Future Blues - CANNED HEAT****

Sugar Bee/Shake It & Break It/That's Alright Mama/My Time Ain't Long/Skat/Let's Work Together/London Blues/ (So Sad) The World's In A Tangle/Future Blues

Future Blues was the final album from boogie blues group Canned Heat before the death of their main songwriter Al Wilson. It was a blow from which the group never recovered. Includes the UK No. 2 hit Let's Work Together. (US:59 UK:27)

"The material is classic Canned Heat from the start to the finish. Blues/boogie rock with some really cool guitar work. So Sad (The World's In A Tangle) shows their concern about people ruining the environment and nature. That's probably the ultimate highlight of the whole disc, but the rest of the songs are more or less awesome too."

"To my ears Canned Heat has always been an acquired taste. That makes 1970's Future Blues somewhat of a surprise. Blues remains the dominant influence, but this time around there's a surprisingly attractive rock edge to material such as Sugar Bee, That's All Right Mama and Let's Work Together."

"Absolutely my favourite hippie blues release. There is not a weak moment on this recording. While one could argue that Canned Heat's influence was not seminal, I would argue that this recording was one of the most successful protest records in a time of turmoil."

"Here is an overlooked album by an overlooked band. This was recorded in the late sixties and still sounds vital today. This contains some of Al Wilsons' last recordings, including the prophetic My Time Ain't Long . For anyone interested in the American blues this album should be in their collection."

"Sugar Bee, London Blues, Skat and others - mostly those written or featuring Al Wilson, are still in my head so many years after I first heard them. Wilson was an original: his piano, rhythm guitar and, of course, his harmonica playing created a fabulous juxtaposition of an artist with sound evocative of the past, almost forced against its will into this 'future'.”

"Possibly my favourite studio set by them, this one features some good, hard, semicommercial, guitar driven blues rock with some fuzz guitar. It shows the depth of how much rock developed from the blues and how they comfortably coexist, musically anyway. The band is tighter and more rocking than before."