Welcome to Mississippi Heat’s 13th album, just in time for the venerable Chicago blues band to celebrate its 30th Anniversary! Mississippi Heat stands as one of the longest running bands in Chicago, as well as a launching pad for many blues players who’ve gone on to successful solo careers. MH’s alumni reads like a Who’s Who of Chicago Blues past and present: Billy Flynn, Lurrie Bell, Carl Weathersby, Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, Deitra Farr, Bob Stroger, Calvin “Fuzz” Jones, James Wheeler, Barrelhouse Chuck, Jon McDonald, Robert Covington, Bob Carter and more. Madeleine stands as a fitting tribute to a remarkably unique and enduring band now entering its third decade; listen and enjoy the blues as only Mississippi Heat can play them!
This platter captures the 1970 incarnation of Canned Heat with Bob "The Bear" Hite (vocals), Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson (guitar/vocals/harmonica), Larry "The Mole" Taylor (bass), Aldolfo "Fito" de la Parra (drums), and newest addition Harvey Mandel (guitar), who had replaced Henry "Sunflower" Vestine (guitar) in 1969. They headed across the Atlantic in the spring of 1970 on the heels of "Let's Work Together" – a Wilbert Harrison cover that charted within the Top Five in Europe. That outing yielded the combo's first concert disc, Live in Europe (1971) – which had been issued almost a year earlier in the U.K. as Canned Heat Concert (Recorded Live in Europe) (1970).
Memphis Heat documents Chicago blues piano legend Memphis Slim's studio collaborations with the rock group Canned Heat in France on September 18, 1970, and July 11, 1973. The results are tasty indeed. Slim's voice and piano are well matched by Henry Vestine's electric guitar, Canned Heat's rockin' rhythm section, and (on six out of 13 tracks) the Memphis Horns, a solid wind quintet of trumpet, trombone, two tenors, and a baritone sax. Memphis Slim tried on a lot of different styles and instrumental combinations during the 1970s. His Canned Heat sessions have been both praised and panned over the years, a state of affairs that often revealed more about the reviewers than the music itself.