey Boogie" which gives all the band members their chance to shine. There's also a longer and better version of this track on the soundtrack album Woodstock Two. An excellent compilation, highly recommended to fans of the blues, and to fans who loved the music from the Woodstock era.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerhouse Boogie/Blues at it's finest. A must., February 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Best of (Audio CD)

This CD is a good representation of the group's most well known tunes. Classic stuff here. They were in my opinion one of the best in the business for boogie/blues music. Authentic characters. From Alan Wilson on the harp and rhythm guitar to Henry Vestine on lead guitar to Mole Taylor on bass, Bob (The Bear) Hite on lead vocals and Fito De Lepara on drums, they were simply amazing. This CD belongs in any serious collectors collection. Excellent material here from a fantastic band and one of a kind.