If you’re a fan of the blues, you should pay attention to two categories on the Best Live Albums Blog – blues (where you are) and Blues Rock.
I wasn’t originally expecting to have two categories for the original blues singers and for the rock music strongly influenced by the blues but the more I tried to categorise live albums, the more it became helpful.
Let’s deal with a sensitive issue.
Is there a racial issue here? Many of the blues artists are black, many of the blues rock artists are white.
Can a white man play the blues?
Yes he can but the common tendency is to reduce the emphasis on the feelings in the blues songs and rock out and show off instrumental prowess.
Cream are blues rock, some of the later work by Eric Clapton I might be classing as blues.
I believe live albums are the natural setting for the blues rather than a sterile studio setting where it’s harder to find the right emotions.
The blues has its originals in the late 19th century and early 20th century and which, when combined with the fact that many blues artists often mature well with age, make its history and influences harder to define than many forms of rock and pop music.
To help understand the development, I’ve a post on the history of the blues through the birth, deaths and careers of the major blues artists.
Blues Live Albums By Decade – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s – 2000s – 2010s
Live blues albums include:
Bobby Bland and BB King Together Again Live 1976
Eric Clapton Unplugged 1992
Gary Clark Jr Live 2013
Albert Collins – Frozen Alive 1981
Buddy Guy Live At The Checkerboard Lounge 1979
Buddy Guy Live! The Real Deal 1996
Buddy Guy Live At Legends 2010
Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Live In Montreux 1974
John Lee Hooker Live At The Café Au Go-Go 1966 & 1972
Etta James – Rocks The House 1963
Albert King Live Wire Blues Power 1968
Albert King Wednesday Night In San Francisco 1968
Albert King Thursday Night In San Francisco 1968
BB King Live at the Regal 1964
BB King Live & Well 1969
BB King Live In Cook County Jail 1970
BB King Live In Japan 1971
BB King Now Appearing At Ole Miss 1979
BB King Live At The Apollo 1990
BB King Live At San Quentin 1990
BB King & Bobby Bland Together For The First Time Live 1974
Freddie King Live At The Electric Ballroom 1974
John Mayall The Turning Point 1969
John Mayall Jazz Blues Fusion 1971
John Mayall 70th Birthday Concert 2003
Van Morrison – It’s Too Late To Stop Now 1973
Hound Dog Taylor Beware Of The Dog 1974
Muddy Waters At Newport 1960
Sonny Boy Williamson & The Yardbirds Live In London 1963
Howlin’ Wolf Live & Cookin’ At Alice’s Revisited
What Are The Best Live Blues Albums?
To help you to find the best live albums in these categories I have two readers polls you should look at and vote in:
Best Blues Albums
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South Side Safari is a live album by Luther Allison.
It was recorded at the Other Side, Peoria Heights in Illinois on April 18 and 19, 1979. The album was originally released as a vinyl album called Gonna Be A Live One In Here Tonight! in 1979.
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TOPS is a live album by Otis Rush.
It was recorded at the San Francisco Blues Festival on September 15, 1985.
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Live at The Big Easy is a live album by Alan Haynes.
It was recorded at the Big Easy in Houston, Texas on August 27 & 28, 2001.
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Live At The BBC is a collection of live recordings featuring BB King made by the BBC between 1978 and 1998.
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Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff is an album recorded by Taj Mahal, partly live in concert and partly in the studio.
Tracks 1-7 were recorded live; tracks 8-11 are studio recordings and it was released in 1972
The Pointer Sisters provide backing vocals on three of the studio tracks.
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I’ll Play The Blues For You Live is a live album by Buddy Guy.
It was recorded at The Sting in Connecticut on 9th January 1992 and broadcast on WHCN-FM.
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Live At Rockpalast is a live album and DVD by Albert Collins & The Icebreakers.
It was recorded at the Westfalenhalle 2 studio in Dortmund in Germany on November 26th 1980 for television.
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Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band In St Lucia is a live album and DVD.
I haven’t been able to find when or where it was recorded.
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Last Cal:l Live At The Boston Tea Party is a live album by Otis Spann.
It was recorded at The Boston Teaparty on April 2nd, 1970.
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It’s My Life, Baby is a live album by Junior Wells playing with Buddy Guy.
It was recorded at two 1966 concerts:
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