Alan Wilson, the falsetto voice behind "Goin' Up The Country," died in 1970 from a combination of depression over his near blindness and a heroin overdose. Bob Hite, the Bear, the other primary vocalist of the band, died in 1981 from a massive heart attack brought on by drugs. And finally, Henry Vestine died in 1997 from respiratory failure while on tour in Belgium.
But through it all, they have remained true to their dedication of updating traditional blues songs and making them into boogie/rock and roll classics. Unlike other bands that have fished into the past to find their music, these guys went out of their way to ensure the men who wrote the tunes they performed got the recognition they deserve. They searched out and found folk like Albert Collins, Skip James, Memphis Slim, and Clarence Gatemouth Brown and either negotiated recording contracts for them, toured with them, or arranged for them to have their own solo concerts.
The first disc in this package, Live At The Kaleidoscope, was recorded in 1969 and is the original line up most remember from the Woodstock movie. It's typical boogie/blues/rock and roll music performed with verve and gusto.
Being a live disc, there's plenty of room for soloing and the guys take full advantage of it by having some great all out jams, especially on their version of "Sweet Sixteen". What's nice about Canned Heat is they knew when to stop, unlike too many of the excessive solos from that time, which now seem interminable to listen to. These come to an end before you're starting to wonder if they will ever finish.
The only drawback to the disc is it seemed to take the first couple of songs for them to get the sound under control, so the vocals are a bit buried in the mix at the start. Considering the time period, though, and the lack of great recording gear, it's still all around decent enough sound.
The 1977 studio disc Human Condition is notable because it is the last recording to feature the vocals of Bob Hite before he died. The band was working on their next recording when he collapsed from the heart attack. The mid-seventies were a hard time for a band like Canned Heat as disco was all the rage and pure rock and roll blues music wasn't in very high demand.
Article comments