Eric Clapton - Ain't Nobody's Business

This is a live performance by Eric Clapton playing his version of the classic 1920's song "Ain't Nobody's Business". At the end of the clip he also plays a little bit of "Drifting Blues" on a Spanish acoustic and stops to ask if there's percussion on it.
I really love the simple nature of this performance and the fact that it's split into two. It starts of with a piano and Clapton singing with only a little light percussion with a drum hit on the edge. The at the end to finish it the horn section kicks in and Clapton starts playing a solo. What you see is Clapton's vocal ability and how good a singer he is. He is one of the few people who can sort of recreate or keep the spirit of 20's and 30's music alive today which is very impressive. And then of course the guitar solo at the end which is just stunning.
The song was originally known under the title "Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do". It was written somewhere in the 1920's by by pianist Porter Grainger who had been Bessie Smith's accompanist and Everett Robbins. It was first recorded by Ann Meyer in 1922 and later by Bessie Smith in 1923. The song is an 8-bar vaudeville blues song. The lyrics were copyrighted in 1922 and now they are in the public domain. Embeded below is the Bessie Smith version, it's not that similar to Clapton's version, but you can clearly hear that this was the source material.

The song has been recorded by a large number of artists over the years. Artist such as: Billie Holiday, Diana Ross, Hank Williams Jr., Freddie King, Eric Clapton, Otis Spann, and Willie Nelson among others.
It's a great song and a great set of lyrics. I really love Clapton's version of this. His singing and his guitar playing it just all adds up to something unbelievable.

Enjoy ; )

Beck - Loser

This is a live performance from 2003 by alternative rock artist Beck. The song is from Beck's 1993 album "Mellow Gold", but it was originally released on Beck's own independent record label on 12" vinyl. The song gained massive air play on modern rock station and Beck was picked up for a much bigger contract with Geffen Records who also re-released the single. It did very well and reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming Beck's first mainstream successful hit.
The song came to be as Beck moved back to his home-town of Los Angeles. He was broke and needed to take low-income jobs to survive financially. He still performed in coffee houses and such and to check if the audience was listening he would make up ridiculous lyrics while playing in and open tuning. This is how the song "Loser" eventually came to be.
It's a very good song and a very good performance by Beck as well. He is improvising and having fun with the tune and finally getting a big crowd who is listening.

Enjoy ; )

Foghat - Fool for the City

This is a live performance by British rock band Foghat performing the song "Fool for the City" from their 1975 album. "Fool for the City" was the title track and second single from the album. The most famous track from the album is their signature song "Slow Ride".
The album is also the band's only platinum selling album. "Slow Ride" reached no. 20 on the mainstream pop-charts, but "Fool for the City" didn't do as well and only reached no. 45 on the same charts.
It's a good and steady performance and song. Personally I'm not the biggest fan of Rod's lead playing. I'm more a fan of his slide work which is stunning, fast and done to perfect precision, now that's impressive. But a very good performance none the less.

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 ; )

Freddie King - I'm Tore Down

This is a live performance from blues guitarist Freddie King playing the song "I'm Tore Down" which is not his most famous song, but still quite known thanks to, as is the case with many of his track, being covered by famous blues artists with more mainstream appeal. The song was released in 1961 and it reached no. 5 on the American R&B charts.
Freddie is one of those guitarist who has influenced both the American and British blues boom. He was known for his aggressive and creative style of improvising. Artists who are influenced by Freddie include, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Gary Moore.
Many of Freddie's songs have been covered by famous acts. This song has been covered by John Mayer and Eric Clapton (Clapton embeded below).

I think Clapton does a very good job. He definitely adds his own unique and fast style of playing to it. And had a bigger horn section at the recording. Both versions are worth checking out though.

Enjoy ; )

AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long

This is a live performance from Australian hard rock/rock 'n' roll group AC/DC playing their classic song "You Shook Me All Night Long". The performance is from 1991.
The song is one of the band's signature songs and it's from their most successful 1980 "Back in Black" album. The title of the song comes from a Muddy Waters song with the title "You Shook Me" in which the line "you shook me all night long" appears. The song is also very popular at live gigs where it's very rarely excluded from the set list.
It's a very good song and I always love watching AC/DC live. I love how the sound just blasts to another level when Malcolm and Angus play the rhythm part together. Also the solo Angus does, it's him at his best, his rock 'n' roll influenced best.

Enjoy ; )

Isaac Hayes - Walk On By

This is a live performance by soul musician Isaac Hayes doing his version of "Walk On By" at the 2005 Montreux Jazz Festival.
"Walk On By" was originally composed by Burt Bacharac with lyrics by Hal David. The song was first recorded by Dionne Warwick. It has since been covered by many artists who have made the song a hit. Of course Isaac Hayes, but also The Stranglers, D-Train, Cyndi Lauper and Seal among others.
Isaac Haye's version was released on his 1969 "Hot Buttered Soul" album. On this version the song is transformed into an almost 13 minutes funk jam. This live version is about 9 mintues and 30 seconds. The single version from the album was cut down to about 5 minutes and it got to no. 30 on the US Hot 100 chart.
I really love this live version it's really a jam and the band is feeling it. Especially love the guitar intro by Charles "Skip" Pitts. Hayes also refers to him as Skip under the concert. The funky bass line at the end that just escalated at the end is also very impressive. A very good and funky performance.

Enjoy ; )