Beck - "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat"

This is a piece of bootleg footage from a Beck concert. Beck and his band is covering Bob Dylan's song "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat". The performance is from 2008 and the video and audio is pretty good considering the fact that it's a bootleg recording.
The song was originally released on Dylan's 1966 album "Blonde on Blonde. The song features a surreal set of playful lyrics set to a typical electric blues chord progression.
The song is about a woman who wears a leopard skin pill box hat, funny enough. It's an ironic tone and the song sort of mocks the woman. A pill box hat was a popular hat worn by women in the 60's. (Picture below)

The influences on the song was a Lightnin' Hopkins song titled "Automobile Blues". It's a different and new set of lyrics by Dylan, but the rhythm and flow of it sounds similar to the Lightnin' Hopkins song.
It's a great little blues number. I also recommend checking out John Mellencamp's version of this song from Dylan's 30th Anniversary celebration concert. It's a great song and Beck does a great job with it as well.

Enjoy ; )

Ike & Tina Turner - "River Deep - Mountain High"

This is a live performance from the 60's and 70's rock 'n' roll duo Ike & Tina Turner. They play their classic song "River Deep - Mountain High". The performance is from 1971. The song was released as a single in 1966. It flopped in USA, but did very well in the European market peaking at #3 in The UK. It was written by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. It was produced by Phil Spector after his "wall of sound" technique which gave the single a unique and grand sound. Spector has quoted this as his best work as a producer.
It has since become one of Tina's signature songs in her solo career. It has also been covered by a large number of artists, including: Bob Seger, The Shadows, The Supremes, Neil Diamond and Céline Dion. It has also been used in countless music talent shows such as "Idol" and other programmes of that genre.
It's a great song. The performance is okay, but nothing special. I actually think that some of the versions Tina has done in her solo career have been much better. So my advice is: Track down some of those versions instead.

But yeah, enjoy none the less ; )

Iron Butterfly - Easy Rider (Let the Wind Pay the Way)

This is a live performance from 60's band Iron Butterfly. They play the song "Easy Rider (Let the Wind Pay the Way)" often shortened to "Easy Rider". The song appears on the band's 1970 album "Metamorphosis". This live performance is from 1968 which means that they are playing the song prior to recording it. This song was released as a single, but didn't do that well in the charts, it topped at no. 66 on the Billboard Charts and was considered a minor hit. The album is also famous for being one of the first to ever feature talk box on a rock album.
On this song one of the guitarists use slide and the other doesn't. The song has that 60's/70's Middle Eastern sound combined with a more traditional rock sound. Doug Ingle is the lead singer on this song and he also plays the organ on it.
I think it's a pretty good song, and I've always enjoyed it and I hope you will too.

Enjoy ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )

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


Enjoy ; )

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 ; )

The Doors - Light My Fire

This is a performance from of the classic song "Light My Fire", it's probably one of The Doors' most famous tracks, and everyone knows it. It was recorded in 1966 and released as a single in 1967, it was the band's debut record, and it did pretty well.
The song did very well and got a lot of radio play. The radio version was severely cut down, so that it was just under three minutes with almost all of the instrumental breaks cut.
A famous story about the song is the infamous Ed Sullivan appearance which is also a story every one knows. The band was set to perform and the producers asked the band to change the lyrics so it didn't say "girl, we couldn't get much higher". Advertisers had a problem with the somewhat obvious undertones about substance abuse. The band agreed and rehearsed the song with altered lyrics. But, when they did the live performance they kept the original lyrics. Ed was very upset and didn't shake hands with the band when they left the stage and the band also lost a seven episode deal due to the incident.
The song also ranked no. 35 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, a great song.

A great song, and performance, enjoy ; )

Chuck Berry - Maybellene

This is a clip from a live performance by Chuck Berry, I think it's from France (the announcer's accent). It's a great song, adapted from the traditional fiddle tune "Ida Red".
It was recorded by Berry and released in 1955, and is a classic example of early rock 'n' roll, guitar driven, youthful subject matter. Truly a great tune.

Enjoy ; )

John Lee Hooker - Boom Boom

This is a performance from the 60's by blues legend John Lee Hooker. He performs it with an electric guitar accompanied by himself. It's a great performance, and the foot tapping is just excellent and done with perfect timing. It's a nice throw back to the roots of the blues, artists like Robert Johnson who would also tap the rhythm with his foot as he was recording. Now it's just done with an electric guitar instead.
The song also gained some notoriety when featured in "The Blues Brothers", John himself cameos in the film as a South Side Chicago street musician.
A great song, and a great performance.

Enjoy ; )

John Mayer & Eric Clapton - Crossroads

Here's a performance by Eric Clapton and John Mayer. They play the classic Johnson tune "Crossroads". The song was originally made under the title "Cross Road Blues" as a one-person acoustic blues tune by the ahead of his time talented Robert Johnson. The band Cream, of which Clapton was a member, covered the song on their "Wheels of Fire" album in an electrified version coming off the 60's blues vibe in London.
It is a blues classic, and Clapton's version has been covered by numerous artists, including Rush, Elmore James, John Mayer to name a few.

Enjoy ; )

If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day - Eric Clapton live

This clip is taken from Clapton's 2004 performance at the Crossroads guitar festival. It's a great version of this Robert Johnson classic, and showcases what Clapton does best, and have been doing since the early 60's: Electrifying the classic blues tunes and spreading the blues to a wider audience. Clapton also once said that it takes more than one person to duplicate what Johnson was doing in the 20's and 30's, and with this full orchestra he definetely does justice to the original.

Enjoy ; )