Customer Reviews

Living the Blues

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Finally a complete and well remastered reissue of this great Canned Heat album. Several companies have put this on the market over the past 10+ years, one as a single CD (good sound, but leaving out Part 2 of Refried Boogie) and another (French) as a proper 2 CD set, beautiful packaging and all - but with flawed sound. BGO got it right with this release: all the tracks, great sound and all the artwork. Apart from this, it's also a fantastic album highlighting top notch Canned Heat in both studio and live settings.

This is Canned Heat's best CD by a long shot. It's like nothing else done by them or by anyone else. If you are turned off by their later weak efforts, you will be amazed at how good this CD is. It has a timeless appeal like Robert Johnson's records that sounds good across the decades of time since it was recorded. There is some really hot guitar work along with some nice harmonica "duets" and lush, full, soulful horns. I bought the record in 1968 and played it until it wore out. It was out of print for years. This CD is the real deal. If you like blues music, you will like this CD.

This album reminds me on my youth, it was in the late sixties. I've got this album from a friend but the second part was missing.Fortunately I've got the complete album on cd now. Old times are living again. Canned Heat one of the greatest bluesbands ever on this planet. This is a must have album.

It just don't get any better than this. A terrific CD and tribute to the great Canned Heat!

Avid Canned Heat fan for many years, though not a contemporary. Had the good fortune to see the rump band touring with Mandel on lead in 1992 when they came through Eugene and Henry's band opened for them before joining for jam late into the night. Drumstick signed by Henry, Fito, Larry, and Harvey.

Obviously this album is their magnum opus, towering over many other fine albums, including the under-appreciated Hallalulah. The problem is that like other BGO selections the sound quality while decent is not great, particularly on Going 'Up the Country'. The song is maybe the fifth best on this album, so it is not a crippling loss but being as how this is one of the top 10 albums by any band ever, the quality should match. Nice to get the full boogie, though; an improvement over the earlier CD releases.

If you are a Canned Heat fan and have listened to Fried Hockey Boogie and wished that it lasted longer than 11 minutes then this is the CD for you. With Refried Boogie (parts 1 & 2) recorded at Los Angeles' famed Kaleidoscope club you have over 40 minutes of wonderful live Boogie music!

The first CD contains songs recorded in the studio, with my personal favorite being the Al Wilson song My Mistake..... mainly because this was the first time I had heard this song. All of the music is good and with the remastering this is a must have CD if you're a Heat fan.

I had this album on record years ago--the key is had. NOW I have it on CD. There are not sufficent words to describe this music. This is by far the best Canned Heat album out there, although the 2 CD set of "Hooker and Heat" is another CD every blues lover should own--albeit very different from "Living the Blues."

This is an album that I really enjoy owning, based mainly on the fact that it has three long winded jammers in a row. PARTHENOGENISIS clocks in at around nineteen minutes, and REFRIED BOOGIE parts one and two are each an album side on the vinyl copy. Sometimes you just need some rockin music in the background, like if you're doing chores, or meditating,, or trying to get laid. Music with too many words to have to think about can get in the way of concentration... I just wanna have some bluesy guitar licks to keep the pace. All three of the above mentioned tracks work great... nothing fancy, just rockin and rollin.

I really like Canned Heat though, and I can dig the whole album here. Cool mix for cool cats who wanna dig livin'. The blues or whatever. PONY BLUES is a strong opening track, which goes into the Blind Owls killer MY MISTAKE. Gotta dig the Blind Owl, while thats my fave track by him on the record, you really can't ignore GOING UP THE COUNTRY either, thats like his signature tune... And also BOOGIE MUSIC is great! This is a swell album folks. If you know nothing about Canned Heat though, grab a greatest hits of some sort... their first few albums all have their highs and lows, but you'll wanna hear a little of all of them. This is good though if you lookin to get deeper. Or maybe if you own a bong. Rock on kids.

Simply one of the best of its kind.
Really cool & different for its time in the late 60's, it is a timeless record, both very bluesy & psychedelic at the same time! This is the complete deal too, just like the 2-LP set that came out back in the day. The sound is great and the 40 minute plus jam never gets old! Get it!

canned heat were scholarly blues afficionados who give a sampling of blues music in all iits forms,it is a master thesis of blues and boogie music,and even ends with a boogie jam,so mean spirited but so much fun,though the solos tend to overwhelm instead of inspire but life is tough .i learned from these guys,and im still raving over this album