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.
Live Albums By Singer Songwriters In The 1990s
Greg Brown The Live One 1994
Jeff Buckley Live At Sin-E 1993
Jeff Buckley Live At L’Olympia 1995
Jeff Buckley Mystery White Boy Live 95-96
JJ Cale JJ Cale Live 1990 to 1996
Elvis Costello And Bill Frisell Deep Dead Blue 1995
John Denver The Wildlife Concert 1995
Ani DiFranco Living in Clip 1996
Steve Earle Shut Up And Die Like An Aviator 1990
Steve Earle Live in Nashville 1995
Ted Hawkins The Final Tour 1994
John Hiatt Hiatt Comes Alive At Budokan 1994
John Hiatt Live in Chicago 1990
Robyn Hitchcock Storefront Hitchcock
Bruce Hornsby Here Come The Noise Makers 1998 to 1999
Janis Ian Live Working Without A Net 1990 to 2003
Joe Jackson Summer in the City Live in New York 1999
Nils Lofgren Keith Don’t Go Live at The Town & Country Club 1990
Nils Lofgren Acoustic Live 1997
John Martyn Live At Leeds & Mor 1975 + ’80s & ’90s
John Martyn Live 1990
John Martyn Classics Live 1990
Ian McNabb Live At Life 1999
Joni Mitchell The Wells Fargo Theater Los Angeles 26th January 1995
Van Morrison A Night in San Francisco 1993
Graham Parker The Bootleg Box 1975 to 2004
Graham Parker BBC Live In Concert 1977-1991
Graham Parker Live Alone Discovering Japan 1993
Graham Parker Live From New York 1995
Graham Parker The Last Rock n Roll Tour 1996
Tom Petty The Live Anthology 1976 to 2007
Tom Petty Southern Accents In The Sunshine State 1993
Lou Reed Perfect Night Live in London 1997
Gil Scott-Heron Tour De Force Live 1994
Paul Simon’s Concert in the Park 1991
Martin Stephenson & The Dainties Live At Town & Country 1990
Al Stewart Rhymes in Rooms 1992
James Taylor James Taylor Live 1992
Richard Thompson Two Letter Words 1994
Richard Thompson Semi Detached Mock Tudor 1999
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Weld 1991
Neil Young Live in Chicago 1992
Neil Young Unplugged 1993
Neil Young Change Your Mind Live 1994
Neil Young Year of the Horse 1996
Warren Zevon Learning To Flinch 1992
Warren Zevon Empire Concert Club Cleveland OH 05/01/92
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
Tour De Force is a live album by Gil Scott-Heron that captures a concert from about 1994.
It has been released in a number of different formats and edits but I believe that Tour De Force is the most comprehensive. It’s also the version I bought so it’s the one I’m best qualified to talk about.
Variations of Tour De Force have been released as:
Minister of Information: Live
The Best Of Gil Scott-Heron Live
Save The Children
Winter In America, Summer In Europe
Greatest Hits Live
Live at Life is the first live album by singer songwriter Ian McNabb. It was recorded in his home city at the Life Cafe in Liverpool in 1999.
Ian McNabb came to my attention in 1984 when he released the studio album Head Like a Rock with Crazy Horse, the backing band of Neil Young when he wants to rock. I thought it was excellent and expected to hear much more of this singer.
But he fell back into relative obscurity.
Acoustic Live is an interesting and charming album from Nils Lofgren in 1997 as he follow on in the Unplugged tradition that became popular in the 1990s.
It was actually recorded at The Barns Of Wolftrap, Vienna in Virginia on January 18th, 1997.
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Neil Young Unplugged is an excellent live album contrast to loud, electric Weld album released two years earlier.
After the critical and commercial success of Weld, Young the notorious contrarian released the acoustic Harvest Moon, a follow-up to his biggest selling album, Harvest from 1972.
This album appeared quite late in the MTV Unplugged fad but Neil Young is a natural and it shows. This album confirms that it was such a shame that Young lost his way in the 1980s.
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Neil Young Weld was recorded in 1991 on the tour to promote the Ragged Glory album with Crazy Horse and it rocks hard.
If you’re a fan of hard rock and you’ve dismissed Neil Young as an acoustic folkie based on songs like After the Goldrush and Harvest Moon, you’re in for a big shock.
There’s nothing subtle or gentle in this album.
On the other hand, if you want Neil Young, the folk singer-songwriter playing live, then you’d better hurry along to Live At Massey Hall.
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