Mountain - Southbound Train

This is a live performance by the classic hard rock 70's group Mountain playing the song "Southbound Train" live.
The performance is from the infamous 1969 Woodstock Festival. A 3 day festival that boasted many famous artists, in many different genres.
Mountain is a band that descents from Long Island, New York. With singer/guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi, and drummer N.D. Smart the band was formed in 1969.
It's a great performance, by a great band, from a groovy festival.

Enjoy ; )

James Brown - Get Up Offa That Thing

This is a live performance by James Brown the Godfather of soul performing his classic song "Get Up Offa That Thing". The performance is from The Late Show with David Letterman.
The song was originally released on 7" vinyl in 1976. The original single was a two-part single with a B-side titled "Release the Pressure". "Release the Pressure" is actually just a continuation of the same song, but with different lyrics. The song became a huge hit and one of Brown's biggest hits in his late 70's career. It also later became a very common number to appear in Brown's live sets.
The song was produced by James Brown and written by Deanna Brown, Diendra Brown, and Yamma Brown.
I really love this song and performance. I love how much energy Brown puts in to this performance at his age. And the way he still controls the band; a true band leader. And the saxophone solo, man that was amazing. Also love how the song has a lot of musical breaks and stops that are very fast, and how it usually starts off again with the guitar doing something with a wah wah pedal. This is how funk is supposed to sound. It's grand and I love it.

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 ; )

Heart - Barracuda

This is a live performance from the band Barracuda. They play their classic 1977 single Barracuda live many years later at this gig. The performance is from a new concert DVD and Blu-ray recently released by the band promoted by the Eagle Rock company.
The song Barracuda is a hard rock classic, with a driving riff and an extensive use of natural harmonics both in the solo and the intro of the song, it has a unique sound. The song was written as a protest towards the record company Mushroom Records who had publicised a story about a lesbian relationship between the two leaders of the band (who are sisters, so it was a dumb, immature and respectless move towards the band). The Wilson sisters have often stated in interviews that they'd listen to music like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. They'd admire the bands, but not like many of their friends who thought they were sexy, and wanted to be with them. Ann and Nancy wanted to be like them, and be independent recording artists in their own rights which was tough in the 70's as women.
The song was also ranked as the 34th best hard rock song ever by VH1 and their viewers who decided on an online poll.
The song was also used at (and is still used at) The Republican National Convention. Sarah Palin had the nickname Barracuda in high school (due to her sports involvement). And they purchased the rights to the song. The Wilson sisters disproved of this, and in an open letter asked for them to stop using the song. This didn't work as they had legally purchased the rights to the song and were paying royalties to the band every time they used it. Other band members have said that it was a good thing, because it, in the end, ended up putting focus on Obama's campaign, due to the media coverage of the band's disapproval, and the fact that they got royalties. The Wilson sisters however still disprove of this.
It's a great song that's been used literally everywhere, and just keeps getting better with time.

Enjoy ; )

Foghat - Slow Ride

This is yet another 70's hard rock song, and it's awesome. It's a performance by the British blues-rock band Foghat. They perform the song "Slow Ride" which was also their most successful song. It was composed by Dave Peverett, and recorded by the band. It was first released in 1975 on the band's album "Fool for the City". It was named the 45th best hard rock song ever by VH1 and its viewers.
It's a nice and simple song mainly driven by a simple riff focused around an A power-chord. The thing that makes it an awesome performance is the slide guitar played by Rod Price. He really does a good job, and without that it would have been a boring performance. It's an interesting approach to slide guitar, it isn't slow, and much more a rock 'n' roll style of slide playing, in many ways similar to that of Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top. But a great performance, of a great song.

Enjoy ; )

Whitesnake - Still of the Night

This is a live performance by the British hard rock/metal band Whitesnake performing one of their classic songs "Still of the Night". The song was released in 1987 on their self-entitled album. It did fairly well in the charts, and in 2009 it was ranked the 27th best hard rock song by the VH1 network and its viewers.
The song kinda fuses the early blues vibe and influence with a more modern metal style. And that's just what it sounds like, you end up with this sweet hard rock song, with distorted guitars, pinch harmonics, awesome vocal performance and a sound that's both unique and totally familiar.
The song has also been stated to sound like the Zeppelin song "Black Dog", and I agree, but that's not a bad thing. First off, the riff from "Black Dog" does sound somewhat similar, but it is much more complicated than the riff in "Still of the Night". Besides what's wrong with drawing influence from Led Zeppelin, all 70's/80's bands should do that. There's influence and then plagiarism, and this is definitely just influence, well done Whitesnake.
It's a great song, and to this day it is still used as Whitesnake's encore at concerts, and with good reason, what an awesome way to end a show.
They really perform in this clip, and give 100 %. The fans are into it, and joins in on singing, the guitar parts rock, the melodic middle session rocks and David Coverdale does a fucking amazing job on the vocals. Truly an awesome performance.

Enjoy ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )

B.B. King - The Thrill Is Gone

This is a performance from "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", it features B.B. King performing his classic "The Thrill Is Gone". The song was written by Rick Darnell and Roy Hawkins in 1951, but popularized by B.B. King in the 70's.
B.B. tells the story that he had been jamming on the tune for some time, and tried to work it out. When he finally recorded it he didn't know it would be one of the songs that helped to plunge him into mainstream music and cross over. The original studio recording from B.B. had an added string section that also helped with mainstream audiences.
A great tune!

Enjoy ; )