Eric Clapton - Have You Ever Loved a Woman

This is a live performance by blues guitarist Eric Clapton performing his version of the classic blues standard "Have You Ever Loved a Woman".
The song is a blues standard written by Billy Myles. It was first recorded by Freddie King in 1960. It was released as a single by Freddie King, but didn't become a huge single.
It was then since covered by Derek and the Dominos, ergo Clapton on guitar, for their 1970 album "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs". Clapton has since made the song a regular on his live sets, and it appears on the following live recordings by Clapton: "E. C. Was Here", "24 Nights", "Live In Hyde Park", "One More Car, One More Rider", and "Crossroads Guitar Festival 2004". So basically almost all live recordings by him.
This version is from the unreleased film "Nothing But The Blues" directed by Martin Scorsese. It's a great performance by Clapton, this set-up has a horn section and Clapton is playing a Gibson ES-335. I love how he on this performance actually sings using octaves in his voice, it sounds really good.

The clip above is a piece of footage from the 2004 performance of the song. It's Billy Preston's organ solo which is one thing the other performance is missing. It's a great solo, and whenever Preston does an organ solo on this he just gives 110 %, a great little piece of footage to go along with this clip.
It's a great song and a great performance by Clapton. (And check out the organ solo too, it's well worth it!)

Enjoy ; )

Eric Clapton - River Of Tears

This is a performance from Buenos Aires in 2001 by Clapton performing the song "River Of Tears". It's a pretty slow song with a lot of classic Clapton solos, played with a lot of emotion, in that Clapton style that seems to be his trademark. These are the kind of solos you'd expect from Clapton slow and kinda mellow while still played with the utmost perfection.
The song is very long, and also features a very beautiful part with the Hammond Organ. It's a very pretty song, and it perfectly displays all trades and sides of Clapton as an artist. His singing on this song is also that special brand of heartfelt and soulful singing where you can just feel the emotion in his voice, it's wonderful, just wonderful.
This is a great song, and probably not one of Clapton's most famous songs. It's a great performance by both Clapton and his wonderful band.

Enjoy ; )

Deep Purple - Highway Star

Okay, thought it was about time for a little rock 'n' roll. This is a performance from 1972, Deep Purple perform their classic song "Highway Star" in Denmark. The song and lyrics are pretty straight forward rock 'n' roll, but the organ solo and guitar solo are not your typical rock solos. They stray from the classic pentatonic scale, and Ritchie Blackmore wanted a sound inspired by Bach.
It's a great song, and I really love it. I think it's one of Purple's best songs, and this performance is energetic and perfect, and they all deliver. Ritchie plays great, Gillan sings well and Lord delivers an amazing organ solo that's easily the highlight of the performance.

Enjoy ; )

Santana - Oye Como Va

This is a performance from the "Live By Request" DVD featuring Santana performing live, and with some guest artists. It's a great performance, the band is just perfectly in sync, and everything rocks. Santna's guitar solo is amazing, and the solo on the Hammond Organ is just the highlight of the performance.
DVD can be purchased; click here for USA and here for Europe.

The song was originally done by Latin jazz and mambo musician Tito Puente. His version is a little slower and features other instruments, like a horn section and an acoustic piano. Here Santana talks about how he rearranged the song.
It's a great song and a smoking performance.

Enjoy ; )