Essential Live Albums

[liebzz]

Listened to Cream Live II this morning

Steppin Out is on some next level chit

Yeah, that is the one song that follows in the mode of the first one. They were actually better when not playing the hits if that makes sense.

[liebzz]

John Lennon - Live in New York City

There are few Lennon performances after he stopped touring with The Beatles. This one with Yoko Ono and her band captures mostly the first of two shows on the same day in 1972 in Madison Square Garden - the last full shows John Lennon would play. Clearly he’s largely out of practice, uncomfortable, rambling between songs, missing lyrics. Really he doesn’t find “it” until Cold Turkey, which he absolutely nails, and would have been the same for Hound Dog had Yoko not ruined that one. For a guy who rarely stepped out, this isn’t the moment I think he was looking for.

The Essential Performance: Cold Turkey

Neil Diamond - Hot August Night

[liebzz]

Rough count right now is about 275 live albums currently on the list. This might take a while.

[liebzz]

Neil Diamond - Hot August Night

It will happen from time to time on this journey, but this was just one I could not get through. Really I’d say it was that I would not be agitated 1 out of every 5 songs or so. Diamond has a good band behind him, but too quickly they take a back seat to him, which is really the point, but it’s unfortunate. He’s got a nice voice and all but it just seems like he’s rolling through these and some of it is alright and some of it is just wasted space. A rare live album that just seems full of filler in between hits, of which there aren’t many.

The Essential Performance: Cherry Cherry

Up Next: Deep Purple - Made in Japan (yes, this is meant as a serious reversal antidote)

[liebzz]

Deep Purple - Made in Japan

I needed a cleanse after Neil Diamond - no offense to those of you who love him, but definitely not something that really sticks with me. So why not turn to the loudest rock to date, complete with every hard rock trope imaginable: wanking guitar solos, drum solos, high pitched scream wailing, the whole deal and then some. Child in Time brings plenty of heat, as does Smoke on the Water - the main hit in here. The Mule, Strange Kind of Woman, and Lazy bring all those cliches to life. Admittedly, Space Truckin’ is perhaps long for its abstract noise, but all is forgiven in the intense jumps back into hard jamming. The cathartic reversal in this live album might pull it up a few notches, but why not excess when you need it?

The Essential Performance: Smoke on the Water

Up Next: Led Zeppelin - How the West Was Won

[liebzz]

Led Zeppelin - How the West Was Won

I never really gave this one much of a spin. It came out during one of many Zep lulls, where I wasn’t really listening to them much and certainly at that moment lacked patience for their long expositions. Returning it to it now, I can see how much I missed. This is Zeppelin at the height of their live powers. Their playing is massive, though I also really loved the Going to California / That’s the Way / Bron-Y-Aur Stomp run. The Ocean feels like it’s bringing the house down even though it is introduced as a new song. Dazed and Confused sounds rather focused for its extended run time. Whole Lotta Love has a great medley mixed in the middle and they seem like they’ve got just the right balance going.

The Essential Performance: Bron-Y-Aur Stomp

Up Next: Grateful Dead - Europe ‘72

[liebzz]

Grateful Dead - Europe ‘72

This live album is really an iconic moment for this band despite the things that sort of hold it back. Overdubs, the song selection not really following the flow of the band, a bit shorter than a Grateful Dead show would be, but nevertheless the playing still transcends. Morning Dew stuns. Tennessee Jed is perfection. Truckin’ is about as good as it can possibly sound live. Hurts Me Too a reminder of the heft and gravity Pigpen brought to the band. China>Rider is spectacular as always. He’s Gone, Ramble on Rose, Mr. Charlie and Jack Straw all fabulous. It’s really a great entry point for someone thinking about diving into this band with nary a flaw or space where they lose focus. I listen and still yearn for that flow that came off these individual shows (nearly all of them I have heard were spectacular), but can’t argue with what’s here.

The Essential Performance: Morning Dew

Up Next: Rolling Stones - The Brussels Affair

[liebzz]

Rolling Stones - The Brussels Affair

We catch up with the Stones on their tour of Goats Head Soup. This may have the same name as the infamous bootleg and even some songs from the same shows, but a different track list. Nonetheless, the band is in peak form, no less on fire than the last time we visited them touring Exile on Main Street. In fact, the new songs - Dancing With Mr. D, Angie, Star Star, and Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) - are some of the best highlights from this. The Street Fighting Man and the Midnight Rambler are also pretty magical here, as is Gimme Shelter. They really were one helluva rock band at this point in their careers.

The Essential Performance: Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)

Up Next: Neil Young - Time Fades Away

[liebzz]

Neil Young - Time Fades Away

I haven’t listened to this one in quite a while. Rather than a live album in the traditional sense, this was released as an album of new songs and not just a rehash of that moment in time in the band. This is better than I remember, nearly everything here is quality stuff. The 8.5 minute Last Dance is the winner here.

The Essential Performance: The Last Dance

Up Next: Bob Marley and the Wailers - The Capitol Sessions 1973

[liebzz]

Bob Marley and the Wailers - The Capitol Session ‘73

As we will see later on, much of the iconic live material for Bob Marley comes mid to late 79s, so to get this in the early 70s we find a band more with a driving sense of struggle and anger, the themes that largely come through Catch A Fire, released that year. What’s immediately striking about this particular session is how much of a tight band these guys are. The focus is less Bob and more the groove. They basically nailed everything here but so save the best for last with a killer Get Up Stand Up, though that bass groove in Burnin’ and Lootin’ is probably one of my all time favorites.

The Essential Performance: Get Up Stand Up

Up Next: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley

[Farmer John]

Neil Young - Time Fades Away

I haven’t listened to this one in quite a while. Rather than a live album in the traditional sense, this was released as an album of new songs and not just a rehash of that moment in time in the band. This is better than I remember, nearly everything here is quality stuff. The 8.5 minute Last Dance is the winner here.

The Essential Performance: The Last Dance

Up Next: Bob Marley and the Wailers - The Capitol Sessions 1973

I remember when this was hard to find and how thrilled I was when PunkDavid shared it with me.

"Love in Mind" is probably my favourite song on here, but I'm not sure this is the best version of it. The live at the BBC version is tops.

[tragabigzanda]

[Farmer John]

I'm not sure about the test pressing, but it could be the version that's on Archives Vol 2. I think it was recorded on a different leg of the tour and features a different drummer (not as good).

[liebzz]

I didn’t get into it enough, but given that the last time I had heard it I was not as impressed - but likely because I was barreling through the whole catalogue. This time, as a stand alone, I can appreciate it more. Journey Through the Past, Yonder Stands the Sinner, L.A., and Don’t Be Denied are what really stuck out this listen for me. With Neil off Spotify I don’t listen as much, so getting these fresher takes I think brings more appreciation, at least for me.

[wease]

You’re getting to the period where Steely Dan had their biggest tour in ‘74. And they’re last until ‘93. They didn’t release anything as a live albums but there’s a nice handful of the shows on YouTube. If you’ve never heard any of them, I would recommend listening to at least a couple of them. It really shows what a good live band they were at that time. Pity Fagan and Becker cared nothing for it. Or even having an actual band at that point.

Memphis and the Rainbow in London are two of the better sounding shows. There’s an in-studio live radio performance that sounds the best of all of them but they don’t play a complete set due to time constraints for the radio program. You want to know what SD sounded like live back then, these are the shows that will give you the best idea.

[liebzz]

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon Live at Wembley

I admit initial skepticism for this. The studio album is one of those perfect albums that I can’t imagine can be properly replicated live. Every sound on that thing is essential and it doesn’t break down as much in songs as a single work. That said, this is a pretty good take on this. Extended a bit by little flourishes but largely faithful to the source material. The performance that seemed to bring out the most energy in the band seemed to be Money so we’ll go with that absent just including the whole thing.

The Essential Performance: Money

Up Next: Van Morrison - It’s Too Late to Stop Now Vol. 1

[liebzz]

Van Morrison - It’s Too Late to Stop Now Vol. 1

Maybe a little context is required here. I listened to this whole thing basically on a delayed train this evening, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt since I was indeed feeling a bit salty. This is largely pretty good, though it seems there were plenty of opportunities for the band to turn it up a notch and didn’t. It just felt to me there weee barriers to be broken here that mostly weren’t - subdued when one more notch would have driven it to the exact right place. So I walked away generally positive but feeling I could have been blown away. The exceptions here were Here Comes the Night and the last few minutes of Cyprus Avenue. Those were both fantastic.

The Essential Performance: Here Comes the Night

Up Next: Bob Dylan and the Band - Before the Flood

[liebzz]

You’re getting to the period where Steely Dan had their biggest tour in ‘74. And they’re last until ‘93. They didn’t release anything as a live albums but there’s a nice handful of the shows on YouTube. If you’ve never heard any of them, I would recommend listening to at least a couple of them. It really shows what a good live band they were at that time. Pity Fagan and Becker cared nothing for it. Or even having an actual band at that point.

Memphis and the Rainbow in London are two of the better sounding shows. There’s an in-studio live radio performance that sounds the best of all of them but they don’t play a complete set due to time constraints for the radio program. You want to know what SD sounded like live back then, these are the shows that will give you the best idea.

I’ll probably listen to the Record Plant since it sounds like that is the best sounding.

[liebzz]

Bob Dylan and the Band - Before the Flood

Wherein in 1966, the Hawks were at the time Dylan’s touring band, by 1974, The Band has had a fully successful career on their own. Getting to two entities back together still works but there’s an extra set of keys here that doesn’t quite fit the rest of the band. That said, these are mostly very solid versions of the songs (take out those keys and this would be a step up), and while this release oscillates between Dylan with the Band, the Band alone, Dylan alone, the Band alone and then everyone gets back together, the highlights really sort of jump between these things. Most Likely Go Your Way, Up On Cripple Creek, Stage Fright, It’s Alright Ma, The Shape I’m In, The Weight, All Along the Watchtower, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blowin’ in the Wind are all great - Like a Rolling Stone though is really an epic revision and the winner here though. That damn extra set of keys…

The Essential Performance: Like a Rolling Stone

Next Up: Steely Dan - Live at the Record Plant 1974

[liebzz]

Steely Dan - Live at the Record Plant 1974

This is a last minute addition to the list at wease’s suggestion. To his credit, he’s never steered me wrong so I gave this a whirl. First thing I noticed here is this band in this moment is really tight. Bodhisattva is an immediate jolt of that energy and tightness coming together nicely. Do It Again is a real highlight with a middle jam that’s a pretty wild synth ride. Any Major Dude Will Tell You is a great song and King of the World is a return back to that initial energy that struck me. Pretzel Logic here is awesome and the best moment of this with the instrumental that follows into Reeling In the Years - that is just an epic 15 minutes or so of great playing. This thing closes wjth This All Too Mobile Home, which holds a great rhythm. This is really good stuff. Thanks!

The Essential Performance: Pretzel Logic

Up Next: Gregg Allman - The Gregg Allman Tour