Album Review: Canned Heat – Finyl Vinyl

Canned Heat began as a group in 1965. The Los Angeles-based blues band quickly became renowned for its deep, encyclopedic understanding of (and appreciation for) the blues. Alan Wilson and Bob “The Bear” Hite were effectively blues scholars when such a thing was all but known in popular music circles. With a psychedelic flavor, the original Canned Heat gained fame for its original material informed by its members’ scholarship.

The group’s performances at both Monterey Pop and Woodstock brought them – and the blues – to wider audiences. Based on a blues song that was already 40 years old, “Going Up the Country” was a hit for the group in 1968, charting in the Top 20 in the U.S., UK and Canada. The band also scored hits with “On the Road Again” (1968) and “Let’s Work Together” (1970). The group’s performances at both Monterey Pop and Woodstock brought them to wider audiences.

Wilson took his own life in 1970, and Hite passed away in 1981. But as early as 1971 the group’s lineup began to fray; over the course of its existence, more than 45 musicians have passed through the ranks of Canned Heat. Among the most notable alumni include guitarists Harvey “The Snake” Mandel, Junior Watson and Walter Trout. After Hite’s death, the sole founding member of the group was drummer Adolfo “Fito” de la Parra; he remains with the group to this day.

In fact, the current configuration of Canned Heat is among its most stable; the group – de la Parra plus guitarists Jimmy Vivino, harpist Dale Wesley Spalding plus bassist Rick Reed – has been together for five years. Canned Heat had not released an album of new music but once in the 21^st century: 2003’s Friends in the Can. But now Canned Heat returns with the portentously-titled Finyl Vinyl.

Guest stars help out here and there: Joe Bonamassa stops by to add his lead guitar on “So Sad (The World’s in a Tangle.” Framing and acknowledging Canned Heat’s history, Dave Alvin (The Blasters, X, The Third Mind etc.) guests as well, singing and playing guitar on a song he wrote in honor of Alan Wilson, “Blind Owl.”

But the core group brings plenty of creativity of its own. Vivino wrote three of Finyl Vinyl’s tracks, most notably the opener, “One Last Boogie,” an appealing shuffling tune reminiscent of ZZ Top’s “La Grange.” Spalding contributes three of his tunes as well; best among them is the playful and slinky “Tease Me.” That track features some especially tasty harp wailing.

Whether the album’s title signals a closing of the Canned Heat saga remains to be seen; the group’s concert calendar is well-booked for 2024, with dates in the U.S. and Europe.