The best live albums ever!

[Blinder Data]

I never used to listen to live albums. For some reason I found them a bit inauthentic and hokey. But I've been enjoying them more and more, especially the ones that possess an energy unlike anything that could be recorded in the studio.

Probably one of my favourite albums now is Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the Star Club. It's astonishing. That bit towards the end of High School Confidential when the band barely keep in time with him is just amazing. The whole thing is a high-speed train struggling to stay on the tracks.

Any more recommendations? I'm particularly interested in albums like the above where you don't need to be a fan of the artist/genre to recognise that the recording has captured something totally unique about the performance.

[Shaky]

Probably an obvious one, but Agharta by Miles Davis is just staggering. The energy, the grooves, the individual performances... I'd love to be more eloquent but the music speaks for itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crpJgZxqMcg

[MoonDust]

Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads is pretty bloody fantastic.

It's also filmed. Think the whole set is on Youtube.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense, The Name of the Band is the Talking Heads.
Allman Brothers - At Filmore East.
N-Joi - Live in Manchester.
Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus.
Nina Simone - Is it Finished?
edit: oh

[Shit Good Nose]

The Band's Rock of Ages ticks that box several times over.  Forget The Last Waltz (which I do love, but I'll quickly acknowledge that its reputation has overshadowed its actual worth, not to mention amounts of overdubs that would make Frank Zappa blush), Rock of Ages is a masterpiece that has everything - astounding performance, captured atmosphere, a lively audience, and even a guest horn section which isn't fist-chewingly embarrassing.

It's the one album I recommend to everyone.

[Pauline Walnuts]

Old stereotype but The Who's Live at Leeds, is really good.

Especially dare I say the single LP version where it keeps it nice and compact.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Bootleg, but the Mezzanine Live recorded by Radio 1 at the Albert Hall is great (why don't they do stuff like that these days?).

[mrClaypole]

Madstock by Madness.
I've heard a bootleg of the 2 gigs,  the producer did a great job of removing most of the mistakes.

[NoSleep]

Probably an obvious one, but Agharta by Miles Davis is just staggering. The energy, the grooves, the individual performances... I'd love to be more eloquent but the music speaks for itself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crpJgZxqMcg

Agharta is a good one. Also the best part of Miles' Live/Evil comes live from the Cellar Door in Washington DC, with some tasty post-production by Teo Macero. How can you go wrong with both Keith Jarrett and John McLaughlin onboard?

Santana's Lotus is another favourite, originally a 3 LP set only available on import from Japan but now available as a 2CD set; reminiscent of the the same period of Miles. The big hits are dispensed with early on and then the band really get going.

Velvet Underground 1969 features some songs that Lou Reed only got around to recording as a solo artist and also some rousing versions of some familiar VU material. The outstanding feature is Lou Reed's lead guitar work; a naive master in much the same way as Neil Young revealed himself to be on Zuma.

Horizon by Sun Ra is my favourite album by him (and I have very many); the very closest on record that it gets to seeing him live. Breathtaking. It's live in Cairo and being in the land of the Pharaohs for the first time suitably inspires the band.

Kick Out The Jams by the MC5, natch. Space Ritual and Live At Greasy Truckers by Hawkwind.

[Bennett Brauer]

Earth, Wind & Fire's Gratitude (1975) is three sides live, one side studio, and it's awesome, uplifting stuff. Some great jams on it too.

[DrGreggles]

Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads is pretty bloody fantastic.

YES!

Earth, Wind & Fire's Gratitude (1975)

YES!

[another Mr. Lizard]

The Jerry Lee Lewis/Star Club album is my favourite too. In addition, I'd add 'Live' by the Sensational Alex Harvey Band (in my view, a rare case of a live LP being a band's best work); and I've been working my way through the mammoth Ian Hunter box set all year and loved 'Welcome To The Club'. Magazine's 'Play' was always high on my list too, though I've not given it a listen in years.

[riotinlagos]

My favourite is Sylvester's Living Proof. Tight as fuck backing band and a very uplifting.



Was recently yanked off Spotify unfortunately but still on YT - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7MGotf3zkw

[Spiteface]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp3zaeOyL7Q
The original lineup at the top of their game.

[Lordofthefiles]

Ahmed's Wild Dream - The Gun Club
Reckoning - Grateful Dead

[chveik]

Swans - Swans Are Dead - all of Swans's live albums are great, this one is probably the most consistent
Fushitsusha - Fushitsusha (1989) - really intense psyche rock/noise
Laurie Anderson - United States Live - incredible performance, with a lot of spoken word.

but jazz is probably the only genre where live albums can genuinely be better than studio albums. I particularly enjoy:
Bill Evans Trio - Waltz for Debby
Charlie Mingus - The Great Concert of Charles Mingus
William Parker - Double Sunrise Over Neptune

[Sebastian Cobb]

but jazz is probably the only genre where live albums can genuinely be better than studio albums. I particularly enjoy:

Pub Rock.

[Pauline Walnuts]

Space Ritual  by Hawkwind.

Ooh yes, you can feel it melting the enamel on your teeth it's that powerful.

Hawkwind? Only the Group Motörhead could have been.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Neil Young - Live Rust

[NoSleep]

Fushitsusha - Fushitsusha (1989) - really intense psyche rock/noise

Which reminds me. A young Keiji Heino was a regular at the gigs of Les Rallizes Denudes (a huge influence on Fushitsusha; Keiji Haino even sporting a similar look to frontman Takashi Mizutani these days) and their '77 Live is a stone cold classic (almost forgot, as all of Les Rallizes' albums are live). Double Heads is another great collection from 1980/1.

[BlodwynPig]

A number of live albums elevate the songs beyond the studio versions

Kraan - Live (1978)
Golden Earring - Live (1977)
Steve Hillage - Live Herald

All contain vibrant, mind-bending live versions of my favourite tracks, but the energy is palpably superior/mesmeric.

However, I would argue that there is no better live album in terms of sound quality and vibrancy than this



Being driven through the Pyrenees in the mid-90s with this on my walkman - euphoria.

[pupshaw]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp3zaeOyL7Q
The original lineup at the top of their game.

The transition from Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue to We're a Happy Family at 24:15 is absolute perfection

https://youtu.be/Sp3zaeOyL7Q?t=1455

[NoSleep]

Middle Earth Masters is a recording of The Soft Machine in 1967 with the trio of Mike Ratledge, Kevin Ayers & Robert Wyatt playing at blistering volume (vocals barely audible) at the Middle Earth in Covent Garden. Incendiary versions of songs from Volume One, more akin to the distorted sound of Velvet Underground' s White Light/White Heat album (which was being recorded around about the same time across the Atlantic: no wonder members of the two bands collaborated in later years).

[NoSleep]

Live Dead by Grateful Dead is worth it just for the opening track Dark Star.

[NoSleep]

I have various live Spirit albums but Salvation: Spirit Of '74 a 3 CD set is a great sprawling documentary of the band on tour (as a bass, guitar/vocals and drums trio), playing originals, covers, jamming in preparation for their album Spirit Of '76. Some great extended psychedelic versions of Hey Joe, Like A Rolling Stone and All Along The Watchtower that owe a fair debt to Hendrix (Randy California was in Hendrix's band when he was discovered and had actually been invited to come over to the UK with him, but was only 15 at the time and his parents wanted him to finish his education).

[NoSleep]

Another great guitar/bass/drums album is Larry Coryell At The Village Gate (1971) which, I guess, is Coryell's "rock" album. I think the story goes that there was originally a plan for him to collaborate with Mitch Mitchell & Jack Bruce, but they're not on show here (although there's an original Bruce composition here before Bruce's own version of the tune would appear). Carla Bley and Chick Corea also wrote material for this album. I think this is my favourite Coryell album (and I like him a lot).

[MoonDust]

Simon & Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park

[Glebe]

[Pearly-Dewdrops Drops]

Sam Cooke - Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963

Easily the best live album. And in a shocking display of music executive stupidity, it was initially shelved and not formally released until 1985.

[Shit Good Nose]

^ Along similar lines (small intimate club), Donny Hathaway Live and Curtis Mayfield's Curtis/Live! - both brill.