Essential Live Albums

[liebzz]

Gregg Allman - The Gregg Allman Tour

The last time I listened to this I was really high on this. I may have come back to earth a little on that, but there’s still some solid highlights here. Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing is a great way to start this off. Stand Back a nice shot of adrenaline. The Cowboys stuff is good. Dreams without the Brothers interesting. Turn On Your Love Light a nice take. The best thing here though has to be the closing Will the Circle Be Unbroken, which ties in a gospel feel nicely to wrap the festivities.

The Essential Performance: Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Up Next: Grateful Dead - One From the Vault

[wease]

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

Did you catch Michael McDonald on that third verse of Pretzel Logic?

[liebzz]

I have no background on Steely Dan, so I wouldn’t have known. That said, they well exceeded my expectations. A band I should have listened to already. We’ll have to remedy that at some point.

[wease]

I have no background on Steely Dan, so I wouldn’t have known. That said, they well exceeded my expectations. A band I should have listened to already. We’ll have to remedy that at some point.

[liebzz]

Grateful Dead - One From the Vault

In the midst of a live hiatus, the Grateful Dead recorded a new album, all of which they played at this show. While other songs were intertwined to bring a full set of songs (2 hours is a bit short for them), the focus here is the Blues for Allah songs, all delivered pretty close to the studio versions. For the most part, this is another exceptional show from them, with a great Eyes of the World. Among the many great live albums from this band.

The Essential Performance: Help On the Way/Slipknot!

Up Next: Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live!

[wease]

Do you smoke a doobie as big as a baby arm when you listen to the Bob Marley stuff?

[liebzz]

Do you smoke a doobie as big as a baby arm when you listen to the Bob Marley stuff?

I wish. This one in particular which has always been among my favorite live albums. It’s basically the reggae At Fillmore East for me at least.

[liebzz]

Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live!

To make this a little different than normal, I actually listened to the extended edition, which I had not done before - which, as the comparison to the “At Fillmore East of live reggae albums” holds, is the early and late shows this live album was drawn from. The extended version aside, the performances on this are electric. Bob at his absolute best. Trenchtown Rock is classic from this, as is Get Up Stand Up, I Shot the Sheriff, No Woman No Cry is the one on Legend I believe. I’ve heard this one more than any other Bob Marley album (that being the original release of Live!) because it’s that damn great.

The Essential Performance: No Woman No Cry

Next Up: Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Rolling Thunder Revue

[liebzz]

Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Rolling Thunder Revue

Dylan and friends out on the road together, putting original spins on his collective works. It seemed Dylan fans are often cranky about his existing catalogue being tinkered with, but here that’s where the performances most jump out. It Ain’t Me Babe, Blowing in the Wind, Just Like a Woman, and Knocking on Heaven’s Door all go through revisions and sound all the better for it. My favorite though has to be One More Cup of Coffee, which has a lot going on but it all sorts of fits together in the end.

The Essential Performance: One More Cup of Coffee

Up Next: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Hammersmith Odeon

[liebzz]

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Hammersmith Odeon, London 1975

The story behind this particular show, Bruce’s first across the pond, is that to his consternation, there was a ton of hype around it (posters saying something to the effect of “Is England ready for Bruce Springsteen?”). The legend goes he was infuriated and trying to rip down the posters where he saw them, and with that fire lit, hits the stage that night with a lot of pressure but with something to prove.

Bruce starts us off in stunning fashion with just him and Roy Bittan on piano for the entirety of Thunder Road. Stripping the song bare, in my view, is the way to go because I’d Bruce’s ability to carry the song all by himself. The band then kicks in one at a time it seems for Tenth Avenue Freezeout and we’re off from there - one epic blast after another. Every time you think Bruce is going to take it down they push way up. Everything on this thing is incredible but his interplay with the band on Lost in the Flood, the management of the ebbs and flows of Spirit in the Night, the swagger and swing of She’s the One, the majestic pure rock delivery of a then largely unknown Born to Run, and the big epic sweep of Backstreets are just the early highlights. This show REALLY takes off in Kitty’s Back where Bruce is just prowling with his guitar while we are treated to a number of jazz breakdowns until the monumental build following Danny Federici’s long organ jam that grows and grows with the full band all going bonkers through Clarence Clemons blowing out his sax. And then they come around for the final verse and another massive build. As if that wasn’t enough, they then bust out Jungleland followed by the massive party in Rosalita. Sandy (4th of July) finally takes the pedal off the gas for a few minutes until a 7 minute Detroit Medley blows the place up again. The encore of the piano and Bruce only For You is a moment to catch your breath before the whole band demolishes the place with Quarter to Three. This is the stuff live music is made of. To me, one of the essential live albums.

The Essential Performance: Kitty’s Back

Up Next: KISS - Alive! (Big gear switch here)

[liebzz]

This week is gonna be a bit crazy - I’m jumping nearly fully out of my comfort zone here. 1976 there were a lot of big live albums from bands I don’t have a whole lot of history with. In the next 9 live albums, I have heard maybe one or two of them total, so this should be an experience - a total of 14 live albums for 1976 with this last one I am in the midst of for 75.

[wease]

KISS- ALIVE!

Classic. Very excited to hear your take.

[liebzz]

KISS- ALIVE!

Classic. Very excited to hear your take.

Little shared fact: I actually saw the original KISS lineup on their reunion tour in 2000. We even had floor seats on Gene Simmons’ side of the stage. I could feel the heat coming off his fireball. Crazy night and a lot of fun.

[liebzz]

KISS - Alive!

This is a very different beast than what we’ve covered to this point. Whereas the classic bands we’ve spent a lot of time with rely on the music to drive the spectacle of the show, KISS are more or less reliant on the spectacle to drive the music. And look, there’s nothing wrong on its face on being pure entertainers with big riffs, killer Ace Frehley solos, and some good fun - the equivalent of Grand Funk Railroad and Deep Purple trying on a Stones-like swagger. Granted, they don’t live up to any of those standards, but it’s still a blast. This one probably would have benefited greatly from being a single album with the highlights here: Deuce, Strutter, Hotter Than Hell, Firehouse, She, Black Diamond, Cold Gin, and Rock N Roll All Nite would have done nicely and been a solid 45 mins. The rest is maybe a bit much of the same.

The Essential Performance: Rock N Roll All Nite

Up Next: Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive

[Ms Harmless]

Live on Two Legs, Benaroya Hall

[wease]

You left off Got to Choose and Parasite.

[liebzz]

Live on Two Legs, Benaroya Hall

On the list.

[liebzz]

You left off Got to Choose and Parasite.

Meh, I wasn’t that crazy about them, at least in comparison to the best of this. I think this is great until you hit the lulls. I mean, at 75 minutes it felt longer than the preceding live album that was 125 mins long. But when it was good, it was quite good.

[liebzz]

Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive!

This is another one, other than the hit singles, I had no familiarity with. I know it’s consistently voted by fans as one of the better live albums, and I was excited, given the Wayne’s World reference, to finally sit down and listen to this one. That said, it was a bit of a largely vanilla disappointment. It starts off pretty good with Something’s Happening, Doobie Wah, and Show Me the Way but after that is sort of drags all the way to Do You Feel Like We Do. I guess Baby I Love Your Way is the biggest hit here, but other than the talk box, I am not particularly impressed. Also, I actively despised the cover of Jumping Jack Flash.

The Essential Performance: Do You Feel Like We Do (I mean, you gotta have something with the talk box)

Next Up: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band - Live Bullet

[wease]

You left off Got to Choose and Parasite.

Meh, I wasn’t that crazy about them, at least in comparison to the best of this. I think this is great until you hit the lulls. I mean, at 75 minutes it felt longer than the preceding live album that was 125 mins long. But when it was good, it was quite good.

Got to Choose has my second favorite guitar solo ever. No, it’s not flashy or too-tier guitar work, but it hits me right in that sweet spot.

And Parasite just jams.