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A favorite of mine. So many great songs. Much like many great live records (Cheap Trick's Live at Budakon, or Frampton Comes Alive comes to mind), the performance of these are better than their studio versions. CD's might not do this record justice, as it came out with side A being acoustic, and side B being electric. So many great performances. "Powderfinger," "Like a Hurricane," and even "Lotta Love," just make this record such a classic.
You cannot discuss live music without including the Dead. I know, with all the Dick's picks, and vast catalog of liver recordings, to go with this one makes me look like a poser. This record turned me on to so many great Dead songs. Dead worlds collided on this record as it was the last one with Pigpen, but also the first to feature the Godchauxs. A true classic.
This one is kind of a cheat, but I must include it. Christmas 1985 my parents bought me a cd player. I was the first kid I knew to have one. With it I received this box set. I wasn't a hug fan of Springsteen at the time, but my parents (my mom, who helped form my musical tastes) felt it was an essential set to have. I must have listened to it in its entirety and shuffled for a few years. I can still do Bruce's "rap" before the River" or "Growin' Up." Cannot say I play much off of it anymore, but boy, did they create a serious foundation for my musical tastes.
Never has an album, so stripped down, shown the true talents of a band like this "unplugged." Kurt Cobain was struggling with drug withdrawal and nervousness at the time, and things were very tense going into that performance. What made this special and different than all the other "unplugged" shows, Nirvana did these song sin one take, like a true live show. I love that Nirvana shied away from the "hits" and played 6 covers. The songs with the Meat Puppets really showed the talents of the group.
Rolling Stones - Rock & Roll Circus
Not a true, live concert performance, but a live recording, none the less. The Stones put out various live recordings, but this 1968 Jagger-based concept is something most causal Stones fans have never seen. Based off of a circus theme, the Stones gathered up some strong acts such as the Who, Jethro Tull, and the Dirty Mac to perform. The performance was supposed to air on the BBC, but the Stones felt it was substandard and fought its release until 1996. Their performance of "Sympathy for the Devil" alone is worth this recording.
Hmm... This is hard for me. I tend to listen to studio albums about 99% of the time, and can't really count any live albums among my favorites. I suppose "Live at Buddokan" is a classic, if only for Robin Zander's introductory line to "Surrender" when he says "This next one is the first song on our new album", later sampled by the Beasties.
ReplyDeleteNirvana Unplugged would probably make my list as well -- that really set the bar high for what a live album can and should be. As would Johnny Cash's "Live at Folsom Prison".
I figured Frampton Comes Alive would make the Rolling Stone list, but let's ask the question that begs asking: Is Peter Frampton relevant at all these days? No.
Honestly, my favorite live album is a bootleg that I own of a Billy Bragg show a few years back during which he took audience requests. My wife and I were in the audience, and he played one of our requests -- "The Only One". It was terrific, but it doesn't really count for this list because it wasn't an official release.