Music: Name Your Top Ten Live Albums by Ten Different Artists

[kook10]

Basically, what I'm saying is that I want the sound of the room with the raw performance, but I don't want the audience to make a peep in the room. That generally isn't part of the appeal for me.

Honestly, that's how I'd want to experience it live in person as well, but I'm probably in the minority there as well. I don't care one bit for the crowd atmosphere, sense of camaraderie, or fan interaction aspect of it.

Live in studio sessions seem pretty cool to me for that reason. For example, Radiohead's "Live From The Basement" stuff appeals to me way more than any of their live concerts. On a selfish level, I would much prefer an alternate universe where bands did that instead of touring.

Maybe understated crowd ambience adds some charm, and there's something to be said for an artist feeding off of the crowd, but hearing the screaming and cheering takes away from the experience for me, if anything. It's sort of the music equivalent of how I feel about live-studio-audience sitcoms.

The studio stuff essentially amounts to alternate versions. If they don't stray far from the original and/or are too clinical they don't do much for me. Personally I love the older 90s era Radiohead live bootlegs, demos, and some in-studios that capture the emotional and melodic essence of their songs, before they were orchestrated differently [How To Disappear/Airbag/ Lucky]. A couple of those though, I believe, explicitly were not released because they couldn't be properly recreated in studio - the best versions of True Love Waits and Lift don't carry the same emotion in studio versions.

On the old stuff, much of the crowd noise was "sweetened" anyway - on Rock n'Roll Animal you can hear the same annoying whistle a few times. I think how it is used really makes a difference. For instance, Frampton Comes Alive (in particular Do You Feel Like We Do) wouldn't be nearly as effective without the crowd during its breakdowns and buildup with the talkbox and whatnot. Neither would the Stones' Midnight Rambler, Cheap Trick at Budokan with the crowd screaming for I Want You To Want Me, the crowd hooting and hollering along with Muddy Waters doing Mannish Boy. Even some live Fela Kuti/Ginger Baker Live! would lose a lot without the crowd. The drum solos lose their context without the rhythmic effect on a group of people. The crowd on Maybe I'm Amazed on Wings Over America is part and parcel of the performance- same goes for No Woman No Cry. The force of James Brown can't be understood without his live music at all. The list goes on and on.

 

[Shareefruck]

The studio stuff essentially amounts to alternate versions. If they don't stray far from the original and/or are too clinical they don't do much for me. Personally I love the older 90s era Radiohead live bootlegs, demos, and some in-studios that capture the emotional and melodic essence of their songs, before they were orchestrated differently [How To Disappear/Airbag/ Lucky]. A couple of those though, I believe, explicitly were not released because they couldn't be properly recreated in studio - the best versions of True Love Waits and Lift don't carry the same emotion in studio versions.

On the old stuff, much of the crowd noise was "sweetened" anyway - on Rock n'Roll Animal you can hear the same annoying whistle a few times. I think how it is used really makes a difference. For instance, Frampton Comes Alive (in particular Do You Feel Like We Do) wouldn't be nearly as effective without the crowd during its breakdowns and buildup with the talkbox and whatnot. Neither would the Stones' Midnight Rambler, Cheap Trick at Budokan with the crowd screaming for I Want You To Want Me, the crowd hooting and hollering along with Muddy Waters doing Mannish Boy. Even some live Fela Kuti/Ginger Baker Live! would lose a lot without the crowd. The drum solos lose their context without the rhythmic effect on a group of people. The crowd on Maybe I'm Amazed on Wings Over America is part and parcel of the performance- same goes for No Woman No Cry. The force of James Brown can't be understood without his live music at all. The list goes on and on.

They amount to alternate versions with a more organic sounding, lively, and less overly polished flavor, which is pretty much the primary thing that I associate the magic of live performances to.

I think there are a handful exceptions that I can agree on (I love what the crowd adds in Bob Dylan Bootleg 4 and Live at the Apollo), but generally I don't feel the same way as you do, or nearly as strongly about many of these examples. Live w/ Ginger Baker w/o the crowd sounds just fine to me, personally, and things like Frampton Comes Alive and Cheap Trick at Budokan outright put me off, partly because of the rah-rah crowd fueling focus. That infectious mob energy stuff just doesn't interest me, except on rare occasions.

 

[peate]

First bootleg album I ever bought was Beatles live at Shea Stadium. It sounded terrible lol, but it was The Beatles. Nowadays, I watch live concerts from MP4's on Youtube. There are some really fine recordings where the mix of music and audience is just right; especially when the audience is singing along.

 

[Aladyyn]

Basically, what I'm saying is that I want the sound of the room with the raw performance, but I don't want the audience to make a peep in the room. That generally isn't part of the appeal for me.

Honestly, that's how I'd want to experience it live in person as well, but I'm probably in the minority there as well. I don't care one bit for the crowd atmosphere, sense of camaraderie, or fan interaction aspect of it.

Live in studio sessions seem pretty cool to me for that reason. For example, Radiohead's "Live From The Basement" stuff appeals to me way more than any of their live concerts. On a selfish level, I would much prefer an alternate universe where bands did that instead of touring.

Maybe understated crowd ambience adds some charm, and there's something to be said for an artist feeding off of the crowd, but hearing the screaming and cheering takes away from the experience for me, if anything. It's sort of the music equivalent of how I feel about live-studio-audience sitcoms.

You ever tried to get into Portishead? The Roseland NYC performance that's been thrown around a couple of times in this thread sounds like something up your alley.

 

[Aladyyn]

For me one of the appeals of live albums is in their "uniqueness" for lack of better word. I'm never seeing No Doubt or The Gathering live in their prime and I really never had the chance. That's what makes the recordings so special to me. Converge are by far my favorite live band ever (seen them 3 times) but watching/listening to recordings of their shows bores me. I've heard it all from a better spot already

 

[Shareefruck]

You ever tried to get into Portishead? The Roseland NYC performance that's been thrown around a couple of times in this thread sounds like something up your alley.

Absolutely. I'm not in love with the album itself (though it's very good), but I definitely prefer that approach.

That first live Danmark Radio Zeppelin performance in 1969, played to a crowd who didn't understand what they were hearing and just reacted with hushed awe and confusion was really cool to me for the same reason. I don't think Zeppelin actually clicked with me at all until I heard them in that context. It's better when the audience doesn't get in the way of the performance, IMO.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Have you heard "The Complete Matrix Tapes" yet? Most of the performances from that 1969 album are from this complete set, and the sound quality is almost studio quality.

Yes! It has the definitive versions of many VU songs imo (Lisa Says, New Age, Sweet Jane, etc.), but as a single listening experience I might still prefer the 1969 record because of length. Also I love the renditions of Waiting for the Man and Femme Fatale that weren't recorded at The Matrix. It sucks that we'll never get a high quality version of those performances.

 

[Voight]

Unplugged - Eric Clapton
Nirvana - MTV Unplugged

Will complete the rest later.

 

[frisco]

The Doors-Alive, She Cried
Johnny Cash-Live At San Quentin
Rick Springfield-Alive
Bruce Springsteen-Live 1975-85
Journey-Captured
Cheap Trick-Live At Budokan
Styx-Caught In The Act
Queen-Live Killers
Eagles-Hell Freezes Over
Jackson Browne-Solo Acoustic, Vol 1 + 2

My Best-Carey

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I too agree that a silent crowd is preferable to an excitable one when it comes to musical performance. The sole Joy Division television appearance is greatly enhanced because of it. I find it allows to viewer to concentrate solely on the performance, and gives a sort of melancholic and elegant aura to the entire experience that I find greatly appealing. A crowd going crazy kind of cheapens it. Weirdly enough, I find the opposite is true when it comes to sporting events. I love a loud atmospheric crowd while watching a game and find it adds a lot of oomph to singular actions.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

AIC Unplugged >>>>> Nirvana Unplugged IMO

The Song Remains the Same - Led Zep
Weld - Neil Young
Filmore East - Allmans
Europe ‘72 - Dead
Waiting For Columbus - Little Feat
Okonokos - My Morning Jacket
Constitution Hall 98 - Pearl Jam

Urbs in Horto - Twin Peaks

 

[Shareefruck]

I too agree that a silent crowd is preferable to an excitable one when it comes to musical performance. The sole Joy Division television appearance is greatly enhanced because of it. I find it allows to viewer to concentrate solely on the performance, and gives a sort of melancholic and elegant aura to the entire experience that I find greatly appealing. A crowd going crazy kind of cheapens it. Weirdly enough, I find the opposite is true when it comes to sporting events. I love a loud atmospheric crowd while watching a game and find it adds a lot of oomph to singular actions.

Admittedly, I love a booming live crowd atmosphere for hockey games when watching it from a distance on my TV-- it undeniably adds an awe-inspired aura to the whole thing that gives me goosebumps come playoff time. However, the idea of actually going to a live hockey game up close and personal as a member of the crowd-- where you can hear every obnoxious and idiotic thing that people are yelling ("SHOOOOTT!! Alright boys, let's go! Are you kidding me with that call?!!") with everyone encouraging you to join in on the "event" of it by making BS noises that you would never organically make-- is absolutely insufferable in the exact same way for me, personally.

That's why I don't go to live games-- It doesn't suit my personality and I would only end up subtracting from the atmosphere that people at home are getting, I guess. I'd feel compelled to be that lone crazy person who for some reason is yelling "Everybody shut up and sit down!!! I'm trying to pay attention to the game!!! SSSSHHHHHH!!!!"

Edit: Honestly, I'm starting to notice that a consistent pattern that seems to inform my preferences/behavior is that I seem to detest anything where a needless abstraction/game piggybacks on top a thing that I find valuable on its own. Hockey pools, sports gambling, art collecting, financial investments/stock, crowd participation, fandom/memorabilia, drinking games, etc....... I seem to resent the general mentality driving all of these things because I see them as detracting rather than enhancing the raw experience of things that I like on their own.

 

[Behn Wilson]

1.UFO - Strangers In The Night
2.Deep Purple - Made Japan
3.Judas Priest - Unleashed In The East
4.Motorhead-No Sleep Til Hammersmith
5.Iron Maiden - Live After Death
6.Allman Brothers - At Filmore East
7.Slayer - Decade Of Aggression
8.Testament - Live In London
9.Scorpions - Tokyo Tapes
10.Thin Lizzy - Live And Dangerous

 

[Aladyyn]

Forgot to give a shoutout to Omnia's Live On Earth, for having by far my favorite version of Morrigan