This category on the Best Live Albums Blog covers two types of article.
The first is when a band or artist goes out and records a classic album live in its entirety e.g. Van Morrison and Astral Weeks.
Except at the very beginning of a band’s career, it is rare for all of an album to be played live. Groups will tour to promote their latest album but usually cherry pick songs, playing about half of it along with plenty of their back catalogue.
That’s why I love live albums. You can look at a band and see their set list develop over time and some songs will only appear at the time when they are promoting the original album.
The second category is more for my own curiosity. I will take a classic album and look at how it has featured in the groups live albums over the years.
The Forever Changes Concert is a live album by Arthur Lee and Love recorded in London in January 2003 where the classic album Forever Changes was played.
It has been reissued with extra tracks which helps to give a more comprehensive experience of Love as a band.
Recording a classic album like Forever Changes in its entirety is a risky business. Van Morrison did it with Astral Weeks and he pulled it off. So does Arthur Lee and the latest version of Love.
Screamadelica Live is a live album by British indie band Primal Scream where they play their classic acid house album Screamadelica.
It was recorded at the Olympia Grand Hall in London on 26 November, 2010 as part of the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of this ground-breaking album.
Dreamboat Annie Live is a live album recording of the debut album by AOR rock group Heart. It was recorded in April 2007 and is also available as a DVD.
In this article I am going to look at how the tracks on the classic David Bowie album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars have featured in his live albums.
I prefer my music live as you will have gathered. The songs are terrific on the Ziggy Stardust studio album but I feel it lacks a bit of punch that you can only get from a live recording.
Today I am looking at how Led Zeppelin IV has been represented on the band’s live albums.
Led Zeppelin IV is one of the most famous and best selling classic rock albums. Are these famous tracks better live or in the studio?
Is There Anybody Out There? is the Pink Floyd live recording of The Wall concerts from 1980 and 1981 at Earls Court London.
I wasn’t lucky enough to be at these gigs but I had a flatmate who raved about how good The Wall concerts were.
This album was first issued in 2000 and is really the first prime time Pink Floyd live album when the group had conquered the world. (Ummagumma was too early and Delicate Sound Of Thunder and Pulse were a controversial version of the Floyd without the main songwriter, Roger Waters.)
Whether this album has a role to play in your album collection depends on two things:
Continue reading Pink Floyd Is There Anybody Out There? 1980 & 1981
The world doesn’t have enough Bruce Springsteen live albums but I thought it would be interesting to look at how Born To Run has been represented on the live albums that do exist.
Born To Run is the breakthrough album by Springsteen in 1975 and is often considered to be one of the best ever made…
But we know that Bruce Springsteen is even better live.
Machine Head by Deep Purple is an iconic heavy rock album and would be highly regarded even if it didn’t feature that riff from Smoke On The Water.
It has formed the base for the Deep Purple live set ever since it was released in 1972.
I grew up with it as a seven track album but I’m going to focus on it as an eight track because I like When A Blind Man Cries that was added as a bonus – it had been the B side for the single from the album, Never Before. Continue reading Deep Purple Machine Head Live
Who’s Next is one of the greatest classic rock albums but is it possible to get a live version of the album?
Unfortunately the answer is No. Both Song Is Over and Going Mobile are missing.
The story behind Who’s Next is that flushed with the success of Tommy, Pete Townshend wanted to do an even more complicated concept called Lifehouse which was abandoned.
Townshend had written some great songs and Who’s Next appeared as a salvage operation to get some kind of album released as a follow up to Tommy. Continue reading The Who Who’s Next Live
Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl is the controversial reworking of the classic album Astral Weeks in concert in November 2008 by Van Morrison.
Morrison took a big risk.
How do you improve perfection?
Astral Weeks is a magical record that lives up to Van’s promise…
“We are goin’ to heaven. In another time. In another place.” He sings and he delivers.
So why mess with it?
He told Rolling Stone contributing editor, David Wild…
“It received no promotion, from Warner Bros.—that’s why I never got to play the songs live. I had always wanted to play the record live and fully orchestrated—that is what this is all about. I always like live recording and I like listening to live records too. I’m not too fond of being in a studio—it’s too contrived and too confining. I like the freedom of live, in-the-moment sound.”
OK. I can see his point and I totally agree with his point about live albums versus those recorded in the studio.
But what do you want from Astral Weeks played live?
A note for note impersonation of the studio album… even though Van Morrison is forty years older and more experienced?
Or do you want him to play with the Astral Weeks songs so that you can hear different sounds, interpretations and inflexions?
You need to answer that question before buying Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl.
If you want the studio album… stick to the studio album. You won’t like Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl.
Continue reading Van Morrison Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl 2008
