From the Front Row Live

AMG Review of From the Front Row Live

Lindsay Planer
All Music Guide

A late-'70s re-formation of the blue-eyed lues and oogie combo Canned Heat is featured on this DTS 5.1 DVD audio disc. The contents come from the King Biscuit Flower Hour syndicated radio archives, and the disc is specifically notable as one of the rare documents of this particular lineup of Larry Taylor (bass/vocals), Bob "The Bear" Hite (harmonica/vocals), Adolfo "Fito" de la Parra (drums), and new recruits Mike "Hollywood Fats" Mann (guitar) and Jay Spell (piano). They gathered on September 7, 1979, in Brookhaven, NY, at a tenth anniversary gig held in honor of the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair, one of the first incarnation's higher-profile gigs. Although the Heat were among those to have likewise appeared at the Monterey International Pop Music Festival, neither appearance seemed to significantly augment their enthusiast base or name recognition. During this set, they serve up favorites such as "On the Road Again" and "Going Up the Country," as well as deeper cuts, including William Harris' "Bullfrog Blues" -- dating back to their debut, Canned Heat (1967) -- or Amos Milburn's R&B Creole anthem "Chicken Shack Boogie." Without question, one highlight is the title track to Human Condition (1978), the final effort to feature Hite, who passed in 1981 of heart-related complications. The ten-plus minute workout proves that the Heat can still cook with extended instrumental solos and round after round of rousing ol' fashioned four-on-the-floor oogie. The same holds true of the somewhat more generic -- yet no less enthusiastic -- "Shake 'n Boogie," which is an unmistakable and direct descendant of the type of white-hot playing that the first mark of Canned Heat became best known for. In addition to this DVD audio release, the same show can be found on the standard King Biscuit Flower Hour (1996) and Greatest Hits Live (2003) CDs.