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 ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Testify

This is a live performance from blues guitarist extraordinaire Stevie Ray Vaughan playing the instrumental song Testify live from the El Mocambo venue in Canada.
The song originally consisted of two different recordings of the same song, but with different lyrics. They have been dubbed the names Testify Parts I and II. The song was recorded by The Isley Brothers in 1964 who at this time had Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Embeded below is a short clip of the original recording (or at least one of the original recordings with Hendrix on guitar). It sounds different and has lyrics, but you can recognize the riff that Stevie did a take-off on.

Stevie's version was released on the 1983 album Texas Flood and it was the fifth track on this record. It starts out with a stand-alone guitar riff and on the 7th bar the bass and drums kick in and play with the guitar for the rest of the song.
I think it's a very good song, and without Hendrix's version we wouldn't have had Stevie's. Hendrix just seems a bit like he's holding back, he was playing with a group and hadn't branched out as a solo artist at this point. Remember we were still four years away from Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), but he definitely shines on this as well. Stevie's version just sort of became the famous one, and is in my opinion the superior version.
Especially from The El Mocambo gig which is one of the best gigs ever recorded. It's so good, and if the DVD "Live at The El Mocambo" isn't in your collection, it ought to be!!

Enjoy ; )