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Best live albums

ex brickie

ex brickie

pfm Member
Sorry if this has been covered before but I’d like recommendations for great live albums.

First, I mean rock, pop , indie, soul genres of music (not classical, jazz or blues). It can include 60s to 80s music too (likes of Simon and Garfunkel for example)

Second, my definition of a great live album is one where it is close miked and it isn’t overpowered by crowd noise. Stadium rock probably not my cup of tea unless it is recorded well close up.

Any recommendations for great live recordings? If there’s a thread somewhere already that I could t find, a link would be great. I’ll try out suggestions on YouTube.

Cheers
 
Dunno about close miked but Either Live at Leeds, Live in Hull or Live at the Fillmore ‘68 by The Who.

My personal favourite is the Fillmore ‘68 set (partly because it doesn’t have Tommy squatting in the middle of it) but they all capture in audio verite the intensity of one of the best, and one of the hardest and heaviest, live rock bands of all time. Any of them will make most other live Rock albums sound positively anaemic in comparison.
 
This is about the 4th time to my recollection, but here goes:

The Who - Live at Leeds
Eric Clapton - Just One Night
Fleetwood Mac - Live

I'm not sure that the Fleetwood Mac one actually is live, but they're great versions and sometimes miles better than the album tracks.

Please don't try them on bloody YouTube, shell out the money and BUY them. The Who album deserves to be played as loud as possible on a system that can handle it. 'Young Man Blues' is the second angriest piece of music I've ever heard :), it should pin you to the back wall.

As for YouTube there's an excellent version of The Cure playing 'In a forest' on there. Much better and longer than the album track.

Pity you don't like Blues, BB King 'Live at the Regal' is something else. I saw him live 5 times and what he could do with one note...

Jimi Hendrix 'Concerts', which has a painting on the front cover, is off the planet, but then the best tracks on there are Blues covers ;)

I was taught computing by the head roadie for Thin Lizzy but he said that 'Live and Dangerous' was seriously overdubbed. The band just couldn't resist correcting their foul-ups. They did a second album called 'Live - Life' which was recordings of their farewell tour. If you've got a system with seriously good detail resolution you might be able to pick out the young, piping voice of yours truly at the Birmingham Odeon :)

Rush did an album called 'All the world's a stage' but unless you like massively overlong drum solos, there no point. When I actually saw them live they had zero audience interaction and they're such good musicians that you might as well play the albums. Steely Dan were like that as well, apparently.
 
This subject crops up a few times and clairebot always spits out "The Ramones: It's Alive"
There is a super duper box set of it now but just the double vinyl LP or 1 x CD will be fine.

Be Bop Deluxe: Live in the Air Age, is just a lovely set of live rock songs released just on the cusp of punk. Bill Nelson was flying above the clouds on this one. Shine (on the 12" White Vinyl EP included in many originals) is a 7-minute prog-glam-funk exposition that really has to be listened to. The solos are mind-blowing; Crafted but not overindulgent.

Joe Jackson Big World. Just a good set of songs played live in front of an audience with zero audience interaction (at his request), its a bit toppy but the songs are sweet and melancholy, wistful and have me aching for a back alley with an elusive noodle bar serving a won ton and pak choi I often dream about that only appears to weary travellers at 3AM. Watch out for the drums on this, tight and on the beat at at time when everyone was just behind the beat.

I am hoping that out in the world somewhere in a cupboard is a pair of completely trashed Neumann U67 or U87 used on The Who's Live at Leeds. The closest we will ever get to an undiscovered holy relic. You just don't put those sorts of mics inside a kit drum, not at that proximity and especially not with Moon at the pedals... its a one shot ride, but yikes what a kick drum sound!
 
The Name of this Band is Talking Heads. The 2LP is best. It sounds really good and has enough material for a single sitting. The CD is too long.

The Clean - Live Dead Clean EP. A short but great selection from one of NZ's premier rock bands. Some of it was recorded on a Ferrograph and sounds superb.

The Fall - Fall in a Hole. Live in Auckland, 1982. Released on Flying Nun - who, due to one or two misunderstandings, found themselves in a power of shit with MES.

All I can think of right now.
 
Fleetwood Mac "The Dance" live album, possibly the one meant in a previous post, totally agree that these versions are superior to original studio releases.

Deep Purple "Made in Japan" for the same reasons as above plus the capturing of that live feel.

BJH "Live" ( not live tapes ), possibly their finest output ever.
 
Thanks so far folks... I’ve heard some of these mentioned before (Who, Clapton). I will try the Fleetwood Mac options

Any out there from a more recent era ? Can be small gig s too. Doesn’t have to be big groups either - can be single vocalists with a small backing band
 
If you're a fan of the big music The Live Adventures of The Waterboys is a great document of them before they went a bit hey nonny no.

Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense is a belter too, but hardly news to most peeps I expect.
 
Durmbo said:
The Name of this Band is Talking Heads. The 2LP is best. It sounds really good and has enough material for a single sitting. The CD is too long.

The Clean - Live Dead Clean EP. A short but great selection from one of NZ's premier rock bands. Some of it was recorded on a Ferrograph and sounds superb.

The Fall - Fall in a Hole. Live in Auckland, 1982. Released on Flying Nun - who, due to one or two misunderstandings, found themselves in a power of shit with MES.

All I can think of right now.
Click to expand...
I'm a fall nut but never heard their live material ( saw them loads tho) will check it out.
 
claire.foxx said:
Joe Jackson Big World. Just a good set of songs played live in front of an audience with zero audience interaction (at his request), its a bit toppy but the songs are sweet and melancholy, wistful and have me aching for a back alley with an elusive noodle bar serving a won ton and pak choi I often dream about that only appears to weary travellers at 3AM. Watch out for the drums on this, tight and on the beat at at time when everyone was just behind the beat.
Click to expand...

That’s a really fantastic album. I’ve not listened to it for a while, you’ve reminded me to give it a spin later on, thanks!
 
Another vote for “The Dance” by Fleetwood Mac. Arguably their best album.

A couple of live rock albums that I think are particularly well recorded and more enjoyable than their studio equivalents:
  • “Live in Posnan” by Mystery
  • “This Is” by XII Alfonso
 
One I think sounds absolutely excellent is Sting, All This Time. Recorded live at Sting’s villa in Italy on 9/11. A ridiculously good band, Christian McBride, Manu Katche, Jason Rebello, Dominic Miller etc.
 
Not much regard for him these days but I still love the live Jesse Colin Young album - On The Road. Like many 'live' albums, I am sure it has had some remixing but it has a superb rendition of one of his most memorable songs 'Ridgetop' with some superb flute and soprano sax from Jim Rothermel. It also includes a wonderful medley of Marvin Gaye songs. This is a really well recorded album and shows a working band at their best but like most Jesse Colin Young albums his choice of material is not always the best but when it shines, it really shines.

https://www.discogs.com/Jesse-Colin-Young-On-The-Road/master/579895
 
Kate Bush - Before The Dawn. (3 cds or 4 record set) from the 2014 shows

David Byrne -American Utopia on Broadway

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense (1984) the original U.K. vinyl release sounds superb.

Japan - Oil On Canvas (not all live)



probably a few others I would recommend, these came to mind first.

(I am not a fan of live albums generally, so they have to sound reasonable for me to enjoy them)
 
Big Tabs said:
(I am not a fan of live albums generally, so they have to sound reasonable for me to enjoy them)
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Same here - hence I’m looking for suggestions

I agree with the earlier post re Sting - that is excellent

Maybe I should look at more of the ‘stripped back’ albums.... any tips there?
 
As already mentioned Made In Japan nails it despite Gillan being unhappy with his performance.

Pink Floyd’s Pulse is great too esp if you get the bluray and watch it, and Gilmour’s live at Pompeii is a more intimate take on Floyd and solo work and a fantastic recording and meets the “close-miked” criterion better. All his live work is well-recorded but probably his most intimate outing is the Meltdown concert from the Royal Festival Hall in 2002 just known as David Gilmour In Concert.

An early Neil Young solo performance Live At Massey Hall is another great close-miked performance - just him and guitar/piano.
 
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