Eric Clapton – Malted Milk (Robert Johnson)

This is a live performance by blues guitarist Eric Clapton playing his rendition of the classic Robert Johnson song “Malted Milk”. Clapton has been a fan of Johnson since very early in his beginning to play the guitar. He has also stated in many interviews his admiration for Johnson and his ability to play like he does on his own. (I’ve embedded the original version of this below).

Clapton’s version is very similar to the original which has sort of always been Clapton’s mission in covering Johnson. Playing it either similar to him or in a fashion that you can still hear that it’s Robert Johnson music.
This version that Clapton plays here is from the Martin Scorsese documentary “Nothing But The Blues”. Another great version of this by Clapton can be found on his 1992 “Unplugged” album.
It’s a great song. I really love the little motive that plays after the line “spooks around my bed”, at the same time, it’s traditional and totally outside what you’d normally do in a blues. The genius of Robert Johnson!

Enjoy ; )

Johnny Copeland - Flying High

This is an acoustic live performance by Texas blues artist Johnny Copeland. He plays the song "Flying High" on a TV-recording (from 1989). It's a self-accompanied acoustic performance, it always fascinated me when artists did self-accompanied performances. The song it self I haven't been able to find any information on. I checked all of Copeland's tracks on Amazon and it looks like this one never made it on to any of his studio, compilation or live albums that they distribute at least.
It's a traditional blues in E though. He keeps it simple, but very effective. The rhythm and timing is spot on and the aggressive approach of using a pick to really make it loud really sounds great.
It's a great performance by a great blues man!

Enjoy ; )

Joe Bonamassa - Woke Up Dreaming

This is a live performance by blues and rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa playing his original song "Woke Up Dreaming".
The song was originally released on Bonamassa's 2003 album "Blues Deluxe" which was his fourth album as a solo artist. The song is sort of Bonamassa's version of an acoustic blues song, but with his own significant and apparent touch. For one it's very fast, but still follows a somewhat familiar chord structure again with some apparent differences from your run of the mill blues, this is definitely unique and different while still familiar which is quite an accomplishment in a song.
He also explains this as he's getting into the tune in this performance. The performance is from the series "Guitar Center Sessions" where the artists switch between talk and performance. He kind of combines it in the beginning as he explains how this song came to be.
It's a great song, I really love the speed and truly unique sound it has. Also just watching Bonamassa playing is amazing, his technique is amazing and his control of volume on an acoustic instrument is amazing as well.
It's a great performance of a really good song.

Enjoy ; )

Rory Gallagher - Banker's Blues

This is a live performance by Rory Gallagher, doing an acoustic blues classic on his own. It's a solo performance, just Rory and his guitar, it's so fantastic what only a select few performers can do when they sit on their own and do an self accompanied acoustic blues performance. It's a tradition of the 1920's and 30's, and so many people today aren't able to do it. Very few people listen to the roots of the blues, and perform them as well as Gallagher did.
The song Banker's Blues was originally recorded by Big Bill Broonzy, a legendary player of the acoustic blues era of the 1930's. He's not as famous as Robert Johnson, but still quite known within the guitar playing community. And both Gallagher and Clapton have cited him as an influence on their playing styles.
The song is about women and how they'll steal your money, if you have them in the bank, a quite simple theme. The song follows the same chord structure as "Key to the Highway", but is still different. It's sort of like Son House's "Death Letter" sounds like "Rollin' and Tumblin'", but they are different songs.
It's a great song, and a great performance. I've embeded a version of the original recording beneath, the sound quality isn't good, and you can hear the needle scratching the record, but it's still good.


Enjoy ; )

Motörhead - Ace of Spades (Acoustic) (100th post)

This is a recently recorded acoustic version of the Motörhead song "Ace of Spades", they recorded it for a European beer commercial, and took the tempo down to a slow blues progression. Really shows the relation between genres, when you can just slow something down and add an acoustic guitar instead of an electric, and boom heavy metal turned into slow acoustic blues.
The top box is the new single in its full length, and the two videos are the commercial in which the song is featured, and a behind the scenes following Motörhead as they recorded the song.
I really like this song, it really shows that Lemmy has a broad style, and can play many different types of music. This is just pure acoustic blues, and I love it. It both features acoustic guitars playing the slow main rhythm part, a blues harp solo by Lemmy and a Dobro solo by Phil Campbell. It's a great song, and it really shows that Motörhead is much more than a metal band.

OutKast - Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)

(Haven't been able to find a version of this that is embeddable, so click here to go to the youtube page of the song)
This is the video for the song "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me) by the rap duo OutKast. It's a song built around a classic 12-bar blues and it's sung by André 3000. It's nice to see newer artists incorporate blues elements into their songs, and especially when it's done well like this. It's basically the 12-bar in the front with a funky electric beat, and a little synthesizer towards the end.
The subject matter of the lyrics are also very bluesy, it's simple, but tells a story. It tells the story of a character trying to break free and gain independence, by leaving family, friends and the home town which is just classic blues. A lot of blues texts deal with trying to break free and leave, songs like "Dust My Broom", "Crossroads" and "I'm Leaving You (Commit a Crime)", to name a few.
The video displays André 3000 playing the song in an old house in the middle of nowhere that starts to overflow with water. There is debate of the meaning of the video. Some fans believe that the proximity of the video and the flowing water are visual allusions to the flooding that occurred as an aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Other fans see the water as an image of the blues, and that the blues can overflow and choke someone's life.
(Another artist who sung about hurricanes was Lightnin' Hopkins in the song "Hurricane Beulah" click here for that performance)

(A couple of pictures of André 3000, the first one is a capture from the video. Thought I'd at least give some sort of visual aid to this post!)
Any ways.

It's a great song, and it's nice to see talented people like OutKast doing a bit of blues.

Enjoy ; )

Bonnie Raitt - Love Me Like a Man

This is a 1995 performance from Bonnie Raitt, she plays the song "Love Me Like a Man", an acoustic traditional slow blues song with a traditional non slide blues solo from Raitt. This is just pure blues, and it absolutely proves that Bonnie deserves a rank among the best. This is just pure blues, it's acoustic and old school, gotta love that. She is only accompanied by a bass, and supplies both the singing and sweet guitar playing herself. Truly an amazing performance from a female blues singer with a delightfully raspy beautiful voice and guitar playing skills that match the skill of all the male blues players out there. Let's face it, there aren't a lot of female guitarists doing the blues thing which just furthermore makes Bonnie unique, there aren't no one who is doing what she's doing. She's amazing, gotta love Bonnie Raitt!

Enjoy ; )

The White Stripes - Ball and Biscuit

This is a performance by legendary alternative/blues/garage rock band The White Stripes. They could probably be attached to even more genres. They perform the song "Ball and Biscuit" from the album "Elephant" released in 2003. The band consists of Jack White on guitar and Meg White on drums. That's it, two members, and two instruments. The weird thing is that it's kind of a genius thing, because it really works. The song "Ball and Biscuit" is clearly a song deeply inspired by the very early acoustic blues the likes of Robert Johnson and Son House, but in an electric version. Jack has, by many, been said to have revitalised the guitar, and I kinda understand what they mean. He draws influence from multiple genres, and innovatively mixes them all into his own, mostly electric sound. In many ways doing the same thing as Clapton was doing when he recorded Crossroads.
This song is delightfully simple, simple rhythm and simple chord structure, with a slightly more difficult solo. It's reminiscent to the old Delta Blues because it's so simple, there's no bass, and Meg White's simple drumming is kinda like a foot tap of a self accompanied acoustic blues man. Jack also has to play the bass part, the rhythm part and the solos. This makes for a very interesting and innovative trade of playing, it makes him unique. This is a great song, and it pays tribute whilst still being new and innovative, well done Jack!

Enjoy ; )

Son House - Death Letter

This is an acoustic solo performance by legendary blues musician Son House. House isn't as widely known and famous as Robert Johnson who was also one of the old dogs when it comes to blues. Son House was born in 1902 and got to have a long life lasting to 1988 which meant he got to be around the greats and even influence some of them. Many people believe that House has influenced Johnson, in fact Johnson incorporated some of "Death Letter" into his own blues classic "Walking Blues". Son House, because of his old age, was also one of the people who helped spread the myth that Johnson had sold his soul to the devil in trade of his marvellous musical abilities.
The song Death Letter is about a man who learns about the death of the woman he loves in a letter. It is a very dark and depressive song, as the narrator views her dead body in the morgue and attends the funeral only to return home in a state of depression.
The song and Son House himself also gained some new notoriety in recent years due to Jack White being heavily influenced by him. The White Stripes has also covered Death Letter live on numerous occasions. It's a great song with a simple rhythm. One man and his guitar, that's what the blues is all about.

Enjoy ; )

Motörhead - Whorehouse Blues

This is a performance from the 2007 at Montreux, Motörhead performs their song "Whorehouse Blues" from the 2004 album "Inferno". The song is an acoustic blues song reflecting on 30 years on the road sometimes being and hanging out with the low end of society. Motörhead is a hard working band, and a band that lives for the road. They've had a career that's been going up and down, and sometimes it was even difficult to get gigs in some parts of Europe. So Motörhead certainly hasn't had it easy all the time.
On the song Lemmy plays harmonica in a traditional straight forward blues style, Mikkey Dee (the drummer) plays rhythm guitar whilst keeping a simple beat with a bass drum, and Phil Campbell plays along the rhythm and also does a solo. This is a very good acoustic blues track, of you like this kind of thing you'll enjoy it.

Enjoy ; )

Lightnin' Hopkins - Hurricane Beulah

This is an acoustic performance by blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins who, as mentioned in earlier posts, was an influence on Stevie Ray Vaughan and many other players.
Here he is performing an acoustic version of the song "Hurricane Beulah", a song about a real category 5 hurricane that hit America in 1967.
It's a great song and a great performance by Lightnin'. He a really good blues man, just him and his guitar that's all it takes, that's all he needs to be great.

Enjoy ; )

Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train a Comin

This is an acoustic recording of Hendrix playing his classic song "Hear My Train a Comin" on a twelve string acoustic guitar.
The song appears on the 1994 posthumous album "Blues", the acoustic version opens the album, and the electric version is the last track on the album.
It's a great song, both the acoustic and electric. The electric has that energized innovative Hendrix sound, but I personally prefer the acoustic, it's more emotional.
A great song, and a great performance, a man and his guitar, just beautiful.

Enjoy ; )