I thought it would be interesting to produce a post that summarises what I recommend as the best ONE live album per group or artist.
This covers rock, pop, blues, soul & funk, reggae, folk, country and jazz.
This is going to be controversial in places and will involve some hard choices. Other times, the answer is pretty obvious because a group has released an absolute classic that stands head and shoulders above anything else they’ve done.
Sometimes I’ve gone with my personal opinion when I have strong views on the merits of albums, other times, I’ve bowed to the wisdom shown in my readers polls.
In nearly all occasions, the band or artist will have more than one live album to consider but occasionally, there is just one that I think is much to important to ignore. For example, if I take two personal favourites of mine The Cate Brothers Live isn’t included but Wings Over America will be. I’ll do my best to explain why.
I’ve numbered the albums so that I can keep changing the title of the article but the albums are listed in alphabetical order of the artist or band. To save confusion over whether Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band should be under S for Springsteen or B for Bruce, or the Steve Miller Band should be under S or M, I’ve opted to go with the first name featured, unless it is The… so The Who are under W.
I don’t think it’s spoiling the surprise if I say that many of the choices come from the 1970s, the decade where live albums became an essential part of the catalogue.
I was adding the albums too slowly so I’ve started listing them and will come back later to add in explanations for the choice and album covers. Please bear with me.
The Best Live Albums By The Groups And Artists
Continue reading The Best Live Albums By 147 Groups And Artists