Search - Canned Heat :: The Very Best Of Canned Heat

Good introduction

Laurence Upton | Wilts, UK | 01/04/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There was a lot of blues around at the time of the beat boom but by the time Canned Heat emerged it had mostly become supercharged by Cream and Hendrix, psychedelicised by the likes of Jefferson Airplane or bludgeoned into submission by high-volume bands like Blue Cheer. Consequently, they sounded slightly dated and overly purist at the time, especially since their music harked back to the more acoustic, less fashionable blues of Henry Thomas, Cleveland Crotchet and the Memphis Jug Band, to name just a few covered on this collection.

I only knew their singles, so was pleasantly surprised to discover the longer, more experimental pieces like the twenty-minute Parthenogenesis and the live favourite Fried Hockey Boogie. Furthermore, they now sound a lot less dated than many of their contemporaries, due to the sincerity and integrity of their approach to the blues"