Customer Reviews

Uncanned: Best of

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The is a two disc remastered retrospective of Canned Heat from 1967-1973. Canned Heat was one of the greatest blues/rock boogie bands ever. Canned Heat was formed by a now deceased trio of prewar blues record collectors Al Wilson, Bob Hite and Henry Vestine. Hite worked in a record shop while Wilson played the folk/blues scene even performing with such people as Son House. The band took blues songs and adapted them for popular consumption. There are a number of characteristics that distinguish the band. The slide guitar, harmonica and falsetto vocals of Al Wilson contrast with the gruff vocals of giant Bob Hite and distorted guitar soloing of Henry Vestine and later Harvey Mandel. Other long time members included bassist Larry Taylor and drummer "Fito" De La Parra. The band became popular after playing such high profile festivals as Monterey Pop, Woodstock (with underrated guitarist Harvey Mandel replacing Vestine days before the show), and the Atlanta Pop Festival during the late sixties and early seventies. This set contains hits such as "On The Road Again", "Going Up The Country" and my favorite the extended version of "Let's Work Together". The aforementioned tracks have all been used as soundtracks to television commercials in recent years. The disc also contains many unissued tracks, alternate versions and non-lp single sides. Other highlights include "Dust My Broom", "Help Me", the unissued "Fanny Mae" "Amphetamine Annie" and "The Same All Over". However some of my favorites such as "Boogie Music", "World In A Jug", "One Kind Favor", "Canned Heat", and "That's All Right Mama" were left off in favor of the material at the end of the second disc. This material at the end of the second disc was recorded after founding member Al Wilson committed suicide. The band also recorded with blues/boogie master John Lee Hooker ("Hooker 'n' Heat" disc recommended), but the band would never recover from the loss of its leader. If you like energetic blues/rock music this is a necessity. This 2 cd set provides a fitting tribute to deceased members Al "Blind Owl" Wilson, Bob "The Bear" Hite, and Henry "The Sunflower" Vestine. They boogie like there is no tomorrow. Now if only someone would get around to remastering their individial albums from this period.

Canned Heat has to be one of the best white blues bands of all time. Unfortunately they don't get the recognition they deserve. Their catalog is in pretty woeful shape on CD. Most of their albums are out of print. This 2-CD collection, however, is an excellent collection of Canned Heat's blues boogie. It has wonderful liner notes which tell the whole story of the band, as well as Canned Heat's complete discography. If you like blues, then you're sure to like Canned Heat. They have two great vocalists in Bob Hite and Al Wilson, the latter also being a great blues harpist, a great lead guitar player and an excellent rhythm section. The band's major hits are here (On The Road Again, Going Up The Country, Let's Work Together), as well as a slew of excellent blues covers (Rollin' and Tumblin', Dust My Broom, Nine Below Zero, TV Mama, Mean Old World, The Hunter). This is a great purchase if you're a fan of blues with a little rock mixed in, or rock with a little blues mixed in.

If you're only looking for the hits you've heard on the radio, then perhaps one of the single-CD "best of" collections is the way to go.

But...if you really like Canned Heat's style of blues, "Uncanned" is a must-own. It contains all of the hits as well as an almost-perfect collection of the band's best output; plus, the material was remastered for this release, and sounds wonderful (many "best of" CDs produced and released from 1980-1990 suffer from horrible mastering and analogue-to-digital transferring--not so for "Uncanned").

Canned Heat deserved much more success and recognition than it received, and this 2-CD set will show you why. No blues band could boogie better! Plus, a nice booklet with the band's history, discography, and extensive liner notes is included, so what more could you want?

I bought this CD a few years ago when the best 3 lps from Canned Heat were not available on CD ("Boogie with Canned Heat","Living the Blues" & "Halleluja"). It was the closest "best of" to get the most songs from these 3 lps. I was not that familiar with the other songs by Canned Heat. But after receiving this CD, I found the earlier and later stuff are great too. You can now get Boogie with Canned Heat, Living the Blues & Halleluja on CD. But this CD does a great job to also cover the best of the rest of Canned Heat songs. Highly Recommended

I hadn't heard this stuff in decades, and if anything, it was better than I remembered. Very cool California hippie/biker blues band. Clearly repectful of the tradition, these guys were good players (fine harp and guitar) and evolved a unique sound. I'm surprised (like another reviewer) that they left off "Fried Hockey Boogie," but I guess this disc is meant to emphasize the straighter blues stuff and downplay the 60s wierdness. Too bad, if you ask me. Still, a fine, bluesy party disc. Recommended.

Being that Canned Heat's complete catalog is currently out of print, (that is all of the titles put out by the orginal lineup) this anthology will have to make due for all the Heat junkies out there. Uncanned offers a more comprehensive collection than the Canned Heat Cookbook, a best of collection that came out in the early seventies. I was disappointed to find Refried Boogie and Sic 'Em Pigs, two real standouts from Cookbook omitted. Otherwise, Uncanned does a great job touching all the bases, including Wiskey and Wimmen, from the classic Hooker 'n Heat collaboration with John Lee Hooker.

I was fortunate enough to catch Canned Heat live at the fammed Filmore East in 1970. Let me tell you, these guys could blow the roof off the place. It's surprising to me, that they don't receive more airplay on classic rock stations. Perhaps EMI could change all that by reissuing some of the great early works by one of the greatest exponents of "the boogie".

I first heard Canned Heat when they released their second album, "Boogie With the Canned Heat" and I was hooked for life. They were the best "white boys playing the blues and boogie" of all times. Alan Wilson was a great blues songwritter and guitar player. His singing was also very good. Larry Taylor was, and is the best bass player around. He never gets the recognition he deserves. He turns up everywhere, even on Tom Waites albums. Bob Hite was a great and underrated blues shouter and master of ceramonies. De La Para was as solid as they come on drums, and still is. The real standout of the original lineup was Henry Vestine. A forgotten standout blues guitar player. Hendrix used to go see him play, and John Fayhe sings his praises to this day.Unfortunately these boys lived the blues and personal demons got the best of three of them. Wilson, Hite and Vestine have all departed this life, but they left behind some great blues and boogie for us.Canned Heat continues to this day, but to realy experiance them, you must hear the early band. This is a good sampler of that band. Due to drug and substance abuse problems, Harvey Mandell plays guitar in the band in place of Vestine on a number of songs. He is also a great, and forgotten, blues guitar player.Also, check out one of their early live albums for a feel of what they were all about. I hope that one day they receive their due. They have certainly paid their dues. In the words of Bob Hite, "Don't forget to boogie!"

This is a great compilation double CD with many of their best and some rarities. BUT if you like this band and think they deserve the royalties from their music, which they have never gotten!!!,... Yes, you can get those hard to find albums too. They still make good new music too!

Having been born in 1978, I missed out on much of the best music made in the last century. But this CD is ands down one onf th best albums I have heard, ever.

If you dig the blues with an element of carefree hippy-boogie, than this is a fine set.

Apart from classics such as "Goin' Up The Country" and "On The Road Again," many old blues songs are given *the Can.* Elmore James' "Dust My Broom," Sonny Boy Williamson's "Mighty Long Time" and "Nine Below Zero" are cool blues, while the growling "Evil" and "The Hunter" retain the classic boogie edge.

"Time Was" is leaning more towards pop, but retains it's roots in the fertile soil of the blues.

Contains a couple radio promos Canned Heat did way back when, when the kids didn't wear their Levi's at their knees.

Some of the weaker tracks come later on the second disk, but most of this is fine boogie. A great companion to the double disk HOOKER N' HEAT.

Hooker once proclaimed Alan Wilson "the best harp player ever." I don't think so, but he was very good for a whiteboy.