Your 10 favorite live albums

mystic fred wrote: 1. Deep Purple - Made in Japan.  Great performances, classic live album showcases the band at the top of their game. 2. Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same. Zeppelin's answer to all those poor bootlegs, stunning version of  "No Quarter". 3. Argent - Encore. Overlooked double live masterpiece, one of my all time faves. 4. Genesis - Genesis Live . Definitive line up, an honest recording. 5. Hawkwind - Space Ritual. Legendary live performances, many live recordings exist    but this is the best. 6. The Who - Live at Leeds. Classic show, raw and powerful. 7. Yes - Yessongs. Sprawling triple album set. 8. Pink Floyd - Pulse. Spacious sound and great performances. 9. Wishbone Ash - Almighty Blues. Great versions of old and new songs. 10. Peter Gabriel - Plays Live. Very entertaining album, includes non-album "Swimming".

I respect other people's opinions; however, I had to make a face at the mentioning of "Pulse". that's not a live album, in my opinion; what Pink Floyd actuially did here was putting their studio on stage

1. Deep Purple - Made in Japan.  Great performances, classic live album showcases the band at the top of their game.

Edited by mystic fred - August 17 2007 at 08:57

I know some people don't like live albums, but I just love them. nowhere else can a band be free of the restriction to try to sound perfectly but simply let the music flow. what are your favorite ones? here are mine, counting backward from10 to 1. please try to give s short explanation why you include the albums too.

10) Frumpy: "Live" (1973). Inga Rumpf and company put on a great show; she definitely has the blackest voice of all white singers. an excellent introduction to this band which deserves more attention.

9) Kraan: "Live" (1975). a stunning classic with highlights like "Holiday am Marterhorn including Gipfelsturm", "Sarah's Ritt durch den Schwarzwald" or "Nam Nam". Helmut Hattler definitely is one of the best bass players in prog; something you can hear here.

8) Guru Guru: "Live" (1976). with a lot of previously unreleased tracks (some of which had been a live favorite already though), like "Medicine Man's Overdose", "Herzflimmern" or "Transylvanian Express", and great versions of "Moroso", "Der Elektrolurch" and "Ooga Booga". the album shows what a great live act Guru Guru must have been (I never saw them live myself). one can actually see Mani Neumeier hopping around in his wrestling suit when hearing him. it helps if you understand some German to get some of the jokes they make, like when Neumeier sings "Santa Fu, raus bist du" ("Santa Fu, you are out", that song was recorded at Santa Fu, a prison in Hamburg) in "Ooga Booga" and talks about the prisoners getting new uniforms after the concert that look like his wrestling suit.

7) Hawkwind: "Space Ritual" (1973). what can I say? a classic. Hawkwind re-released the album with uncut versions of "Time We Left" and "Brainstorm" (they had been shortened for the original release because they were too long). too bad this is not a DVD; Stacia would have been a nice addition

6) Gentle Giant: "Playing the Fool" (1977). Gentle Giant show that their complex compositions can be played live without sounding sterile; on the contrary, they make them sound really alive. highlights are the "Octopus Medley", "On Reflection" and "Funny Ways".

5) Steve Hillage: "Live Herald" (1978). this one originally came out as a 3-sides live, 1-side studio vinyl; unfortunately the studio material sounded bloodless compared to the live material (with the exception of "1988 Activator"). it was in my opinion a good decision of Virgin to release this as a single CD live album and add the studio material to the CD-version of "Open". at 69 minutes the album is still long enough. great versions of classic Hillage songs.

4) 801: "Live" (1976). Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera and friends play a collection of songs associated with former projects of them as well as some classic. one of the most interesting releases of that time; the beginning of punk can be felt in songs like "Third Uncle". unfortunately a single album only.

3) Magma: "Live / Hhai" (1975). featuring a 17-year old Didier Lockwood on violin who (almost) steals the show; just listen to his seven and a half minute solo in "Mekanik Zain". great version of "Köhntark". a friend of mine once commented: "sounds like a holiday in hell".

2) Gong: "Live au Bataclan" (1990). this album was recorded in 1973 and shows the "classic" band line-up (Daevid Allen, Gilly Smyth, Pierre Moerlen, Didier Malherbe, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett, Tim Blake) in top form, performing some of their classics. don't get irritated by the strange titles on the album; you will recognize these classics quickly.

1) Van der Graaf Generator: "Vital" (1978). since I follow my usual policy of best lists (naming an artist twice or more in such a list is behaving like a fan boy/girl; pick your gender) I was torn between "Vital" and "Real Time". I settled for "Vital" because it adds new aspects to the songs; also because it includes some previously unreleased material. the general treatment of all songs was: give 'em a raw brushing up! Nic Potter's bass truly is a monster!

again this list may change at any moment, depending on my mood, but "Vital", "Live au Bataclan" and "Live / Hhai" will always be in it


Edited by BaldJean - August 17 2007 at 18:52