The Best Classic Rock Live Albums (SECOND DIVISION)

There are many excellent and very good live albums that fall into my classic rock category.

This is basically albums for the popular mainstream of music that avoid the extremes of heavy metal & hard rock, blues rock, prog rock, AOR, art rock or other minority categories.

Many popular bands may start in a specialised category and gradually move into classic rock. For example the early Led Zeppelin live albums are too extreme for this category but are included in the blues rock and hard rock categories but Celebration Day is much more palatable to the mainstream (and bland to the devoted fans).

The main poll for classic rock live albums (see further down) grew to be too big to be easily manageable so I have split out the albums that were added late or didn’t attract (m)any votes and moved them to a second division poll.

The idea is that the albums that get the most “best live album” votes can then be promoted to the main poll.

Please look through and vote for your favourites that you’d highly recommend to other people.

What Are The FIVE Best Classic Rock Live Albums (SECOND DIVISION)? (Click on the links to go to the reviews)

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Hopefully other favourites are already doing well in the main poll so please vote for those as well.

What Are The FIVE Best Classic Rock Live Albums? (Click on the links to go to the reviews)

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

The Classic Rock Live Album Artists And Groups

You may be interested in the polls for other classic rock artists like Bad CompanyThe Beach BoysThe Beatles (group & solo) – Dave Matthews BandDavid BowieDire StraitsBob DylanElton JohnFleetwood MacJethro TullPink FloydQueenRushSting & The PoliceThe Rolling StonesBruce SpringsteenThin LizzyU2The WhoWishbone AshNeil Young

You can see the complete list of readers polls at Live Album Polls

What Classic Rock Albums Have I Missed?

I keep remembering albums that should be included. I had hoped that I’d get more comments recommending albums.

10 thoughts on “The Best Classic Rock Live Albums (SECOND DIVISION)”

  1. Mountain Live: The Road Goes Ever On
    Allman Brothers, Live at Fillmore East
    THE WHO – Live at Leeds
    Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert
    Deep Purple – Live in Japan
    Grateful Dead – Live Dead
    Cheap Thrills – Big Brother & the Holding Company w/ Janis Joplin

    1. Thanks for your list of live album recommendations. If you’re suggesting that these should be included, you’re misunderstanding my classification of the classic rock genre compared with blues rock for The Allman Brothers Band and The Rolling Stones where the two albums are getting plenty of votes. It’s the same with the Who Live At Leeds and Deep Purple’s Made In Japan which are very popular in the hard rock category.

      Probably the least well known album you’ve recommended in the Mountain album which has accumulated four votes so far in the heard rock/heavy metal division 2 poll.

  2. What about Rare Earth? I can’t believe they’re not on this list or any other for that matter.

    1. Three reasons really:

      1) I don’t know anything about Rare Earth, except that I’ve heard of them.
      2) Nobody else coming to the website has recommended an album by the band.
      3) I haven’t seen them featured on any other “best live albums” list.

      A quick check of Amazon.com shows that both In Concert and Live In Chicago have plenty of 5 star ratings. Categorising them may be a problem since Wikipedia describes them as psychedelic soul and rock and also as blue eyed soul.

      Thanks for the tip. I’ll investigate.

    1. Thanks for your comment. KISS Alive! is featured in the hard rock poll.

      Few people seem to know about the live performance of The Wall that Floyd released as a live album back in the day. The album is most often known as “Is There Anybody Out There?”

  3. Somehow … You forgot to include:

    Humble Pie Performance –
    ROCKIN’ THE FILLMORE
    Comments:

    This Concert Album is Absolutely GREAT …
    NO … BETTER THAN GREAT … Do Your Ears & Spirit a Favor!!!
    ALSO : These other GREAT Live Concert albums you’ve (somehow) neglected to include in your list and, which, are actually “required,” and you REALLY need to listen to these in order to Edify, Elucidate and Educate your Ears, & Appreciate the Levels of True Musicianship Mastered and Employed by Each Musician in each’s own right, how “tight” each group is as a unit, how they “feed” off each other’s energy — as smaller, distinct member units, themselves, and collectively, as a unified, complete “Whole Unit,” and seem to intuitively know “how” and “where” the next changes occur & are about to take place. These are, in random listing:

    (1) Get Yet Ya-ya’s Out —
    The Rolling Stones;
    (2) Barnstormin’ (Live – Vols.
    1 & 2) —
    Little Feat
    (w/Lowell George); —
    (3) POCO (1970)
    (1st Self-Titled Album,
    w/line-up consisting of:
    Richie Furay,
    Jim Messina,
    Rusty Young,
    George Grantham, and
    Timothy B. Schmidt;
    (4) Outlaws (Live)
    Green Grass And High
    Tides;
    (5) Little Feat Live At The
    Rockpalast (Video on You
    Tube;
    (6) Little Feat (Live in Holland)
    (Video on You Tube);

    — Well, there’s a small list for you to seriously begin your Music Appreciation Studies ..
    You will NOT be disappointed for your inquiries, and, I’m SURE , your Musical Knowledge will grow by “Leaps and Bounds, and you’ll begin to understand “why” ACTUAL Musicians deserve to be paid well for their “product”: Their
    Creation of ACTUALLY
    ORIGINAL Music.
    Long Live Real Music, and
    MAY ALL REAL MUSIC BE
    TRULY APPRECIATED
    ALWAYS.

    I think you’ll really enjoy listening to these glittering, and exceptional collections, and the enjoyable task of recognizing and appreciating REAL “Talent” and “Musicianship, and recognize how much FUN each Musician is having as they each continue to perform. You’ll reach a whole new level of amazed musical appreciation

    1. The Humble Pie album is included in the blues rock poll, I took a decision to try to guide people to music they like by taking a genre approach to these polls.
      I recommend you take a look at the genre polls.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.