Aerosmith - Walking the Dog (Acoustic)

This is a live performance by American hard rock band Aerosmith playing and acoustic version of the song "Walking the Dog". The performance is from the MTV Unplugged series and the performance is from 1990.
The song was originally a Rufus Thomas song and was known under two titles, "Walking the Dog", and "Walkin' the Dog". This version was released on the album "Walking the Dog" and it became Thomas' signature hit and it reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December of 1963. It stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks.
The song has been covered by a large number of artist, including: The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, John Cale, and Green Day, and many more.
I really think this version by Aerosmith is great. They do it acoustic and Steven Tyler is sitting on a chair, but he's as frantic and energetic as ever. A great performance of a great song.

Enjoy ; )

Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy

This is a live performance by blues legend Muddy Waters playing the classic song Mannish Boy. It was released by Waters in 1955 on Chess records.
The song is an arrangement of and an answer song to Bo Diddley's song "I'm a Man". (Click here for a previous post of this song) Diddley's song on the other hand was heavily inspired by Muddy's song "Hoochie Coochie Man" written by Willie Dixon. "Mannish Boy" borrows the one chord stop-time arrangement and is also partially credited to Diddley.
It's quite a famous song and it's been done by other artists as well. It's been done live by both Roger Daltrey and Queen. Also Jimi Hendrix has done a version of this song. And it was recently featured in a H&M commercial sung by a woman who quite frankly slaughters the song. It's just so wrong to see a blues number covered and featured in a fashion commercial, plus why the hell did they hire a woman to record it. Does it make much sense for a woman to sing "now I'm a man"? No of course not!
So yeah listen to the original and listen to both Diddley's and Waters' version of this great composition. And avoid the H&M commercial like the plaque!

Enjoy ; )

The Who - Baba O'Riley

This is a live performance by British rock band "The Who" playing the song "Baba O'Riley". The song was written by Pete Townshend and released in 1971. The song is known for it's use of early electronic experimentation done by Townshend and for it's crashing chorus of F-C-B♭ power chords. This has made the song very popular at concerts and also a favourite on classic rock radio stations.
The song was released as a single in many European countries, but in the US and the UK it was only released as part of the album "Who's Next". On the original recording there is a violin solo as the song goes into the Irish folk style beat at the end. At most live concerts, this clip included, this is replaced by a harmonica piece played by Roger Daltrey.
The song has been ranked as the 340th Greatest Song of All Time. A remixed version of the song is also used as the theme for the TV-show CSI:NY. In fact: Every CSI show uses a Who song as their intro.
For me what also stands out on this song, and on every Who song ever recorded is the bass playing of John Entwistle. He is definitely one of the greatest bass players ever, and was one of the first who was able to really show off on the instrument, and not just be backing for the group. Below is a clip. It is the same clip as the one above, but with the isolated bass track. It's for geeks, but mind boggling to listen to.

In fact Entwistle's bass playing is what made it possible for the group to be a trio with a singer. He filled in in just the right places to make the band's sound not sound no smaller than any other band. It's like Noel Gallagher said: "They're all playing lead, aren't they, all of them", and he's right. That's the sound of The Who: a trio where everyone is playing lead. Quite impressive.