Search - Canned Heat :: '70 Concert: Recorded Live In Europe

Little different side of live Canned Heat

D. Brown | Oak Grove, Mo USA | 12/09/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 1970 concert of the guys is a bit different then others as it shows a somewhat mellower side. There are some great boogie moments here like the first 2 tracks. "That's All Right Mama" features some great guitar work by Harvey Mandel. Alan Wilson does some nice harmonica playing throughout also. Still you can't help but wonder about Alan Wilson's state of mind during the melancholy Pulling Hair Blues and to some degree London Blues where his singing while good has a sadder than usual feel to it. These 2 songs cast an odd downer feel to what is otherwise a pretty upbeat concert. So that is why I say it's a little different side here. All in all a worthwhile addition to your collection. I'd also suggest Live at Topanga Corral.. another great collection of live Canned Heat."

Lots of standard blues

running_man | Chesterfield Twp., MI | 04/30/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Canned Heat's '70 Concert: Recorded Live In Europe' captures the legendary boogie band in April of 1970 headlining a show that also featured the band's Renaissance and Deep Purple. Deep Purple were on the cusp of establishing themselves as one of the elite rock bands on the planet, while Canned Heat had just released their 'Future Blues' album, which contained the surprise hit cover of Wilbert Harrison's 1969 composition 'Let's Work Together'. The song wouldn't be a hit in the US until November of 1970 (where it rose to #26 nationally), but it rose to #2 in the UK in January, prompting a Spring tour of Europe by the band. They were to return in the Fall for a second tour of Europe, but it would be without talented slide guitarist, vocalist, and harmonica player Al 'Blind Owl' Wilson, who would die of a heroin overdose between the two tours.



'Live In Europe' features a wealth of standard blues from the band over the course of it's 47 minutes, in addition to a loping rock and roll workout on Harrison's 'Let's Work Together', which emphasizes Wilson's bottleneck slide over the fuzz-tone rhythm track that dominates the studio version, and an agonizing rendition of 'Pulling Hair Blues', an Alan Wilson composition that is so slow and painfully orchestrated that it threatens each and every listener with his or her own case of trichotillomania (hair pulling syndrome)... not a pretty picture. The remaining tracks are fairly standard blues and boogie fare, such as the opener, 'That's All Right, Mama', 9 minutes worth of Bob Hite vocals, and nice wah-pedal psychedelic guitar from Harvey Mandel. 'Bring It On Home' follows, offering 6 minutes of funky boogie with form-fitting harmonica runs from Wilson. Track four is a highly improvised medley that is suppose to feature the Heat classic, 'On the Road Again', but doesn't, although it is a sweet, funky blues track. 'London Blues', another Wilson composition, is a mid-tempo blues track featuring more exquisite bottleneck slide from the Blind Owl. 'Goodbye For Now' should not be listed as a seventh track, as it's just the band jamming while Hite runs through the band introductions. The disc does offer some entertaining between-songs banter, with Hite offering to do his "Jim Morrison impersonation", which he apparently does given the roaring approval of the audience. The audience unsuccessfully tries to cajole Hite into performing 'Dust My Broom', which he dusts off with "Fleetwood Mac does that", and 'Parthenogenisis', which is comedically declined unless the audience comes up with some "acid".



'Recorded Live In Europe' is certainly a historic collection given the lack of early Canned Heat concert performances. Despite being well-recorded, I couldn't help but to be disappointed that the content didn't include the trademark falsetto vocals of Blind Owl Wilson, especially as the setlist includes his famed 'On the Road Again'. This digipak version is also devoid of all but the most basic information about the tracks, omitting even the running times. If you're in the market for a wealth of the band's trademark blues performances, however, you may be hard pressed to find other high quality, early recordings of the band in concert, period. The Topanga Canyon and Kaleidoscope releases are also devoid of classic Heat boogie tracks such as 'On the Road Again' and 'Goin' Up the Country'. Four stars for blues aficinados, three for the rest of us."