Canned Heat Essential

Canned Heat's second long-player, Boogie with Canned Heat (1968), pretty well sums up the bona fide blend of amplified late-'60s electric rhythm and blues, with an expressed emphasis on loose and limber boogie-woogie. The quintet – consisting of Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson (guitar/harmonica/vocals), Larry "The Mole" Taylor (bass), Henry "Sunflower" Vestine (guitar), Aldolfo "Fido" Dela Parra (drums), and Bob "The Bear" Hite (vocals) – follow up their debut effort with another batch of authentic interpretations, augmented by their own exceptional instrumentation. One development is their incorporation of strong original compositions. "On the Road Again" – which became the combo's first, and arguably, most significant hit – as well as the Albert King inspired anti-speed anthem, "Amphetamine Annie," were not only programmed on the then-burgeoning underground FM radio waves, but also on the more adventuresome AM Top 40 stations. Their love of authentic R&B informs "World in a Jug," the dark "Turpentine Blues," and Hite's update of Tommy McClennan's "Whiskey Headed Woman".

When this two-LP set was initially released in January 1971, Canned Heat was back to its R&B roots, sporting slightly revised personnel. In the spring of the previous year, Larry "The Mole" Taylor (bass) and Harvey Mandel (guitar) simultaneously accepted invitations to join John Mayall's concurrent incarnation of the Bluesbreakers…

Harvey Mandel - Snake Box (2015) {6CD Box Set Purple Pyramid Records CLP-2100-2 rec 1968-1972}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.63 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 618 Mb
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© 1968-72, 2015 Purple Pyramid Records / Cleopatra Records | CLP-2100-2
Rock / Blues / Guitar Virtuoso / Blues-Rock / Boogie Rock / Jazz-Rock / Rock & Roll

Legendary blues guitarist from Canned Heat, Harvey The Snake Mandel, presents this deluxe limited edition 6CD box set that includes 5 classic solo albums from 1968-1972 plus a bonus vintage concert recording from 1968 that features guests Jerry Garcia & Elvin Bishop! Each of these albums showcase Mandels innovative, hugely influential playing that earned him a place alongside not just the Heat but also The Rolling Stones, John Mayall and others! All 6 CDs come individually packaged in its own cardboard sleeve reproducing the artwork from the vinyl jackets.

John Lee Hooker never abandoned his raw, gut bucket Mississippi-Delta-comes-to-the-city approach to the blues throughout his fifty-year career, and if he got a tad bit slicker towards the end of that career, it was only a tad and only by degree. There are innumerable Hooker collections on the market, and this two-disc set wouldn't be anything particularly special except that it actually charts through his entire history, beginning with the ageless "Boogie Chillen," which was recorded in 1948 and topped the R&B charts for Modern Records in 1949, through "Tupelo," which was recorded in 1993 and released on the Pointblank LP Chill Out in 1995.