Future Blues 1970 Album

Canned Heat

Mere weeks after finishing Hallelujah, Henry Vestine was booted from the group and was replaced by Harvey "The Snake" Mandel. From there, the new lineup played Woodstock and eventually recorded this lone album with Mandel as a member. It's also acknowledged as sort of a farewell album for the Blind Owl as he would die in mysterious circumstances a cuouple of months after this album was released. The first striking feature here is the cover, which got a lot of people up in arms, but really, I think the band just wanted to signify the connection between "future" and "blues". The music itself is somewhat reminiscent of Hallelujah but with more emphasis on the Blind Owl's contributions, and they tack an extended jam this time around. As far as Alan Wilson goes, other than "Skat" which is a very upbeat jump-blues thing you cannot help but feel a veritable shroud of sadness over the whole album, and it's not just because of his then-impending death. The man sings like he is alone in this world ("London Blues"), then calls his own number, too ("My Time Ain't Long"). The big jam is even more negative in this regard - "So Sad (The World's in a Tangle") - with its' theme of impending environmental apocalypse, but the underlying groove itself is cutthroat and airtight. Elsewhere, it is not all doom and gloom. The last big radio hit is here - the chug-a-lug "Let's Work Together", with Bob Hite on lead vocals, and the title track is just as peppy and catchy, as well. The last of a kind, before the real craziness began, and Canned Heat turned into something completely unrecognizable.