It is a safe bet that the following sentence has never been said by any host of Saturday Night Live:Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome GWAR.But timeless live performances by other musicians from James Taylor to Jewel and Green Day to the Grateful Dead are captured on Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances Volumes 1 and 2. The two discs are filled with a variety of songs-30 in all. SNL, which originally aired in 1974, has had some of the biggest names in the music industry perform on its stage.With a few exceptions, the first disc seems to be geared toward the older demographic of SNL fans, featuring songs by Paul Simon, Eric Clapton and David Bowie.The second disc is primarily acts from the ’90s, such as Nirvana, Hole and Alanis Morissette.Simply put, the songs are incredible. Bands who appeared on the program always seemed to bring their best to the show, and these albums showcase the quality of musicianship that has graced SNL for the last 25 years. There is only one bad song out of the 30, and it’s Oasis’ “Acquiesce,” recorded in 1997. It’s a bunch of overdriven guitar sludge and lousy lyrics passed off for music. But what else could be expected from Oasis?There are some very pleasant surprises on the albums, including Jewel’s 1997 performance of “Who Will Save Your Soul.” Her vocals sound pretty good, but it is Joshua Redman’s blistering saxophone that gives the song a welcomed boost. TLC’s 1995 take on “Creep” is excellent. Chili, T-Boz and Left Eye sound good live, but it’s the fact that there is a human being, and not a machine playing the drums that gives the song an ultimate funk that is much better than the version cut in the studio. Eric Clapton’s version of “Wonderful Tonight” from 1998 is just that, wonderful. The tempo is considerably slower than the original version, but the organ sound really adds flavor to the number. To quote SNL character Linda Richman, Clapton’s voice is “butta.”The only thing I was disappointed with was that Paul McCartney’s rendition of “Hey Jude” was not on either of the albums, despite being one of the best performances by any artist in SNL history. Listeners will be pleased with both albums. The CDs offer such a variety that they will appeal to music fans with all sorts of tastes because the performances themselves are so crisp. There will probably be more historic musical performances to come as SNL starts off its 25th season on Oct. 2, with host Jerry Seinfeld and Musical guest David Bowie.