When I think of a singer-songwriter, my first thoughts turn to someone strumming a guitar or playing the piano while singing songs that he or she wrote.
Of course, it isn’t quite that simple. What happens when someone else also plays or sings?
I’ve found that it’s a grey area when we start adding other people because ultimately it gets tough to distinguish singer songwriters from groups where one person tends to write and sing their songs. I’ve tried to be reasonably consistent as people move from pure singer songwriting to rock and pop groups.
I also discovered that there’s an issue of crossover between singer-songwriters and folk and country artists. To find what you’re looking for, I’ve given you various links at the bottom if you don’t find it on this page.
Elvis Costello Heatwave Festival 1980
Donovan Rising / Atlantis / The Classics Live / 25 Years In Concert 1971 1981
Bob Dylan Real Live 1984
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan & The Dead 1987
Steve Earle Live At The BBC 1988
Melissa Etheridge Live 1988
Roy Harper In Between Every Line 1985 1986
Don Henley Don’t Look Back 1985
John Hiatt Paper Thin 1989
Bruce Hornsby The Way It Is Tour 1986-87 Live
Joe Jackson Live At The BBC 1979 to 1983
Joe Jackson Live At Rockpalast 1980 1983
Joe Jackson Live 1980 to 1986
Billy Joel Songs In The Attic 1980
Elton John Live in Australia with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 1986
Nils Lofgren Moon Tears Live
Nils Lofgren Code Of The Road 1985
John Martyn Live At Leeds & More 1975 & 1980s
John Martyn BBC Live In Concert 1971 1977 1981
John Martyn BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert 1986
Joni Mitchell A Woman In The East 1983
Van Morrison Live At The Grand Opera House Belfast 1983
Laura Nyro Laura Live at the Bottom Line 1988
Graham Parker Live At Rockpalast 1978 1980
Graham Parker King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents 1983
Graham Parker Live Alone In America 1988
Graham Parker Live One The Official Vandelay Tapes 1988
Tom Petty The Live Anthology 1976 to 2007
Tom Petty Pack Up the Plantation Live 1978 to 1985
Tom Petty Live To Air 1986
Tom Petty In The Coliseum 1987
Tom Petty Transmission Impossible 1987 1989
Tom Petty Dean E Smith Activity Center University Of Carolina Sept 13 1989
Gil Scott-Heron Live At The Town And Country 1988
Bob Seger Nine Tonight 1980
Simon And Garfunkel The Concert in Central Park 1981
Bruce Springsteen Live 1975 – 85
Bruce Springsteen Nassau Coliseum Uniondale New York 1980
Bruce Springsteen Brendan Byrne Arena New Jersey 1984
Bruce Springsteen Los Angeles April 23 1988
Al Stewart Live Indian Summer 1981 aka Live At The Roxy Los Angeles
Richard Thompson More Guitar 1988
Suzanne Vega Live At The Speakeasy 1985
Tom Waits Big Time 1987
Neil Young A Treasure 1984 1985
Neil Young Cow Palace 1986
Neil Young Bluenote Cafe 1987 1988
Warren Zevon Stand In The Fire 1980
Warren Zevon Headless In Boston 1982
You can get these albums from Amazon.com – Amazon.co.uk
What Are the All Time Best Live Albums By Singer Songwriters?
I don’t have a readers poll to find the best live albums for this decade but I do have a poll to find the all time best live albums by singer-songwriters.
Loading ...Because there are so many excellent singer-songwriter albums with very different styles, I have split the poll into two and you may find some of your favourites in the second division. Albums will be promoted when they get enough votes.
Loading ...Live Albums By Singer Songwriters By Decade – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s – 2000s – 2010s
Live! Alone In America is a live album by Graham Parker.
It was recorded at the Theatre Of Living Arts in Philadelphia in October 1988.
Since Parker performs on his own, this is a very different sound from the live albums that were recorded in the late 1970s.
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Live At The BBC is a live album by Steve Earle.
It was recorded at The Town & Country Club in London on 29 November 1988.
A live album from this concert recording was originally released as BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert in 1992. Live At The BBC was issued in 2009 with all thirteen songs from this concert plus four songs recorded live in Manchester on 16 April 1987.
Live One: The Official Vandelay Tapes is a live recording by Graham Parker.
It was recorded in Chicago on July 4th, 1988.
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King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Graham Parker is a live album by Graham Parker.
It was recorded at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1983.
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Live Indian Summer is a part live album and part studio album by singer-songwriter Al Stewart.
Side 1 of the original vinyl double album with five songs were recorded in the studio and sides 2, 3 and 4 were recorded live at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles in April 1981.
The live songs were released as a CD in 1997 called Live At The Roxy Los Angeles 1981 with the same cover.
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Stand In The Fire is a live album by Warren Zevon.
It was recorded live at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California in August 1980 and released later the same year.
The album was remastered in 2007 and four more songs were added.
Songs In The Attic is a live album by Billy Joel.
It was recorded in June and July 1980 at various venues in the United States.
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The Live Anthology is a live album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
The standard edition has four CDs.A deluxe edition was also released with an additional CD, two DVDs, a vinyl copy of Official Live ‘Leg and a blue-ray disc with all 62 songs on it.
It was recorded at around the world at concerts between 1976 and 2007 and was released in 2009.
My Rating – 26/30
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The Concert in Central Park is a live album by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. It was recorded at a free benefit concert in Central Park, New York City on September 19th, 1981 in front of more than 500,000 people.
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More Guitar is a live album by Richard Thompson which was recorded at two concerts in Washington DC in November 1988. His Amnesia studio album was released the previous month.
As the name suggests, the emphasis is on Thompson’s prowess with the electric guitar although I should emphasise that it’s always within the structure of the songs and it doesn’t turn into the excess that you might hear on heavy rock albums.
