Essential Live Albums

[liebzz]

The Rolling Stones - Live at the El Mocambo 1977

Despite critically underwhelming (though for at least two of those albums criminally underrated) set of three albums, the Stones were apparently drugged up and living on the edge. With Keith Richards facing potential jail time (he didn’t end up getting any), the band is on edge and here playing a set of secret shows under the moniker The Cockroaches at the El Mocambo, which has a capacity of 300. This edge serves them well for this, where the focus is on deeper cuts and “new” stuff. They are on fire on this live album and the sound is spectacular. All Down the Line, Hand of Fate, Route 66, Crazy Mama, Mannish Boy, Dance Little Sister, Around and Around, Hot Stuff, Worried Life Blues, Little Red Rooster, Melody, and Luxury are as good as they’ll ever sound, though the winner here is the throwback Crackin’ Up. This is pretty spectacular.

The Essential Performance: Crackin’ Up

Up Next: Elvis Costello - Live at the El Mocambo

[Happy Trees]

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

This is one of my favorite bootlegs of all time, and I'm not even huge on Steely Dan.

"King of The World" is insanely good. Instrumentally, I always felt it had kind of a Radiohead vibe. Or maybe it just has the same things I like about Radiohead. That looping, tight but teetering-on-chaos thing and the instrumentation. But nobody in the entire world agrees with me.

[Happy Trees]

I am curious what libezz would think about "Captain Beefheart: Live At My Fathers Place 1978". It's been an under-the-radar gem since 2000 (and a bootleg since 1978) but finally just came out on vinyl for RSD. It has been getting a surprisingly positive reaction and good quality live Beefheart recordings are rare. He was starting to really suffer from MS but he is in relatively good form regardless. As usual, the secret weapon is his crazy good and unique band. Beefheart's vocals are merely a coloring.

[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

This is one of my favorite bootlegs of all time, and I'm not even huge on Steely Dan.

"King of The World" is insanely good. Instrumentally, I always felt it had kind of a Radiohead vibe. Or maybe it just has the same things I like about Radiohead. That looping, tight but teetering-on-chaos thing and the instrumentation. But nobody in the entire world agrees with me.

I’m not sure about the Radiohead reference as I know next to nothing about them, but KotW is my favorite Dan tune. Indeed, hearing it is what made the lightbulb go off.

[liebzz]

I am curious what libezz would think about "Captain Beefheart: Live At My Fathers Place 1978". It's been an under-the-radar gem since 2000 (and a bootleg since 1978) but finally just came out on vinyl for RSD. It has been getting a surprisingly positive reaction and good quality live Beefheart recordings are rare. He was starting to really suffer from MS but he is in relatively good form regardless. As usual, the secret weapon is his crazy good and unique band. Beefheart's vocals are merely a coloring.

Weirdly not on streaming services?

[liebzz]

Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Live at the El Mocambo 1978

Good news is we have no commute from the last live album to this one. On this one, there’s a ton of raw energy from Costello and the band as they rip through a high energy set. All of this is pretty spot on, though given the quality of the recording on the Stones shows from the same venue, that may be the only source of mild disappointment. Mystery Dance, Waiting for the End of the World, Welcome to the Work Week, Less Than Zero, and The Beat is an awesome run to start things off, and the final run of songs is similarly smoking, from Radio Radio to a vicious Lipstick Vogue, Watching the Detectives, Miracle Man, You Belong to Me, and an almost combustible Pump It Up. My favorite here though is The Beat. Excellent show here.

The Essential Performance: The Beat

Up Next: Peter Tosh - Live at My Father’s Place 1978

[liebzz]

Peter Tosh - Live at My Father’s Place 1978

Once again, Tosh comes off as the most intense of the reggae legends, as his songs focus on political and social upheaval - though much of it here seems to be advocating for the legalization of marijuana. Nevertheless, his brand of reggae comes with searing guitar solos, intense breakdowns, and his signature deep voice. 400 Years, Stepping Razor, Bush Doctor, and the jam into and through Legalize It are all big highlights, though the winner here is the doom and groove of this performance of Burial. This guy sure was a beast live.

The Essential Performance: Burial

Up Next: Bob Marley and the Wailers - Babylon By Bus

[liebzz]

Bob Marley and the Wailers - Babylon By Bus

I don’t track at what juncture Bob Marley transitioned from a driven by politics and injustice artist into a religious deity for folks, but this seems to be somewhere in that moment. Here, unlike really the other live releases, you can practically feel the crowd getting into this full force and evidenced most clearly
In Punky Reggae Party. This show really has a ton of religious overtones as well, with constant Rastafarian references. Still a more than solid outing with a lot of deeper cuts.

The Essential Performance: Jammin’

Up Next: The Rolling Stones - Some Girls Live in Texas

[liebzz]

Rolling Stones - Some Girls Live in Texas

This may be the 100th live album of this journey. Instead of popping this one on the headphones, I watched the show on Nugs. This one definitely has moments where the band is white hot, tearing through blues, hits, and Some Girls tracks leaving nothing on the stage by the time this one was done. The run of Beast of Burden, Miss You, Just My Imagination, Shattered, and Respectable is bonkers. I mean some serious energy from the band. Then after Far Away Eyes (I’m amazed none of them cracked up), and Love in Vain, they hit a building peak in the run of Tumbling Dice, Happy, Sweet Little Sixteen, Brown Sugar and then the set closing tear the house down Jumping Jack Flash. I mean this is them at their all time sleaziest just filthing the place up - rock n roll at its finest.

The Essential Performance: Jumping Jack Flash

Up Next: Aerosmith - Live Bootleg

[liebzz]

Aerosmith - Live Bootleg

Okay, so I have to admit I was being a little mean by pairing Aerosmith right after The Rolling Stones. Aerosmith is kind of that band you’re friends with but can’t help constantly picking on them - mostly because they just so happen to reinvent themselves in a pseudo image of what’s happening in that moment. They just so happened to be banging out blues rock with a rock swagger soon after the Stones perfected it. Just so happened to adjust to big arena rock when other 80s bands had been taking excess that much further, just so happened to go more earnest rock in 90s, pop rock in the late 90s, blues rock revival in the early aughts…you get the drift.

What sometimes gets lost in that is they were really good at the 70s blues rock thing, and so to have this document of that time is putting the absolute best face on this band. They had already amassed a good number of hits that make their way into this, and they don’t disappoint, even on the deeper cuts. Sick As a Dog and Chip Away the Stone are legit highlights among Walk This Way, Toys in the Attic, and Mama akin. The winner is Train Kept a Rollin’, an absolute barn burner.

The Essential Performance: Train Kept a Rollin’

Up Next: Jethro Tull - Burstin’ Out

[liebzz]

Captain Beefheart - I’m Going to Do What I Want to Do: Live at My Father’s Place 1978

Got a chance to listen to this on YouTube. This sort of oscillates between genius and unlistenable. I get it’s going for something different and in the general vicinity of Zappa, though maybe with a bit more structure to it. Safe As Milk, When I see Mommy I Feel Like a Mummy, Bat Chain Puller, The Floppy Boot Stomp, and Ice Rose were my favorites - the trombone seemed to help things. I also liked Dropout Boogie and Nowadays…, but I probably wouldn’t run back to this. It was a fascinating listen and in the epic battle royal between Beefheart and Zappa I probably prefer Beefheart on limited listening for what that’s worth.

The Essential Performance: The Floppy Boot Stomp

Up Next: Jethro Tull - Burstin’ Out (really)

[oasisfan35]

Man, I haven't listened to any Zappa in ages. Do you have any live releases of his on the list?

[Happy Trees]

Man, I haven't listened to any Zappa in ages. Do you have any live releases of his on the list?

Discs 1 & 2 of "Erie" (May 8, 1974) should be done here. It is peak Zappa in my opinion.

[liebzz]

We did Fillmore East. It wasn’t pretty. I can try to throw another in, but I probably need a breath before that. I’ll find a place for it. I also missed another live release that I’ll put it with.

[Happy Trees]

We did Fillmore East. It wasn’t pretty. I can try to throw another in, but I probably need a breath before that. I’ll find a place for it. I also missed another live release that I’ll put it with.

5/8/74 is nothing like Fillmore East.

[liebzz]

We did Fillmore East. It wasn’t pretty. I can try to throw another in, but I probably need a breath before that. I’ll find a place for it. I also missed another live release that I’ll put it with.

5/8/74 is nothing like Fillmore East.

We’ll get there before we close out the 70s - I say this as I listen to a dueling guitar and flute solo. The 70s.

[oasisfan35]

We did Fillmore East. It wasn’t pretty. I can try to throw another in, but I probably need a breath before that. I’ll find a place for it. I also missed another live release that I’ll put it with.

I totally glossed over that one, apparently for good reason.

[liebzz]

We did Fillmore East. It wasn’t pretty. I can try to throw another in, but I probably need a breath before that. I’ll find a place for it. I also missed another live release that I’ll put it with.

I totally glossed over that one, apparently for good reason.

Granted my brain might be too conventional.

[Happy Trees]

We did Fillmore East. It wasn’t pretty. I can try to throw another in, but I probably need a breath before that. I’ll find a place for it. I also missed another live release that I’ll put it with.

I totally glossed over that one, apparently for good reason.

Granted my brain might be too conventional.

You should have no problem with Edinboro 74.

Everybody loves cocktail lounge music.

Hey. Say.

[liebzz]

Jethro Tull - Bursting Out

Flute rawk!!! I don’t play the flute, but if you told me in a vacuum it was a vehicle for rock music, I might laugh, except anything is possible in the land of prog. And here, there are some epic moments - along with some serious lulls - but the big moments, particularly at the end in the run of Quatrain, Aqualung, and Locomotive Breath, that make the whole thing worth it. Sweet Dream, Songs from the Wood, Hunting Girl, and Too Old to Rock n Roll Too Young to Die are also good highlights. Thick As a Brick seems like it would work great off a studio track but doesn’t quite translate, and the rest is well the rest.

The Essential Performance: Locomotive Breath

Up Next: Cheap Trick - At Budokan