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What's your favourite live album?
I've been listening to Iron Maiden's Rock in Rio album on loop for a couple of days (I'm learning a bunch of the songs), and it's such a great album. Really wide selection of their hits from across their career, some classics, loads of new stuff, some deeper cuts (the Blaze tracks). It sounds amazing, to say it was all recorded on a single night. Absolutely amazing album, I can't think of a live effort that I enjoy more.
What's your favourite live album?
Another one of my favourites, this - excellent choice.
I've not listened to much Townes Van Zandt, but I know my brother really loves him - I'll give it a listen!
My counterpoint to S&M, which is a great live album, is Metallica's Live Shit: Binge & Purge, 1993 in Mexico City.
Eric Clapton - Unplugged - I can never get enough of this album. Stripped down and acoustic, you hear everything. I know some people consider Clapton's singing voice subpar, but I enjoy the rawness. The album includes the best version of Layla, but my favorite track is Old Love. Really like how he hands off some solo time to the pianist on this track as well.
My pick as well. The audio mix/quality is amazing!
I (shamefully) never really listened to Rush. I think I'll need to start.
My favorite of their live albums is Different Stages, I think. I think live they peaked in the 90s although they were fantastic both before and after then. The sound they had at that point is my favorite and Geddy's voice was still pretty good although not 100%. Alex's guitar tone has a little more distortion in it than during the 70s and 80s and I think it adds to a lot of their songs.
The Allman Brothers Band - Eat a Peach. My favorite band since before I can remember and still to this very day. At least listen to One Way Out.
Well, Iron Maiden is just spectacular live. As I mentioned in another comment I am very sensitive to music being pitch perfect so I have a natural aversion for live albums in general. I will recommend these though that for some reason made an impression on me through the years.
AC/DC - If You Want Blood (You Got It). I'm a huge AC/DC fan and the intens feeling and sound on this album is just captivating. AC/DC is not particular tight but it feels tight...I don't know how to describe it.
Children of Bodom - Tokyo Warhearts. I think I'm just impressed about how clean sounding this is considering this genre can be pretty muddy live and it's from 1999. The vocals are great too and very authentic to the album.
Dark Tranquility - Where Death Is Most Alive. It just seem to catch DTs album sound really well
As a side note I just listened to Sum 41s live album from the House of Blues and holy shit that's bad. I can't believe they'd wanna release that. I'm seeing them in February and I'm kinda worried.
Lifa by Heilung (full album streamable on YT)
Also I think Pop Will Eat Itself Live at Weirds Bar and Grill is their best album. In the studio PWEI are a bit meh, but live they were amazing.
They're in the US right now. They're playing Denver tonight, Chicago on monday, then Silver Spring, NYC, Montreal, NYC later this month.
Three gigs in York, UK, next month. Might try to make one of those but York is a bit of a trek from me.
Pulse by Pink Floyd. Shine On You Crazy Diamond is absolutely amazing.
James Brown - Love Power Peace - from Paris in 1971, this is the original JBs, with Bootsy and Catfish Collins, Fred Wesley and Jabo Starks anchoring the band. An amazingly tight performance.
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie - Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 - Bird and Diz when they were still young and hungry. This wasn't discovered and released until 2005! (It takes about a minute for the engineer to get the mix dialed in after the band starts, and then WATCH OUT!)
P-Funk All-Stars - Live At The Beverly Theater in Hollywood - from 1983, an incredible gathering of "the baddest brothers in the world." George Clinton, Gary Shider, Eddie Hazel, Michael Hampton, Blackbird McKnight, Bernie Worrell, Rodney "Skeet" Curtis, Dennis Chambers and a couple of dozen other musicians and singers take it to the stage and tear the roof off the sucker.
And briefly (because I'm too lazy to find more links and write more blurbs):
John Coltrane - Newport '63
John Coltrane - The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings
Dr. Lonnie Smith - Live at Club Mozambique
Grant Green - Live At The Lighthouse
James Booker - Return of the Bayou Maharajah and Spiders on the Keys
Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall
Maceo Parker - Life On Planet Groove
Miles Davis - The Complete Concert 1964 (My Funny Valentine + Four & More)
Frank Zappa - Roxy And Elsewhere
Gil Evans - Live at Sweet Basil
Jimi Hendrix - Live at Fillmore East (2-disc version of the Band of Gypsies sessions)
Arabesque, by Jane Birkin. Working with a Middle Eastern orchestra, she reworks a number of Serge Gainsborugh songs using traditional Arabic formats. Haunting.
That's sounds amazing - I'll be checking it out on my way home from work :D
https://roadburn.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-roadburn-2013-2 Elder - Live at Roadburn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deuBDhpQ4VM Rage Against the Machine - Live and Rare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G0LcLgvnis Melvins - Alive at the Fucker Club
Roadburn is one of the best festivals in Europe. It's pretty small, but the atmosphere and the people are amazing. Also, surprise sets from bands are a delicacy.
Stevie Ray Vaughan - In The Beginning: https://open.spotify.com/album/5judWRJxX0B8BCohZDm69R
John Mayer Trio - Try!: https://open.spotify.com/album/0X9bvQYYtrAYdkO4OKtYwz
Vulfpeck - Live at Madison Square Garden: https://open.spotify.com/album/5KmXBjpN0wHutYBoDJBxmM
The official MSG video is out if you haven't seen it already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv4wf7bzfFE
Pink Floyd - Live in Pompeii - this is them at the peak of their proginess, I feel like.
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Live at Slane Castle - just beautiful musicianship, classic setlist, very well captured on video as well (look for DVD9 version).
I forgot one in my original comment:
JJ Cale & Leon Russell - Live at Paradise Studios
I own two separate DVD copies of this if that is any indication of how much time I’ve spent on it.
Any takers for Stop Making Sense?
I get down with Gary Clark Jr Live. Such a good album to have in the background. Hope to see him perform live someday.
I love Dave Matthews Band's Central Park Concert. I'm pretty sure I drove my family nuts as a teenager playing this album over and over.