Live albums get some deserved and undeserved derision. Usually they are obligatory, just a one off to fulfill a contract obligation and they rarely capture what it's like "being there." In addition almost all live albums have the crowd noise artificially inserted, vocals are fixed, and sometimes guitars are augmented in studio. On the other hand, where else but a live album are you going to hear a 20 minute version of Cowgirl in the Sand?
Kiss Alive! is famous for probably being barely "live." The some reports are the only actual live parts are Peter Criss' drums.
I bring this up because this past weekend was the 40th anniversary of Cheap Trick playing at The Budokan theater in Japan. Cheap Trick Live at Budokan was originally suppose to be a Japanese only album but it sold many imports that it was eventually released stateside in February of 1979. The original album was only about 1/2 the concert and eventually Cheap Trick released the rest of the concert in a second album and then the whole show (actually it's from two different concerts two days apart). I have take both Budokan I and II and rearranged the songs according to the set list. I still love this album and listen to is every so often.
What other live albums to you like? Throw in your list.
Here are a few of my faves:
Cheap Trick Live at Budokan
Kiss Alive!
Built to Spill Live
Neil Young Live Rust
Guided by Voices Live at the Wheelchair Races
Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin
Otis Redding Live on the Sunset Strip
Neil Young, Live Rust
Cheap Trick at Budokan
Johnny Cash, Live at Folsom Prison
The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East
Eric Clapton, Unplugged
Neil Young, Unplugged
Simon and Garfunkel, The Concert in Central Park
How about the new Replacements live album?
Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall.
coinkadinkly.
(as I think of them)
Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963
BR5-49 - Live from Robert's
MC5 - Kick Out The Jams
Wilco - Kicking Television
Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert
Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York
Muddy Waters - At Newport 1960
Simon and Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park
Parts of
Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain
Coil - ...and the Ambulance Died in His Arms (which is an important album in their discography, because they never made any good/finished studio recordings of this stuff.)
Five other Coil albums: Live One, Live Two, Live Three, Live Four, and Selvaggina, Go Back Into The Woods
Current 93 - Birdsong in the Empire
I need to check out that S and G album again. I have a number of Wilco live concert broadcasts that are better than Kicking Television, otherwise it could've made my list.
The latest Dylan bootleg series focuses on the Born Again period. There are a number of good excerpts. I wish there was just one concert album. (There maybe on the 13 disc set, I'm not shelling out for that.)
OMFG, Portishead - Roseland NYC
3 live records that sound as good today as they did when I was a callow HS student:
UFO Strangers in the Night
Thin Lizzy Live and Dangerous
AC-DC If You Want Blood You've Got It
AMR, I'm sorry for posting this stuff so late. I'll add the caveat that I have very specific tastes so this probably isn't 100% representative but I like all these songs a lot. Oh and all of these are various levels of NSFW.
Kendrick Lamar - "The Blacker the Berry"
A$AP Twelvyy ft. A$AP Ferg - "Hop Out"
Rae Sremmurd - "Perplexing Pegasus"
Future - "Stick Talk"
21 Savage - "Bad Guy"
Princess Nokia - "Kitana"
Cardi B - "Get Up 10"
Maxo Kream - "Work"
billy woods - "Snake Oil"
The Outfit, TX - "Dez Bryant"
1. Beastie Boys “Sure Shot (European B-Boy Mix - Clean)” Sure Shot
2. Eric Copeland “Boogieman” Goofballs
3. Why Does the Sun Shine? “They Might Be Giants” A User's Guide
4. Katy B “Water” On a Mission
5. Beastie Boys “Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim Remix)” Solid Gold Hits - Clean
6. Emot “Ancients” Trees & Claws EP
7. George Thorogood & the Destroyers “Bad to the Bone” The Baddest of George Thorogood & the Destroyers
8. Elite Gymnastics “Omamori 2” Ruin 2
9. Current 93 “Sunset (The Death of Thumbelina)” Black Ships Ate the Sky
T. Johnny Cash “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” American IV: The Man Comes Around
The sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma.
01. Panopticon - "En hvit ravns død" from The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness, Part 1
02. Young Scooter ft. Young Thug & Casino - "Play Wit Millions" from Trippple Cross
03. Panopticon - "The Wandering Ghost" from The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness, Part 2
04. Yazan - "Hahaha" from Hahaha
05. Primal Rite - "Ecstatic Agony" from Dirge of Escapism
06. Franz Ferdinand - "Feel the Love Go" from Always Ascending
07. Camp Cope - "The Omen" from How to Socialise & Make Friends
08. Hookworms - "Ullswater" from Microshift
09. Holy Motors - "Signs" from Slow Sundown
10. Nap Eyes - "Judgment" from Nap Eyes
BT. Les Savy Fav - "The Sweat Descends" from Inches
01. “Oh Home” – Lucy Michelle And The Velvet Lapelles – Heat
02. “School Of Eyes” – Wye Oak – Shriek
03. “Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie” – Joanna Newsom – Joanna Newsom And The Ys Street Band
04. “Tears For Sheep” – Atmosphere – Lucy Ford
05. “Too Drunk To Dream” – The Magnetic Fields – Distortion
06. “Horse” – Alex G – Rocket
07. “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” – Prince – Sign "☮" the Times
08. “Sour Breath” – Julien Baker – Turn Out The Lights
09. “Shine A Light” – The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main St
10. “Unsatisfied” – The Replacements – For Sale: Live At Maxwell’s 1986
Jerry Lee Lewis' "Live at the Star Club" should be an essential on any "best of live album" list. 30 minute of him and the backing band playing like its the last night on earth! That set is on fire.
The Who "Live at Leeds" is always a great listen.
"Cheap Trick At Budokan" gets many plays at my house
Nirvana Unplugged
As a big Kinks fan, I really enjoy "One For the Road", but its a double album and maybe too long for some.
Although it gets many raves as a great live album, I’ve never really enjoyed Live at Leeds. I do like the version of Quick One While He’s Away however.
I need to check out that JLL disk.