CANNED HEAT ~ Friends In The Can Fuel 2000 Records

You gotta admire a band for giving it one more go after nearly 36 years in the business. Essentially Canned Heat was over when Bob “The Bear” Hite died in 1981. However, drummer Adolfo Fito de la Parra (member since 1967) has been dedicated to keeping the banner flying over the CH camp for several years now. To “drum” up business he has delivered a set of steady numbers featuring several key guests including John Lee Hooker (posthumously), Taj Mahal, Roy Rogers, Corey Stevens and Walter Trout. Though the reviews have been mixed “Friends In The Can” has been doing amazingly well on the blues charts.

The 2003 lineup includes Parra (drums), Dallas Hodge (guitar), Stanley Behrens (vocals), Greg Kage (bass), and John Paulus (guitar). Having played as a cohesive unit for three years they decided to record “Friends In The Can” as a tribute to their greatest musical influence, John Lee Hooker. “Same Old Games” starts the record off sounding as close to the ’67 band yet - complete with some meaty harmonica and Behrens doing his best Hite impression. Getting a bit dirty is the tasty rocker “Bad Trouble” and the thick “Black Coffee.” The Corey Stevens penned Getaway, currently heard in the Target commercials is a barnburner complete with power-riffs, Hammond organ and Steven gruff vocals.

“Let’s Work Together” makes a re-recoded appearance twice. Once with Hodge on vocals, the other, heard in the Target commercials has Robert Lucas on vocals. Walter Trout cooks up a greasy rendition of “Home To You” but it’s Taj Mahal’s vocals on “Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive” and the late, great John Lee Hooker’s vocals on “Little Wheel” that carry the spirit of the record to another level. In all, it’s nice to hear modern renditions done with muscle and flare.

Website: Canned Heat

Review by Todd Smith http://www.thecutting-edge.net/