Hard 20 |
Canned Heat"Friends In The Can" I remember going through my father's record collection when I was a kid. I would listen to The Beatles, Led Zepplin, The Rolling Stones. I got into it. There were other artists, including Canned Heat, but, that was music that I didn't get into. So, here I am, many years later, with the latest Canned Heat album sitting on my desk and all I can remember is going through a long gone record collection knowing this was a band that I wasn't drawn to in my youth. So, as I sit here listening to this release, I do so with an open mind and hardly any knowledge of their legendary musical career. I have an appreciation of the blues thanks to John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, otherwise known as The Blues Brothers. I was hooked on 'em very early in life and, if it wasn't for them, chances are I'd be listening to "Friends In The Can" right now and telling you that I thought it sucked. But, as fate would have it, I can listen to an album such as this and form an honest opinion. My opinion? Well, considering the fact that Canned Heat has more than 30 albums to their credit, it's obvious that this is gonna be an exceptional blues/boogie/rock album and that's just what it is. The glory of the past is brought to the modern day for a whole new generation to discover and enjoy. Won't you be suprised when you try to turn your parents on to this one and they show you all their old Canned Heat records that you didn't know they had. It's also cool that this release features performances by John Lee Hooker and Taj Mahal, who also have connections to The Blues Brothers. Eleven songs, two bonus tracks, one of which is a new version of "Let's Work Together," featuring Robert Lucas, Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor. It doesn't matter if you're an old fan or a new fan, you can't go wrong with this one. |