Singer-Songwriter Live Albums
In many ways a singer songwriter is music at its most simple and pure.
One person sings songs he or she has written accompanied by a guitar or piano.
The words are direct, the melodies gentle. You can sink into the music created.
Of course it doesn’t need to stay that simple in the singer songwriter sector. A small band can be added. The guitar can be plugged into the electricity supply. At some stage, the singer songwriter becomes the leader of a band.
The big names in this area are Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and many more.
Live Albums By Singer Songwriters
Ryan Adams Live At Carnegie Hall Super Deluxe 2014
Joan Armatrading Steppin Out
Joan Armatrading Live All The Way From America
Joan Armatrading Live At The Royal Albert Hall 2010
Joan Baez In Concert 1962
Joan Baez In Concert Part 2 1963
Jackson Browne Running On Empty 1977
Jackson Browne Solo Acoustic Vol 1 2005
Jackson Browne Solo Acoustic Vol 2 2008
Jeff Buckley Live At Sin-E 1993
Jeff Buckley Live At L’Olympia 1995
Jeff Buckley Mystery White Boy Live 95-96
Tim Buckley Live At The Folklore Centre NYC March 6th 1967
Tim Buckley Dream Letter Live In London 1968
JJ Cale Live 1990 to 1996
Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison 1969
Johnny Cash At San Quentin 1969
Leonard Cohen Live Songs 1970 1972
Leonard Cohen Live In London 2008
Leonard Cohen Live in Dublin 2013
Ry Cooder Showtime 1976
Ry Cooder & Corridos Famosos Live in San Francisco 2011
Elvis Costello Live At The Nashville Rooms 1977
Elvis Costello Live At The El Mocambo 1978
Elvis Costello Live At The Hollywood High 1978
Elvis Costello Heatwave Festival 1980
Jim Croce Live The Final Tour 1973
John Denver An Evening With John Denver 1974
John Denver The Wildlife Concert 1995
Neil Diamond Hot August Night 1972
Ani DiFranco Living in Clip 1996
Ian Dury Live At Rockpalast 1978
Bob Dylan Live in New York Gaslight Cafe 1961
Bob Dylan In Concert Brandeis University 1963
Bob Dylan Live 1964 Concert At Philharmonic Hall
Bob Dylan Live 1966 The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert
Bob Dylan Before The Flood 1974
Bob Dylan Live 1975 The Rolling Thunder Revue
Bob Dylan Hard Rain 1976
Bob Dylan At Budokan 1978
Bob Dylan Real Live 1984
Steve Earle Live At The BBC 1988
Steve Earle Shut Up And Die Like An Aviator 1990
Gallagher & Lyle BBC Live In Concert 1973 to 1978
Andrew Gold The Late Show Live 1978
John Grant and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra Live in Concert 2014
Roy Harper Flashes From The Archives Of Oblivion 1974
Roy Harper Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios 2011
John Hiatt Paper Thin 1989
John Hiatt Live in Chicago 1990
John Hiatt Live at the Hiatt 1993
John Hiatt Comes Alive At Budokan 1994
Robyn Hitchcock I Often Dream of Trains in New York 2008
Bruce Hornsby Here Come The Noise Makers 1998 to 1999
Janis Ian Live Working Without A Net 1990 to 2003
Joe Jackson Live At The BBC 1979 to 1983
Joe Jackson Live At Rockpalast 1980 1983
Joe Jackson Live 1980 to 1986
Joe Jackson Summer in the City Live in New York 1999
Joe Jackson Two Rainy Nights Live in Seattle & Portland 2001
Joe Jackson Band Afterlife 2003
Billy Joel Songs In The Attic 1980
Elton John 17-11-70
Elton John Here And There 1974
Elton John One Night Only The Greatest Hits 2000
Carole King The Carnegie Hall Concert 1971
Carole King & James Taylor Live At The Troubadour 2007
k d lang Live by Request 2000
John Lennon Live In New York City 1972
Nils Lofgren Back It Up 1975
Nils Lofgren Live Sausalito 1975
Nils Lofgren Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1976
Nils Lofgren Live On The Test 1976 to 1979
Nils Lofgren Night After Night 1977
Nils Lofgren Acoustic Live 1997
Nils Lofgren Band Live 2002
Aimee Mann Live At St Ann’s Warehouse 2004
John Martyn Live At Leeds Deluxe 1975
John Martyn BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert 1986
John Martyn Live 1990
John Martyn Classics Live 1990
Ian McNabb Live At Life 1999
Melanie On Air BBC Live in Concert 1969 to 1989
John Mellencamp Performs Trouble No More Live at Town Hall 2003
Joni Mitchell Through Yellow Curtains 1966 to 1968
Joni Mitchell Miles Of Aisles 1974
Joni Mitchell Shadows And Light 1979
Joni Mitchell A Woman In The East 1983
Van Morrison It’s Too Late To Stop Now 1973
Van Morrison at the Winterland Feb 2, 1974
Van Morrison Live At The Grand Opera House Belfast 1983
Van Morrison A Night in San Francisco 1993
Van Morrison Live at Austin City Limits Festival 2006
Van Morrison Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl 2008
Randy Newman Live 1970
Randy Newman Live In London 2008
Laura Nyro Spread Your Wings and Fly Live at the Fillmore East May 30 1971
Laura Nyro Seasons Of Light 1976
Laura Nyro Live at Carnegie Hall The Classic 1976 Radio Broadcast
Laura Nyro Laura Live at the Bottom Line 1988
Graham Parker The Bootleg Box
Graham Parker Live At Marble Arch 1976
Graham Parker Not If It Pleases Me 1976 1977
Graham Parker Official Bootleg Box 1976 to 2012
Graham Parker Live On The Test 1977 1978
Graham Parker BBC Live In Concert 1977-1991
Graham Parker The Parkerilla 1978
Graham Parker Live At Rockpalast 1978 1980
Graham Parker Live In San Francisco 1979
Graham Parker Live In America 1979
Graham Parker Live Sparks 1979
Graham Parker King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents 1983
Graham Parker Live Alone In America 1988
Graham Parker Live One The Official Vandelay Tapes 1988
Graham Parker Live Alone Discovering Japan
Graham Parker Live From New York 1995
Graham Parker The Last Rock n Roll Tour 1996
Graham Parker 103 Degrees In June 2005
Tom Petty The Live Anthology 1976 to 2007
Tom Petty The New York Shuffle 1977
Tom Petty Pack Up the Plantation Live 1978 to 1985
Tom Petty Live To Air 1986
Tom Petty In The Coliseum 1987
Tom Petty Dean E Smith Activity Center University Of Carolina Sept 13 1989
Tom Petty Southern Accents In The Sunshine State 1993
Tom Petty Live In Chicago 2003
Shawn Phillips At The BBC 1971 to 1974
Dory Previn Live At Carnegie Hall 1973
Lou Reed Rock N Roll Animal 1973
Lou Reed Live Extended Versions 1973
Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson It’s Your World 1976
Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson Live At The Bottom Line Aug 20, 1977
Gil Scott-Heron Live At The Town And Country 1988
Gil Scott-Heron Tour De Force Live 1994
Bob Seger Live Bullet 1976
Bob Seger Nine Tonight 1980
Simon And Garfunkel Live from New York City 1967
Simon And Garfunkel Live 1969
Simon And Garfunkel The Concert in Central Park 1981
Paul Simon In Concert Live Rhymin’ 1973/74
Paul Simon’s Concert in the Park 1991
Paul Simon Live In New York City 2011
Bruce Springsteen Live At The Main Point Bryn Mawr 1975
Bruce Springsteen Hammersmith Odeon London 75
Bruce Springsteen Tower Theater Pennsylvania 1975
Bruce Springsteen Live 1975 – 85
Bruce Springsteen 1978/08/09 Cleveland Ohio
Bruce Springsteen The Fox Theatre Atlanta 1978
Bruce Springsteen Agora Ballroom 1978
Bruce Springsteen Winterland Night 1978
Bruce Springsteen Live At The Capitol Theater, Passiac NJ 1978
Bruce Springsteen Nassau Coliseum Uniondale New York 1980
Bruce Springsteen Brendan Byrne Arena New Jersey 1984
Bruce Springsteen Los Angeles April 23 1988
Bruce Springsteen Live In New York City 2000
Bruce Springsteen Live In Barcelona 2002
Bruce Springsteen Apollo Theater New York, NY 2012
Bruce Springsteen High Hopes Tour 2014
Bruce Springsteen AAMI Park Melbourne 2014 (Born In The USA Special)
Martin Stephenson & The Dainties Live At Town & Country 1990
Martin Stephenson And The Dainties Live In The 21st Century
Al Stewart Time Passages Live 1978
Al Stewart Live Indian Summer 1981
Al Stewart Rhymes in Rooms 1992
Al Stewart Uncorked 2009
John Stewart Complete Phoenix Concerts 1974
John Stewart Front Row Music 2000
Sting All This Time 2001
James Taylor Live 1992
Richard Thompson Live At The BBC 1973 to 2009
Richard & Linda Thompson In Concert November 1975
Richard Thompson Small Town Romance 1982
Richard Thompson More Guitar 1988
Richard Thompson Two Letter Words 1994
Richard Thompson Semi Detached Mock Tudor 1999
Richard Thompson Live from Austin, TX 2001
Richard Thompson Live Warrior 2007
Townes Van Zandt Live At The Old Quarter 1973
Rufus Wainwright Live from the Artists Den 2012
Tom Waits Nighthawks At The Diner 1975
Tom Waits Nighthawks on the Radio 1976
Tom Waits Big Time 1987
Tom Waits Glitter And Doom Live 2008
Lucinda Williams Live At The Fillmore 2003
Neil Young Sugar Mountain Live at Canterbury House 1968
Neil Young Live At The Cellar Door 1970
Neil Young Live At The Fillmore East 1970
Neil Young Live At Massey Hall 1971
Neil Young Time Fades Away 1973
Neil Young Live Rust 1978
Neil Young A Treasure 1984 1985
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Weld 1991
Neil Young Unplugged 1993
Neil Young Year of the Horse 1996
Warren Zevon Stand In The Fire 1980
I have a readers poll to help you find the Best Live Albums by Singer Songwriters.
Loading ...Because there are so many very good live albums by singer-songwriters, I have created a second division poll which may have more of your favourites. Albums can be promoted if they get enough votes.
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Live At Hollywood High is a live album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions, recorded at the Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, California on June 4th, 1978.
Tracks from this performance have appeared before this CD was released as bonuses on the Armed Forces album.
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Back It Up!! – Nils Lofgren Live – An Authorized Bootleg was recorded on October 31st 1975 and followed the example set by The Who Live At Leeds in imitating a bootleg recording.
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The Parkerilla is the first live album by Graham Parker & The Rumour released to the general public from the Stick To Me tour in 1978.
It had three LP sides live and an alternative studio version of Don’t Ask Me Question on the fourth side. This made it controversial and following the disappointing Stick To Me album, there was a critical backlash against Graham Parker in favour of Elvis Costello.
In 1991, Rolling Stone ranked The Parkerilla number 64 on its list of 100 greatest album covers.
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Nine Tonight is the second live album by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. It was recorded in 1980 in Detroit when Seger had become an international superstar.
Before his first live album, Live Bullet, Bob Seger was a hard working rock’n’roll singer who had gained a great reputation in his home territory of Detroit, Michigan but he wasn’t well known or very popular elsewhere in the USA or internationally.
Live Bullet is a fiery, energetic set which demanded attention and Seger had the nous to capitalise on it with his following commercial studio albums, Night Moves and Stranger In Town.
Releasing Nine Tonight was an obvious move to give the fans a chance to hear the new Seger show with the hits.
This album was remastered in 2011 and an extra song – Brave Strangers – has been added.
Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast is the second live album from Van Morrison recorded in 1983 with songs from his last four albums and especially Beautiful Vision.
This makes it a great compliment to the classic It’s Too Late To Stop Now like me who haven’t followed his late 1970s career that closely but like the songs they hear on the radio.
Van Morrison Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast
Continue reading Van Morrison Live At The Grand Opera House Belfast 1983Before The Flood celebrates Bob Dylan and The Band on tour in 1974 before his Blood On The Tracks album. I think there is an argument that this album helped return Dylan to form after a few years in the wilderness.
It’s an interesting album that has three parts:
Live Bullet is a live album by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in 1976 in his home city of Detroit, Michigan.
This album turned Seger from a big name locally into a well known international rock’n’roll singer thanks to the intense, energetic performance captured here. After Live Bullet he went on to release best selling studio albums like Night Moves and Stranger In Town.
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band Live Bullet
Live At Marble Arch is a rare live album by Graham Parker and The Rumour recorded in London in 1976.
It was recorded as a promotional album and sent to music journalists and DJs to show off the raw pub rock/R&B style of the group. It has been a popular bootleg.
It was included in its entirety on a Graham Parker compilation – Vertigo: The Best of Graham Parker – which I was lucky enough to buy when it came out in 1996. At that stage it was also the only way to get the classic Squeezing Out The Sparks album.
Live At Marble Arch has also appeared on That’s What You Know, a double CD with one disc of acoustic demos and the second has this live album.
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
It’s Too Late To Stop Now is the first live album by Van Morrison.
It was recorded in 1973 and it catches him paying his dues to his influences.
It collects the best of the tracks from concerts at The Troubadour in Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and at The Rainbow in London between May and July 1973.
It’s difficult to categorise an album like this – is it rock, soul or blues? It even has a jazzy feel to it.
This amalgamation of styles is what makes Van Morrison such a special artist and he had a golden period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when he made some of the greatest music ever recorded. Astral Weeks, Moondance and St Dominic’s Preview are amongst my most favourite studio albums and I believe that each is essential.
Which is the best? Well that keeps on changing depending on my mood but St Dominic’s Preview fits neatly between the others in style.
In 2008, a bonus track was added – a live version of Brown Eyed Girl.
My Rating – 28/30
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Continue reading Van Morrison It’s Too Late To Stop Now 1973
