It’s long run day and these long hauls haven’t been exactly kind to me lately. I’m not sure why exactly although I believe it has a lot to do with the ever-present spare time around my midsection that never seems to shrink no matter how many workouts I launch in a week. Hey, at least the “Dad Bod” is in, I guess. Anyway, I figure misery loves company and if that’s what in store this afternoon on my long haul out towards Skerkston and back, then there’s nobody better to be listening to than John Lee Hooker or, in this case, John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat with two offerings, the double ‘Hooker n Heat‘ album and the ‘Live at the Fox Theater‘.
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.
The album 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 Hooker and Heat. The first platter focuses on Hooker’s looser entries that vacillate from the relatively uninspired ramblings of ‘Send Me Your Pillow‘ and ‘Drifter‘ to the essential and guttural ‘Feelin’ Is Gone‘ or spirited ‘Bottle Up and Go‘. The latter being among those with Wilson on piano. Perhaps the best of the batch is the lengthy seven-minute-plus ‘World Today‘, which is a languid and poignant talking blues, with Hooker lamenting the concurrent state of affairs around the globe…much like I do on these long hauls out into the countryside.
The full-fledged collaborations shine as both parties unleash some of their finest respective work. While Canned Heat get top bill – probably as it was the group’s record company that sprung for Hooker ‘n Heat – make no mistake, as Hooker 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 Canned Heat igniting the verses and simmering on the subsequent instrumental breaks with all killer and no filler.
Having worked so well together on the 1971 album, both parties hoped to make lightning strike twice in front of a sweaty crowd, with an upstart indie label capturing it all in 1981. There’s also an unavoidable poignancy infusing this low-key but energetic night, since the two vocal heavyweights (neither Hooker nor Heat’s towering frontman, Bob Hite) are no longer with us. Canned Heat had weathered numerous lineup shuffles since the band did its original album with Hooker but the combo still fuses together very well. The blues is the blues after all. Highlights include ‘Hell Hound’, ‘The House of Blue Lights‘, and a medley of Heat’s popular hits ‘Let’s Work Together‘ and ‘Goin’ Up the Country‘. For his part, Hooker maintains his commanding presence, sounding far from a performer in the twilight of his career – and the energy levels rise accordingly. His gravelly vocal bottom rises to the fore on slow-burning laments like ‘It Hurts Me Too‘ and ‘It Serves Me Right to Suffer‘ (both of which had me dwelling mentally on the idiocy of what I was doing around the 14-15k marks of the run), of which the Chambers Brothers’ provide backing vocal choruses.
The real smoker here though is the set closer, the 11 and a half minute ‘Boogie Chillin‘; same as the first album. Here though the track off a-rockin’ right off the hop and never lets up, particularly the drum solo at the half way mark that rolls right into the motivated blues shuffle and “nobody like you” chorus at the end. Certainly enough to help pick the last kilometer to the finish.
All in all, this was the first long run where I am starting to feel myself and where Thunder n’ Lightning are starting to find their long distance (18k) pace. Maybe it was the blues, maybe it was the cool, pleasant day outside, maybe it was the ‘huevos rancheros‘ from the Flying Squirrel Cafe this morning, or the half dozen dried honey dates along the way, Whatever it was it was nice to feel for a change, particularly through the first 10k with a decent pace. I won’t ay that the last 4 kilometers were fun but I’m getting there…slowly bu surely.
And now? It’s to the showers and then off to the Sanctuary down the street for a well deserved beer…or two…or three.
Music in Motion 