Sunday, February 21, 2010

The Importance of Blues Roots to Alanology

In order to understand the music of Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson, we must look to the roots of his work with Canned Heat. Songs such as “Going Up the Country” and “On the Road Again” were based in early rural blues, and Wilson’s harmonica work was inspired by the work of Chicago master Little Walter, whose sound graced much of Muddy Waters’ classic-era work.

Wilson
biographer Rebecca Davis Winters says, “All serious Alanologists will want to hear the artists Alan liked best. These include Charley Patton, Son House, Skip James, Geechie Wiley, and on harmonica Little Walter and Junior Wells (though Alan was critical of Junior’s singing, he liked his harp playing).”

Specific Canned Heat songs can be traced to rural blues recordings. “Bullfrog Blues”, for example, was first recorded by William Harris in 1928. “Big Road Blues” was associated with Tommy Johnson, Sterno addict whose 1928 work also gave Canned Heat their name. “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” was based on a 1929 Hambone Willie Newbern record. “Going Up the Country”, of course, was based on a 1929 Henry “Ragtime Texas” Thomas record in which Thomas accompanied himself on guitar and panpipes. The list goes on, and on, throughout Canned Heat’s catalog. They stood out from their contemporaries with their skilled incorporation of these early blues influences – and thorough understanding of their sources.

Where does one start an exploration of early blues? Rebecca Davis Winters recommends certain books such as Deep Blues by Robert Palmer, and for those who are really fascinated, Big Road Blues by David Evans (an old friend and musical colleague of Alan) is one of the ultimate blues scholarship works.

In terms of listening, the Document record label is a great resource to help build a pre-WWII blues collection. Yazoo has also released a number of excellent items. There is also a specific collection that Rebecca Davis Winters now recommends: The Roots of Canned Heat, released by the UK label Catfish.

To learn about some of the most significant influences on Canned Heat’s extant classic-era work, Roots of Canned Heat is an excellent starting point. It provides an overview of specific songs used as sources by the band. To dig deeper, you can then seek out more works by the individual artists represented here. These include all the luminaries such as Charley Patton, Skip James, Tommy Johnson, and even the obscure such as Barefoot Bill.

A little web research left Alanologists uncertain whether Catfish Records is still in business. However, the CD is still available through Amazon.com. Rebecca Davis Winters says, “Thanks to Alanologist Sean Kaye-Smith, who sent me this excellent CD; his kindness and constant Alanological diligence is deeply appreciated.”

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