I just came across this video on Facebook after it was shared on a friend's wall and I had to share.

It's Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young with Tom Jones delivering an earth shattering rendition of "Long Time Gone" from an episode of the ABC variety show, This is Tom Jones originally aired on October 16th, 1969.

Only a few months after Young joined the group, his blistering guitar work lays the groundwork for this loose and raucous performance. The guys in the band, Crosby and Nash in particular, are clearly amused and/or impressed by TJ's vocal prowess and collectively, they bring down the house.

This is officially now one of my favorite live performances of all time.

Enjoy!

It’s well documented that the story of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys is a dark one, filled with horrors both real and imagined. Child abuse, mental health issues, familial bickering all, in some strange way contributed to some of the most beautiful music of the modern era.

And although The Beach Boys will always be remembered for their sunny pop melodies, there have been a few occasions on which they have dabbled in the macabre.
 
They included a cover of “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett & the Crypt Keepers on their 1964 live album, Beach Boys Concert.

​Here they are performing the song live on the December 23, 1964 episode of the ABC variety series, Shindig!. Whatever your personal feelings towards Mike Love are in regards to the legacy of The Beach Boys, you have to admit it’s entertaining as hell to watch him ham it up in this clip.

It turns out The Beach Boys have a more than a passing association with “Monster Mash.” According to this 2014 Noisey article, before they broke big themselves, they backed Bobby “Boris” Pickett on one of his first live performances of the song.

And apparently it still holds a special place Brian Wilson’s heat, as he has used the song to sound check with his band at least as recently as 2009.

Brian Wilson has often been described as a mad scientist in terms songwriting and studio production, and nowhere does he embrace that persona more than in this 1970 demo recording. Intended be his spin on the concept of a Halloween novelty song, “My Solution” features a trippy spoken-word rap over a bed of Gothic synthesizers, laboratory sound effects, and some signature Beach Boys harmonies thrown in for good measure.

On the surface, “Never Learn to Love” the B-Side to The Beach Boys’ 1968 single “Bluebirds over the Mountain” wouldn’t seem to have any association with anything horrific, but it does have the dubious honor of being a rewrite  by Dennis Wilson of a song  by infamous murder conspirator and guru, Charles Manson called “Cease to Exist.” Manson was allegedly furious that his not only did Dennis change the lyrics to  his song, he also failed to credit him as a writer on the album, and as a result, threatened him with murder after its release. 

​It's clear that while much of the music of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys was about having fun in the sun, they were no strangers to the creepy, crawling things that come out long after the sun has set.

Check out this absolutely smoking live performance of "Frankenstein" by the Edgar Winter Group from a 1973 television appearance. 

Edgar, a talented multi-instrumentalist, is a  beast on synth, sax, drums and the soundboard itself throughout the course of this MONSTER nine minute jam.

​Enjoy!

Since yesterday's post about Beck's lost BBC sessions was so well received, I figured I would continue the countdown to his headlining set at the XPoNential Music Festival on Sunday with some more Beck related history.

Here’s a throwback to what may or may not be Beck’s first television appearance on a short-lived Australian late-night show hosted by popular Aussie comedian Andrew Denton. 

The clip features an amazing  live performance of “Beercan”, the third single released from Beck’s major label debut, Mellow Gold followed by an impromptu cover of Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot".

After releasing the subdued,  acoustic number, “Pay No Mind (Snoozer)” as his second single, “Beercan” was a return to the goofy folk-rap of Beck’s mega-hit “Loser”. Although both are great songs, neither managed to match the impact of his debut. 

This early live clip shows a very young Beck, backed by an incredibly tight live band, blazing through a high energy performance of the slacker party anthem. The drummer in particular is killing it here. I don’t know who that guy is, but he sure knows how to rock a beat.

After the performance, Denton greets Beck on the stage and asks if it’s true that this is his first television appearance and a dazed (possibly stoned?) Beck responds with a confused non-answer. He then participates in one of the show’s recurring bits which challenged musical guests to perform a song on the spot randomly chosen from a barrel full of well-known hits. The song he is assigned is Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot". 

Beck’s response when asked if he was up for the challenge is priceless.

To close out the show, Beck deconstructs the ‘80s hit as only he can, with the familiar guitar hook quickly dissolving into wall of feedback and distortion. 

Crack open a Foster's oil can and enjoy!