Your favorite, and least favorite, live albums

[Rudy]

Various Artists Urgh! - A Music War

This one is such a great snapshot of a specific niche of punk and new wave back in the day. It's another I can listen to all the way through. (In fact, I may have to do a needle drop of this one soon.) And like the I.R.S. Greatest Hits 2&3, it introduced me to a lot of these bands. My only limitation back then was budget--I would have bought more of those records by artists featured on both of these 2-LP sets.

I did forget but I have the LP of Donna Summer Live and More. I also bought the import CD of this as well as the first release did not have the MacArthur Park Suite on it.

I actually bought this for the "MacArthur Park Suite" as, at the time, that was the only way to get the entire version, and it had very heavy airplay here on the R&B/soul stations (the entire suite). The 12" single that followed had spliced in a remixed version of "Heaven Knows" and even to this day, that version bothers me since it upsets the flow of the track. I would guess Casablanca was afraid to release it as a 12" single initially since it would have made a big dent into sales of that 2-LP set.

 

[GDBY2LV]

I had forgotten that the very first live album I bought was Iron Butterfly “Live” it has the incredible and longer version of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vída, with the then best rock drum solo ever. At almost 19:00 long, the track took up one whole side of the album.
That was in 1970. Quite the opposite of what became my favorite group a year later. The crazy cover is an excellent product of it’s time too.

 

[rockdoctor]

T

This one is such a great snapshot of a specific niche of punk and new wave back in the day. It's another I can listen to all the way through. (In fact, I may have to do a needle drop of this one soon.) And like the I.R.S. Greatest Hits 2&3, it introduced me to a lot of these bands. My only limitation back then was budget--I would have bought more of those records by artists featured on both of these 2-LP sets.


I actually bought this for the "MacArthur Park Suite" as, at the time, that was the only way to get the entire version, and it had very heavy airplay here on the R&B/soul stations (the entire suite). The 12" single that followed had spliced in a remixed version of "Heaven Knows" and even to this day, that version bothers me since it upsets the flow of the track. I would guess Casablanca was afraid to release it as a 12" single initially since it would have made a big dent into sales of that 2-LP set.

The MacArthur Park Suite is listed on the Bad Girls Expanded Edition but it has the single version of Heaven Knows in place of the original album version.
You are correct that it wrecks the flow and just does not fit. I was upset when I first heard that but was happy when the original edit of Live and More appeared.

 

[AM Matt]

Iron Butterfly "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" ran 17:05. The 1970 song "Butterfly Bleu" ran 14:03 (with weird sounds & a talk box).

 

[GDBY2LV]

The “Live” version is 18:50………that’s what this thread is about, not studio recordings.

 

[tomswift2002]

What about those albums that fall in the middle? I’ve got a few LP’s where Side 1 is studio recordings, but then Side 2 is a LIVE recording (I can think of one Roger Whittaker LP that is like this). Or dual discs albums where LP 1 is all studio but LP 2 is a LIVE recording?

(And when I think of it, the 1964 Beach Boys Concert sort of falls into that category as well, since a number of vocals on that album had to be redubbed in the studio because the screaming fans over powered the “LIVE” vocals so much that they couldn’t use the vocal tracks.)

 

[goodjeans]

My favorite live albums are Weekend in LA By George Benson Main Event Live By Herb Alpert and Hugh Masekela and Barry Manilow Live one album I don't own but my Mom had was The Bee Gees Live At Last from I believe 1976 just before their Explosion in the Disco scene I enjoyed that one other Live albums are OK but not really Necessary unless they contain material that hasn't been recorded previously but even those are rare few and far between to me

"Edge Of The Universe" is fantastic on this release. Thank you for the memory.

 

[Moritat]

My only favorite live lp would be SWISS MOVEMENT by Les McCann & Eddie Harris. I'm generally not a fan of live lps. I would say my least favorite live lps would be any & all live lps where the performers perform the songs faster than the tempo on the original record. The idea of doing a song faster when performing live has always been a pet peeve.

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Led Zeppelin's "The Song Remains The Same" comes to mind..

 

[rbisherw]

all favorites

The Hollies - Live (1976 release on Epic, import from Canada. Never released in US). Retitled for CD issue as "Hollies Live".
The band is so tight and the performance is superb. At almost 60 minutes in length, amazed they squeezed this onto one LP at the time of release.
Criminally overlooked

Allman Brothers - The1971 Fillmore East Concerts (6 CD Box set). A classic. The interplay between Jaimoe and Butch is incredible, not to mention Duane and Gregg.
A must for headphone listening.

Humble Pie - Performance; Rockin' the Fillmore - the original album or the 4 CD Box set. Everyone in this band is a superb player. Jerry Shirley an incredible drummer.

Keith Jarrett - Solo Concerts (Bremen, Lausanne)

Al Kooper - Soul of a Man

Woody Shaw Quintet - Basel 1980

Get yer Ya Yas, .Live at Leeds, Frampton..etc...I could go on and on..

 

[AM Matt]

Two great rock albums from 1979, UFO "Strangers In The Night" which came out in January 1979 & Pat Travers Band "Go For What You Know" from June of 1979 which has the song "Boom, Boom Out Goes The Lights".

 

[Mark-T]

I'm one of those folks that Harry mentions in that I absolutely love Carpenters Live at the Palladium. The other live disc I find terrific is Sting's Bring On the Night.

 

[Rudy]

I'm one of those folks that Harry mentions in that I absolutely love Carpenters Live at the Palladium.

I didn't listen to it much when it came out (it was an import LP I found at Peaches, when it was first released), but I always liked how it was presented as a complete concert. Been years since I've heard it or for that matter, even seen it in storage. The more I think about it, I'm missing a few records, so I'm thinking I have a whole box of records misplaced in the basement, records I knew I never got rid of.

The other live disc I find terrific is Sting's Bring On the Night.

That was a cool time in music--CDs were just starting to become really popular. A store I frequented would often order in import titles that were never released in the US, so Bring On The Night was one I picked up when it first came out, years before A&M released it in the US. (And I played it heavily that summer!) We had Wham!'s The Final compilation compilation available here on release date also. That's one store I really miss.

I think that Sting concert may also have had a laserdisc version, as I recall watching it. Possibly could have been VHS if it wasn't available on LD.

 

[Mark-T]

My wife and I went to see Sting’s tour with the symphony about ten years ago. Fantastic!

 

[Mark-T]

I didn't listen to it much when it came out (it was an import LP I found at Peaches, when it was first released), but I always liked how it was presented as a complete concert. Been years since I've heard it or for that matter, even seen it in storage. The more I think about it, I'm missing a few records, so I'm thinking I have a whole box of records misplaced in the basement, records I knew I never got rid of.


That was a cool time in music--CDs were just starting to become really popular. A store I frequented would often order in import titles that were never released in the US, so Bring On The Night was one I picked up when it first came out, years before A&M released it in the US. (And I played it heavily that summer!) We had Wham!'s The Final compilation compilation available here on release date also. That's one store I really miss.

I think that Sting concert may also have had a laserdisc version, as I recall watching it. Possibly could have been VHS if it wasn't available on LD.

Gotta find that box! It would drive me crazy.