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
. This marked the return of
Henry "Sunflower" Vestine
(guitar) and the incorporation of
Antonio "Tony" de la Barreda
(bass), a highly skilled constituent of
Aldolfo de la Parra
(drums). Sadly, it would also be the final effort to include co-founder
Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson
, who passed away in September 1970.
Hooker 'n Heat
(1971) is a low-key affair split between unaccompanied solo
John Lee Hooker
(guitar/vocals) tunes, collaborations between
Hooker
and
Wilson
(piano/guitar/harmonica), as well as five full-blown confabs between
Heat
. The first platter focuses on
's looser entries that vacillate from the relatively uninspired ramblings of
"Send Me Your Pillow"
"Drifter"
to the essential and guttural
"Feelin' Is Gone"
or spirited
"Bottle Up and Go."
The latter being among those with
on piano. Perhaps the best of the batch is the lengthy seven-minute-plus
"World Today,"
which is languid and poignant talking
blues
, with
lamenting the concurrent state of affairs around the globe.
"I Got My Eyes on You"
is an unabashed derivative of
's classic
"Dimples,"
with the title changed for what were most likely legal rather than artistic concerns. That said, the readings of the seminal
"Burning Hell"
"Bottle Up and Go"
kept their familiar monikers intact. The full-fledged collaborations shine as both parties unleash some of their finest respective work. While
get top bill -- probably as it was the group's record company that sprung for
-- make no mistake, as
steers the combo with the same gritty and percussive guitar leads that have become his trademark. The epic
"Boogie Chillen No. 2"
stretches over 11 and a half minutes and is full of the same swagger as the original, with the support of
igniting the verses and simmering on the subsequent instrumental breaks with all killer and no filler. The 2002 two-CD pressing by the French
Magic Records
label is augmented with
"It's All Right,"
with a single edit of
"Whiskey and Wimmen."
~ Lindsay Planer