Hooker N' Heat

Product Description:

John Lee Hooker/Canned Heat: John Lee Hooker (vocals, guitar); Alan Wilson (guitar, harmonica, piano); Henry Vestin (guitar); Antonio de la Barreda (bass instrument); Adolfo De La Parra (drums, percussion).

Liner Note Author: Pete Welding.

Recording information: Liberty Studios, Los Angeles, California (05/1970).

By the late '50s, the Delta blues style of John Lee Hooker's modal guitar stomp was profoundly out of favor with urban black audiences, who had begun to prefer more sophisticated rhythm and blues styles. Around the same time, however, Hooker and other traditional blues artists such as Mississippi Fred McDowell were being "rediscovered" by folk audiences eager to hear this rapidly disappearing style of music. Shortly thereafter the British blues boom of the mid-'60s effectively crossbred traditional blues with rock & roll.

Eventually the cycle came back to the United States as the success of The Yardbirds and Cream inspired American blues-rock artists like Canned Heat, and albums like HOOKER 'N' HEAT that were both homage and collaboration. Recorded live in Los Angeles, the session showcases the edgy rock thump of Canned Heat more than it does Hooker (who only sings on the last three tracks). But the band matches the guitarist's idiosyncratic style surprisingly well, and backing vocals by soul legends the Chambers Brothers are more than welcome. This fine outing brings these young blues-rock musicians right back to the source.