Great Live Albums

László

László

Too Many Notes
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Apr 26, 2012
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Location
Michigan
i’m more a fan of studio albums than live, but there are a few great ones; The Allmans Live at the Fillmore always makes me happy, and today I listened to one that’s less well known, but is really good: Clapton and Winwood Live at Madison Square Garden in 2008.

Winwood can still sing like a champion, and Clapton, well, is Clapton. They did 21 songs from Clapton’s best years, Winwood’s best, Blind Faith, Traffic, etc., and the performances and sound are first-rate.

Winwood’s keyboard playing kills, and Clapton...yeah, he’s Clapton (lo and behold I said that before!).

Got fave live albums? Talk about them!
 
In many ways I actually prefer a good live album. A quick think through my favorites would bring up Rush's Exit Stage Left. I love that album! And Gary Moore's Blues alive. I bought both of those around the late 90s before I had bought any other Rush or Gary Moore albums so they became my defining sound for those artists.

Can't go wrong with a Joe Bonamassa live album either.

Honorary mention to Pink Floyd's Is there anybody out there, the Wall live.
 
Oy, Many...Rush's All the World's a Stage was my first Rush album, and also quite a start to a wonderful relationship...and is fantastic. Gary Moore at Montreux is awesome. Queen's Live Killers is never far from being played. And would wholeheartedly agree with the Who's Leeds disc above...great stuff, especially Magic Bus. Kansas's Two for the Show is great. Man, I used to collect Live Albums and love them all...Great topic to rekindle every few years.
 
Who - Live At Leeds
Kiss - Alive
Thin Lizzy - Live And Dangerous
Ozzy - Tribute
Any live Zappa album
Warren Zevon - Learning To Flinch
Queensryche - Operation Livecrime
Elton John - Here And There

A new entry in my collection is the recently released Linda Ronstadt live album. She's apparently not a fan of live albums, but this is really good, especially "You're No Good".
 
Newer: Tedeschi Trucks Band Live From The Fox Oakland.

Many of my favs from the past have been listed. Rather than add those again, I'll toss out a couple not mentioned:

Pat Travers - Live! Go For What You Know - seems like we listened to that a ton back in the early 80s.
Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush - Live
Deep Purple - Made In Japan
Iron Maiden - Live After Death
AC/DC - If You Want Blood, You Got It
Ramones - It's Alive
Irish Tour '74 - Rory Gallagher
 
How about The Beatles "Hollywood Bowl"? I have several bootlegs of the Beatles live (the Budokan tape is great), but the remastering of this concert made it much better. You can sense the energy and excitement, and you can hear The Beatles themselves and their instruments clearly over the screaming.
 
I love Babylon by Bus and Live by The Wailers, there’s some really great stuff on those.

Also a fan of The Youth are Getting Restless by Bad Brains.
 
I prefer live music in general, whether it be in concert or live in the studio.

Some suggestions of concert stuff:

The live Cream stuff is fantastic. EC was simply on fire improvising back then.
Jimi/Band of Gypsys
Derek & the Dominos Live at the Fillmore
Any Allman Bros
Marshall Tucker Band - second record of Where We All Belong. Those guys were incredible live in their prime.
A wide, wide range of Zappa stuff, but particularly the goofy, but virtuoso-laden performances from the early-mid 70's.
For something a little newer, check out Soul on Ten by Robben Ford. 8 of the 10 tracks are a live trio.
Anything by Snarky Puppy, but particularly We Like it Here and Family Dinner Vol. 1 (the Lalah Hathaway track is worth the price of entry on its own)
 
Oh, and Joe Bonamassa, A New Day Yesterday Live is killer. This is early in his solo career before he became a superstar. Just a trio and there is some ripping playing on it.
 
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