Stevie Ray Vaughan - Cold Shot (Dr. John)

This is a live performance by Texan blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan playing his version of the song "Cold Shot". The performance is from the "Live From Austin, Texas" DVD which features two performances from the TV show Austin City Limits, one from 1983 and one from 1989. This clip is from the 1989 performance. It's a great performance and the band is really hitting the groove on this one.
The song "Cold Shot" was written by W. C. Clark and Michael Kindred and released by SRV on his 1984 album "Couldn't Stand the Weather".
The song was also performed at the SRV memorial concert. In that concert it was performed by piano legend Dr. John. (Embeded below)

I really love what Dr. John does with this tune. He sort of plays it his own way, in a different key, but he still sort of manages to compose a lot of Stevie's guitar parts to piano which sounds amazing to me. Also the ending of this performance is amazing.
It's a great song, and SRV sure made this tune his own, a great groove, gotta love that.

Enjoy ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Tightrope

This is a live performance by Texan blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan playing the song "Tightrope". The performance is from the TV-programme "Austin City Limits" where Stevie Ray Vaughan appeared in 1989. The performance has been released on a DVD which also contains SRV's performance from the same show in 1983.
The song "Tightrope" is from the fourth and final studio album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band Double Trouble. The album was made and released after Stevie Ray Vaughan got clean and the positive vibe of sobriety shines through on every track of this life embracingly beautiful album. The song is credited to Stevie Ray Vaughan and singer-songwriter Doyle Bramhall.
It's a great song with a very unique and positive vibe. The lyrics are really good too, because the imagery throughout the song is really good and well written.
A great song by one of the best guitarists.

Enjoy ; )

Eric Clapton - Old Love

This is a live performance by British blues and rock guitarist Eric Clapton playing the song "Old Love" live at Hyde Park in 1997.
The song is originally off Clapton's 1989 album "Journeyman". The writing credit on the song is attributed to Clapton and fellow blues musician Robert Cray. The most successful song on the album however was "Bad Love", it did well in the charts and won Clapton a Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance in 1990. Clapton has also stated that this is one of his favourite albums from his career. (Cover art in picture below).

It's a really good performance of this magnificent song.

Enjoy ; )

Neil Young and the Bluenotes - This Note's for You

Neil young - This Note's For You by ivaxavi
This is the music video to the song "This Note's for You" from Young's album of the same name. The album was released in 1988.
The song is a comment on the commercialisation of rock 'n' roll and rock 'n' roll tours in particular. The video features a Michael Jackson look-a-like who's hair catches fire. This caused the video to, at first, being pulled of the air on MTV who had been threatened by Jackson's legal department. They did, however, bring back the video in heavy rotation when it became a hit on the Canadian music channel "MuchMusic". And it also won the 1989 MTV Video Music Award for best Music Video.
It's a great song, I really love the simple straight forward guitar riff. And Young's somewhat unique lead guitar playing really fits the song well, as well as the horn section. A great song by a great artist.

Enjoy ; )

Johnny Copeland - Flying High

This is an acoustic live performance by Texas blues artist Johnny Copeland. He plays the song "Flying High" on a TV-recording (from 1989). It's a self-accompanied acoustic performance, it always fascinated me when artists did self-accompanied performances. The song it self I haven't been able to find any information on. I checked all of Copeland's tracks on Amazon and it looks like this one never made it on to any of his studio, compilation or live albums that they distribute at least.
It's a traditional blues in E though. He keeps it simple, but very effective. The rhythm and timing is spot on and the aggressive approach of using a pick to really make it loud really sounds great.
It's a great performance by a great blues man!

Enjoy ; )

Howlin' Wolf - Love Me Darlin' (Stevie Ray Vaughan)

These are both live performances of the classic Howlin' Wolf song "Love Me Darlin'". The top video is a performance by Wolf who also wrote the song. The performance is from 1964 and next to Howlin' Wolf performing we have Hubert Sumlin, Sunnyland Slim on piano, Willie Dixon on bass and Clifton James on drums.
Stevie Ray Vaughan covered the song in the studio on his 1989 release "In Step". I love his take on the song. This was Stevie's last album with Double Trouble. It sticks to the original, but brings something to it at the same time. And that was Stevie's expertise: interoperating classic blues songs and adding his own thing to them.
I love both versions of this song, but I'm such a big SRV fan that I might like Vaughan's version a little better. But both versions are definitely worth listening to.

Enjoy ; )

The Fabulous Thunderbirds & Stevie Ray Vaughan - The Crawl

This is a live performance by Texan blues rock band The Fabulous Thunderbirds, the performance is from 1984.
The Fabulous Thunderbirds was the group that Stevie's brother Jimmie Vaughan played in from its formation in 1976 to 1989. Jimmie left the group to play in a duo with his brother, but these plans were foiled by Stevie's unfortunate death in 1990. After that the band has gone through a huge number of line-up changes.
This is a great song. There's a lot of influence from surf guitar on this definitely a lot of Dick Dale in the sound of it. Also love the musical breaks on it that includes the audience and the part where they play the guitars on their backs. Also Stevie is playing a Telecaster. I think this is the first time I've ever seen him do that. I've seen him play guitars with humbucker pick ups on rare occasions, but never a Telecaster. So it's a first. It's a great song and great solos from both Stevie and Jimmie.

Enjoy ; )

Guns N' Roses - Patience

This is the music video to the classic folk rock song "Patience" by Guns N' Roses. The song appears on the band's "G N' R Lies" album from 1989 which is also the last album before the band started going through line-up changes. The song peaked at no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music was written by rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin and the lyrics were done by Axl Rose.
The song doesn't feature any percussion. But in live performances the band would often play it with drums and electric instruments. They would also use keyboards on these live performances. Embeded below is a live performance like this.

The song has been covered by many artists who especially love playing the song live. It's been done live by artists like: Carrie Underwood, John Mayer with Maroon 5 and also in various ways featuring Slash and different singers.
It's a great ballad/acoustic folk rock song, and the lyrics are very good and well written as well. A gem amongst GNR songs.

Enjoy ; )

Blue Rodeo - Diamond Mine

This is the music video to the song "Diamond Mine" by Canadian band Blue Rodeo. To be honest, I didn't really know this band until recently when I heard this song. So I still don't know a whole lot or have heard a lot of their stuff. I really like this song however!
The band has been around since 1985 and still exists today. The three consistent members are Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor and Bazil Donovan. Jim and Greg both sing and play guitar in the group. The other members have been switched throughout the career of the band.
Wikipedia quotes the band as a pop and country rock band. I can definitely hear that, but on this song I personally hear some different things that they sound similar to. I hear a bit of "The Doors" as they have that organ going on in the background, I also hear something that sounds similar to Oasis (though Oasis got their breakthrough later than Blue Rodeo) and the guitar parts sound a lot like the ones you'd find in a Roy Orbison song. But hey that's just my take on it.
The single was released in 1989 and it's from the album of the same name. It reached no. 7 in Canadian charts, it was the first single from the album and the most successful single of that album.
I really think this is a very good pop song influenced by many different rock sub-genres adding to a very good song.

Enjoy ; )

John Lee Hooker feat. Bonnie Raitt - I'm in the Mood

This is a clip from the music video to the John Lee Hooker and Bonnie Raitt collaboration "I'm in the Mood".
The song is from Hooker's 1989 record "The Healer" which was a somewhat successful record for him peaking on no. 62 on the Billboard 200. The album featured collaborations on almost every single track, the guest artists included: Robert Cray, Carlos Santana and band, Los Lobos and of course Bonnie Raitt.
It's a very good album that really shows all aspects of what Hooker was as an artist. It features the bigger jazzy laid back thing on the Santana collaboration and there's also three tracks where Hooker accompanies himself in the style of the 30's and 20's, very cool indeed.
The cool thing is that the video is snapped from an old MTV broadcast. Remember? MTV used to play music videos, and good videos featuring talented artists. Wow miss those days, but at least we still have access to all of that through the computer.

Enjoy ; )

Albert Collins, Jimmie Vaughan & Stevie Ray Vaughan - Frosty

This is a live performance from a trio of blues guitarists who are all legends in their own right, but together they equal one hell of a performance! The trio consists of Albert Collins, Jimmie Vaughan and his brother Stevie Ray Vaughan.
They play the classic Albert Collins song "Frosty". This instrumental was one of Collins' hugely successful instrumental pieces. And it was recorded around 1958 at the beginning of Collins' recording career.
Collins is famous for his use of open minor tunings combined with the use of a capo on the guitar. This technique is credited by Collins to his cousin Willow Young. Collins was also famous for his entertainment skills and showmanship. He would often, as he also does in this clip, get up close and personal with his audience. He also very often continued playing through the PA system after he left the building. One time he left the stage, continued playing, went to a pizza place, ordered a pizza and several minutes after he returned onto the stage have it delivered on stage. A great player indeed.
I really think this is a great performance. It cuts straight into Stevie doing a solo, then goes onto his brother Jimmie Vaughan doing a solo and then for a large part of the video Collins is soloing. He is soloing for the longest time and it shows respect that the Vaughan Brothers stepped back and let Collins take the stage for the biggest part of the performance. Another funny thing is that Jimmie is actually playing one of Stevie's guitars. He is playing Stevie's "Charley Stratocaster", a custom built guitar given to Stevie by Charley Wirz. (You can tell from the slight difference in body-shape and the lipstick pick-ups.
It's a great performance from three blues legends. Gotta love that!!

Enjoy ; )

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 ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan - The House Is Rockin'

This is the music video for the song "The House Is Rockin'" by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. It's a single of their "In Step" album from 1989. The album was a big success for the band and was made after Stevie sobered up after years of alcohol and drug abuse. This is also the theme of many of the songs, and there are many songs co-written and composed by Stevie himself. It's a personal album.
The album won a Grammy for best blues album and the album also had a no. 1 single on the North American Billboard Charts, very impressive.
It's a great up-tempo rock 'n' roll song with a classic rock solo. Clearly heavily inspired by Chuck Berry who basically invented that genre. It's a great song, and it really gets you going.

Enjoy ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Wall of Denial

This is a clip of Stevie Ray Vaughan performing his song "Wall of Denial" from his 1989 album "In Step". It's the fourth studio album by Stevie and the last album he did with Double Trouble. The last studio album of Stevie was the album "Family Style" done with his brother Jimmie Vaughan.
The main theme throughout "In Step" was Stevie's recent sobriety, what went before, and the fact that he had come out clean and sober on the other side.
The performance is from "The Late Show" with David Letterman, probably from a promotion tour for the album.
The album won for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" at the 1990 Grammys.

Enjoy ; )