Robert Cray - Smoking Gun

This is the music video to the song "Smoking Gun" by Robert Cray. It was first released in 1986 on Cray's album "Strong Persuader". The album was Cray's fifth album and it became his breakthrough album into mainstream recognition. On it's release as a single in 1987 "Smoking Gun" reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The music video show clips of Cray performing at various shows throughout the beginning of his career. The year and place of the performance clips are displayed at the beginning of each clip which is quite nice in my opinion.
The song also appeared on Cray's 2010 release "Cookin' in Mobile" which was a live CD/DVD release.
It's a great crossover song, and Cray's solo towards the end is amazing.

Enjoy ; )

Slash ft. Andrew Stockdale - By the Sword

This is a live performance by infamous guitarist Slash performing the song "By the Sword" live on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Andrew Stockdale sings on this song.
The song is from Slash's 2010 album titled "Slash". The album was a solo project, but on it Slash worked with many different singers and musicians (check the wikipedia to see a complete list of his collaborators, or even better, buy a copy of the album, it's well worth your money), Stockdale one of them obviously. Stockdale sang this song on the album as well. It was the first official single from the album.
Andrew Stockdale, singer for the band Wolfmother, sings on this song and co-wrote it with Slash. It's a great vocal performance by Stockdale, and from watching it live you definitely don't doubt his abilities, as he sings it to perfection here.
It's a great song, with a good singer and good guitarist, what more can you ask for?

Enjoy ; )

Tim Christensen - Superior

Tim Christensen - Superior (2009) from Tim Christensen on Vimeo.

This is the music video to the song Superior by Danish artist Tim Christensen. From 1988 to 1998 he was the frontman for the successful group Dizzy Mizz Lizzy. They reunited in 2010, but only for a string of reunion concerts.
"Superior" is from Tim Christensen's 2008 album also titled "Superior". It was the first single from the album released in 2008 as a single.
It's a great little pop number with a bit of rock influence on it as well. A great song.

Enjoy ; )

Jimi Hendrix - Valleys of Neptune

This is the music video made for the track "Valleys of Neptune" from the album of the same title. The music video is compiled from footage and still pictures of Hendrix with added effects and such.
The song is off the album "Valleys of Neptune" which was the 11th album by Hendrix released posthumously. Most of the album was self-produced by Hendrix and recorded in sessions during the year 1969. The album was released in America in 2010.
It's a great song, and the album is highly recommended for any Hendrix fan. It really is a good album, and not just a cash grab.

Enjoy ; )

Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry

This is a live performance by the Danish alternative band "Kashmir" playing their 2003 single "Surfing The Warm Industry". The song is off the band's "Zitilites" album.
It's a great performance of a great song. The song also had a really good music video. Click here to check it out. It's an animated video that tells the story of the song which is that a woman gets a job in a corporation and gets to the top by having sex with her bosses, only to then blow up the top floor at a party because she was a terrorist. It's a really great video and really worth checking out.

Enjoy ; )

John Legend and The Roots featuring Common & Melanie Fiona - Wake Up Everybody

This is the music video to John Legend's version of the classic R&B song "Wake Up Everybody". On this version Legend is joined by The Roots, Common, and Melanie Fiona.
The song was originally performed by the R&B group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes. It was released in 1975 and did relatively well on the charts.
The song has been recorded several times since it was first released. In 2004 a version was recorded with a long list of artists. It was in support of the 2004 presidential election and encouraged young people to go vote. This version was produced by Babyface. The same year blues artist Keb Mo also did a version of the song.
The newest version is this one by Legend and gang. This version is from 2010. It's a great song and this cover sounds really good with The Roots laying the rhythmic foundation.

Enjoy ; )

Jimi Hendrix - Lover Man

This is a live performance by Jimi Hendrix playing his classic song "Lover Man". The performance is from The Royal Albert Hall in 1969.
The song "Lover Man", also known under the titles: "Here He Comes" and "Here He Comes Your Lover Man", is unique in that a studio version wasn't released until 2010. It has been performed live on numerous occasions and performed as early as 1968. The structure of the song is the same they'd use when covering B.B. King's tune "Rock Me Baby".
It's a great song and Hendrix really adds that unique touch and sound to this tune. My favourite version is a rare take that I haven't really identified. It's from youtube and all I know is that it's rare. Embeded below:

There's no video, just pictures. The audio quality is really good though and to me it sounds like a deposited studio take. It's a slower version of the song which I really dig. The slow tempo really adds to the psychedelia factor. Also the extended wah wah solo at the end of the song.
I love this take and any version of this song. It's so good and one of Hendrix's best in my opinion.

Enjoy ; )

Bert Jansch – Blackwaterside

This is a live performance by finger style guitar legend Bert Jansch playing his version of the classic folk song “Blackwaterside”.
The song is also known under the title “Down by Blackwaterside”. It is a folk song in the traditional sense that it has no known author. Though the origin of the song probably comes from somewhere near the river Blackwater in Northern Ireland.
Jansch recorded a studio version of this song in 1966 on his album “Jack Orion”. He also came up with the “chord free” or at least not so chord reliant version of doing folk songs. Most people who were doing folk music in the 60’s would cover them in very simple 3 chord structures. But Jansch and Anne Briggs were always working on new and more complex ways of accompanying the old traditional folk songs. Jansch actually learned the song from Briggs who recorded it first.
Jansch also played a version of this song at the 2010 Crossroads Festival. I highly recommend that people check out that version. The playing is sublime, but more important Jansch’s voice has aged which really fits the song.
But this is a really good performance of an amazing composition of a classic folk song.

Enjoy ;-)

Eric Clapton - Over the Rainbow

This is a live performance by Eric Clapton and band from 2001 playing the classic song "Over the Rainbow". The performance is from the concert DVD and album by Clapton also released in 2001 titled "One More Car, One More Rider".
The song was originally sung by Judy Garland and it was recorded, composed and written for the classic American film "The Wizard of Oz". It is by many considered one of the greatest songs of the century and one of the greatest songs from films. Also it won an Academy Award.
The song has been done by a large number of artists and interpreted in many different genres and styles. Anything from pop to Hawaiian and more a jazzy feel like on Clapton's version. Also Jeff Beck did an instrumental version of the song on his 2010 album "Emotion & Commotion". This version sticks very closely to Garland's original recording basically trying to transfer her vocal performance into and instrumental guitar piece.
I really love this version by Clapton. It shows off Clapton's skills in more of a jazzy thing. It also shows off Clapton's voice as he sings this very beautifully in his own way. Also the back-up band does an amazing job, from David Sancious' beautiful synthesizer saxophone solo to Billy Preston imitating birds singing on the Hammond Organ. This is just a beautiful performance.

Enjoy ; )

Volbeat - Heaven Nor Hell

Video: Heaven Nor Hell
So this is a video link to Volbeat's website where they have the video to the single "Heaven Nor Hell". Would have embeded the video on this, but it was impossible to find on youtube or any other video sites, guess Universal is good at taking down videos that features their material which is totally cool by the way. Volbeat, I'm just sayin', a lot of people watch music videos on youtube, so having an official band channel with music videos would only increase your record sales and fan base. Oh, and why all the geo blocking on your Myspace page, I mean why can't your Danish fans view your videos there (and embed them in blog posts and such). I mean even Clapton has an official non-geo blocked youtube channel now. It's good marketing, trust me!

Well any ways, I recommend clicking the link. It's a really cool song and one of the best songs of the 2010 album "Beyond Hell-Above Heaven" which I highly recommend purchasing a copy of. I really love how they've added the blues harp on this. Shows development and experimentation with in the sound universe that is Volbeat which I really like. So yeah click this, show support.

And Enjoy ; )

Jeff Beck & Imelda May - How High the Moon

This is a live performance by Jeff Beck and vocalist Imelda May from the recently released concert film "Rock 'n' Roll Party". The film honours recently deceased guitarist Les Paul, features many different guest artists, a lot of classic rock 'n' roll tracks and is also available as a CD.
Jeff Beck is joined on stage be Imelda May an Irish vocalist who sings this style of music to perfection. It is very obvious that she is trying to imitate Mary Ford's clean vocals from the original recording with Les Paul, and she does an amazing job and is a very talented singer. She earlier collaborated with Beck on his 2010 Emotion & Commotion album where she sings on "Lilac Wine" and does an amazing job.
The song "How High the Moon" is a jazz standard and it was first featured in 1940 in the Broadway revue "Two for the Show". The best known recording of the song is the one done by Les Paul and Mary Ford. (Embeded below)

This version was recorded in 1951 and it was an unexpected hit doing well on the Billboard chart at no. 1 for several weeks.
It's a very good song and a very good performance by Beck paying tribute to a great player and a great inventor.

Enjoy ; )

Jeff Beck & Joss Stone - I Put a Spell on You

This is a live performance from "Idol Gives Back" charity show. In this performance Jeff Beck and Joss Stone do a version of the classic soul song "I Put a Spell on You".
The song was originally released in 1956 and on this version it was sung by Screamin' Jay Hawkins. There are rumours of an earlier recording dating back to 1949. This version is rumoured to be more mellow, toned down and laid back, but it has never been confirmed and the so called "original recording" is either non-existing or lost through poor preservation. Until the release of this song Hawkins had been an unknown blues singer. His management suggested a gimmick to go along with the song, and he started performing by rising from a coffin wearing a long cape. He later elaborated his act with props and a smoking skull, and through time has become known as one of the first theatrical acts. He became an influence on later acts such as: Dr. John, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath and Marilyn Manson. He can kind of be pin-pointed as the first shock rock/rock 'n' roll act in history. A version of the original performance from Screamin' Jay Hawkins embeded below.

It's one of those songs that have been covered by a huge amount of artists, including: Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Tim Curry, Buddy Guy, Marilyn Manson and Pete Townshend.
The version done by Jeff Beck and Joss Stone was originally recorded on Beck's 2010 album "Emotion & Commotion" which is a very good album that I can only recommend too little. It's great. And this is one of those short little songs that just stick out. It's a great song and both versions embeded are good and interesting, though I probably prefer Beck's and Stone's version over the original.

Enjoy ; )

AC/DC - Highway to Hell

This is a live performance from 2010 by Australian hard rock band AC/DC playing their classic song "Highway to Hell".
The song was originally released as a single in 1979 and is the opening track for the album of the same name. The main guitar riff was conceived by Angus Young and the song was written by Angus Young, Bon Scott and Malcolm Young.
The origin of the lyrics were an interview where Angus kiddingly stated that being constantly on tour is like "a fucking highway to hell".
It is undeniably one of the most iconic and best hard rock songs in history, and I think this live performance is impressive. The guys might be getting older, but they sure as hell still rock the stage and give one hell of an energetic performance. A great song, and a great performance.

Enjoy ; )

Jeff Beck - Nessun dorma

This is a performance from British guitarist Jeff Beck, it is from the 2010 Crossroads Festival, and it is an amazing performance. He plays his instrumental version of the classic opera piece "Nessun dorma". It has been sung by many famous opera singers, and is one of the most famous tenor arias from any opera. It is also widely recognizable due to the use of the piece in other contexts such as film, television and other rendition like Beck's version.
Beck's version was recorded on his solo album "Emotion & Commotion", and it was done with a 40-piece symphony orchestra. Beck's guitar piece supplements the human voice in the piece. Beck has stated that he always wanted to emulate the human voice with the guitar, and that this piece just really works on the guitar.
They play it on a much smaller scale live, the bassist Tal Wilkenfeld switches to an upright bass, and even plays with a bow for a part of the performance. The drummer switches to a different technique using a different kind of drum sticks, and uses the various high-hats to make them slowly vibrate and create sound. The rest is a keyboard section synthesizing the orchestral parts. It sounds surprisingly good, and it's a great performance.

Enjoy ; )

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.

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 ; )

The Dead Weather - Blue Blood Blues

This is a song recently recorded and released by alternative band The Dead Weather. The band consists of many members who play in different bands outside The Dead Weather most notably Jack White who also produced this song. The single was released as a digital download, but will also be released on vinyl courtesy of Jack White's own record label. It will be released on a special invention; a triple decker record which consists of a A-side 12" record with a 7" record built inside containing a hidden track. To listen to the 7" record, the listener must crack the 12" record open with a knife into two areas of the record which there is no audio and one side can be lifted off, revealing the record which can then be put back together. White created the triple decker record himself and copyrighted it in 2010.
Pictures of the triple decker record:

It's a great little gritty sounding blues rock song, it's what White does best, mixing rock and blues and other genres into something unique and new, gotta love it.


Enjoy ; )