The following essay is contributed courtesy of music scholar Kyle Fosburgh. Please visit his website at rootsmusicrevival.com.
Fortunately for those like myself, who have never been able to see the original Canned Heat group with the “Blind Owl,” there is an assortment of good quality live recordings that we can always listen to at our leisure. Here we will review some of these items, starting with the first released, and more to be posted later.
Live at Topanga Corral/Live at Kaleidoscope
This release was Canned Heat’s first attempt at a live record and it proved to be a musical success. They hold nothing back at this show. The album starts off with a bang as the group performs one of their live classics, “Bullfrog Blues.” This song is guitarist Henry Vestine’s time to shine. He flies on the guitar, grinding out the notes out and improvising at will in between verses and the vocal phrases. His guitar is loud and in your face, yet manages to stay out of the business of the rest of the band. Alan Wilson also performs an amazing, and rather fast guitar solo compared to the majority of his work. The ferocious Delta guitar finger picking displayed in this solo is perhaps similar to what had been last heard only by those who stood on the street corners of Greenwood, MS as Robert Johnson played his heart out way back when. “Bullfrog Blues” really exemplifies how the two drastically different styles of Alan Wilson and Henry Vestine could play off of each other so naturally. “Bullfrog Blues” is one of the many examples where Henry takes control of the lead guitar work while Alan backs him playing a classic Delta style rhythm guitar. It is a combination that was essential to the Canned Heat sound.
Another song from this album where Alan furthermore displays his incomparable Delta style, is on the groups version of “Dust My Broom.” For this song, Alan uses his slide and creates a certain aura which I like to call harsh smoothness. His guitar is loud and grinding, but at the same time, very melodic and not in your face. Canned Heat performed this song much slower in this performance than they had on the studio track and the version which they performed at the famous Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. This rendition has a deeper more bluesy sound, while their earlier versions produced more of a boogie sound. The Live at Topanga Corral version is a truly virtuosic performance and is perhaps one of the all time greatest live tracks from Canned Heat.
The last track on this release is a true gem called “When Things Go Wrong.” The studio cut of this song can be heard under the title “Sandy’s Blues” on the Living the Blues album from 1969. With a throwback horn arrangement, the studio track really takes you back, but if you know early blues, the live track just might take you back even further. Alan’s slide is piercing in this live performance, and the instruments create an amazing reverb throughout the Kaleidoscope club.
An interesting fact about this recorded show is that the classic boogie that Canned Heat used to end many of their shows, was in fact performed and recorded this night, but it wasn’t used on this album. It was actually used on the Living the Blues album from 1969 under the title “Refried Boogie.” The song is rather long, clocking in at around 40 minutes and taking up both sides of the original vinyl. You can read my analysis for “Refried Boogie” on the Canned Heat discography page.
Essay copyright 2008 Kyle Fosburgh, all rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited by law.
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