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 ; )

Led Zeppelin – Ten Years Gone

This is a live performance by the British rock band Led Zeppelin they play the song “Ten Years Gone” live.
The song originally appeared on the band’s 1975 album “Physical Graffiti”. The song is credited to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. It was originally intended to be an instrumental piece composed by Page, but Plant later added the lyrics and made the song what it is. The lyrics are about Plant’s relationship to a girl who ten years earlier had forced him to choose between her or his music.
When playing the song live it was done by Page using a Telecaster with a b-bender and bassist John Paul Jones playing the rest of the parts on a three neck guitar featuring a 12-string, a 6-string, a mandolin, and bass pedals. Truly great measures to get the live performance right.
It’s a great song. I really love Page’s approach to playing the b-bender getting a sort of Eastern sound from it. It’s a great performance by a legendary band.

Enjoy ; )

Guns N' Roses - Civil War

This is a live performance by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses doing a live performance of their song "Civil War".
The song was originally released on the 1990 compilation "Nobody's Child: Romanian Angel", but more famously in 1991 on the album "Use Your Illusion II". It's an anti-war protest song which uses the dual meaning of the word 'civil' to get the message get across. The song was written by, Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan and it was released as a single in 1993.
I really love how Slash opens the song with the intro riff from "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Hendrix and also ends the song on this riff. An homage to Hendrix is always welcome in my book, and it fits the song very well. It's a great song and a great performance.

Enjoy ; )

The Doors - The End

This is a live performance by the American rock band The Doors they play the song "The End" live from the Hollywood Bowl.
The song was originally written by Jim Morrison about a break-up he had experienced, but through months of playing the song live it evolved into a 12 minute opus. The song was released in 1967 on the band's self-titled album. The song would close the band's sets after it's release.
The song's sound comes from guitarist Robby Krieger using a double drop D guitar tuning and and using a harmonic minor scale resembling Indian and raga based music. The crescendos John Densmore plays on his drums also resemble Indian rhythms.
It's a great song and it really has a very interesting set of lyrics very open to read in to.
It's a great song, by a great band.

Enjoy ; )

Sarah Vaughan - Misty

This is a live performance by American jazz singer Sarah Vaughan doing her version of the classic jazz standard "Misty". This performance is from Tokyo, Japan, 1990. This was one of her last gigs in her career, as she got ill with lounge cancer around 1989. These Japanese tour dates were her last completed gigs in her career. And she sings it so wonderfully, her illness doesn't even show a bit.
The song was written by Erroll Garner in 1954. It was originally an instrumental, but lyrics were added later on by Johnny Burke. The song has been done by many great singer, including: Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Lloyd Prince, and Ray Stevens. And Sarah Vaughan of course.
It's a beautiful song, and Sarah sings it like no one else!

Enjoy ; )

David Bowie - Fame

This is a live performance filmed by the BBC in 2000 of David Bowie performing the song "Fame" live.
The song was first released in 1975, and when it was released as a single it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by David Bowie, John Lennon, and Carlos Alomar. Alomar came up with the guitar riff, Bowie wrote the lyrics, and Lennon came up with the title, he didn't have that much to do with the writing of this number, but still got a writing credit.
It's a great song with a really good groove, I really digg it.

Enjoy ; )

George Harrison - Beware of Darkness

This is a live performance by George Harrison playing the song "Beware of Darkness". He's backed up by a big band, and Leon Russel also comes in and sings part of the lyrics.
The song was originally released on Harrison's solo album "All Things Must Pass" which was the first ever triple LP by a solo artist. "Beware of Darkness" was written by Harrison.
This performance is from The Concert for Bangladesh which was a benefit concert arranged by Harrison and Ravi Shankar. Click here to read more detailed about The Concert for Bangladesh.

The clip above is yet another version of the song. This is the version from the Concert for George. The song is sung by Eric Clapton who I think does a great job and really does the song justice. This was the first time I ever heard the song, so forgive me for being a bit biased towards this version.
What really makes this song special though, are the lyrics. They're so innocent and pure. A quality that a lot of Harrison's work has, and one of the reasons why he's such a great song writer.
It's a great song with a beautiful set of lyrics, listen to both versions, it's worth it.

Enjoy ; )

Elvis Costello - Sulphur to Sugarcane

This is a live performance by British singer-songwriter Elvis Costello doing the song "Sulphur to Sugarcane" live on his television show "Spectacle". The performance is from the songwriters circle edition of the programme.
The song is from Costello's 2009 studio album "Secret, Profane & Sugarcane". (Cover art work embeded below)

The album was recorded in Nashville and was produced by T-Bone Burnett. The album features Americana, bluegrass, and country, of course with Costello's lyrics.
This song, however, was co-written by T-Bone Burnett who besides being a producer co-wrote this song, and played on the album.
It's a great song, and this performance is delightful and simple. It's basically just Costello and his backing guitarist for this show John Leventhal playing, and Costello singing. Leventhal does a great job adding that electric country sound to the song with simple soloing and rhythm parts throughout, very impressive.

Enjoy ; )

Motörhead - Killed by Death

This is a live performance by heavy metal band Motörhead playing their classic song "Killed by Death" live.
The song was released in 1984 on both 7" and 12" vinyl. It peaked at #51 on the UK Singles Chart. The single also had a music video, it's pretty cheesy, but pretty hilarious as well (click here to check out the music video). The song is credited to: Lemmy, Phil Campbell, Würzel, and Pete Gill.
It's a great song, straight forward rock 'n' roll with a lot of sexual innuendo in the lyrics, great song and performance.

Enjoy ; )

Aerosmith - Sunshine

Aerosmith - Sunshine by Dihtag
This is the music video to the song "Sunshine" by American hard rock group Aerosmith. The song is off the group's 2001 album "Just Push Play". The song was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and song collaborator and producer Marti Frederiksen.
The song's lyrics have a lot of allusions to the Alice in Wonderland tale, as does the music video through a visual medium obviously.
"Sunshine" is a street term for LSD, and the lyrics mention eating the mushroom which can have a LSD-like effect. But on the other hand the lyric "Sunshine, the kind that everybody knows" may suggest other wise.
A good and descent song with nice melody that is very catchy, and has a good video. A really good Aerosmith song.

Enjoy ; )

Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry

This is a live performance by the Danish alternative band "Kashmir" playing their 2003 single "Surfing The Warm Industry". The song is off the band's "Zitilites" album.
It's a great performance of a great song. The song also had a really good music video. Click here to check it out. It's an animated video that tells the story of the song which is that a woman gets a job in a corporation and gets to the top by having sex with her bosses, only to then blow up the top floor at a party because she was a terrorist. It's a really great video and really worth checking out.

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 ; )

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

This is a live performance by the British rock band Pink Floyd playing live at the "Live 8" benefit concert. The song is the title track to the band's 1975 album. The song is was a Roger Waters and David Gilmour collaboration with lyrics by Roger Waters who writes about alienation from other people. The song is also an homage to former frontman Syd Barret.
The song is very popular and it has been covered by Wyclef Jean whose version ended up at #2 on the UK Singles Chart. His version was released in 2001.
I also recommend checking out this version, click here to go to a video of it. It is a performance by Roger Waters with Eric Clapton accompanying him. It sounds very good and Clapton's subtle lead playing fits the song very well.
A great song and a great performance.

Enjoy ; )

Megadeth - Almost Honest

This is the music video to the Megadeth single "Almost Honest" of their "Cryptic Writings" album. The album was released in 1997 and it was a continuation of the band's transition from a heavy metal sound into a more melodic hard rock sound. The lyrics to the song were written by Dave Mustaine the band's front man and the music was written by Mustaine and lead guitarist Marty Friedman.
Friedman has also stated in interviews that this was in fact his favourite song to perform live. He really enjoyed hearing it on the radio and got to use his favourite effect pedal for the solo.
The music video is nothing special. Basically just the band performing and then cutting back and forth between that and some snowboarding sequences. Also some of the video is shot with a camera in front of a TV playing the footage so it switches from good to bad video quality in the video which is an interesting effect.
It's a very good hard rock song and it even has some pop elements. A great song.

Enjoy ; )

Isaac Hayes - Soulville

This is a live performance by soul music legend Isaac Hayes playing the song "Soulville" live in concert.
The song is from the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film "Shaft". The most famous song of that soundtrack of course being the Academy Award nominated "Theme from Shaft" famous for it's heavy use of wah-wah pedal and somewhat cheesy lyrics. Click here for a performance of "Theme from Shaft". The soundtrack only contained three songs with vocals, the rest of it were instrumentals. The last song with vocals was "Do Your Thing".
It's a great performance and Hayes really impresses with his musical abilities. As he's playing the saxophone on this song. In the later years of his career he'd usually stick to playing piano. The horns would come from a three piece keyboard section Hayes used on the road.
But a great performance of a really nice song. And this song has some pretty good lyrics.

Enjoy ;-)

Queen – Tie Your Mother Down

This is a live performance by British rock band Queen performing their classic song “Tie Your Mother Down” live at Wembley from 1986.
The song is written by guitarist Brain May who wrote it on holiday in Tenerife where he came up with the riff to the song on an acoustic Spanish guitar. He sung the lyrics “tie your mother down” on top of it, but at this time he considered these lyrics a joke. In a radio interview May has admitted that the main riff for the song was inspired by Rory Gallagher’s “Morning Sun” that he recorded with his first band Taste from their 1970 “On The Boards” album.
It’s a great rock ‘n’ roll song with a catchy and excellent riff that drives the song all the way through. A great song and a great performance.

Enjoy ;-)

AC/DC – Whole Lotta Rosie

This is a live performance by Australian hard rock/ rock ‘n’ roll band AC/DC performing their classic song “Whole Lotta Rosie”. The performance is from 1977.
The song originally appeared on the band’s fourth Australian release “Let There Be Rock” released in Australia in 1977.
The song was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott. The lyrics are about Bon Scott’s on experience with a heavy set woman. This woman has never been identified though.
The song has become very popular and the band often plays it live. It has also appeared on every official live album released by the band. Also in versions sung by Brain Johnson. When they play the song live today it is usually accompanied by a huge blowup version of Rosie as a stage effect.
The song is very popular and has been played live by a lot of bands, bands like: Anthrax, Airborne and Guns N’ Roses.
It’s a great song and a really good performance by the guys.

Enjoy ;-)

Metallica – Enter Sandman

This is a live performance by American heavy metal band Metallica playing their infamous song “Enter Sandman”. The performance is from the British TV-show “Later with Jools Holland”.
The song is off Metallica’s 1991 album “Metallica”. It was released as the first single from the album the same year and in that way it started off several years of success and touring with this album.
The song is credited to Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. It is perhaps the most well known Metallica song ever and it has appeared on every Metallica live album and DVD since 1991.
The main guitar riff was suggested by Kirk Hammett and then slightly altered by Hetfield. It was one of the last songs on the album to have lyrics and the original lyrics were actually much darker and about crib death. Producer Bob Rock and Lars Ulrich asked Hetfield to try and write better lyrics for the song and thus he came up with the lyrics that ended up on the album.
It’s a great song and probably Metallica’s best crowd pleaser at gigs.

Enjoy ;-)

Rainbow - Long Live Rock 'n' Roll

This is a live performance by the classic rock band Rainbow playing their classic song "Long Live Rock 'n' Roll" from their 1978 album of the same name.
The band Rainbow was formed by guitarist Rithchie Blackmore in 1975 shortly after he left Deep Purple. This performance is from 1977 and it features the line-up from the album that also was released the following year. This line-up of course also very famous for featuring legendary front man and singer Ronnie James Dio who also played with Black Sabbath for a period and had his own solo career for a long time. Recently he passed away after struggling with cancer. Dio didn't just do the front man thing when he was with the group, which he was from 1975-79, he also wrote all of the lyrics for the band in this period.
It's a great song and an amazing performance from a band that seems to be on fire. Also it's a great anthem with simple lyrics that were made for the audience to shout a long which they do and are encouraged to by Dio. A great performance by a great band.

Enjoy ; )

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 ; )