
It was launched by
Alan Wilson and
Bob Hite, who took the name from
Tommy Johnson's 1928
Canned Heat Blues, a song about an alcoholic who desperately turns to drinking
Sterno, generically called "canned heat".
Canned Heat was started within the community of blues collectors. Bob
Hite had been trading blues records since his early teens and his house
in
Topanga Canyon was a meeting place for people interested in music. In 1965 some blues devotees there decided to form a
jug band (
see: Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band) and started rehearsals. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues
material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of
music and its original artists.

The New Age is the seventh studio
album by
Canned Heat,
released in 1973. It was the first album to feature the talents of
James Shane and Ed Beyer.
Lookin' for My Rainbow was the last recording in which
gospel singer,
Clara Ward appeared. The music is a blend of
blues and rock.

The New Age was released a year after I bought my
BMW motorcyle.
At the time, I liked any song having to do with motorcycles so,
Harley Davidson Blues
became one of my favorite songs. It's a bouncy, syncopated fun kind of tune .
Two of my all-time favorite songs (
not on this album) are by
Canned Heat,
On the Road Again, became an international hit.
On the Road Again was a cover version/re-working of the 1953
Floyd Jones song of the same name, which is reportedly based on the
Tommy Johnson song "Big Road Blues" recorded in 1928. In turn,
Road was covered by the French
space rock band
Rockets, released in April of 1978 on Tom n' Jerry Records. It's a fantastic version on their second
studio album (
links to music on YouTube below).
Let's Work Together (
also not on this album) is the other song by
Canned Heat I love, love, LOVE! Every time I hear it I just have to get up and move. But all the songs on the album are pretty terrific.

Canned Heat gained notoriety as "the bad boys of rock" for being jailed in
Denver, Colorado after a Denver Police
informant
provided enough evidence for their arrest for drugs (an incident
recalled in their song 'My Crime'). Band manager Skip Taylor was forced
to obtain the $10,000 bail by selling off Canned Heat's publishing
rights to
Liberty Records President
Al Bennett.

Track list:
Side 1:
- "Keep It Clean" (Bob Hite) - 2:46
- "Harley Davidson Blues" (James Shane) - 2:38
- "Don't Deceive Me" (Bob Hite - 3:12
- "You Can Run, But You Sure Can't Hide" (Ed Beyer) - 3:15
- "Lookin' for My Rainbow" (James Shane) - 5:24
Side 2:
- "Rock and Roll Music" (Bob Hite) - 2:29
- "Framed" (Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) - 5:07
- "Election Blues" (Ed Beyer) - 6:04
- "So Long Wrong" (James Shane) - 5:36
Personnel:
- Canned Heat:
- Bob Hite – vocals, bass, tuba
- Henry Vestine – lead guitar
- Richard Hite – bass, guitar (rhythm), string bass, vocals
- Adolfo de la Parra – drums
- James Shane – bass, dobro, guitar, guitar (rhythm), slide dobro, vocals
- Ed Beyer - piano
- Additional personnel:
- Production:
- Skip Taylor - Producer
- Jim Taylor - Production Coordination
- Nick Venet - Production Assistant
- John Stronach - Engineer
- Dave Bhang - Art Direction, Design
- Doug Saxe - Mastering
Released in 1973 on UA Records
UA - UST 049-C
Net links:
Music links:
You Can Run, But You Sure Can't Hide on
YouTube
reel-to-reel listings on eBay