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Favourite Live Albums

The acid test is simply which live album do I return to on a regular basis, simple answer

Hawkwind - Space Ritual
 
A long long time ago, it would have been The Velvets Live 1969 or Lou Reed Rock n Roll Animal, but no more.

I would say now :
The Velvet Underground Live 1966 2CD. Playing the 1st album and 2 long improv pieces.
The Velvet Underground Gymnasium 1967. Playing a scorching Cale-era selection including Booker T, Run Run Run, The Gift and Sister Ray.
Television 1978-07-02 The Earth Tavern, Portland is the best I've heard the early band.
Soft Machine Live Paraiso 1969 Is the one recording that really shows what they were like at that point. Only marred by vocal mic problems.
Egg The Metronomical Society. This CD has four tracks recorded at the Roundhouse which give a hint at how good they must have been live.
The Dream Syndicate Day of Niagara 1965. Aren't all these recordings of the group essentially live? Roaring.
Lost Shadows: In Defence Of The Soul - Yanomami Shamanism, Songs, Ritual, 1978. Recorded by David Toop now expanded on Sub Rosa. Choosing this may be cheating – but they are field recordings of live events!

two more:

Ground Zero Last Concert The 15 minute abstract opening track is an amazing sound. The band were fantastic at the LMC Festival in London, playing Consume Red live with the sound of the Korean Hojok piercing the air as this long composition slowly builds into an almost unbearable intensity. A 40 minute version of this is on the CD.

DJ Carhouse and MC Hellshit. Live at the LMC Festival 1996. The first time I 'got' improv was this gig. A kind of cartoon improv. 7" single, but a CD version exists.
 
Lightnin' Hopkins - Live in New York

It's not in front of an audience but it's a live recording, lovely album.
 
Sorry there's a new winner, Bowie/Cracked Actor. The much bootlegged LA 74 gig that's out as an RSD release. As a massive Bowie fan who has never been that much of of a fan of his live albums, this is something v special. The rhythm section can keep up with Mike Garson for a start.
 
One to avoid
Jefferson Airplane - Live at the Family Dog
Even with Captain Trips guesting this is a thin, screeching noise and such a disappointment after their excellent Bless Its Pointed Little Head.

Mike
 
Lynyrd Skynyrd - One More From the Road
Thelonious Monk - Live at the It Club
Thelonious Monk - Big Band and Quartet in Concert
Jim Hall - Live
Sonny Rollins - A Night at the Village Vanguard
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same
Miles Davis - Live at the Plugged Nickel
John Coltrane - 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings
John Coltrane - Live at Birdland
Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter
Charles Mingus - Mingus at the Bohemia
Charles Mingus - Mingus at Antibes
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Eric Clapton - Just One Night
Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles
 
Some nor mentioned:

The Enid, Live at the Hammersmith
ELP, Welcome Back
Rush All the World's a Stage
UFO, Strangers in the Night
Tangerine Dream, Logos
 
Some more...

Van der Graaf Generator - "Real Time"
Porcupine Tree - "Coma Divine" and "Anaesthetise"
Steven Wilson - "Get All You Deserve"
 
Richie Havens on Stage
Christmas Moore Live at The Point..... and the Vicar Street one
 
spinning this now:

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mr.datsun said:
A long long time ago, it would have been The Velvets Live 1969 or Lou Reed Rock n Roll Animal, but no more.
Click to expand...

Still one of my favourites. From my understanding, a lot of Reed purists hate it. I prefer it to Transformer, anyway, which is the only other Reed album I have, though that's also pretty good (no album with 'Perfect Day' on could be bad).

Generally live albums are pretty poor. Just another way to cash-in on a back catalogue and with sub-optimal recording quality. The Beatles' Live at the Hollywood Bowl being the nadir of this awfulness - virtually all you can hear is the screaming. But no doubt there's the odd gem from bands that were born to play live and never gelled as well in the studio.

I also like Kraftwerk's Minimum-Maximum, which was mentioned earlier. It's surely so pre-sequenced though, it almost seems like a con to call it a live album. Maybe there should be a new sub-category, 'studio prepared live' or something?
 
RickyC6 said:
Sorry there's a new winner, Bowie/Cracked Actor. The much bootlegged LA 74 gig that's out as an RSD release. As a massive Bowie fan who has never been that much of of a fan of his live albums, this is something v special. The rhythm section can keep up with Mike Garson for a start.
Click to expand...

Yep it's rather good!
 
Tony Bennett - Live at Carnegie Hall. SACD.

Can't stop playin this, the sound quality and the tunes are right up there.
 
Another late entry that I forgot...Television - The Blow Up. On cassette, of course.
 
I'm with you on Poland Live Claire.....I found this again recently and it is still a magic album.....nearly as good as Ricochet Pt2 IMHO. Whether any of it is actually really live though lol.

Of all the synth acts I like I don't think there is anyone making such a primal racket as the early TD stuff. I would imagine hearing them live now with a scary sound rig and expansive stage setup would be a frightening experience. Sadly for years they have become a parody I feel.
 
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