Canned Heat

Live At Rockpalast 1998 Canned Heat Special edition

The story of Canned Heat is one of imperishable music, of zeitgeist-capturing hit singles and albums and of glorious performances at epochal events like the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and the 1969 Woodstock Festival and at legendary venues like San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium. And most of all, perhaps, the story of Canned Heat is one of triumphant perseverance for through all their successes and disasters the band have retained their musical integrity and commitment to playing the blues and they remain admired and active to the present day. By the time of the band's 1998 Rockpalast gig Fito de la Parra and Larry Taylor, who had formerly played bass but was now on guitar, had been joined by singer-slide guitarist Robert Lucas and bassist Greg Kage. "On The Road Again" on which de la Parra attempts to replicate Wilson"s extraordinary, spooky vocals while the band recreate something of the mesmerizing magic of the hit record. de la Parra also channels his inner Alan Wilson on "Going Up The Country". "We're going to take you to Woodstock," he announces before the song, an irresistible invitation for those in the audience and indeed for those of us listening now, over twenty years later. New frontman Lucas, a powerful, declamatory vocalist, sings lead on "Let's Work Together" and also on songs like William Harris's "Bullfrog Blues", "Amphetamine Annie", a cautionary tale of excessive drug use originally recorded on 1968"s Boogie With Canned Heat (if only the band had heeded their own warning!) and his own songs "See These Tears" and "Iron Horse".