Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - Born In Louisiana

This is a live performance by blues musician and multi instrumentalist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown performing his song "Born In Louisiana". According to the video description the performance is from 2003 which doesn't seem unlikely.
Brown was a multi instrumentalist who played many instruments, he played: Guitar, fiddle, mandolin, viola, harmonica and drums. In this performance clip he sticks to guitar though, but if you are attentive you can spot a violin or a viola by one of the front speakers at the stage. Brown died in 2005.
He was a very influential guitarist in that his techniques inspired other guitarists, such as: Albert Collins, Guitar Slim, J.J. Cale, and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. He was also noted as one of the first guitarists to use a capo in his technique.
Brown also appeared on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's album "10 Days Out". The mission of that album was to record some of the old blues players before they pass away. And in this case it did just that, because Brown died prior to the album's release and was among the credited since deceased people honoured in the credits of the film that was included with the album. On this version he also pulls out his fiddle and does a solo on that which sounds quite astounding and unique. I definitely recommend checking out this version, as well as the rest of "10 Days Out", because it's great and a good way to get introduced to some of the roots of this thing called "the blues".

Enjoy ; )

The Who - Baba O'Riley

This is a live performance by British rock band "The Who" playing the song "Baba O'Riley". The song was written by Pete Townshend and released in 1971. The song is known for it's use of early electronic experimentation done by Townshend and for it's crashing chorus of F-C-B♭ power chords. This has made the song very popular at concerts and also a favourite on classic rock radio stations.
The song was released as a single in many European countries, but in the US and the UK it was only released as part of the album "Who's Next". On the original recording there is a violin solo as the song goes into the Irish folk style beat at the end. At most live concerts, this clip included, this is replaced by a harmonica piece played by Roger Daltrey.
The song has been ranked as the 340th Greatest Song of All Time. A remixed version of the song is also used as the theme for the TV-show CSI:NY. In fact: Every CSI show uses a Who song as their intro.
For me what also stands out on this song, and on every Who song ever recorded is the bass playing of John Entwistle. He is definitely one of the greatest bass players ever, and was one of the first who was able to really show off on the instrument, and not just be backing for the group. Below is a clip. It is the same clip as the one above, but with the isolated bass track. It's for geeks, but mind boggling to listen to.

In fact Entwistle's bass playing is what made it possible for the group to be a trio with a singer. He filled in in just the right places to make the band's sound not sound no smaller than any other band. It's like Noel Gallagher said: "They're all playing lead, aren't they, all of them", and he's right. That's the sound of The Who: a trio where everyone is playing lead. Quite impressive.

Kansas - Dust in the Wind

This is the music video to the classic Kansas single "Dust in the Wind". The song was released as a single in 1977 and peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song was written by Kerry Livgren and it was a departure for the band as they had not done any acoustic tracks prior to this one. The main melancholic acoustic guitar part is played on two acoustic six string guitars. One is in standard tuning and the other is in what is known as Nashville tuning. The two guitars together create the same sound one would get on a 12-string guitar. On top of this Robby Steinhardt plays the violin and viola on the instrumental bridge of the song.
I really like this song and I think it is one of the best acoustic guitar songs ever, period!

So enjoy it ; )

Albert Lee - Tear It Up

This is a song performed by British guitarist Albert Lee, the clip is from 2007, and he plays the up beat song "Tear It Up". It's kind of a rock 'n' roll song, but with a lot of bluegrass roots influencing it. There's also a violin and a double bass. The back up band is the Australian "Wheelers and Dealers".
Albert is most known in the field of hybrid picking which means using the fingers and the guitar pick at the same time, to do runs that you would not otherwise be able to do. He was one of the first to use and develop this technique, and is regarded as one of the best at this technique.
He has been included with many different acts, in many different genres, including; Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Earl Scruggs, Joe Cocker, Dolly Parton and even Spın̈al Tap, hell yeah!! A long list, and in many different genres, everything from country, blues, rock 'n' roll and bluegrass, truly a versatile player.
This is a great performance of a great song, and they sure do "tear it up".

Enjoy ; )

Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down To Georgia

This song may be considered to be country, and I'm not really sure where to put it. In my book it's a little fast to be country, but then again not all country sounds like Dolly Parton, some of it is fast and something you can dance to.
The song however has been embraced by the rock community, and the lyrics share a lot of similar things to blues music. The lyrics are about a kid who is challenged by the devil to a fiddle battle against the devil. If he wins he'll get a solid gold violin and if he loses the devil gets his soul. The devil also often appears in blues lyrics.
The song has been embraced by the rock world, and was featured in an updated version in the video game "Guitar Here III: Legends of Rock".
It's a great song and a delightfully energetic performance from the band and Charlie Daniels himself. He plays the fiddle so hard he breaks several hairs in his bow, and needs to switch bow towards the end of the song. That's cool. It's just a great performance.




The band Primus also did a cover of the song. They did a really nice clay-mation video for it, and I thought I'd include that. It's not as good as the original, but visually it tells the story very well.

Enjoy all of it ; )