On this day, October 31, 1947, Russ Ballard of Argent was born.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. That First One Is Midnight Special?

Curious. To my recollection, Midnight Special was always actually live. That is clearly the studio version.
A few tells:
1) Rod had a jazz mentality. He didn't play the exact same thing every time & every fill & phrase here is identical to the record.
2) After the breakdown, there are "Hold Your Head Up" lines being subg, but nobody is singing them.
3) It fades out at the end.
I was at the taping of two episodes of Midnight Special & everything was legit live. So, I'm surprised.
Tha e second video reinforces everything I said about the first. Some very different things played & at a higher tempo. And, there's an ending.
And, I really dig the skeletonized guitar Russ is playing.
The story of it is at the link.
https://russballardmusic.com/theguitar