Metallica - Last Caress/So What

Posting the song "Light My Fire" by The Doors yesterday got me inspired. The Doors were rebellious and didn't care, they did not want to change their lyrics, they did not want to conform to the dull mainstream culture.
Something similar happened years later at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 1996. Metallica was set to play the song "King Nothing" from their highly successful follow up to 1991's "Metallica" aka. The Black Album; Load from 1996. They rehearsed the song King Nothing, but the producers told Metallica that their pyrotechnics was a safety hazard. Metallica was upset and decided to, well tell MTV how they felt through their song selection, to say it in an unfilthy manner. They changed song to playing Last Caress/So What, both songs with very graphic lyrics and swearing. This of course pissed off the censures, but hey, if they'd just given them pyrotechnics there wouldn't have been a problem in the first place.
I love it when bands rebel and don't do as they're told, makes it more exciting. We seriously need more artists today who'd be willing to do something like this. Today's music sucks!
Oh, and for the uber-fans, click here to see an exclusive behind the scenes of this performance including rehearsal footage of the band playing "King Nothing".

Enjoy ; )

The Doors - Light My Fire

This is a performance from of the classic song "Light My Fire", it's probably one of The Doors' most famous tracks, and everyone knows it. It was recorded in 1966 and released as a single in 1967, it was the band's debut record, and it did pretty well.
The song did very well and got a lot of radio play. The radio version was severely cut down, so that it was just under three minutes with almost all of the instrumental breaks cut.
A famous story about the song is the infamous Ed Sullivan appearance which is also a story every one knows. The band was set to perform and the producers asked the band to change the lyrics so it didn't say "girl, we couldn't get much higher". Advertisers had a problem with the somewhat obvious undertones about substance abuse. The band agreed and rehearsed the song with altered lyrics. But, when they did the live performance they kept the original lyrics. Ed was very upset and didn't shake hands with the band when they left the stage and the band also lost a seven episode deal due to the incident.
The song also ranked no. 35 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, a great song.

A great song, and performance, enjoy ; )

Steve Vai - Bad Horsie

This is a hard rock instrumental by guitarist Steve Vai. Steve is known for his technical abilities on guitar, he started out playing as one of Joe Satriani's students, and today they are both among some of the best. Steve plays with a lot of intricate techniques and with a very high skill level and difficulty to his playing. He does however also draw from a number of artists who wouldn't fall into that category like Hendrix for instance, so Steve's playing is a nice mix of technical skill level and playing with emotion. He's innovative, and has made his own line of revolutionary guitars and is just a master of the trade that is guitar playing.

The song "Bad Horsie" is the opening track on Vai's EP named "Alien Love Secrets" that came out in 1995. The song "Bad Horsie" is derived from a riff Vai contributed to the film "Crossroads" where he played the devil. The song is played tuned down to what would be Drop C tuning, a very low tuning (CGCFAD). It's a great song, and it has one hell of a groove, love it!
(As a little fun thing, I've added the guitar duel from Crossroads, you can definitely recognize the intro, it's a little silly, but great 80's retro fun)


Enjoy ; )

B.B. King - When It All Comes Down

This is a live performance from guitarist B.B. King at the prime of his career. He plays the song "When It All Comes Down" and we get two great soulful guitar solos in that style that can only be played by the King himself. It's a big set up with horn section, drums, bass and piano/organ. King's voice is also a big part of what really makes this performance, he sings the song so well, it's astonishing.
The song also features an amazing piano solo by pianist Eugene Carrier, he's not a very famous pianist, but from this performance you can tell that he had mad skills, an amazing talent.
This is just a great performance, B.B. sings fantastically, plays soulfully and amazingly, the band plays well and the pianist is out of this world. A truly great performance!

Enjoy ; )

Rory Gallagher - Going To My Hometown

This is a performance by blues and folk musician Rory Gallagher. In this performance from 1972 Gallagher plays the mandolin and plays the song "Going To My Hometown", a song that is definitely more folky than bluesy. The song sounds more like Irish folk music, but the lyrics are very bluesy in subject matter, and the mandolin has been used as a blues instrument on several occasions in the 1800's. It's a great performance and a very good vocal performance by Gallagher as well. It's simple and stripped down, a lot of the performance features a simple rhythm tapped by Gallagher with his foot, and later in the song picked up by the drummer using the bass drum. A very good song done by an excellent performer.

Enjoy ; )

Bootsy Collins - Stretchin' Out

This is performance by funk bass player Bootsy Collins from the television show "Night Music", a late night show that showcased performers and featured live performances.
The song Stretchin' Out was released in 1976 by Bootsy's band "Bootsy's Rubber Band", a funk band that was formed after Bootsy stopped touring and recording with James Brown. The song's full title is "Stretchin' Out (In a Rubber Band)".
It's a great performance, and it seems a little unrehearsed in the good way. It's a jam, and every performer gets a slot to strut their stuff, the sax, the guitar and the bass of course. A great performance from a time where live music actually had a decent slot in television.
(I know it's not exactly rock or blues, but funk is somewhat a descendent from the blues genre. I mean all those funky chords on the guitar were first played in blues and jazz songs, funk just sped it up, added a whole lot more wah and made it more funky). And besides, you should be able to enjoy this, or you've got no good music taste what so ever!

Enjoy ; )

Robert Cray - Chicken In The Kitchen

Robert Cray Band on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from Vanguard Records on Vimeo.
This is a performance from famous singer, songwriter and blues guitarist Robert Cray. The performance is from "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" where Cray was promoting his album "Cookin' in Mobile" a live album featuring an audio CD and a performance DVD.
He performs the song "Chicken In The Kitchen" a nice up tempo bluesy tune with a nice groove and rhythm. It's a very nice performance, and Cray is, as always, playing at the top of his game. It's just a wonderful song and a great performance.

Enjoy ; )