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Historical Figures and Ancient Heads | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 14, 1971 | |||
Recorded | 1971 | |||
Studio | Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA | |||
Length | 36:28 | |||
Label | United Artists | |||
Producer | Skip Taylor, Jim Taylor | |||
Canned Heat chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | C− [2] |
Historical Figures and Ancient Heads is the eighth album by Canned Heat, released in 1971. It was the first album not to feature original member and songwriter Alan Wilson who had died the previous year, and their bassist Larry Taylor, who had left to join John Mayall's band. Featuring new guitarman Joel Scott Hill and Little Richard on "Rockin’ With the King". The record also includes Tony de la Barreda on bass, who left with Hill after this album and subsequent tour.
Canned Heat is an American blues and rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts Alan Wilson and Bob Hite, who took the name from Tommy Johnson's 1928 "Canned Heat Blues", a song about an alcoholic who had desperately turned to drinking Sterno, generically called "canned heat". After appearances at the Monterey and Woodstock festivals at the end of the 1960s, the band acquired worldwide fame with a lineup of Hite (vocals), Wilson, Henry Vestine and later Harvey Mandel, Larry Taylor (bass), and Adolfo de la Parra (drums).
Broken Blossom is the fourth studio album by American singer Bette Midler, her second album release in 1977 and her fifth on the Atlantic Records label. Just as Midler's three previous studio albums Broken Blossom includes songs from a wide variety of genres, ranging from Edith Piaf's signature tune "La vie en rose", Phil Spector-esque covers of Billy Joel's "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" and Harry Nilsson's "Paradise" and hard rock like Sammy Hagar's "Red", to a jazzy duet with Tom Waits, "I Never Talk to Strangers", and a rendition of "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", originally from Walt Disney's 1950 film version of Cinderella. The album reached #51 on Billboard's album chart.
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Two Sides of the Moon is the only solo album by English rock musician Keith Moon, drummer for the Who. It peaked at No. 155 on the Billboard 200. The album title was credited to Ringo Starr. Rather than using the album as a chance to showcase his drumming skill, Moon sang lead vocals on all tracks, and played drums only on three of the tracks, although he played percussion on "Don't Worry Baby". The album features contributions from Ringo Starr, Harry Nilsson, Joe Walsh of the Eagles, Jim Keltner, Bobby Keys, Klaus Voormann, John Sebastian, Flo & Eddie, Spencer Davis, Dick Dale, Suzi Quatro's sister Patti Quatro, Patti's bandmates from Fanny Jean Millington and Nickey Barclay, and future actor Miguel Ferrer.
Boogie with Canned Heat is the second studio album by American blues and rock band Canned Heat. Released in 1968, it contains mostly original material, unlike their debut album. It was the band's most commercially successful album, reaching number 16 in the US and number 5 in the UK.
Future Blues is the fifth album by American blues and rock band Canned Heat, released in 1970. It was the last to feature the band's classic lineup, as Larry Taylor and Harvey Mandel had both departed by July 1970, prior to its release to record with John Mayall and songwriter Alan Wilson died shortly after on September 3, 1970. It was also the only classic-era Canned Heat studio album to feature Mandel, as Henry Vestine had been the lead guitarist on the previous albums. Their cover of "Let's Work Together" by Wilbert Harrison became a hit. "London Blues" features Dr. John. It was re-released on CD in 2002 by MAM productions with five bonus tracks.
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Hallelujah is the fourth album by Canned Heat, released in 1969. It was re-released on CD in 2001 by MAM productions with four bonus tracks. It was the last album to feature classic lineup mark 1, as Vestine left the band prior to Future Blues.
Uncanned! The Best of Canned Heat is two-disc CD set issued in 1994, features various tracks from previous albums and some previously unreleased tracks. Highlights include an alternate, longer take of "On the Road Again," and the first release of "Let's Work Together" in stereo.
Hooker 'n Heat is a double album released by blues musician John Lee Hooker and the band Canned Heat in early 1971. It was the last studio album to feature harmonica player, guitarist and songwriter Alan Wilson, who died in September 1970 from a drug overdose. The photo on the album cover was taken after Wilson's death, but his picture can be seen in a frame on the wall behind John Lee Hooker. Guitarist Henry Vestine was also missing from the photo session. The person standing in front of the window, filling in for Henry, is the band's manager, Skip Taylor. Careful examination of the photo reveals that Henry's face was later added by the art department. Although featured on the cover, vocalist Bob Hite does not sing on the album.
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Let's Work Together: The Best of Canned Heat is a compilation album by Canned Heat, released in 1989. All of the songs are taken from the first five albums released on Liberty Records between 1966 and 1970, except for "Rockin' with the King", which is from the United Artists Records album Historical Figures and Ancient Heads (1971).
Reheated is the twelfth album by Canned Heat, released in 1988. It features two members of the band's classic lineup, Fito de la Parra and Larry Taylor. Among the titles, "Bullfrog Blues" was originally on the B-side of the first single recorded by Canned Heat in 1967; "Built for Comfort" by Willie Dixon was popularized by Howlin' Wolf; "Take Me to the River" is a R&B/soul song which has been recorded by artists such as Al Green and Talking Heads.
Canned Heat '70 Concert Recorded Live in Europe is a 1970 live album by Canned Heat. The album is taken from various locations on live concert European tour right before Alan Wilson's death and is the band's first officially released live album.
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Music from Free Creek is an album from a series of 1969 "super session" recordings by Free Creek, a group composed of a number of internationally renowned musical artists of the time, including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Keith Emerson, Buzz Feiten, Mitch Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt. Joe Viglione from www.allmusic.com has stated that "Music from Free Creek is a super session album, where the musicians are playing for the fun of it, and that comes across. The material doesn't get bogged down in 'names'; it just flows."
Dallas Hodge is an American blues rock singer, guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has released two solo albums since 2007, with the most recent, Don't Forget About The Music We Made (2019) appearing in the US Billboard Blues Albums Chart. Otherwise, Hodge is best known for his collaborations with Canned Heat and Steve Marriott.
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