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The May 2022 CD Remaster Version
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"...Canned Heat Mama Sure Is Good To Me..."
For 2022, England's Beat Goes On Records have revisited three of their old Canned Heat catalogue CD reissues originally put out in 2003 and it seems - upgrading them (mostly on the audio front). There's some explaining to do on this, so here goes...
In March 2003 (themselves reissued in July 2013 with the same catalogue numbers, booklets and remasters) - BGO put out "Canned Heat/Boogie With Canned Heat" on BGOCD577 (Barcode 5017261205773). That reissue contained the American Blues Boogie band's first two albums from July 1967 and January 1968 originally on Liberty Records (both in Stereo - 21 Tracks - 78:22 minutes).
Then came their third outing - the sprawling double-album "Living The Blues" originally issued November 1968. First reissued September 2003, BGOCD591 (Barcode 5017261205919) was a 2CD set. Using the same catalogue number and Barcode - the April 2022 reissue of that comes in a card slipcase and again is on 2CDs - CD1: 47:39 minutes, CD2: 41:11 minutes (no bonuses). Has the same John Tobler 2003 liner notes and their is no note of a new Remaster (Andrew Thompson did the 2003 version and I've reviewed that - see separate entry).
And then there is this - "Hallelujah/Cook Book" on BGOCD578 - their July and November 1969 fourth and fifth albums - also on Liberty Records - a song count of 20 tracks. "The Canned Heat Cookbook: The Best Of Canned Heat" (to give it its full title) was actually their first compilation LP that gathered up tracks from their first four LPs (see details below). Of the three 2022 reissues, this is the only one that actually names a '2022' audio upgrade.
So what you have with this reissue is a '2022 New Remaster' (presumably by Andrew Thompson, but it doesn't actually say) and a Bonus Track added on to make the song count 21 - not surprisingly the Bonus being their worldwide hit "Let's Work Together". Their is no outer card slipcase and the liner notes still hark all the way back to the ones pumped out by JOHN TOBLER in 2003. The front of the booklet however has had the moniker '2022 REMASTER now with Bonus Track' added to the artwork - the rear inlay also has "Let's Work Together" added on to the track list. Weirdly, Beat Goes On have kept the same catalogue number (BGOCD578) and to make matters more confusing, the same Barcode (5017261205780). Let's get to the finite details...
UK re-issued Friday, 6 May 2022 - "Hallelujah/Cook Book + Bonus Track" by CANNED HEAT on Beat Goes On BGOCD578 (Barcode 5017261205780) offers 2 Albums from 1969 Plus One New Bonus Track Remastered onto 1CD in 2022 playing out as follows (80:27 minutes):
1. Same All Over [Side 1]
2. Change My Ways
3. Canned Heat
4. Sic 'Em Pigs
5. I'm Her Man
6. Time Was
7. Do Not Enter [Side 2]
8. Big Fat (The Fat Man)
9. Huautla
10. Get Off My Back
11. Down In The Gutter, But Free
Tracks 1 to 11 are their fourth studio album "Hallelujah" - released November 1969 in the USA on Liberty LST-7618 and in the UK on Liberty LBS 83239 (both in Stereo). Produced by CANNED HEAT and SKIP TAYLOR - it peaked at No. 37 on the US Rock LP charts (didn't chart UK).
12. Bullfrog Blues [Side 1]
13. Rollin' And Tumblin'
14. Going Up The Country
15. Amphetamine Annie
16. Time Was
17. Boogie Music
18. On The Road Again [Side 2]
19. Same All Over
20. Sic 'Em Pigs
21. Fried Hockey Boogie
Tracks 12 to 21 are their first compilation (fifth album technically) - "The Canned Heat Cook Book: The Best Of Canned Heat" [often abbreviated to "Cook Book"] - released November 1969 in the USA on Liberty Records LST-11000 and February 1970 in the UK on Liberty Records LBS 83303 (both in Stereo) - peaked at No. 86 in the USA on the Billboard Rock LP charts and No. 8 in the UK.
Tracks 12 and 13 are from their debut album "Canned Heat"
Tracks 15, 18 and 21 are from their second album "Boogie With Canned Heat"
Tracks 14 and 17 are from their third album "Living The Blues"
Tracks 16, 19 and 20 are from their fourth studio album "Hallelujah"
BONUS TRACK
22. Let's Work Together
February 1970 US 45-single on Liberty 56151, A-side - January 1970 UK 45-single on Liberty LBF 15302, A-side - original a Non-LP track. The B-side on both issues was "I'm Her Man" from the July 1969 album "Hallelujah".
The 12-page booklet is the one used for the March 2003 reissue with JOHN TOBLER liner notes giving a potted history of the band - it also reproduces the inner artwork of 'The Best Of' Cookbook LP on its inner pages. The Audio is great - crank it and the power comes screaming through. With regards to the bonus - February 1969 saw "Time Was" b/w "Low Down" issued as a 45-single on Liberty 56097, while "Poor Moon" b/w "Sic 'Em Pigs" was issued as a 45-single on Liberty 56127 in July 1969. "Low Down" and "Poor Man" are both Non-LP sides that would have been more suitable '1969' sides than "Let's Work Together" - but I appreciate that with a total playing time of 80:27 minutes, you're sure getting killer value for money.
While "Hallelujah" has great Blues Harmonica throughout (check out "Canned Heat" and "Big Fat (The Fat Man)" - the speaker-to-speaker shenanigans of "Get Off My Back" is hard to take now. But there is no denying the down 'n' dirty guitar power evident in both "Get Off..." and "Down In The Gutter, But Free". But strangely enough, you can so hear why "Cook Book" caught people's attention in Blighty - putting a Best Of up to No. 8. - as a set of great Canned Heat cuts - it absolutely rocks. The eleven-minutes and thirteen seconds of "Fried Hockey Boogie" (from their second album) can only be described as blistering Blues Rock - huge dirty grungy guitar throughout that Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top must have worshiped at the feet of - gone baby gone. Then that great single - cool...
A clever, timely, great sounding CD reissue with value-for-money up to the wazoo. One for the reminder of things that were great pile...
