Lynrd Skynrd - Sweet Home Alabama

This is a live performance by Southern rock band Lynrd Skynrd playing their song "Sweet Home Alabama" live. The song originally appeared on the band's second album titled "Second Helping" which was released in 1974. The song was the second single released from the album, prior to this "Don't Ask Me No Questions" was released and the third single of the album was "Free Bird".
The song was surrounded by controversy due to the fact that it was written as a reply to a song by Neil Young. Also the lyrics were interoperated by the public media to "support" or at least reference a former governor of Alabama who was pro segregation. I could write much more about this, but I don't feel like it's necessary. I'm not American nor was I around when this controversy occurred. To me it's always simply been a good song with lyrics that you can sing along to and a great instantly recognisable guitar riff. Now that's the recipe for a good song in my book.

Enjoy ; )

Foghat - Fool for the City

This is a live performance by British rock band Foghat performing the song "Fool for the City" from their 1975 album. "Fool for the City" was the title track and second single from the album. The most famous track from the album is their signature song "Slow Ride".
The album is also the band's only platinum selling album. "Slow Ride" reached no. 20 on the mainstream pop-charts, but "Fool for the City" didn't do as well and only reached no. 45 on the same charts.
It's a good and steady performance and song. Personally I'm not the biggest fan of Rod's lead playing. I'm more a fan of his slide work which is stunning, fast and done to perfect precision, now that's impressive. But a very good performance none the less.

Enjoy ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )

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 ; )