The Beach Boys with Ray Charles playing "Sail On, Sailor." Ray slows it down gives it some soul. It takes half a verse for The Beach Boys to adjust, but still sounds great. This might be my favorite Beach Boys tune (also covered by Los Lobos). Such wonderful harmonies.

The Band playing "Willie and the Hand Jive" with Levon Helm on vocals. Video is a bit spotty, but the performance is solid.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers playing "Swingin'" live in Germany 1999. Petty has so many good songs that this one gets lost in the shuffle.

Junior Murvin singing "Polive & Theives." Great song. So many good versions, but I like the the reggae dub versions best. There are some videos from a concert with the full band, but this is the best vocal version. Clash version is great too.

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones with John Cowan on Vocals play one of my favorite cover versions of "Oh! Darling." Great vocals. Wish there was an actaul video...but this is the Live Art version. So great.

Keith Richards and The X Pensive Winos covering Lou Reed's "Waitin For My Man." Good stuff.

The Rolling Stones with Keith Richards singing "Can't Be Seen." Steel Wheels was an underrated album. Keith is in his happy place. RIP Charlie Watts.

Alberto Lombardi solo on acoustic playing "How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved By You). Great feel to this intimate version.

The Fabulous Austrian Trio (Alex Machacek - guitar, Raphael Preuschl - bass, Herbert Pirker - drums) playing "Strafe" live in studio. Alex is a unique and amazing guitar player on his own, but I like him in this trio setting.

David Bowie's final performance as Ziggy Stardust playing "Moonage Daydream."

Mark Knoplfer is always playing in my car. Love this version of "Once Upon A Time In the West." Great guitar as always. The band is tight...horns and flute fill out this tune perfectly. Thank you Mark Knopfler.

The Band always did the best version of "Long Black Veil"...IMHO. Their vocal rhythm & melody separates it from other versions. There's something special about this live version from San Francisco in 1983. The brief moments of feedback on the accordion mic are quickly forgotten as the song unfolds. I like the use and style of the electric guitar on the main parts. There's another great version they during at the Festival Express Train Tour in Canada in 1970...also worth a listen. Great bass lines on that version.

This is a local TX songwriter and guitarist Walt Wilkins playing "Dogs, Man." Just saw him live for the first time and it was a great example of the power of simplicity when music meets soulful poetry.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers playing "You Wreck Me." Great dynamics...great breakdown...Campbell nails the lead. Good stuff. RIP Tom Petty.

Tower Of Power, one of the greatest horn sections and soul bands of all time, performing "You're Still A Young Man." Live at their 40th anniversary show...and they are just killing it. What a rhythm section too (Rocco Prestia and David Garibaldi)! This is how a proper soul ballad is meant to be. Goose bumps!

Crack The Sky playing "Lighten Up Mcgraw" live in 2008. This is such a good band, but it is tough to find good quality videos of them. Wish I could have seen them in the late 70's early 80's.

For context...here is the original version of "Wake Me Up" by Elvis Costello with the Roots. The album version is just delicious. In fact the entire "Wise Up Ghost" is great...one of Costello's best albums.

This is Elvis Costello (w/Alan Toussaint) playing an altered version of his song "Wake Me Up." The original version is on Elvis' album "Wise Up Ghost" with the Roots. Love both versions.

Jeff Beck with Tal Wilkenfeld on bass playing "Pork Pie" live from Ronnie Scott's (great album BTW). RIP Jeff Beck. Soo dang good.

Matthias Hautsch playing a solo acoustic version of Stevie Wonder's classic "I Wish."

The Jerry Garcia Band with Bruce Hornsby playing "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."

Robben Ford and Larry Carlton performing a stellar, beautiful and soul stirring acoustic version of "I Put A Spell On You."

Robben Ford with the HR Big Band from Germany 3/14/15. Smooth solos and the band sounds great.

Steely Dan's "Green Flower Street." What makes this clip standout is Wayne Krantz on guitar. Great tone and texture. My favorite part is the dissonance of the lick Wayne plays to exit his solo back into the verse.