Hooker ‘n Heat by Rebecca Davis Known for their musical dedication to primal electric blues, 1960s stalwarts Canned Heat are also noteworthy for their support of actual blues men. In various settings, they frequently provided musical backing – and commercial connections – for the elders who had inspired them artistically. Canned Heat founder Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson had started his recording career this way, accompanying Delta legend Son House on his 1965 “comeback” for Columbia. Guitarist Henry Vestine had been involved in the rediscovery of Skip James, and... Read More
LYNYRD SKYNYRD: Revisited
Given the current cultural antipathy toward symbols of the “old South,” I admit to a moment’s pause before diving into a piece about Lynyrd Skynyrd. In popular culture, the band is often associated with the glory of the South and, perhaps unfairly, some of the pejoratives. Is it possible to enjoy the band without endorsing any negative symbolism? I don’t know about others, but I can. I’m not making any sort of cultural statement here. I just really dig their music– they were originals – superb players and well worth exploring beyond the stereotypes. Back in the... Read More
Canned Heat: In Depth
I’m very pleased to publish three interrelated articles about Canned Heat, a blues band with a roster of incredible talent, and deep and significant roots in the rediscovery of the blues in the early ‘60s: a band that played the Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock and is still “on the road” after 50 years. So much of what the band did in the late ‘60s is now taken for granted: driving rock boogie, the mix of country or rural blues with rock, a serious effort to preserve the elements of long forgotten blues motifs (including many eclectic and more obscure blues styles that were... Read More
Essential “Heat”: Canned Heat: Four Albums; Conversation with Skip Taylor; Sidebar: Rediscovering the Blues
Introduction I’m fascinated by that “turning point” in popular music in the mid- ‘60s, when mainstream music was transformed from sonic pablum to electric rock, folk and blues. Of course, the Beatles (and others from the first British invasion) had a huge, irreversible influence, but other things were stirring Stateside, including a reconnection with rural blues. No band had more involvement in this transformation than Canned Heat. Members of Canned Heat were deep blues enthusiasts involved directly or indirectly in the rediscovery, with others, of such legendary, forgotten... Read More
Interview with Skip Taylor
Skip Taylor, who managed Canned Heat during the band’s classic era, produced the albums discussed here and is still working with them today, was gracious enough to share some insights. Skip’s story is itself the stuff of legend, as you will see: How did you get involved with Canned Heat? Skip: When I joined the band as manager, and eventually got involved in producing their records, I knew nothing about the blues; I was a rock music guy; the band was really detached from the modern rock scene for the most part, except for Bob Hite, who worked in a record store,... Read More
SIDEBAR- Rediscovering the Blues
The history of the blues revival is just as fascinating and almost as confusing as the history of some of the early blues players. There were a number of key figures involved in the effort to locate the surviving players and their pursuits were often beset by misdirection, sometimes inadvertent, sometimes deliberate and occasionally hilarious. Dick Waterman, Phil Spiro and Nick Perls finally located Son House in Rochester, New York after searching fruitlessly in the South. House, who influenced Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, apparently had no idea that his early work was so... Read More
A Tale of Two Masterings-
Last weekend, some younger friends, both very involved in music and starting to collect vinyl, brought over a “pile.” One record they were interested in playing was an old lime green Capitol of The Band’s “brown” album. I cleaned it for them; though they believed it was mastered by Bob Ludwig (“RL”), I found no such inscription in the deadwax. We fired it up- nice sounding. I pulled out my copy- an “RL” which I hadn’t heard in a while. The difference between the two records was immediate and obvious, from the depth and impact of the bass to the overall... Read More
A Glimpse of Greatness: Curtis Mayfield
I keep being reminded of Curtis Mayfield’s genius in the music of others: Jimi Hendrix’s broken chord stylings, the soul beat of the great Stevie Wonder, the funk of Sly Stone and the spirituality of Bob Marley. I don’t have a clear picture of the man, but only fragments: his early material, including the powerful “People Get Ready” (see note 2, below) when he was recording with the Impressions, the huge success of Superfly, his long-enduring activism and tragic last years. Trying to get a handle on his music in a couple of records isn’t easy; I have a few compilations on vinyl... Read More
Terry Reid- Seed of Memory
In spite of his considerable talents, Terry Reid is often best remembered as the guy who passed up an invitation from Jimmy Page to become the singer of a new group Page was forming out of the ashes of the Yardbirds. This bit of lore may be as legendary as the story of the Decca executives who passed on signing The Beatles. But Reid takes credit for referring Page to Robert Plant, who with John Bonham, formed the core of Page’s new band, with fellow session man, John Paul Jones. The “what if’s” are, in my estimation, irrelevant, and seemed to have affected Reid’s artistry not... Read More
Garnet Mimms
Garnet Mimms is another example of the Brits helping us tap into our own musical legacy. Often classified as “Northern Soul,” Mimms was actually a black man from West Virginia who had a few hits with his group, The Enchanters, including the song “Cry Baby,” written by Bert Berns and Jerry Ragavoy. (It’s the same song that Janis Joplin made far more famous a few years later). As a solo artist, Mimms recorded a number of good songs, but few are better than “As Long As I Have You.” That song took hold in the UK and was covered by Led Zeppelin in early tours. Mimms was... Read More
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