Alive!

Outside the prog world, there are determinant masterpieces that deserve recognition. Once on the forum, we were exchanging several points of view about our personal "all time favorite 10 albums" that changed and influenced the music world. This mid-seventies 2 CD set album definitely set most of the parameters to be followed later on regarding not only the live productions but by most of those days Rock & Roll performers (e.g. Ted Nugent, Peter Frampton). True, due the difficulties of recording a live album, the final cut ended up patched and fixed to give away a decent hi-fi sound definition and a great quality (those peculiar facts go from adding up the shouts and screams of the many crowds the band played for all over the five Detroit shows in 1975 and to polishing Paul Stanley's guitar and voice sound).

"Alive!" is the KISS album. After three failure albums, the band won the audience's respect and care with this 1975 production. The "KISS Army" was born, tons and tons of KISS paraphernalia hit the toy and music stores, "Rock and Roll all night" was adopted as the hymn by the masses, and a reborn, convincing band got back on track. For me, this is the ultimate live recording surrounding the 70's Rock 'n' Roll world that certainly remains consistent to present days.

What do you think?

whoops

Ah, now I see the "live" part...

Well you know I'm gonna say ELP.. but even tho Pictures is my second favorite live album... I think Welcome Back is my first.  Its the BSS tour... as I remember it, well a little faster than I remember it, but thats what gives it its character...

It was actually released 30 years ago yesterday.  I remember the release party at Manticore NY... I remember that picture of the live show on the back with the BSS lady backdrop... it was 3 albums... stuck in the letter E. L. & P... which of course didn't hold the albums in very well... (the only flaw in the concept).

Its a very special album to me.. cause I was there... I remember the setlist.. where I was when each song would start... I can pick out all the little changes, the improvs, the moments when Greg would switch from bass to lead guitar...Its a part of my life, a moment when all things were right with the world...

The beginning with Hoedown started off like a shotgun.  It must of been one of Carl's most hyper moments cause its the fastest Hoedown I've ever heard.  YOu can even hear Greg on the guitar solos trying to slow him down a bit... but he was really smoking.... Greg's guitar solo during Battlefield was excellent...as was the entire Karn Evil 9 suite...and his voice was at peak during the entire recording... its a little miracle all tied up in a 3-album set... (or 2-cds,hehe)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/Pebble/ELP/WBMFcover.j pg

Vibrationbaby wrote: KISS? Had friends who were actually members of the Kiss Army. Sorry this band has no talent, just the makeup gimmick.

I totally hear you Vibe, unarguably most of their work is pretty poor and irrelevant somehow at some point in history. But I think there must’ve been sometime when we rocked to the music of KISS (or still do whenever we listen to one of their songs on the radio, at some bar or when driving our cars) and where the impact upon society was irremediably hard. Yes, it is the make-up, the gimmicks, the paraphernalia, the incredible gadgets, the pyrotechnics and the blood coming out of Gene’s mouth that caught the audiences attention; the thing is I believe they made a severe change. Like James Lee said earlier, we grew up listening to this music; in my case KISS was one of the bands I used to listen and look up to due the contemporaneity, I don’t anymore but you will always remember the first impression. The point here (which I think I might have sidetracked from the beginning) is that “Alive!” was the LIVE ALBUM that set the parameters for the those days and upcoming bands to take off from. The consequent live releases by Peter Frampton and Ted Nugent were inspired on “Alive!”, Ted himself admits so for instance. This mid-seventies recording is important not because of its lyricism and excellent thematic, but for the changes it propitiated and the challenges it established.

Peace!

Land

Somehow I missed the LIVE connection. Can't have been paying attention.

In that case;

Glastonbury Fayre, and the two Greasy Truckers albums contain some cosmic fayre, curteosy of Camel, Gong, Hawkwind, Henry Cow, Pink Fairies...

Ah.

Non-prog.

Motorhead's No Sleep 'til Hammersmith is the best metal live album period.

AC/DC's If You Want Blood You've Got It is also testimony to why AC/DC are the best hard rock outfit - I never liked Kiss; all that make up and fireworks seemed a ruse to distract attention away from how diabolical the music was (especially the singing) - but that might be just me.

But the best live recordings I've ever heard are prog (of course!), and were broadcast on the radio, so should be available through BBC transcripts, or by hassling Radio 6 for long enough;

Muse at Glastonbury 2004

Twelfth Night at Reading Festival 1983

Marillion at Reading Festival 1983

Radiohead at Glastonbury 1997

Marillion live at Hammersmith Odeon 14th Devember 1984 - the best live recording I've ever heard of any band.

Exit.....stage left and Yessongs. Both essential. I also like the new Live Krim DVD Eyes wide open as well as the Yes Symphonic DVD.

As for non prog someone said OK Computer. I would add Tools Aenema and Mellon Collie and the infinite sadness in there somewhere. Pearl Jam's Ten? Dave Matthews Crash is really very good. Nirvana is culturally very groundbreaking but not musically at all.

I also like Phish but that's getting a little too specific because any of their albums are groudbreaking.

AC/DC's If You Want Blood You've Got It is also testimony to why AC/DC are the best hard rock outfit - I never liked Kiss; all that make up and fireworks seemed a ruse to distract attention away from how diabolical the music was (especially the singing)

Ditto. The true evil in KISS' music was just what a bunch of lousy players (in more ways than one) they are. At least with AC/DC you got the real thing, a much better singer(s), and better guitar playing.

Certif1ed wrote: Somehow I missed the LIVE connection. Can't have been paying attention. Ah. Non-prog.

Thank you very much!  That's the importance (about the LIVE connection obviously) I've been trying to underline from the very beginning of this thread!

landberkdoten wrote: Certif1ed wrote: Somehow I missed the LIVE connection. Can't have been paying attention. Ah. Non-prog. Thank you very much!  That's the importance (about the LIVE connection obviously) I've been trying to underline from the very beginning of this thread!

Ohhhhhhhhhh, ok!  Well in that case...

Hawkwind's Space Ritual is possibly the best prog live album ever, and unquestionably ranks up there with the best all around.  I've been listening to it a ton over the last two months or so, and it continually blows me away.  The way they're able to combine the 60s psychadelia spirit with the proto-metal thing that bands like Black Sabbath had going on around that time is quite frankly stunning.  Plus, Bob Calvert (RIP) was a brilliant poet, and not a bad singer either.

However, my all-time number 1 live album is Led Zeppelin's How the West Was Won.  They did a great job picking out the material that would go on this record, and an even better job remastering it.  The quality is fantastic, and it really shows Led Zeppelin blowing the brains out of the entire crowd with some of the best rock 'n roll performances you'll ever hear.  It also hilights the guitar godlyness of Jimmy Page.