Joe Bonamassa - High Water Everywhere

This is a live performance by guitarist Joe Bonamassa playing the classic blues song "High Water Everywhere" live. The performance is from the North Sea Jazz Festival.
The song was originally written by blues singer Charley Patton. The theme of the song is the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 which devastated Louisiana. Bob Dylan paid tribute to the song on his 2001 album "Love and Theft" with the song "High Water (For Charley Patton).
The song was initially released by Bonamassa on his 2006 album "You & Me". It is in fact the opening track for that album. Bonamssa has had the number in his live repertoire for quite some time and a live version appeared on the DVD of his concert at The Royal Albert Hall released in 2009.
It's a great song, and Bonamassa does a great job of playing it live.

Enjoy ; )

Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Lead Belly)

This is a live performance by American grunge band Nirvana playing the song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". The performance is from the band's MTV Unplugged performance from 1993.
The song is an American folk song which dates back to around the 1870's. It is also known under the alternate titles: "Black Girl" and "In the Pines". The person who is most commonly associated with the song is Huddie Leadbetter aka Lead Belly. He recorded various versions of the song throughout the 1940's and it is also this version that Nirvana covers and re-interprets in their own way. (Original Lead Belly version embeded below).

The song has been done by a long list of artists, including: Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Hole, Grateful Dead, and Dolly Parton.
I love both versions and I really think that what Nirvana did was very interesting. They took Lead Belly's original arrangement of the song and used it with the set-up of two guitars, bass, drums, and a cello. It sounds beautiful and it definitely captures some of that beautiful energy of the original recording. A great acoustic performance.

Enjoy ; )

Keith Richards - Connection

This is a live performance by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards playing the song "Connection" live. It's from some sort of gig called "Sevilla's Guitar Legends" and the members look like a lot of guys from Richard's X-Pensive Winos project, I know I recognize Steve Jordan on drums. We also get a quick glimpse of Steve Cropper playing in the background. And in fact after the song even more famous people takes the stage, ready for an encore all star jam sort of thing, among them is Bob Dylan. As far as I can find out, the concert is from 1992.
The song "Connection" was originally a song recorded by The Rolling Stones on their 1967 album "Between the Buttons". The song was written by Jagger and Richards, but mostly by Richards. They both sing on it, but it has since become one of those songs Richards would do solo, both with his solo projects and on stage with the Stones. In fact in the Martin Scorsese film "Shine a Light" Jagger leaves the stage, and Richards then proceeds to take the microphone and centre stage to sing the song.
It's a good song and a good performance.

Enjoy ; )

Traveling Wilburys - Handle with Care

This is the music video to the song "Handle with Care" by the English-American supergroup Traveling Wilburys consisting of members: George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne accompanied by drummer Jim Keltner.
The song is from the band's first album "Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1" released in 1988. The writing credit of the song is attributed to all five members.
It's a really good song. I really love the simple slide guitar Harrison adds to this. Also really love the way they all sing on it, in my book Orbison steals the show though with his singing, so beautiful.
A great song, they sure don't make 'em like this no more!

Enjoy ; )

Richie Havens - "Tupelo Honey" & "Just Like a Woman"

This is a live performance by folk icon Richie Havens. In this performance he plays two songs, first he plays the classic Van Morrison song "Tupelo Honey", and then he switches into "Just Like a Woman" originally written and performed by Bob Dylan. Both covers are great.
Richie is a folk icon. He is known for his unique approach to playing the guitar. He uses open tunings very percussively through his strumming. He was also the guy who opened the original famed Woodstock Festival.
The first song "Tupelo Honey" was originally written and performed by Van Morrison. It was from the album also titled "Tupelo Honey" which was released in 1971. The song was released as a single in 1972.
"Just Like a Woman" is a Bob Dylan song. It was first released on Dylan's 1966 album "Blonde on Blonde". I really love Haven's take on this song and I highly recommend checking out his performance from Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert because it's amazing.
Richie Havens is a unique artist with his own flair and sound and that's what I enjoy so much about him. It's folk at it's best.

Enjoy ; )

Eric Clapton - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

This is a live performance by legendary guitarist Eric Clapton playing his version of the classic Bob Dylan song "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right". The performance is from the concert celebrating Dylan's 30th Anniversary as a musician. (That particular concert was mentioned Friday's post Click here for that post and to read more about this particular concert).
The song "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" was originally released in 1963 in a version done by Dylan. This version was very different from Clapton's approach and was more folk and country sounding. It was released on the album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan".
The song has been done by a huge number of artists, including: Johnny Cash, Cher, Elvis Presley, Flatt and Scruggs, Joan Baez, Social Distortion, John Mayer, The Allman Brothers, and Rory Gallagher. And many more. (The Gallagher version is embeded below)

It's a great song and what I really love about Clapton's version is that he really took it and made it his own. It's a Clapton blues tune through his hands and voice and I love that.

Enjoy ; )

Lou Reed - Foot of Pride

This is a live performance by rock musician Lou Reed performing his version of the classic Bob Dylan song "Foot of Pride". Reed is best known for his gig as singer and guitarist for the group "Velvet Underground" and for his successful solo career as well. The performance is from the 30th Anniversary concert celebrating the musical life of Bob Dylan, the performance was released as a CD and also released on DVD. It was recorded October 16, 1992 and released later in 1993.
All of the songs were written by Dylan, but Dylan only appeared on a few selected tracks himself.
It's a great performance, I really love how there's a lot of lyrics which makes for quite a long performance. Lou sort of talk sings a lot of it, but still doesn't loose melody, very impressive. The guitar solo on the song is done by G. E. Smith who also served as the musical director for the show. A great performance.

Enjoy ; )

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 ; )

Johnny Winter – Highway 61 Revisited

This is a live performance by American blues guitarist Johnny Winter doing his rendition of the classic Bob Dylan song “Highway 61 Revisited”.
This was the title track of Dylan’s 1965 album. The lyrics of the song all revolve around various problems that eventually end up being solved on Highway 61.
Johnny Winter did his cover of the song in 1969 and it became a career defining track for Winter. It was on his album “Second Winter”. The song became a live standard for Winter.
The song has also been recorded by P.J. Harvey and Billy Joel.
I love Johnny’s version and the slide guitar he’s playing that just seems to fit in perfectly with the original feel of the song. A great song and a great performance.

Enjoy ;-)

Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower

This is a performance by Hendrix of the classic Dylan song "All Along The Watchtower". The song was originally recorded by Dylan, but the most famous version of the song has become the one done by Hendrix on his 1968 album "Electric Ladyland".
Hendrix was very influenced by Dylan, because he has said in interviews that Dylan was the one who gave him courage to start singing, so definitely thank you for that Dylan. Before Hendrix started playing solo and as leader for his own groups he toured playing the rhythm sections for various bands, including Little Richards band.
This is definitely the most famous rendition of the song, and Dylan (who generally isn't easy to impress) was overwhelmed by this version, and has said that Hendrix with his talent build upon the song and made it better. Dylan took notice of this version, and started doing Hendrix's version live and still does Hendrix's version to this day. So in a way the cover had become the original, or at least been embraced by the original artist.
Hendrix's version is amazing, and he could even do it live which is just even more amazing. This rocks, no doubt about it and it's one of my favourite Hendrix tracks.

Enjoy ; )