I was actually channeling the doop judge.
I’m a fan on live recordings just not so much live audiences. With that in mind, I offer up* The BBC Sessions* by The Who and Live at the BBC by The Beatles.
Cheap Trick’s “Live At Budokan” and Rush’s “All The World’s A Stage.”
Not sure if this is what the OP had in mind, but I am going to add it because I love this. The Go-Betweens “Live On Snap”. Not live in front of fans, but live in a radio studio. And it sounds like it. Just fantastic, I go back and forth on my favorites on this but this is one of them, 'Apology Accepted’.
Ben Folds Live is a good one.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I had the opportunity to go see Alison Krauss and Union Station when they recorded Live. I’m not much of a bluegrass fan (pretty much just them and Old Crow Medicine Show), so I was unfamiliar with the majority of the songs performed. From a technical standpoint, it may have been the best show I’ve ever seen. They recorded the album, and shot a DVD on the two nights they performed. Amazing stuff.
And I’m happy to be the first to mention * Operation: Livecrime* by Queensryche.
I’m gonna get torched by this but I prefer “Love You Live” from the Stones over “Ya Yas”. I like the Taylor years very much but there’s something missing from 69’ show to me. Too smooth and somewhat bland. I much prefer the ragged 75’ sound. The band is coked up and Woody was still in FACES mode.
Having said that…I’d offer 73’s “A Brussels Affair” over both of the official releases. THAT is the Stones firing on all cylinders. Wow.
Jane’s Addiction, by Jane’s Addiction, 1987
Scream in Blue Live, Midnight Oil, 1992
Bowie at the Beeb 3, David Bowie, 2000
A l’infini Live Tour, Tal, 2014 (French language, mostly, though)
Yeah, it’s not only a great live album, but it’s the best of their records.
The record that pops into my head when this question comes up is NOMEANSNO - Live and Cuddly. It rocks. If they did it on that record, it’s almost assuredly better than the studio version.
And thoughtfully, they videotaped some of the shows it was recorded at. Two Lips Two Lungs and One Tongue/Rags and Bones is worth it just for the mid-solo “explanation” of the solo, and Metronome/No Fgniuick is the end of the same show.
Sure, why not? My Wishbone Ash “Argus” CD has three bonus tracks from a “Live in Memphis” EP that I believe was recorded live at a radio station studio. Great tracks!
blondebear good call on both Frampton Comes Alive and KISS Alive. I’ve got worn out vinyl copies of both. I haven’t played the KISS album in ages but recently ripped the Frampton album to mp3 and yeah, it still holds up.
Dire Straits - Alchemy
One of the first CDs I ever owned, and with earphones it was pretty amazing.
Wings Over America
Kiss Alive 2
Hey, I was a teenager in the 70’s, what did you expect? :o
And while not an album, Wings live version of Coming Up was a helluva lot better than the odd version McCartney did in his basement with a Sears tape recorder.
I’m surprised that I had to scroll down so far to see this one. Why is it being dismissed these days?
My entries:
Friday Night In San Francisco - Al di Meola/John McLaughlin/Paco de Lucía
The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 - Miles Davis
(There’s a lot of choices here)
Concert For George - Many people
Frank Zappa and the Mothers, Roxy & Elsewhere
OK, most of the live tracks on the are studio overdubbed. But hey. Chester Thompson’s drumming on this album got him hired to drum with Phil Collins in Genesis.
On the subject of the Who’s Live At Leeds, I was amazed to find out that the venue they recorded it at was not a stadium, a concert hall or even a good size theatre; it was in fact the student refectory at Leeds University (here’s what it looks like today).
There’s a very informative thread with lots of photos over at the Steve Hoffman Music Forums about the recording of this album; I highly recommend it for fans of Live At Leeds and/or vintage audio gear enthusiasts!
I’m one of those Ya Yas fanboys, but I ain’t gonna torch you. Instead, I’m going to crank up Love You Live now…I’ve never heard the whole thing. I’m sure it’s as great as you say, warts and all.
Wow! That’s about the size of, say, the Village Vanguard!
Right? Imagine how LOUD it must have been.
Though I don’t like the song-set as much as I do from their first ‘Alive’ album, and it doesn’t seem as “heavy”, the overall sound is much more representative of how they actually sounded live.
( we know in hindsight the original live record was a bit “doctored” )
This. More votes for No Sleep 'til Hammersmith, Stop Making Sense, and The Fillmore Concerts…
Adding to the list, Judas Priest, “Unleashed In The East.” Also from them, though not an official album, their set at the US Festival is available on YouTube, in parts, and is amazing. Though Halford definitely got scarier as he got older…
Depeche Mode 101 is one of their best albums. U2, Go Home: Live at Slaine Castle, is good too. Under a Blood Red Sky is just too short, though it’s my favorite version of Sunday, Bloody Sunday.
The Allman Brothers - Live at the Fillmore East is incomplete without “Mountain Jam” from Eat A Peach.