fredag den 31. december 2010

Neil Young - Cinnamon Girl


Neil Young - Cinnamon Girl
Uploaded by PigLips. - Explore more music videos.
This is a performance from rock icon Neil Young playing his classic song "Cinnamon Girl". The song was released in 1969 on Young's album "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" which was also his first album with the backing band "Crazy Horse".
The song is known for it's sung harmony of Young's low-pitch voice, and on the original recording a second higher pitched voice sung by Danny Whitten. It is also famous for the catchy guitar riff that drives the song throughout. It is written in Double Drop D tuning on the guitars, and gives it the lower sound of the top and bottom strings on the guitar.
It's a great live performance, and Young performs 100 % and still does to this day, what a great performer and musician.

Enjoy ; )

torsdag den 30. december 2010

Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton - Can't Find My Way Home


This is a performance from the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival, it features Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood together performing the song from their previous band Blind Faith. Blind Faith was a British supergroup consisting of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Rich Grech. The band's self-titled album was released in 1969.
The song has been performed on occasion by Clapton. He also played a version of the song where Nathan East did the vocals. Clapton only did backing vocals on the original, and Winwood is singing the song in this version.
The performance is from the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival, and in the background Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II are playing rhythm parts on the song.
It's a good performance, and excellently sung by Winwood, a good performance of a good song.

Enjoy ; )

onsdag den 29. december 2010

Gary Moore - Don't Believe a Word


This is an awesome performance by blues and rock guitarist Gary Moore. He plays the classic Thin Lizzy song "Don't Believe a Word" from their "Johnny the Fox" album. The album was released in 1976. The song was released as a single the same year. The album version of the song is only 2:18 which is very short, and probably made it adequate for radio play.
This performance, however, is much longer, and really a whole different rendition of the song. It starts off being a slow blues in the delicate style of Gary's playing, resembling the sound on songs like "Still Got The Blues" and "Parisienne Walkways" (which is also originally a Thin Lizzy song). Then towards the end of the song, a hard rock riff starts, the lyrics are repeated again, but now it's all played in the style of the original. It's like two renditions of a song melted into one performance.
Gary plays the hell out of this song, and you can tell he was a fan and personal friend of Thin Lizzy and Phil Lynotts song writing. A great performance of an excellent song.

Enjoy ; )

tirsdag den 28. december 2010

Jeff Beck - Hi Ho Silver Lining


This is a live performance by Jeff Beck, he is joined on stage by Mitch Mitchell and Steve Winwood. "Hi Ho Silver Lightning" is an iconic 1960's rock song. It was released as a single in 1967 by "The Attack", but only a few days later Beck released a version of the song as well, and this became the most known rendition of the song.
It's a pretty silly song, but also a crowd pleaser and something that gets the crowd going and singing along. Beck does a little solo, but it's not much. A good steady performance of a silly song.

Hope you enjoy it ; )

mandag den 27. december 2010

The Doors - Touch Me


This is a performance by 70's rock band The Doors performing their classic song "Touch Me". A song more in the category of dance music, or maybe even a ballad at some points in the song, though it is a complicated progression, and it isn't just one genre throughout. It was released on the band's debut album "The Soft Parade", and was written by Robby Krieger.
The song is also notable for it's use of a string section, a horn section and a sax solo from Curtis Amy. It was released as a single in 1968, and did very well in the charts reaching no. 3 on the American Billboard chart.
It's a great performance, only made better by the accompaniment of the horn section and the string section which makes this a really good performance.

Enjoy ; )

søndag den 26. december 2010

Albert Lee - Tear It Up


This is a song performed by British guitarist Albert Lee, the clip is from 2007, and he plays the up beat song "Tear It Up". It's kind of a rock 'n' roll song, but with a lot of bluegrass roots influencing it. There's also a violin and a double bass. The back up band is the Australian "Wheelers and Dealers".
Albert is most known in the field of hybrid picking which means using the fingers and the guitar pick at the same time, to do runs that you would not otherwise be able to do. He was one of the first to use and develop this technique, and is regarded as one of the best at this technique.
He has been included with many different acts, in many different genres, including; Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Earl Scruggs, Joe Cocker, Dolly Parton and even Spıal Tap, hell yeah!! A long list, and in many different genres, everything from country, blues, rock 'n' roll and bluegrass, truly a versatile player.
This is a great performance of a great song, and they sure do "tear it up".

Enjoy ; )

lørdag den 25. december 2010

Yngwie Malmsteen - Bedroom Eyes


This is a performance by Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen and his band, playing live at the Budokan arena in Tokyo, Japan.
The song "Bedroom Eyes" is a bit of a departure for Yngwie who usually moves in the metal genre, and even sometimes touches something that could be considered classical music. He isn't usually considered a rock/hard rock guitarist, but on this tune he strays a bit from his traditional style.
He uses a simple guitar riff, and plays a lot of the song using a wah-wah pedal. He even goes into a section of the song where he starts playing a bit from Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile".
It is a really good energized performance, and a good rock song.

Enjoy ; )

fredag den 24. december 2010

Spın̈al Tap - Christmas with the Devil

Merry Christmas!!
So it's Christmas eve, and I thought I'd share one of my favourite Christmas songs with you. It is: "Christmas with the Devil" by Spıal Tap!!
Ok, but in all seriousness, I do think this is a very good comedy Christmas song. It makes fun of Christmas and the metal, hard rock and even blues music's obsession with the devil, and combines it with Christmas. Brilliant.
The video is from the Arsenio Hall show, and the volume is very low on it, so you probably need to crank your speakers to 11 if you wanna hear any thing.
Any ways, merry Christmas!! Happy Holidays etc.

Enjoy ; )

torsdag den 23. december 2010

Eric Clapton - Blue Eyes Blue


BLUE EYES BLUE from kristine sun on Vimeo.
This is the music video to the song "Blue Eyes Blue" by Eric Clapton. It is a very good looking video, the sets and the camera work is really good, a well made music video with a simple concept.
The song is an acoustic pop song in that classic Clapton style. A set of chords, Clapton's vocals, a choir and an acoustic solo by Clapton.
I think it was made, or was featured in some Julia Roberts film, there's footage in the video that appears to be from a film, but I'm not sure of that.
It's a good little pop song by Clapton with that classic Clapton pop sound.

Enjoy ; )

onsdag den 22. december 2010

Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Working


This is a performance by Muddy Waters and his blues band. The performance is from 1966 and they perform the classic song "Got My Mojo Working", an upbeat blues song.
The song was written in 1956 and popularized by Muddy Waters in 1957. Muddy Water's rendition of the song was ranked as #359 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
It's a traditional example of what a good blues group could do back in the 60's. They groove on each other, and the blues harp on this song is just excellent, plus Water's voice which makes this an all over excellent performance.

Enjoy ; )

tirsdag den 21. december 2010

Paul Gilbert - Snortin' Whiskey (Pat Travers)


This is a performance by guitarist Paul Gilbert playing his version of the classic Pat Travers song "Snortin' Whiskey" (also sometimes referred to as "Snortin' Whiskey, Drinkin' Cocaine"). It's a blues rock song, and it was originally released in 1980 on by Travers and his band on the album "Crash and Burn". It is Pat Travers' most successful song, and the song that gained the most radio play and the highest positions on the charts. It is still a crowd pleaser to this day, and it is also a pleaser at Gilbert's gig.
The Paul Gilbert version is recorded at the Guitar Center in Hollywood, and that is why he talks a little bit about his amp before playing, it's a guitar geek crowd. Gilbert plays a smoking version of the song, and I thought it was worthy of being featured. Plus the fact that I haven't been able to find really good concert footage of any performance by Pat Travers. I've embeded a version done by Travers below, but the video and sound quality isn't great.
It's a great song, and a great performance by both artists.


Enjoy ; )

mandag den 20. december 2010

Brian Setzer - Run Rudolph Run


The song "Run Rudolph Run" has become a Christmas classic, and is one of the most recognizable rock 'n' roll Christmas songs. The song was popularized by Chuck Berry, and it was originally released in 1958 as a b-side to Berry's version of "Merry Christmas, Baby".
The song has been covered by an endless list of performers, including: Lynrd Skynrd, Sheryl Crow, Keith Richards, Foghat, Billy Idol, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem and a supergroup consisting of Lemmy Kilmister, Billy Gibbons and Dave Grohl, to only name a few.
I think that Brian Setzer and his orchestra do a fantastic job with the song, they play it like straight forward happy 50's rock 'n' roll which fits the song very well.
Below is the Lemmy, Gibbons and Grohl version embeded, it's a good version too, but I still prefer Setzer's version, but they're both good.


Enjoy ; )

søndag den 19. december 2010

Robert Palmer Addicted to Love


This is a performance from 80's rock king Robert Palmer. The song was released in 1986 on Palmer's "Riptide" album, and got very popular due to a video featuring fashion models playing the instruments, and Palmer singing. A classic 80's music video, cheesy and corny. You can say that Palmer rose to success through videos very much the same way ZZ Top did. The song is known for it's catchy guitar riff and a drum opening in 7/4 rhythm, the rest of the song is in 4/4 rhythm. The song did very well in the charts.
It's a great performance, and everyone really grooves. The guitar solos are good, and the drummer really gets the audience going. A good performance, of a good song.

Charts (1986) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks 1

Enjoy ; )

fredag den 17. december 2010

Eric Clapton - Christmas Tears


This is a performance by Eric Clapton playing the Christmas song "Christmas Tears". The concert footage is from a benefit for The Special Olympics, and it is shot in Washington D.C. in December of 1998. President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary were present, and they held the benefit.
There were many different acts present at the concert, and the year after the concert, a CD of the concert was released. (Click here to go to purchase a copy of the CD).
Other acts at the concert were: Mary J. Blige, Jon Bon Jovi, Tracy Chapman, Sheryl Crow, John Popper, Run–D.M.C. and Vanessa Williams
On Clapton's part this is a pretty standard blues tune, singing about loneliness and missing some one at Christmas. It doesn't have bells and all that, and in some ways it's not that uplifting, but I still think it's a pretty good song. Maybe just because it isn't your typical overproduced pop song, but a good blues song that just happens to be about Christmas.
It's a really good performance on Clapton's part, of a good and a little untraditional Christmas song.

Enjoy ; )

torsdag den 16. december 2010

Tower of Power ft. Santana - What Is Hip?


This is a live performance from the legendary funk band Tower of Power playing their famous song "What Is Hip?". Carlos Santana is sitting in with the orchestra, and does a little solo, he does all right, but you can tell that he's a bit out of his element. Still doing a pretty good job in my opinion.
Santana's band and Tower of Power are intervened, and members of Tower of Power have played in Santana (the band), so this collaboration might not be as far fetched as one would think. Santana's current keyboardist David K. Mathews started out playing for Tower of Power, or at least rose to fame playing with them.
I think it's a good performance, and this is true funk. It's on a grand scale, with a full horn section and an energetic Brent Carter leading the jam, and keeping the audience in tune as well.
A good performance, of a good funk song.

Enjoy ; )

onsdag den 15. december 2010

Jimmie Vaughan - Tick Tock


This is a performance by Jimmie Vaughan and a bunch of other artists. It's from the Stevie Ray Vaughan memorial concert commemorating the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan on August 27th 1990.
There were many artists present at the concert, and Jimmie sort of controlled the jam on a lot of the performances, and also starts off this performance. Present were: Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Dr. John, Art Neville & Double Trouble.
The song is from the album Family Style by The Vaughan Brothers. It was the last album Stevie did, and he had always wanted to do a collaborative album with his brother.
This song sticks out as different, as it is about the world joining hands in peace, and in that sense a very beautiful blues ballad. In this performance the song is sung by a choir which helps give it a certain atmosphere.

Enjoy ; )

tirsdag den 14. december 2010

Rory Gallagher - Banker's Blues


This is a live performance by Rory Gallagher, doing an acoustic blues classic on his own. It's a solo performance, just Rory and his guitar, it's so fantastic what only a select few performers can do when they sit on their own and do an self accompanied acoustic blues performance. It's a tradition of the 1920's and 30's, and so many people today aren't able to do it. Very few people listen to the roots of the blues, and perform them as well as Gallagher did.
The song Banker's Blues was originally recorded by Big Bill Broonzy, a legendary player of the acoustic blues era of the 1930's. He's not as famous as Robert Johnson, but still quite known within the guitar playing community. And both Gallagher and Clapton have cited him as an influence on their playing styles.
The song is about women and how they'll steal your money, if you have them in the bank, a quite simple theme. The song follows the same chord structure as "Key to the Highway", but is still different. It's sort of like Son House's "Death Letter" sounds like "Rollin' and Tumblin'", but they are different songs.
It's a great song, and a great performance. I've embeded a version of the original recording beneath, the sound quality isn't good, and you can hear the needle scratching the record, but it's still good.


Enjoy ; )

mandag den 13. december 2010

Chris Rea - Driving Home for Christmas


This is a video for the Chris Rea Christmas song "Driving Home for Christmas". It was released in December of 1988 as a single, and wasn't attached to any particular album. It did fairly well peaking at #53 on the UK single charts. It did really well in a lot of European countries (scheme below of rankings on various charts).
The song is about a guy driving home to his family or friends to celebrate the Holidays. The song also features a little solo by Chris, it's not a slide solo which is mainly, or at least one of the things Rea is attached to.
It's a nice little Holiday song in a mellow and not over-emotional tone and feeling, a really good Christmas song.

Chart↓ Peak
position↓
UK Singles Chart (2007)[2] 33
Norway Singles Chart (2008)[4] 2
Swedish Singles Chart (2010)[5] 26
Dutch Singles Chart (2008)[6] 17
Finnish Singles Chart (1999)[7] 17
Danish Singles Chart (2007)[8] 19
Austrian Singles Chart (2007)[9] 35
Swiss Singles Chart (2009)[10] 41
German Singles Chart (2008)[11] 31

Enjoy ; )

søndag den 12. december 2010

Velvet Revolver - Set Me Free


This is a live performance from 2005 by the American hard rock group Velvet Revolver. The song was released in 2003 and originally appeared on the soundtrack for the Hulk film of the same year. The single then also made it onto the bands debut album "Contraband".
The main riff of the song was made by Slash, and it's what drives the song. On the record version there's two rather complicated guitar solos done by Slash.
This live version is really good because the band really goes nuts and gives 100 %. Slash is playing like crazy, and doing a fantastic job with the song, he even throws the guitar behind his head for a chunk of the performance, and makes the guitar scream at the end until the last chord is played. Dave Kushner even does a little solo at one point.
This is a pretty sweet hard rock song, and the band rocks it with this performance.

Enjoy ; )

lørdag den 11. december 2010

Repost: The Dead Weather - Blue Blood Blues


I posted a live version of this song earlier, but it has been taken down from youtube, or has been disabled in some regions in the world, I don't know which! The fact of the matter is that I can't view the video embeded in the original post, so I'm reposting it.
I wrote more about the song and it's release in my earlier post which you can check out by clicking here.
This version is a little grittier, it's recorded live from live from the Third Man Records, the independent label that publish the song.

fredag den 10. december 2010

Ray Charles - Merry Christmas Baby


This is a performance from Ray Charles performing the R & B Christmas standard "Merry Christmas Baby", originally composed and written by Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore in 1947. It has been covered by many different artists, including; Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Otis Redding, Elvis Presley, Bonnie Raitt and Bruce Springsteen.
It's a nice little soulful tune for the Holiday season.
Below is a version by Christina Aguilera and B.B. King. It's a very good version, but a bit short, and not as soulful as Ray's version.


Enjoy, and Happy Holidays

torsdag den 9. december 2010

Chuck Berry - Let It Rock


This is a live performance by Chuck Berry, he performs the rock 'n' roll classic "Let It Rock". The song was originally released in 1960 on Berry's alum "Rockin' at the Hops", and it was only a b-side to the single "Too Pooped to Pop".
This however became more famous than the a-side. Probably thanks to other artists covering it, and its resemblance to Berry's most famous tune "Johnny B. Goode". It has been covered by The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Bob Seger and Motörhead to name a few. It is perhaps one of Berry's most covered songs, next to "Johnny B. Goode".
I've included a performance by Motörhead from The Late Show with David Letterman beneath, because I think they do a pretty well job with it.
It's a great song, and a great performance by both acts.


Enjoy ; )

onsdag den 8. december 2010

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Hug You, Squeeze You


This is a live performance by blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. He performs the song "Hug You, Squeeze You", an up beat happy blues song.
The song is a take off, or maybe even a cover of a John Lee Hooker song that at least have very similar lyrics. The John Lee Hooker version is simply titled "I Want To Hug You".
This is a song that Stevie didn't perform very often, and it's also in a key that Stevie didn't use very much. It's played in the key of E. As most people who are fans of Stevie probably know, he tuned his guitar down one half step. This means that the key you get when playing a straight forward shuffle blues starting on the lowest string is in the key of Eb. Stevie basically forms what on a regularly tuned guitar would be an F chord, and takes it from there. So this is one of those rare occasions where Stevie is playing in the key of E on a guitar tuned in the key of Eb essentially. I think this is the only song where he does this, but I'm not sure.
Any ways, it gives the song and performance a unique sound.
It's a great performance, and a great song.

Enjoy ; )

tirsdag den 7. december 2010

David Bowie - Let's Dance


This is a music video for the title track of Bowie's album "Let's Dance" released in 1983, and digitally re-mastered in 1999.
This is a great album by Bowie, it experiments with many different genres of music, it has a lot of funk influences, but also draws on more traditional rock and blues, and of course also the pop sound of the times.
The album is also famous for helping blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan getting discovered. Bowie had heard Stevie's 1982 Montreux performance, and was impressed. They met up backstage and chatted, and it turned out they were in to some of the same weird things musically. Bowie admired Stevies sound, and hired him to play lead guitar on his next album which was "Let's Dance".
Stevie only plays lead guitar, the rhythm guitar on the album is Nile Rodgers. And Stevie's lead playing is very toned down, and not a huge part of the album, but still helps increase the sound and the experience.
The album cut of the song Let's Dance is 7:37, much shorter than what is used in the music video which I assume is also the radio edit of the song. They still left in all of Stevie's parts however which shows how much his lead playing helped the album.
Stevie was also offered a spot in David's live band that was going to tour for the album, but he turned it down, and went onto recording his first solo record with Double Trouble "Texas Flood", and got the massive career in the 80's.
It's a great song, and a pretty good looking music video for the times. Stevie isn't in the video, and Bowie pretends to play a Stratocaster looking guitar while wearing white gloves, perhaps a nod to Stevie and the fact that no one could play like him, who knows? Or maybe just David being odd.

Enjoy ; )

mandag den 6. december 2010

Ray Charles - Santa Clause Is Coming To Town


So it's Christmas, and I haven't posted a single Christmas song yet. I'm making up for that now. This is a performance by soul legend Ray Charles performing the classic Christmas song "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town".
The performance is from the "Feed the Future" benefit in 2007.
Ray's version is a bit more soulful than most other versions, but it is still probably more a pop song, or a seasonal song, if that's even a category of music. There just aren't a whole lot of blues Christmas songs.
Ray plays a soulful piano, and also gets out a harmonica and plays that as well.
It's a very good performance of this classic Christmas song, and it's sure to get you in the holiday spirit.

Enjoy ; )

søndag den 5. december 2010

Repost: B.B. King - The Thrill Is Gone


I posted this once before, but the version I posted was taken down from youtube. I don't mind that however, because this is a better version in my opinion. (Click here to read the text from the old post, and a little background on the song).
This version is from BB's performance at the 1993 Montreux Jazz Festival, and it's just a smokin' version of the song. It starts out a little slower than the first version I posted, with BB playing at a very low volume level, with a lot of emotion. Then towards the end it picks up speed, BB turns up the volume, stands up and gives us the grand finale of his playing, and this concert. It's a great performance and a great show. (Can be purchased at Amazon.com, and is published by Eagle Rock, click here for product information).
It's a great performance, and the whole band is into it. The string section from the original recording is imitated beautifully on a keyboard, and the horn section do a fine job.
This is a great performance, and if not the best, then definitely one of the best versions of this song.

Enjoy ; )

lørdag den 4. december 2010

Jeff Beck - Hammerhead


This is a live performance by guitar legend Jeff Beck. It was released on the 2010 album "Emotion & Commotion". Since it's a pretty new song, there isn't any really good concert footage of Jeff performing this yet, so I've included the album version in a youtube video beneath. The song credits both Jeff Beck and his keyboardist Jason Rebello, and Jeff states that the song's inspiration comes from their love of keyboardist Jan Hammer. Jason came up with the riff on the keyboard, and Jeff picked up on it, Jeff calls it a young and Indian sounding riff, ans states that it kicks ass which I agree with him on 100 %.[1]
It's a rock instrumental, and Jeff plays the main riff of the song alongside a 40 piece symphony orchestra which makes it sound epic, grand and magnificent. It has also recently been nominated for a Grammy at the 53rd Grammy Awards show. It's nominated for "Best Rock Instrumental" and has a good chance of winning, and I'm rooting for it, it's a good song.
The live version and the album version sound a bit different, and Jeff improvises a bit more in the live version, plus it's not with a symphony orchestra when played live.
A great song, cross your fingers for it at The Grammys.


Enjoy ; )

fredag den 3. december 2010

Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love


The song "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by the legendary band Led Zeppelin. It was released in 1969 on the band's 2nd album titled "Led Zeppelin II". The song has appeared on many lists, and is considered one of the best hard rock songs ever.
The song is influenced by a lot of different blues singers and songs. Mainly the song "You Need Love" recorded by Muddy Waters, written by Willie Dixon. The lyrics in the two songs were very similar, and in the end Willie Dixon ended up suing the band. They agreed on a cash settlement, and that was the end of that. Plant has stated that he felt that the lyrics and the song was so far back in time that it was just influence, and not copying. He has also stated that Page's guitar riff was there before the lyrics, and that the guitar riff was the origin of the song, and they came up with the lyrics later. Plant then said that everyone borrows lyrics and stuff like that, but you only get caught when you're successful.[1] 
The song has a very unique and different construction. It starts off with Page's riff which also descends into the main verse. Then at about 3:02 into the song, it goes into a more jazzy feel, John Bonham plays a jazzy feel type of thing on the drums, and it goes into a very weird section with Plant moaning and screaming and Page playing his guitar with a bow, this section is by many fans referred to as the "Orgasm Section" of the song.
Below is a list of some of the lists the song has been on, and the ranks it has gotten on those lists. I really think this is one of the best, if not the best hard rock songs ever. Truly a great song, and a great recording and construction.
 Publication↓ Country↓ Accolade↓ Year↓ Rank↓
Spin United States "100 Greatest Singles of All Time"[9] 1989 39
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll"[10] 1994 *
Classic Rock United Kingdom "Ten of the Best Songs Ever!.. (Bubbling under)"[11] 1999 30
VH1 United States "The 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time"[12] 2009 3
Rolling Stone United States "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[13] 2003 75
Q United Kingdom "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever"[14] 2005 3
Toby Creswell Australia "1001 Songs: the Great Songs of All Time"[15] 2005 *
Grammy Awards United States "Grammy Hall of Fame Award"[16] 2007 *
Rolling Stone United States "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time"[17] 2008 11
VH1 United States "VH1 Greatest Hard Rock Songs"[18] 2009 3

Enjoy ; )

torsdag den 2. december 2010

Metallica - Mama Said


The top video is of James Hetfield performing an acoustic version of this song of the band's album "Load". It's a genre bending tune that strays a lot from Metallica's other songs. It starts off with an acoustic guitar, and the towards the chorus goes into a country inspired piece, with the whole thing sort of peaks, and power chords played on a distorted electric guitar plays through the last part of the song. I think it's a really good song, and it really sounds great in the studio version, a well mixed song that mixes genres. The video below is the music video for the song, so you can hear the studio version of the song as well.

The lyrics are written by Hetfield, and they are about a boy struggling to find his own way in life without his mother. This draws on Hetfield's own relationship to his mother who died of cancer.
The song has never really been part of Metallica's live set, probably because it strays so much from Metallica's traditional metal sound. Hetfield has played it alone with no accompaniment, and has also played with country singer Jessi Colter. But we'll probably never get the band playing the song live as it was recorded. It's sort of James' song which is also shown in the fact that the other band members only make a brief and excluded cameo in the music video for the song.
Still a very good song.


Enjoy ; )

onsdag den 1. december 2010

ZZ Top - Bang Bang


(The resolution isn't very good, so it's the small size player)
This is a live performance by blues, rock and hard rock band ZZ Top. They perform the song "Bang Bang" from their 12th studio album Rhythmeen released in 1996. It's a great little song that does what ZZ Top does best, produce good, funky, bluesy and fun songs.
On this album they sort of went back to a more rock/bluesy sound. In the 80's they had experimented with synthesizers and electronic drum beats. A sound that gave the great air-play and success, but didn't sound like their earlier work.
The album got mixed reviews, but I think that it's a top notch album, prima quality, and just what you'd expect from ZZ Top. If you're a fan, it's a must-have in your collection, definitely.
They do a great performance with a nice set of bongos accompanying Frank Beard on the drums which gives the song a very good rhythm and groove.
A great song, and a great performance.

Enjoy ; )

tirsdag den 30. november 2010

Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way


This is a performance Lenny Kravitz and his band at the 2007 Live Earth concert. They perform the classic song "Are You Gonna Go My Way", a song by Kravitz released in 1993 as a single. It's a great straight forward rock 'n' roll song driven by an awesome riff that just drives the song. This shows that Kravitz is a true rock artist who knows his stuff and can write great rock 'n' roll songs. The song has become hugely successful and popular, and has been covered by several artists, such as; Metallica, Tom Jones and Robbie Williams to name a few.
It's a great performance from Live Earth, they really give all they have, and deliver a solid performance of a kick-ass song.
The single also spawned one of the best performance music videos ever. I'm not a big fan of that kind of music videos, but this is just done so well, I have to salute it. It basically takes place in a vertical room with lights in the sealing blinking in various patterns through out the performance. Lenny plays a Gibson Flying V and looks cool, and so does the rest of the band. That's the thing about this music video, they all look cool. There's also some great shots of fans jumping around going wild. It's a great video, and by many considered a land mark of 90's music videos. The music video is embeded beneath.

Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
Uploaded by hushhush112. - See the latest featured music videos.

mandag den 29. november 2010

Rory Gallagher - All Around Man


This is a magnificent performance from blues extraordinaire Rory Gallagher, it's from the concert at BBC's Grey Whistle on March 2nd 1976 which was also the date of Rory's birthday.
The song was originally performed by Bo Carter, but Rory's version is just smokin', no doubts one of Rory's best performances ever, though I don't think there is such a thing as Rory's best performance. Rory was an artist who gave 100 % on stage, and in that sense you could easily say that all Rory's performances were his best.
I really love this song and performance. Rory really shows the extent of his talent, by playing some of the best bottle neck slide I've heard, period! It's amazing, it's fast, but still keeping feel, and being right on spot in terms of intonation and execution of the playing. Not only do we get Rory's guitar playing, but Rory also plays a really good solo on the blues harp. He uses a harmonica microphone, and gets that perfectly good blues sound. He also shouts into that mike on the musical breaks of the solo. He also does something similar with his slide playing, where he sings the part, as he's playing it, true feeling, true blues!
We also get a really good piano and Hammond Organ solo from Lou Martin who also joins in as Rory is soloing on the blues harp. They basically riff off each other, and Lou tries to play the lines Rory just played, it's amazing, a true jam between two good musicians.
This is just an amazing performance from Gallagher, definitely one of his best, though all his performances pretty much fit that mark.

Enjoy ; )

søndag den 28. november 2010

Repost: B.B. King - How Blue Can You Get


This is the same case as yesterday's post, where I posted the clip, and then it got taken down by youtube. The original post featured a video, where BB played with Paul Shaffer and The CBS Orchestra which made it an all around awesome performance.
This new video is from the rock DVD producers and distributors Eagle Rock. It's a DVD of several blues and rock 'n' roll artists coming together for a great performance. Click here for more info on the DVD.
This is a good performance of this song too, but I really fell in love with the one from The Late Show. I just really loved the big set-up, with the horn section, and the big orchestra, I really though it sounded awesome. But now it's been taken down.
This performance is very good as well, but a completely different set-up. There's no set-up, and in a way you could say that in that way you really get to see BB's raw talent which is true. But I also really think that BB's talent shines through no matter what set-up he's in. This is a good performance, but not as good as the one in the original post. (Click here to read the old post, there's no video, hence it's been removed, but still go check it out)

lørdag den 27. november 2010

Repost: Stevie Ray Vaughan - Love Struck Baby


 I posted a version of this song before. It was the version where Stevie plays the song live with Colin James. That video has been taken down from youtube, so I thought I'd post another version of the song. (click here for previous posted entry)
This version is from 1987 in New Orleans. It's a great version of the song. It's an extended version in terms of musical improvisation. There's a piano solo by Reese Wynans, and then after that Stevie goes into a guitar solo. He pretty much does the standard version of the solo, but adds a lot of new things to it. Of course he shows off and puts the guitar behind his head and keeps playing. And after that he just extends the solo even more.
It's one of those performances where Stevie was just feeling it, and started playing new stuff on the spot. I love both versions of this, but since the old version has been taken down from youtube, I'd say this is at least as good. Though you can't really judge performances like that.

fredag den 26. november 2010

U2 & B.B. King - When Love Comes to Town


This is a collaboration between the band U2 and B.B. King. The song was released in 1988 U2's album "Rattle and Hum", and it was released as the album's third single in 1989.
The song has been played live many times, all of them featuring B.B. King and his band. On the "Lovetown Tour" in 1989 the song was played as an encore on almost all nights of the tour. It was played at 46 out of the 47 shows, and was the main encore for the tour. This clip is also from the Lovetown Tour.
It's a great song with a nice and up beat rhythm. The Edge sticks to playing the rhythm parts on the song, and B.B. plays all the lead parts. The singing is shared between Bono and B.B., but it's B.B. rocking the house and getting the crowd in a good mood. He does a spoken word in the song, and really gets the audience going.
This version is on a very grand scale. B.B. was touring with a big band, featuring both choir girls and a horn section. It all helps build up the scale of the song and the performance, but it's still B.B. at the centre, giving the performance it's heart.
This is so uplifting, you can't be in a bad mood after listening to this.

Enjoy ; )

torsdag den 25. november 2010

Muse - Feeling Good


This is a live performance by British band Muse. They perform their version of the classic song "Feeling Good". It's a song that has been recorded by a huge number of artists, some of them good, some of them bad. Among the bad are The Pussycat Dolls and Michael Bublé, the Pussycats is obvious, and I'm not a big fan of Bublé and his, hmm... too good image, his version is a bit karaoke like in my opinion.
The two best versions, in my opinion, is Nina Simone's version, and this one by Muse. When I first heard it, I wasn't a huge fan of their version, but I gotta say, it's really grown on me, to a point where I really like it. The Nina version is a soul and jazz thing, sung with a lot of emotion. Now the Muse version still has that jazzy soul influence, but fuses it with a rock influence. It makes it a dark and new version of the song, and very interesting. I think Muse do a really good job with this, and I really like their version.
Muse released this as a single as well, and also did a music-video for the song. It's a good video, with stunning visuals, sort of underlining the new interoperated meaning of the song. It's good, and definitely worth checking out, if you like this version of the song. Video for the song left embeded beneath in case you wanna check it out. Also below is Nina's version of the song.

Muse - Feeling Good
Uploaded by Warner-Music. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

onsdag den 24. november 2010

Steve Vai - For the Love of God


This is a guitar instrumental piece by guitar legend Steve Vai. The song was originally recorded and released in 1990 on Steve Vai's album "Passion and Warfare".
It's a long instrumental featuring a wide variety of different guitar techniques, one more impressive than the other. He uses the whammy-bar on the song a lot, he uses pinch harmonics, natural harmonics, two finger tapping and it all adds up to something amazing and out of this world.
Vai himself has stated that when he's making music he likes to try and enter different states of consciousness. So there is a, hmm... religious or spiritual overtone at work here, and you can hear that emotion channelled through Vai's playing.
That is what I love about Vai's playing, it's ultra-technical and out of this world difficult. But through his hands it's still played with emotion. There are very few players who can be speed demons and still emote, and for that Vai, I personally salute you.
A high point of this performance, in my opinion, is when he towards the end of his performance makes the guitar sound like dolphin screams. I mean who else could do that but him? This is an all over awesome performance.

Enjoy ; )

tirsdag den 23. november 2010

The Doors - Wild Child


This is a video from the classic late 60's band The Doors. It's a video consisting of footage of some native-American kids spliced together with studio footage of The Doors recording the song "Wild Child". I don't know if it was a fan made video or an official video.
The song Wild Child is built up quite simple, with one riff pretty much driving the song, and then changing when the song breaks into the chorus. The riff is mainly a guitar riff played by Robby Krieger, but a Hammond B3 organ is also added, to give the song that trippy 60's feel. Robby also plays a psychedelic bottle neck slide that just fits the song perfectly.
The song was released as a single in December of 1968, but it was a B-side to the song "Touch Me".
Below is a little clip from the A-side to the single.
Audio sample


file info · help

It's a really good stoner song, with that delightful 60's psychedelic sound. A great video, and a really good song.


Enjoy ; )

mandag den 22. november 2010

Guns N' Roses - Mr. Brownstone


This is a performance by hard rock 80's band Guns N' Roses, the good line-up with Slash still playing the lead parts. The song appears on the legendary 1987 album "Appetite for Destruction".
The song was written by Izzy Stradlin and Slash, they were complaining about being heroin addicts, and started writing down lyrics on the back of a grocery bag. They brought the lyrics to Axl, and they decided to record the song. The lyrics are clearly about addiction and heroin, as Brownstone is slang for heroin, much the way Mary Jane means Marijuana.
"Mr. Brownstone" was the first UK single released by the just signed band. It was released as a double A-side along the song "It's So Easy".
The song explores what in the rock world is known as "The Bo-Diddley beat". It was a beat first used by guitarist Bo-Diddley, therefore it is named after him. It has been used by many bands though times, and was especially popularized in the 60's by bands like The Rolling Stones etc. This gives the song that Rolling Stones kind of feel. GNR are influenced heavily by 60's bands and especially The Rolling Stones, and in a song like this you can really hear it.
It's a great song with a nice long guitar introduction leading into the riff, with a sweet solo, and sweet rhythm thanks to Bo-Diddley and Matt Sorum. A great performance, of a great song.

Enjoy ; )

søndag den 21. november 2010

Motörhead - Ace of Spades (Acoustic) (100th post)


This is a recently recorded acoustic version of the Motörhead song "Ace of Spades", they recorded it for a European beer commercial, and took the tempo down to a slow blues progression. Really shows the relation between genres, when you can just slow something down and add an acoustic guitar instead of an electric, and boom heavy metal turned into slow acoustic blues.
The top box is the new single in its full length, and the two videos are the commercial in which the song is featured, and a behind the scenes following Motörhead as they recorded the song.
I really like this song, it really shows that Lemmy has a broad style, and can play many different types of music. This is just pure acoustic blues, and I love it. It both features acoustic guitars playing the slow main rhythm part, a blues harp solo by Lemmy and a Dobro solo by Phil Campbell. It's a great song, and it really shows that Motörhead is much more than a metal band.

lørdag den 20. november 2010

Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky


This is a performance from 70's rock band "Electric Light Orchestra". It's one of their most famous songs, and it's a mix of pop and 70's rock with a lot of experimentation going on. It features a nice and up-beat melody that gives the tune a happy feeling. It also features a nice little happy guitar solo from Jeff Lynne, and an experimental part of vocoder singing. It's a nice up-beat song that's been featured in many different kinds of medium.

Enjoy ; )

fredag den 19. november 2010

Rory Gallagher - Walk on Hot Coals


This is a 1974 performance from blues and rock guitarist Rory Gallagher. The footage is from the documentary/concert film "Irish Tour '74". It's a legendary film following Gallagher as he tours through Ireland. The director originally intended the footage to be used on a television special, but decided to release it as a theatrical feature.
The film is famous for featuring a performance from Gallagher in Belfast. Belfast was a rocky place at this time, with brawls etc. being very common, also at rock shows. This meant that most bands refused to play in Belfast. But not Gallagher. As part of his tour he stopped in Belfast, and played one of the best live shows of his career, and there was no violence at the concert, just mesmerized teens.
The song "Walking on Hot Coals" is a Rory Gallagher original. It's an instrumental song featuring a lot of guitar playing on Gallagher's part, but also a piano solo by Lou Martin. On the song Gallagher also uses pinch harmonics on the song. He was one of the first guitarists to incorporate this technique into his style. A technique he also used on the song "Off The Handle" previously posted on this blog (click here). This is just a great performance.

Enjoy ; )

torsdag den 18. november 2010

Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son


This is a smoking performance from 70's progressive rock band "Kansas". They play their 1976 song "Carry On Wayward Son". The song was released in two versions a 5:26 album-version and a radio-edit cut down to 3:36. This live version is 6:43 with an extended ending of the song, and performed with a string section.
It's a great song, and the riffs driving the song are amazing. You can tell that the guys in the band are getting old, but they still play with the same energy and as good as when they were young. They all pretty much have white hair, and one of them even wears an eye-patch, now that's bad ass!!
It's a great performance, the singing is fantastic, the playing is fantastic and their energy is amazing.

A great performance, enjoy ; )

onsdag den 17. november 2010

Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever


This is a recent performance of the classic hard rock 70's song "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent, of the album with the same title. The song is known for its simple three tone blues scale riff harmonized in parallel fourths.It's traditional rock 'n' roll, straight forward, one riff, attitude and a simple but rockin' guitar solo by Ted Nugent himself.
In 2009 the song was named the 32nd best hard rock song of all time by the VH1 television network.
It's a great ballsy performance, with Ted functioning at full throttle and energy level. Truly a great song, true rock 'n' roll.

Enjoy ; )

tirsdag den 16. november 2010

Lynrd Skynrd - Free Bird


This is a song by southern rock band Lynrd Skynrd. Alongside "Sweet Home Alabama" it's one of their most famous songs. The song is known for its build-up, it starts out very slow with a slide guitar intro by Gary Rossington and then starts of with a slow nice melody, as the singing begins. Towards the middle of the song there's a musical break, and the song starts picking up speed, it accelerates. It's a grand instrumental finish, and it's by far one of the longest songs in recording history. The album-version is about 9 minutes, but some live version reach a length of about 14 minutes, now that's improv guitar soloing!
It's a great and legendary song. Lynrd Skynrd would often use it to close their live sets, and it has become known as the ultimate closer. For a period at the top of the song's popularity, fans would scream Freebird (it's not really clear how people spell the title), even if it wasn't Lynrd Skynrd performing it.
It's a legendary 70's songs, and one of a kind. There aren't a lot of songs that in live versions run into 14 minutes. This live version is about 10 minutes. It's a great song, and a great performance.

Enjoy ; )

mandag den 15. november 2010

Stevie Ray Vaughan - I'm Leaving You (Commit a Crime)


This is a performance by blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. He performs the song "I'm Leaving You (Commit a Crime). A performance of this is featured on the classic live album "Live Alive" bye Stevie Ray Vaughan. It's a live record that boasts a lot of different types of material. Vaughan draws in all of his influences, performing rather contemporary tracks such as "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Hendrix and "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, but also includes a lot of the old school blues feel.
This is one of those old school songs. The performance is simple, pretty much repeating the same little riff over the entire progression, and adding pauses where Stevie just gets to sing. It's really a performance that shows how good a singer Stevie truly is. He does a small guitar solo, but nothing fancy or flashy, and then ends it with a simple take on a turn around lick. It's just classic old school blues. This performance is inspired bye Howlin' Wolf, and Stevie definitely does him justice. It's just a great performance.

Enjoy ; )

søndag den 14. november 2010

Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down To Georgia


This song may be considered to be country, and I'm not really sure where to put it. In my book it's a little fast to be country, but then again not all country sounds like Dolly Parton, some of it is fast and something you can dance to.
The song however has been embraced by the rock community, and the lyrics share a lot of similar things to blues music. The lyrics are about a kid who is challenged by the devil to a fiddle battle against the devil. If he wins he'll get a solid gold violin and if he loses the devil gets his soul. The devil also often appears in blues lyrics.
The song has been embraced by the rock world, and was featured in an updated version in the video game "Guitar Here III: Legends of Rock".
It's a great song and a delightfully energetic performance from the band and Charlie Daniels himself. He plays the fiddle so hard he breaks several hairs in his bow, and needs to switch bow towards the end of the song. That's cool. It's just a great performance.




The band Primus also did a cover of the song. They did a really nice clay-mation video for it, and I thought I'd include that. It's not as good as the original, but visually it tells the story very well.

Enjoy all of it ; )

lørdag den 13. november 2010

OutKast - Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)

(Haven't been able to find a version of this that is embeddable, so click here to go to the youtube page of the song)
This is the video for the song "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me) by the rap duo OutKast. It's a song built around a classic 12-bar blues and it's sung by André 3000. It's nice to see newer artists incorporate blues elements into their songs, and especially when it's done well like this. It's basically the 12-bar in the front with a funky electric beat, and a little synthesizer towards the end.
The subject matter of the lyrics are also very bluesy, it's simple, but tells a story. It tells the story of a character trying to break free and gain independence, by leaving family, friends and the home town which is just classic blues. A lot of blues texts deal with trying to break free and leave, songs like "Dust My Broom", "Crossroads" and "I'm Leaving You (Commit a Crime)", to name a few.
The video displays André 3000 playing the song in an old house in the middle of nowhere that starts to overflow with water. There is debate of the meaning of the video. Some fans believe that the proximity of the video and the flowing water are visual allusions to the flooding that occurred as an aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Other fans see the water as an image of the blues, and that the blues can overflow and choke someone's life.
(Another artist who sung about hurricanes was Lightnin' Hopkins in the song "Hurricane Beulah" click here for that performance)







(A couple of pictures of André 3000, the first one is a capture from the video. Thought I'd at least give some sort of visual aid to this post!)
Any ways.

It's a great song, and it's nice to see talented people like OutKast doing a bit of blues.

Enjoy ; )

fredag den 12. november 2010

Ronnie Wood (ft. Slash) - Stay With Me


This is a performance by guitarist and singer Ronnie Wood. Wood is widely known as being one of the guitarists from Rolling Stones and he also gained fame touring with Rod Stawart and Jeff Beck. He has however besides all of those things always had a solo career. And his new album album "I Feel Like Playing" has just been released earlier this year.
Ronnie co-wrote the song "Stay With Me" with Rod Stewart for the band "The Faces". It became a pretty well known song, and has been featured on several compilation albums by "The Faces". The song has been covered a couple of times for instance by Ronnie James Dio's band Elf and Def Leppard. Through those covers the song kinda kept it's momentum through the 70's into the 80's.
In this performance Wood is also joined by famous guitarist Slash who, for the most part, stays in the background and plays rhythm on the song. He does have a small solo, but it isn't flashy or long. Slash knew this was Ronnie's performance, and stayed in the background, a character trade that only the best guitar players in the world posses.
It's a nice uplifting performance of a really good song.

Enjoy ; )

torsdag den 11. november 2010

Train Kept A-Rollin' (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2009)


This is an all star performance from the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was the ending act of the night, and it got all of the nominees, winners and presenters on stage for an all star jam on this classic song. The performance features: all members of Metallica (including their earlier bassist Jason Newsted), Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Joe Perry, Flea and Ronnie Wood. The inductees of the evening were Metallica and Jeff Beck. It's a great performance, and you can just tell that they're all having a lot of fun with it.
The only drag, and I'm nitpicking now, is the fact that Jimmy Page doesn't get to do a solo, I mean, he's bad ass, so why not give him a solo. I think I know why, Beck, Kirk Hammet and Joe Perry all get to do a solo. Beck and Hammet were part of the main inductees and Perry had done a very famous version of the song with his band Aerosmith. I think it was a call on the producers part in trying not to get into too long of a jam on the show. It's a minor drag, but it really would have been sweet to hear Page do a solo. Well too bad.

Still a great performance and fun performance, enjoy ; )

onsdag den 10. november 2010

Led Zeppelin - How Many More Times


This is a very early performance from Led Zeppelin. It's from 1969 in Gladsaxe in Denmark, it's from a teen club, and luckily Danish television decided to record it and broadcast it. They had just published their first self-titled debut-album and this was probably part of a promotion tour.
This song is great because it shows different sides of the band within one song. It especially shows in Page's playing. He starts off showcasing his blues influence and his playing starts out kinda conventional. That doesn't last long however, as he slowly transfers into that rock style he helped from and define. Playing more aggressive. At one point he also brings out the famous string bow which he uses to harmonise with Plant's vocals. He also showcases his ability to go wild and stretch his playing all over the fretboard. This is just awesome playing showcasing all aspects of what makes Jimmy's playing (both lead and rhythm) amazing.
What a lucky audience. It's a very small audience hence this was before Zeppelin made it big and played stadiums. The small audience sits around the stage, and just observes and enjoys the music. How many people can say they've experienced a band like Zeppelin in such short distance, not many, those lucky bastards. Man I was born in the wrong decade.
This is a great performance, all of the band gives 100 % and really entertains. It's a small crowd, and the fact that they just put on a big performance for such a small audience shows just how awesome they are, how dedicated they are and how little their music was about fame. These are true musicians.
Oh and this video is just a two minute excerpt from the performance, I highly recommend watching the whole performance. (Follow the links beneath)
Part 1
Part 2

Enjoy ; )