Essential Live Albums

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Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Live at the Fillmore East 1970

Out of order from the last one, but I wanted Crazy Horse to come second, only because well Neil solo following this would be harder. This thing is awesome, and I have loved this since it first came out. Just an absolute monster, particularly Down By the River and especially Cowgirl in the Sand. Those take the live album no doubt, but I also really enjoy Everybody Know This Is Nowhere, Winterlong, and Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown too. What a beast!?

The Essential Performance: Cowgirl in the Sand

Next Up: The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East

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Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East

I mean, this is the gold standard by which nearly any live album can be judged. Taken over a number of nights at Fillmore East, the band is just pure fire. I mean it is patently ridiculous and nearly unfair that two all time guitar greats with an all time great band go haywire - they go over 35 minutes from the start of the instrumental breakdown in You Don’t Love Me through Hot ‘Lanta, through Elizabeth Reed, and into Whipping Post where not a single word is sung and yet the whole damn thing is captivating. There’s the epic 23 minute Whipping Post, the opening explosion of Statesboro Blues, the deep dig into blues with Stormy Monday. Everything on here is pretty jaw dropping.

The Essential Performance: In Memory of Elizabeth Reed this time. It could be any of these depending on the listen.

Up Next: Led Zeppelin - The Complete BBC Sessions

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Yeah man. That Liz Reed could be the hottest live track ever. I never get tired of it.

[tragabigzanda]

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Nice words there liebzz. I agree it might be the best live album of all time.

Tom Dowd, man. Tom Dowd.

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I feel particularly strong about this because I listened to it right against some other really phenomenal live albums. Neil Young & Crazy Horse’s Live at the Fillmore East is one of my personal favorites - it just sounds amazing to my ears, and Grateful Dead’s Harpur College show is just bonkers. That this more than holds its own against that is pretty remarkable.

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Have you listened to the set that has the completed Fillmore East shows? ABB I mean. It sounds incredible. Easily the best sounding release in regards to the album. And going thru the tracks it’s remarkably easy to see why they picked the versions they did for the release.

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Yeah, we did that together in the Allman Brothers journey in the late summer.

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Just making sure.

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Yeah it took me a while to get through those. 3 nights, two shows per night if my memory serves - all great nights though yes they did get the best takes. The stuff that later made Eat a Peach are just as good too!

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Yeah it took me a while to get through those. 3 nights, two shows per night if my memory serves - all great nights though yes they did get the best takes. The stuff that later made Eat a Peach are just as good too!

Absolutely. At that point in time, IMO, they were untouchable.

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Yeah it took me a while to get through those. 3 nights, two shows per night if my memory serves - all great nights though yes they did get the best takes. The stuff that later made Eat a Peach are just as good too!

Absolutely. At that point in time, IMO, they were untouchable.

Yeah, it’s hard to argue with that. ‘71 Allmans, ‘72 Dead, ‘75-‘78 Springsteen - these are my favorite times.

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Led Zeppelin - The Complete BBC Sessions

This is largely 3 sessions - 2 from 1969 and 1 from 1971 performed live in the studio, though the 71 sessions seem to have some semblance of an audience. There are moments where this really just feels like Dazed and Confused and Communication Breakdown a hundred ways. That’s the toughest part. In here, there exist plenty of gems, particularly from the 71 sessions (the best Dazed and Confused and What Is and What Should Never Be are on disc three from the August 10, 1969 sessions). Specifically, Since I’ve Been Loving You from ‘71 is intense, a rockin’ Black Dog, and a stunning version of Stairway to Heaven, which I feel like may be hard to pull off live, especially when the audience is clearly unfamiliar with it, are the best of the bunch for me.

The Essential Performance: Stairway to Heaven

Up Next: The Who - Live from the Young Vic Theater (Who’s Next Deluxe Edition)

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Agreed. That was a tough listen to get thru due to all the repetitiveness.

How Many More Times was a favorite.

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Agreed. That was a tough listen to get thru due to all the repetitiveness.

How Many More Times was a favorite.

Yes, though not to be nit picky but the breakdown where nothing really happens goes on too long, but the front end and back end of the song is really great. The Whole Lotta Love with the Medley is also cool.

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The Who - Live at the Young Vic Theater 1971 (Deluxe Edition of Who’s Next)

The Who here playing much of Who’s Next and b-sides. It’s remarkable how from Tommy to Who’s Next, Pete Townshend really grew into writing to fit Daltry’s vocals and frontman persona. Tommy is surely Pete in all his awkward genius. Whose Next captures all of the epic majesty of The Who. These live versions do a great job capturing that, though that weird sped up first verse in Bargain is strange. As this continues the versions keep improving. At first I was convinced this Pure and Easy would be the winner on this one, but a great My Generation, (I’m A) Road Runner, Naked Eye, and Won’t Get Fooled Again show you don’t know when The Who have reached their apex until you listen through the whole thing. Amazing live band.

The Essential Performance: Naked Eye

Up Next: Otis Redding - Live at Whisky A Go Go

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Otis Redding - Live at Whisky a Go Go

The clock gets rewound a little this morning for a soul music break from all this classic rock. We start with Otis Redding, who over the course of an hour delivers soul originals and covers in a passionate powerful manner. The covers depart strongly from the originals, save for the show stopping Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag, even though he stops to say he’s doing it his way. Otis surely knows how to put on a show, and admittedly I didn’t have much background in his work save for Dock of the Bay, so this was a bit of an awakening.

The Essential Performance: Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag

Up Next: Aretha Franklin - Live at the Fillmore West

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Aretha Franklin - Live at the Fillmore West

It’s near impossible to up the ante on Otis, but this one may have done just that. Aretha’s voice is singular - maybe the greatest ever for this format. Her soulful voice runs incredibly deep, and from front to end it’s the star of the show. That shouldn’t take away from a tremendous band that accompanies her, but from the start of Respect, her voice commands just that. And that, by all rights, should have been the moment here, but it’s Spirit in the Dark, and then it’s Reprise with Ray Charles, that is the epic moment of this one. Incredible.

The Essential Performance: Spirit in the Dark/Reprise (w/Ray Charles)

Up Next: Santana - Live at the Fillmore

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Did you listen to the deluxe version that included King Curtis’s opening set?