Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe

This is a live performance by guitar legend Jimi Hendrix playing his version of the classic song "Hey Joe". The song is from the 1960s and it became a rock standard. The original authorship of the song isn't certain, but the earliest known commercial recording of the song was done by The Leaves in 1965. The most famous version however was Jimi Hendrix's recording from 1966.
The song tells the story of a man who is on the run after shooting his wife. He is planning to go to Mexico on a hideout.
It's a great performance by Hendrix. What I really love about this is the pace of the song, it's quite slow allowing for some awesome soulful soloing by Hendrix.

Above is a version from 2007 featuring former members of Hendrix's band. It features Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell from Hendrix's former band, Steve Winwood on Hammond B3 organ, and Slash on guitar. It's a good version, I especially like Winwood's singing and playing on this. Slash is all right too, but of course no match to Hendrix.
Hendrix really pulls all of the stops on this performance, first playing with his teeth, and then playing the second solo behind his head. It's showmanship, but the crazy thing is that it sounds just as good as if he'd picked it out traditionally. Only Hendrix could pull something like that off and that's why he's a legend.
Being a rock classic and standard, the song has been recorded countless times. It has been recorded by: Cher, Wilson Pickett, Deep Purple,Roy Buchanan, Patti Smith, Seal, Type O Negative, Eddie Murphy, and Robert Plant. It that is only a snippet of the people and artists who have done this song.
I love the Hendrix version of this. And this is a great performance by him, just pouring his soul out through his guitar, truly a legend!

Enjoy ; )

The Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash

This is a live performance by legendary British rock 'n' roll band The Rolling Stones playing their classic song "Jumpin' Jack Flash" live. The performance is from the concert-film "Shine a Light" from 2008 directed by Martin Scorsese.
The song was released in 1968 and it was considered The Rolling Stones' venture back into the rock 'n' roll bluesy sound that they were originally known for. The song was written by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger.
The song has also been recorded by soul diva Aretha Franklin. She did a recording of the song for the Whoopi Goldberg film of the same name. Richards and Ronnie Wood also played the guitar parts on her version.
Other notable covers of the song includes: Leon Russell, Tina Turner, Peter Frampton, Johnny Winter, Motörhead and Guns N' Roses.
It's a great song and the version from "Shine a Light" is an awesome performance of the song as well, with some really good camera angles courtesy of Scorsese. A great performance.

Enjoy ; )

Albert King & The Bluesbreakers - Why Are You So Mean To Me

This is a live performance by blues legend Albert King and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers playing the song "Why Are You So Mean To Me".
The song was originally released as a single in 1959 on the Bobbin label. It is not one of King's most famous songs, but I really like it.
Also the version with the Bluesbreakers is really good. John Mayall's piano and especially his blues harp skills really adds another layer to this great song. This incarnation of The Bluesbreakers featured former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor who does a really good solo on this playing a Stratocaster.
What really impressed me about this though was King's playing at the end of the song. He really plays a lot faster than I've ever heard him play while still keeping the soul alive in his playing. Truly a great performance from all parts. A great performance.

Enjoy ;-)

The Black Crowes - Remedy

This is the music video to the song “Remedy” by the band The Black Crowes.
The song is the second track on the band’s second album “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion” released in 1992. The song is written by Chris and Rich Robinson. The song was very successful and it reached #1 on the Billboard Album Rock Chart and stayed at #1 for 11 weeks. It also peaked at #48 on the Billboard Hot 100.
It’s a great song. I love how they fuse soul music with traditional rock music to make their own sound. When I listen to this I hear something similar to The Rolling Stones in the guitar playing and in the way the piano stays on top of the beat throughout the entire song.
It’s a great song with a lot of soul and rock ‘n’ roll.

Enjoy ;-)

Aretha Franklin - Respect

This is a live performance by soul queen Aretha Franklin playing her classic song “Respect”. The performance is from 1990.
The song was originally recorded and released by Otis Redding in 1965. It was also written by Redding, but with a different perspective than Franklin would use later. Franklin switched the perspective so the song turned into a plea from a woman to a man demanding respect. This made the song popular in the feminist movement.
Franklin’s version was released in 1967 and it became her perhaps best known song. She won two Grammy Awards for the song in the R&B categories.
The song was a huge hit and it was later covered by a large number of artists such as: Ike & Tina Turner, Janis Joplin and Jennifer Hudson to name a few.
It’s a great song. I really love the true soul there is on this and the sound of the big orchestra with the horn section. A great song and a great performance.

Enjoy ;-)

Rory Gallagher – I Take What I Want

This is a live performance by Irish guitar, folk and blues legend Rory Gallagher playing his version of the classic soul song “I Take What I Want”.
The song was written by David Porter, Mabon Hodges and soul legend Isaac Hayes. And it has been done by a large number of artists such as: Aretha Franklin and Rory Gallagher who are probably the most famous artists who have done this song.
Gallagher’s studio recorded version of this song was released on his 1975 album “Against the Grain”. And besides two other tracks on the album all tracks were originals composed by Gallagher.
I love Gallagher’s performance of this. It’s like he fuses rock ‘n’ roll with soul music in this as there are still some soul elements in there. Gallagher does an amazing solo and so does Lou Martin on the keyboard. It’s a great song and a great performance by Gallagher and band.

Enjoy ;-)

Carlos Santana, Jimmie Vaughan, Cesar Rosas & Stevie Ray Vaughan Jam at Costa Mesa

This is a live performance by a big group of guitarists doing a jam. The live performance is presumably from Costa Mesa in California. I haven't been able to find a song title, so I assume they're just jamming.
It starts off with Carlos Santana doing a solo. Then it goes over to Los Lobos lead guitarist Cesar Rosas who do an aggressive, but very good solo. Then it goes to the highlight of the performance which is Jimmie Vaughan's solo. He really plays it slow and with a lot of feeling. It's fun because you'd think that he'd be out of his element with this latin/jazz thing, but his playing fits right in. It's very soulful and very impressive.
At the end Stevie starts a solo, but the clip cuts off before he finishes. I assume the tape must have run out or something since I haven't been able to find the full performance including Stevie's entire solo.
It's a little sad, but on this particular performance it didn't seem like he could outdo his brother any way. Jimmie's playing is just amazing on this.
A great jam session with some of the best guitarists ever.

Enjoy ; )

Solomon Burke - Everybody Needs Somebody to Love

This is a live performance by soul musician Solomon Burke from the British TV-show "Top of the Pops". Solomon Burke was born in 1940 and died in 2010. He was known as King Solomon, The King of Rock 'n' Soul and the Bishop of Soul. This song is perhaps is most well known and is considered his signature song.
The song was written by Solomon, Bert Berns and Jerry Wexler. The song was originally recorded by Solomon in 1964. In 1966 Wilson Pickett recorded a version of the song that did better in the charts than Solomon's original version. The song also gained fame through the version done by The Rolling Stones. The song was also featured in the film "Blues Brothers".
At the 2011 Grammys Mick Jagger performed the song as a tribute to Solomon. Since the song had once been recorded by The Stones it was fitting and Jagger did a very well job of it. (Embeded below) though it'll probably removed soon. Grammy clips don't stay on youtube for very long.

It's a very good song that shows that blues can be upbeat, uplifting, happy and even have a pop feel to them. But most of all there's a gospel feel to it as well. A very good song.

Enjoy ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Ain't Gone 'n' Give Up On Love

This is a live performance by legendary blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. He performs his classic song "Ain't Gone 'n' Give Up On Love", and does an excellent job. The song was originally released on Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble's album "Soul to Soul" from 1985. This album is definitely one of Stevie's most soulful albums, the Hammond B3s and the wah-wah pedal compared to earlier releases. This song is an example of a soulful slow blues song in the style of SRV, and it just sounds amazing.
It's a really good performance, and you can really tell that he's really feeling it. There's a little introduction where they're getting ready, and then as fast as the snap of a finger Stevie's in blues mode, just feelin' it 100 %, impressive. He's soulful and amazing, and truly one of the best, if not the best blues guitarist ever.

Enjoy ; )

Ray Charles - Santa Clause Is Coming To Town

So it's Christmas, and I haven't posted a single Christmas song yet. I'm making up for that now. This is a performance by soul legend Ray Charles performing the classic Christmas song "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town".
The performance is from the "Feed the Future" benefit in 2007.
Ray's version is a bit more soulful than most other versions, but it is still probably more a pop song, or a seasonal song, if that's even a category of music. There just aren't a whole lot of blues Christmas songs.
Ray plays a soulful piano, and also gets out a harmonica and plays that as well.
It's a very good performance of this classic Christmas song, and it's sure to get you in the holiday spirit.

Enjoy ; )

Muse - Feeling Good

This is a live performance by British band Muse. They perform their version of the classic song "Feeling Good". It's a song that has been recorded by a huge number of artists, some of them good, some of them bad. Among the bad are The Pussycat Dolls and Michael Bublé, the Pussycats is obvious, and I'm not a big fan of Bublé and his, hmm... too good image, his version is a bit karaoke like in my opinion.
The two best versions, in my opinion, is Nina Simone's version, and this one by Muse. When I first heard it, I wasn't a huge fan of their version, but I gotta say, it's really grown on me, to a point where I really like it. The Nina version is a soul and jazz thing, sung with a lot of emotion. Now the Muse version still has that jazzy soul influence, but fuses it with a rock influence. It makes it a dark and new version of the song, and very interesting. I think Muse do a really good job with this, and I really like their version.
Muse released this as a single as well, and also did a music-video for the song. It's a good video, with stunning visuals, sort of underlining the new interoperated meaning of the song. It's good, and definitely worth checking out, if you like this version of the song. Video for the song left embeded beneath in case you wanna check it out. Also below is Nina's version of the song.

Muse - Feeling Good
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