I thought the Police live album was great, myself. A great band playing great music. Whether it was their greatest performance or not, to me, is irrelevant.
What gets me, though, is how absolutely NOBODY has mentioned the greatest live album of all time, the album that, according to Wayne Campbell, was “Practically issued” to everyone. I’m talking about the immortal Frampton Comes Alive!
I own it. So do you. Don’t deny it. Your lies are unbecoming.
If there has better been a better live performance, it hasn’t been recorded. And that counts ANY of the Doors bootlegs and/or authorized live recordings I have.
A hearty hear-hear for
The Allman Bros. “Live at Fillmore East” - with the addition of the “live” disc from “Eat a Peach” - the first post-Duane record - Whippin Post from Fillmore segues into Mountain Jam (incredibly, based on the Donovan song)
Also, The Who, “Live at Leeds”
The most uneven - “Woodstock” - some great stuff (Ten Years After Goin Home and Jimi Star Spangled Banner) and some drek - which I mercifully can’t recall right now.
A second for Warren Zevon - Stand in the Fire. Great, spontaneous album. Zevon went out and found a bar band doing covers of his songs, and they did a concert together. Great stuff.
Another vote for Deep Purple`s Made In Japan: great title, and Child In Time has the all time greatest guitar solo - check out Ian Gillan singing along, matching Ritchie Blackmore note for note. Second vote goes to Cheap Trick, Live At The Budokan. Hey, I live here, OK?
Live German ** Starlight Express ** 2CD, complete show, hard to find.
The 2LP live Dutch ** CATS ** is good, but very rare. Buy it if you see it. It took four people looking for it three years to find a copy at a used record store for $15!
Recently released 2CD live ** Chess **, from the Danish tour, though it’s in English. Undoubtably one of the best cast recordings of any show ever made.
Johnny Thuders, * DTK*
Cheap Trick, * Live at Budokhan *
Also, I have about five or six live Springsteen albums. Do they count? * Winterland * is the best.
I feel like I’ve been the first to chime in with Metallica in these types of threads lately, but Metallica? Live Shit Binge and Purge, S&M, Cunning Stunts DVD. And Pantera’s 101 Proof live CD is amazing too.
I enjoyed Alice In Chains Unplugged, but I have some problems with it. First off, they hadn’t played together live in three years (as they point out) and so they weren’t quite as tight as they could have been. Second, no “Man in the Box” or “What the Hell Have I?”. Don’t get me wrong, I love the album, and I know that Layne wasn’t all there because of the drug use, but I just don’t think it’s quite as good as some of the other albums that have been mentioned.
As far as other live albums, “Eagles Live” was good, and I’ll second the Skynyrd album just for “Freebird” and “Tuesday’s Gone”.
