Category: Soul Live Albums

Soul Live Albums

Are you ready to testify to your feeling?

Soul music has come out of combining gospel with the blues and it’s nothing if it doesn’t have passion.

There are live albums here that will take you back to a late night, sweaty club where the band punches hard when it needs to and then lightens up for the singer to pour out his heart and soul… screaming, shouting, singing so sweetly, whispering, hollering… whatever the style, you know the singer feels it.

There are some great live soul albums in this category by Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and many more.

There is a readers poll to find the very best – The Best Live Soul Albums

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Live Albums covered include:

James Brown Live At The Apollo 1962
James Brown Live At The Apollo 2 1967
Solomon Burke Soul Alive
Ray Charles At Newport 1958
Ray Charles In Person 1959
Otis Clay Soul Man Live In Japan 1983
Sam Cooke Live At The Harlem Square Club 1963
Sam Cooke At The Copa 1964
Aretha Franklin Aretha Live At Fillmore West 1971
Marvin Gaye Live 1974
Marvin Gaye Live At The London Palladium 1976
Al Green Tokyo Live 1978
Etta James Rocks The House 1963
Curtis Mayfield Curtis Live 1971
Maze Live In New Orleans 1980
Otis Redding In Person At The Whisky A Go Go 1966
Otis Redding Live In Europe 1967
Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson It’s Your World 1976
Gil Scott-Heron Tour De Force Live 1994
Sly & The Family Stone The Woodstock Experience 1969
The Temptations Live 1966
Tina Turner Tina Live In Europe 1986
Bobby Womack The Womack Live

Sly & The Family Stone The Woodstock Experience 1969

The Woodstock Experience by Sly & The Family Stone was recorded in August 1969 at the world famous Woodstock festival.

I don’t understand the marketing but this is a two CD set. The first CD is the studio version of the Stand album, the second is the Woodstock recording. There is a series of these Woodstock albums including Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and Johnny Winter.

It’s taken us a long time to get a live Sly & The Family Stone album because this was first released in 2009.

Sly & The Family Stone The Woodstock Experience – Overall rating 27/30

Continue reading Sly & The Family Stone The Woodstock Experience 1969

Al Green Tokyo Live 1978

Tokyo Live is a live recording of Al Green performing in Japan in June 1978. It his only mainstream live soul album.

If you want more Al Green, there is the Gospel Concert recording but reviews aren’t encouraging. Sound quality appears to be the problem but I haven’t heard it myself.

Tokyo Live is excellent.

Al Green Tokyo Live – Overall Rating 26/30

Continue reading Al Green Tokyo Live 1978

Michael Jackson Bad Tour 1988

I’ve just heard that as part of the plans to mark the 25th anniversary of release of Bad by Michael Jackson, there will be a live album included on his July 1988 concert from Wembley Stadium in London.

This should be interesting. I was at Aintree in Liverpool, along with about 125,000 other people in September 1988 to see the final European concert of the Bad tour.

Unfortunately we got stuck on the motorway for about four albums and got there much later than intended. Margaret couldn’t see anything and I didn’t see much.

The set list for this part of the tour was: Continue reading Michael Jackson Bad Tour 1988

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Live 1971

Curtis Live is the first live album by Curtis Mayfield after leaving the Impressions and was recorded in January 1971.

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Live

Continue reading Curtis Mayfield Curtis Live 1971

James Brown Live At The Apollo 1962

The original James Brown album, Live At The Apollo is one of the most famous and often regarded as one of the best live albums ever. It was recorded in 1962 and released in 1963.

It’s very, very good but I don’t think it quite lives up to its outstanding reputation.

Let me explain why.

James Brown Live At The Apollo 1962 Overall Rating 27/30

Continue reading James Brown Live At The Apollo 1962

What Are The Best Live Soul Albums Ever?

My aim is simple… to find out what readers think are the best live soul albums ever.

Have Your Say: What Are The Best Live Soul Albums Ever?

Will it be James Brown Live At The Apollo 1962, Otis Redding Live In Europe or Sam Cooke Live At The Harlem Square Club or a less well known live soul classic (click to read my reviews).

At this stage I should point out that I’ve got separate polls for the best funk live album and the best disco live album.

Continue reading What Are The Best Live Soul Albums Ever?

Sam Cooke Live At The Harlem Square Club 1963

Sam Cooke’s live recording, Live At The Harlem Square Club 1963 is a classic from the early days of soul. Incredibly it stayed in the vaults for over twenty years before it was first released in 1985.

Originally a gospel star with the Soul Stirrers, Sam Cooke was a pioneer in both soul and cross-over pop at a time when the civil rights movement was growing.

Sam Cooke Live At The Harlem Square 1963 – Overall Rating = 28/30

Early versions of this album were called One Night Stand – Live At The Harlem Square Club.

Set List – 8/10 Rating

The set list is short but what’s on it is gold. Continue reading Sam Cooke Live At The Harlem Square Club 1963