Essential Live Albums

[wease]

Joe Cocker - Live at Woodstock

A completely fictional tale inspired by my listening experience with this set…

Perhaps you’ve met him or seen him hanging around. Uncle Joe. Rough looking guy. Penchant for whiskey and weed. No one really knows what Uncle Joe does for a living. All we know is he is an amiable guy, a bit unpredictable, but he’s got the most amazing record collection you’ve ever seen. I mean everything you can think of and then some - and an encyclopedic knowledge of every one of those albums. Engage with Uncle Joe and he’ll chew your ear off on every detail of that album, from liner notes to the recording process and all the individuals that made the thing happen. It’s intense. He knows every word to every song.

So one day, it’s his nephew’s big day - getting married. Uncle Joe called it gettin’ hitched. Uncle Joe got the invite, and despite tensions in the family, he’s showing up - unshaven, tye dye shirt, but he’s no slob because over it he’s got a gray blazer. Happy to chew the fat with anyone during the ceremony in that whisky scorn voice, he’s already knocked down half a bottle of Jack. Another quarter bottle down halfway through the ceremony, Uncle Joe’s taking matters into his own hands because the band, which the bride paid handsomely for, is not doing these songs justice. So he, slightly tipsy, a little slurred, storms the stage and grabs the mic. He’s gesticulating wildly and giving it his all. That whisky scorned voice barely even needs a microphone, and while security is working its way to the stage area, the band waives them off cause Uncle Joe is absolutely killing it. For the next hour, the wedding reception delights in an intense performance the likes no one has seen before. The bride and groom in shock as the guests quickly forget about the formalities of the evening and are there crowding the stage and on the dance floor. No one witnessed them cut the cake, though a few recall their first dance, to a ballad-like recreation of Just Like A Woman. They live happily ever after, but Uncle Joe lives on in legend of that day and that performance.

The Essential Performance: With a Little Help From My Friends

Next Up: Janis Joplin

I love this.

Gov't Mule NYE 2011 performance includes Cocker's entire Mad Dogs & Englishmen album... easily one of my favorite shows, entire theatre was just so damn happy.

Tedeschi Trucks Band has done that album as well.

I'll have to take a look for that. I have been very spotty with my listening of Trucks' solo stuff, Tedeschi's solo stuff or TTB... have releases from all but far from a complete exposure.

I actually have all their solo stuff but I haven’t listened to it. I’ve got all of TTBs stuff except those 4 albums they put out last year.

[oasisfan35]

Joe Cocker - Live at Woodstock

A completely fictional tale inspired by my listening experience with this set…

Perhaps you’ve met him or seen him hanging around. Uncle Joe. Rough looking guy. Penchant for whiskey and weed. No one really knows what Uncle Joe does for a living. All we know is he is an amiable guy, a bit unpredictable, but he’s got the most amazing record collection you’ve ever seen. I mean everything you can think of and then some - and an encyclopedic knowledge of every one of those albums. Engage with Uncle Joe and he’ll chew your ear off on every detail of that album, from liner notes to the recording process and all the individuals that made the thing happen. It’s intense. He knows every word to every song.

So one day, it’s his nephew’s big day - getting married. Uncle Joe called it gettin’ hitched. Uncle Joe got the invite, and despite tensions in the family, he’s showing up - unshaven, tye dye shirt, but he’s no slob because over it he’s got a gray blazer. Happy to chew the fat with anyone during the ceremony in that whisky scorn voice, he’s already knocked down half a bottle of Jack. Another quarter bottle down halfway through the ceremony, Uncle Joe’s taking matters into his own hands because the band, which the bride paid handsomely for, is not doing these songs justice. So he, slightly tipsy, a little slurred, storms the stage and grabs the mic. He’s gesticulating wildly and giving it his all. That whisky scorned voice barely even needs a microphone, and while security is working its way to the stage area, the band waives them off cause Uncle Joe is absolutely killing it. For the next hour, the wedding reception delights in an intense performance the likes no one has seen before. The bride and groom in shock as the guests quickly forget about the formalities of the evening and are there crowding the stage and on the dance floor. No one witnessed them cut the cake, though a few recall their first dance, to a ballad-like recreation of Just Like A Woman. They live happily ever after, but Uncle Joe lives on in legend of that day and that performance.

The Essential Performance: With a Little Help From My Friends

Next Up: Janis Joplin

I love this.

Gov't Mule NYE 2011 performance includes Cocker's entire Mad Dogs & Englishmen album... easily one of my favorite shows, entire theatre was just so damn happy.

Tedeschi Trucks Band has done that album as well.

I'll have to take a look for that. I have been very spotty with my listening of Trucks' solo stuff, Tedeschi's solo stuff or TTB... have releases from all but far from a complete exposure.

I actually have all their solo stuff but I haven’t listened to it. I’ve got all of TTBs stuff except those 4 albums they put out last year.

I did listen to those four albums and enjoyed them quite a bit.

[liebzz]

I am about 80% through The Band’s set - it is now the third time I’ve heard I Shall Be Released from this festival (Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, The Band). It must be the song of that weekend.

[liebzz]

The Band - Live at Woodstock (from Deluxe Edition of The Band)

There’s something comforting about listening to The Band, almost like a sort of homecoming. This set, though it seemed pretty brief, is a nice mix of hits and deeper cuts from the time. Of course another I Shall Be Released, though the best of the bunch so far. The palatable energy though comes in the encore on The Weight. This one isn’t as epic as say the Academy of Music (Rock of Ages) or The Last Waltz, but a solid set nonetheless.

The Essential Performance: The Weight

Next Up: Sly and the Family Stone

[wease]

So you’ve got two more versions of Released coming…

[Higgs]

So you’ve got two more versions of Released coming…

This is so funny. Why have we never heard about the absolute glut of 'I Shall Be Released' versions at Woodstock??

Surely I should have already read this on Reddit at some point?

[liebzz]

Sly and the Family Stone - Woodstock Sunday August 17, 1969

It is a nice sudden change of pace on a folk and rock heavy festival to get the sudden jolt of energy from Sly and the Family Stone. Based on funk and soul grooves, they bring the fire from the outset of their set to the finish to the extent that it’s hard to pin down exactly what the top highlight would be, but I’ll take the moment where the band gets the Woodstock crowd right in the thick of it during their Higher/Music Lover Medley. Killer performance.

The Essential Performance - Medley: Higher/Music Lover

Up Next: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

[liebzz]

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Live at Woodstock (YouTube)

As we noted, CSNY’s second ever performance and it’s a doozy. Starting with an acoustic set, they open with Suite: Judy Blue Eyes which is immediately familiar then follow it with a nice cover of The Beatles’ Blackbird that the crowd gets really into. The other main highlights for me in the acoustic set are the reworked Mr. Soul and a great 4+20. They follow with an electric set that is really phenomenal, particularly Sea of Madness and set highlight Wooden Ships. The band, the crowd, everyone was having a great time at 3:30 in the morning on this night.

The Essential Performance: Wooden Ships

Next Up: Jimi Hendrix

[liebzz]

So you’ve got two more versions of Released coming…

This is so funny. Why have we never heard about the absolute glut of 'I Shall Be Released' versions at Woodstock??

Surely I should have already read this on Reddit at some point?

From my limited research on the internets, three versions at Woodstock - Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, and the Band.

[wease]

I have to believe attending a Sly show back then would an absolute awe-inspiring experience.

[doug rr]

I have to believe attending a Sly show back then would an absolute awe-inspiring experience.

did you ever end up watching Summer of Soul?

[liebzz]

I watched Summer of Soul. Really good.

[wease]

I have to believe attending a Sly show back then would an absolute awe-inspiring experience.

did you ever end up watching Summer of Soul?

I did not!

[doug rr]

I have to believe attending a Sly show back then would an absolute awe-inspiring experience.

did you ever end up watching Summer of Soul?

I did not!

good lord

[Bammer]

Post the poll already

[blueviper]

neil diamond hot august nights

Ditto

[liebzz]

Post the poll already

There are polls?

[liebzz]

Jimi Hendrix - Live at Woodstock

We close out Woodstock week with the most famous of all sets from the most famous of concerts. That’s a lot of hype for Hendrix to live up to. I have heard versions of this show, and have the DVD which I think only captures about 45 minutes of the performance. That highlight reel does no justice to this, and I always wondered why this performance was so regarded. The whole show tells the story in all its glory. Maybe it’s because I powered through a bunch of these sets to land on what is truly an otherworldly performance at the festival’s close, but this now seems every bit as epic as legend made it out to be. Spanish Castle Magic, Izabella, Fire, and Purple Haze are all easy favorites here, but of course the big moment is that Voodoo Child with the Star Spangled Banner tag. Damn.

The Essential Performance: Voodoo Child (Slight Return) > Star Spangled Banner

Next Up: Cream - Live Cream

[wease]

Are you doing both volumes of Live Cream?

[liebzz]

Cream - Live Cream

Without the burden of hit songs, this live album allows an opportunity to sort of just groove with Cream, who take their time here and lock in nicely on the tracks they share here. Each one has a sort of loose classic rock feel with a touch of power trio blues, a couple of lyrics so we remember who’s there, and mostly features the band jamming through deeper cuts than say the pure greatest hits. A pure coin toss for the best of this bunch.

The Essential Performance: Rollin’ and Tumblin’

Up Next: The Who - Live at Leeds