Todd Rundgren’s Utopia- Only Human- Boston 11-79

The release of the triple-disc live career set For the Lack of Honest Work from Todd Rundgren is a joy for us TR fans , but as comprehensive and era-spanning as it is, there are still some "best of" songs that are not represented . Check out the stunning live chorus vocals here on "Only Human" in this Thanksgiving-eve 1979 Boston performance with Utopia bass/vocalist Kasim Sultan, keyboards/vocalist Roger Powell, and drummer/singer Willie Wilcox.

Pink Floyd- The Endless River- David Gilmour, Nick Mason

Interviews with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and Nick Mason about "The Endless River" for the fascinating back story of a "final " musical statement, 1994's "The Division Bell", which was never intended to be the superstar progressive rock band's last word but which nevertheless became that when Pink Floyd keyboard player Rick Wright died in 2008.

Fleetwood Mac- Hypnotized- Sausalito 12-15-74

Shortly before he would depart Fleetwood Mac, the late Bob Welch singing the sublime "Hypnotized" with the band performing live in 1974 from The Record Plant in Sausalito CA.

Supertramp- Bloody Well Right- 1975 Hammersmith Odeon London

Supertramp incredible-sounding live  material from 1975,  such as this mint version of "Bloody Well Right".

Chris Isaak- You Owe Me Some Kind of Love- Dallas 1986

It never ceases to amaze me just how much entertainment some musicians can coax out of a tiny  ukelele and some brushes on a hand drum when you have a great song and a one-in-a-million voice like Chris Isaak. That's all it took for him and…

Neil Young & Crazy Horse- Powderfinger- San Francisco 1986

Not since Robbie Robertson's "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down" had anyone written and sung ( in the first person, no less ) about the American antebellum South so richly, so believably as Neil Young and Crazy Horse with "Powderfinger", originally…

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers- Don’t Bring Me Down-Boston 1978

When Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers only had two albums of material from which to draw for their club sets ( which often meant several sets a night), the band would reach down at just the right time and throw a change up cover song such as…

Boz Scaggs- High Sierra- Dallas 5-97

Boz Scaggs live in the studio "High Sierra" May 1997

Michael Penn “Try”- Dallas 7-28-97

Michael Penn live Q102 Dallas "Try" 5-97

John Mellencamp- Martha Say- Dec 1991

I spent part of my Christmas holiday 1991 in an A-frame cabin with a woodburning stove in the still snow-covered woods among the hills and "hollers" of Central Indiana's Brown County . But we weren't there for skiing or even simply to chill out . Instead , I was there to record the private rehearsal for the upcoming John Mellencamp tour .