Canned Heat

Blues-rock guitarist Walter Trout spent the majority of the '80s as a sideman to such renowned blues artists as John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, Joe Tex, Canned Heat, and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, but it wasn't until the '90s that Trout assembled his own band and struck out on his own.

ILANA KATZ KATZ has been hailed as “a rising star with her own blend of Blues and old-time Appalachian fiddling.” This record is dedicated to – and helps fund – the Killer Blues Headstone Project, providing headstones for Blues musicians lying in unmarked graves.

At 71, bluesman Walter Trout has lived an extraordinary life. From his teens with Big Mama Thornton and John Lee Hooker to Canned Heat and John Mayall, he found fame and learned some bad habits. A life-saving liver transplant in 2013 resulted in a long recovery. The experience added depth and dimension to his songwriting. He gave us hints of that growth on 2019's Survivor Blues and 2020's Ordinary Madness, but his maturity as a songwriter is showcased fully on Ride, his 30th album. Given his health history, Trout took extra precautions during the pandemic; he spent it alone in a Huntington Beach, California bungalow. He read, listened, practiced, and composed these 12 songs, then demoed them. After the U.S. reopened, he gathered his road band in the studio.

New Jersey-born blues-rocker Walter Trout spent decades as an ace sideman, playing guitar behind the likes of John Lee Hooker, Big Mama Thornton, and Joe Tex. In 1981, he was also tapped to replace the late Bob Hite in Canned Heat, remaining with the venerable group through the middle of the decade. While filling in one night for an ailing John Mayall, Trout (also a Bluesbreaker for some five years) was spotted by a Danish concert promoter who agreed to finance a solo tour. Assembling his own backing band, he released his debut LP in 1990, Life in the Jungle, trailed a year later by Prisoner of a Dream. Albums including 1992's Live (No More Fish Jokes), 1994's Tellin' Stories, and 1997's Positively Beale Street followed.

An amazing collection of classic Blues standbys, along with little know songs that served as the basis of the music that we listen to today. Again, an outstanding collection of three CDs worth of history, an essential Collector's item…