Best LIVE album recrded albums you've heard.

[treitz3]

What is the best live recording you folks have run across in your listening years?

Not just for the music, but the recording as well...moreso toward the recording for this question. A recording that actually places you in the audience. Not just a recording to where the audience sounds great [or realistic] at the start of the concert, but along with the song as well. Acoustic, Big band, orchestra, Rock, doesn't matter.

For instance, when a silent passage comes in you can hear the audience as if you were there, not as if the recording engineer all of a sudden "turns up" the audience. A full fidelity album, lots of dynamics....well, just plain out a great recording.

Does something like this even exist?

The best I have come up with so far is Pink Floyd's "Delicate Sound of Thunder", Sarah McGlachlin's "Afterglow" [CD and DVD] and Little Feat's "Waiting for Columbus". Whatcha' got? Talk to me........

[I]EDIT: The suggestions as the thread continues.....

Chick Corea "Rendezvous in New York"

Al DiMeola
John McLaughlin
Paco DeLucia
”Friday Night in San Francisco”

Allman Brothers “Live at Fillmore East”

“Allison Kraus and Union Station Live”

“Boz Scaggs Greatest Hits Live”

Seethers “One Cold Night”

Branford Marsalis Quartet “A Love Supreme Live”

Talking Heads “Stop Making Sense”

Arnes Domnerus Group “Jazz at the Pawnshop”

Antigone Rising, “From the Ground Up”

“Belafonte at Carnegie Hall Live”

“The Dead's 5/8/77 show at Cornell”

Pink Floyd's "Delicate Sound of Thunder"

Sarah McGlachlin's "Afterglow" [CD and DVD]

Little Feat's "Waiting for Columbus"

BB King "Live at the Regal"

[dkg999]

Some of the Grateful Dead's live recordings have the ambiance you refer to. There's some good recordings in the Dick's Picks CD's. Add a little hemp scented incense, a listening chair made from the seats out of a VW microbus, and you're literally there :)

[treitz3]

Funny response. Any GD album in particular that struck your fancy for what I'm lookin' for?

What's a Dick's Picks CD? You lost me there.

[Ricardo]

Chick Corea "Rendezvous in New York", Hybrid. Always in my top 10. I will actually hear the SACD track for the first time as soon as my player is here, but the redbook track is excellent.

[heiney9]

Acoustic guitar's in a somewhat spanish style.

Al DiMeola
John McLaughlin
Paco DeLucia

Friday Night In San Francisco.

The 3 of them on stage as part of a dueling guitar session. Superb recording and a very special evening captured like it should be.

http://cover6.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/Large/05/63105.jpg

Review by Daniel Gioffre

Loose and spontaneous, this (mainly) live album is a meeting of three of the greatest guitarists in the world for an acoustic summit the likes of which the guitar-playing community rarely sees. Broken up into three duo and two trio performances, Friday Night in San Francisco catches all three players at the peaks of their quite formidable powers. The first track features Al di Meola and Paco de Lucía teaming up for a medley of di Meola's "Mediterranean Sundance" (first recorded by the duo on di Meola's classic 1976 album Elegant Gypsy) and de Lucía's own "Rio Ancho." It is a delightful performance, full of the fire and inhuman chops that one expects from two players of this caliber. However, the two guitarists obviously have big ears, and they complement each other's solos with percussive, driving rhythm parts. There is a laid-back, humorous element to Friday Night in San Francisco as well, best witnessed in di Meola and John McLaughlin's performance of Chick Corea's "Short Tales of the Black Forest." Rapid-fire licks from the pair soon give way to atonal striking of the body of the guitar, running picks along the strings, etc. Before the farce is completed, they have played a blues and quoted the Pink Panther theme. It is funny stuff, and it serves to dispel the image of the trio, especially di Meola, as super-serious clinicians more concerned with technique than music. The other great piece of evidence against such a narrow-minded claim can be found in both the quality of the compositions featured on Friday Night in San Francisco as well as the sensitivity and dynamic variation brought to the performances. A perfect example of this is the sole studio track, a McLaughlin composition entitled "Guardian Angel" (the opening theme of which is taken straight from "Guardian Angels," a song that appears on McLaughlin's 1978 Electric Dreams album). It is a fine piece, and one that features a haunting melody as well as some of the best solos on the record. All in all, Friday Night in San Francisco is a fantastic album and one of the best entries in all of these guitarists' fine discographies.

Amazon has it for less than $10

H9

[Ricardo]

How could I forget this one.....I took it to Chicagofest and I know a couple polkies took notes....

[Polkitup2]

Allman Brothers live at Fillmore East SACD. Good stuff.

[treitz3]

I'll be damned Heiney9, I've actually got that on SACD and I haven't even listened to it yet. Thanks!

EDIT I'm into song three right now and I must admit, this is a nice recording. I have goose bumps coming from nowhere from time to time on this one. Absolutely fantastic! THIS is what was looking for, just a recording of the whole entire concert with the audience not omitted during the songs. The illusion and sound staging are put together well. I like it! Good tunes to boot! :D

EDIT #2 Damn good album and recording! Just finished it and I'm impressed. Ears are ringing a little bit, but it was worth it. I would recommend this album to those who are looking for what my first post inquired about. My only gripe would be that they killed the soundtrack in-between songs. IMO, they should have let the concert go without splices. I know....bitch, bitch, bitch but that's my only gripe. Incredible concert with a lot of talent on stage. Thanks again Heiney9!

[Ricardo]

Allison Kraus and UUnion Station Live is also a pretty good recording.

Jazz at the Pawnshop is excellent in LP; I would think the CD's are good also.

[cubdog]

Boz Scaggs Greatest Hits Live is a very good recording. The DVD is good as well.

cubdog

[66chevyIISS]

My personal Favorite is Seethers One Cold Night. Don't know how well it is mastered, but I personally think it sounds great.

[cubdog]

Another good one is Branford Marsalis Quartet...A Love Supreme Live.

cubdog

[hearingimpared]

Talking Heads; Stop Making Sense

Arnes Domnerus Group; Jazz at the Pawnshop

Allison Kraus & Union Station; Live

[mhardy6647]

The Dead's famous 5/8/77 show at Cornell sounds great; I don't know if it's a "Dick's Picks", though. You can taste it at: http://www.archive.org/details/gd77-05-08.sbd.hicks.4982.sbeok.shnf

The live album by Antigone Rising, From the Ground Up is a good sounding live recording.

Best R&R live, IMNSHO (and NSH it is!) is Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus. Some or many of the vocals may be overdubbed, but it is excellent in every way. The new(er) 2-CD Rhino expanded reissue is fine sounding.

Belafonte at Carnegie Hall is another superior live recording, best on original RCA vinyl.

[strider]

The Dead's famous 5/8/77 show at Cornell sounds great; I don't know if it's a "Dick's Picks", though. You can taste it at: http://www.archive.org/details/gd77-05-08.sbd.hicks.4982.sbeok.shnf

The live album by Antigone Rising, From the Ground Up is a good sounding live recording.

Best R&R live, IMNSHO (and NSH it is!) is Little Feat's Waiting for Columbus. Some or many of the vocals may be overdubbed, but it is excellent in every way. The new(er) 2-CD Rhino expanded reissue is fine sounding.

Belafonte at Carnegie Hall is another superior live recording, best on original RCA vinyl.


mhardy- Thanks for the link to archive.org, you've done it again. I hadn't checked that site out since they wiped out all the shows that fans had uploaded. Good to see they have upped their Dead content.

The Belafonte is a great recording, the material I can't stand. To me it seems as if there's no emotion in his performance; hell, even the between song banter is scripted! (He repeats what he said after the previous song at one point, and stumbles along for what seems like forever.)

I'll add:

BB King-Live at the Regal

John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat-Hooker and Heat, which isn't a live recording in the sense it's in front of an audience, but it is live in the studio and phenomenal.

[Keiko]

Couple of my personal favorites are Exit Stage Left and All the World's a Stage by Rush. I own both of these on double album vinyl. On CD, A Show of Hands is pretty awesome to.

[Altmanfan]

Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles

[wingnut4772]

Talking Heads; Stop Making Sense

Arnes Domnerus Group; Jazz at the Pawnshop

Allison Kraus & Union Station; Live

+1 for all three.

[Shizelbs]

Allman Brothers live at Fillmore East.

Agreed. +1

[Keiko]

DVD's

Peter Gabriel-Secret World

Corrs-Live at the Royal Albert Hall

David Gilmour-Remember That Night

Blackmore's Night-Paris Moon DVD/CD

Blackmore's Night-Castles & Dreams

Celtic Woman-The Show

Alison Krauss & Union Station

Rush in Rio

Eagles-Hell Freezes Over

Pink Floyd-Pulse

Queen-Live at Wembley DVD/CD

Queen-Return of the Champions w/Paul Rodgers


Another good live CD that comes to mind treitz is Led Zeppelin-The BBC Sessions. Awesome performance and one I listen to frequently.

[heiney9]

Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles

I have this one and it's pretty good. Also for you HDCD fans this is an HDCD cd.

Sometimes Joni's voice gets on my nerves otherwise it's a very nice recording.

[daboyz]

DVD's:

Pink Floyd "Pulse"
Roger Waters "The Wall-Live in Berlin"
Diana Krall "Live in Paris"
Eagles"Hell Freezes Over"

I really love watching concerts on DVD.Also, I have Shania in Chicago on DVD. Not so much for the excellent recording but I get to see Shania for awhile. Hubba,Hubba!!!

[Keiko]

DVD's:

Pink Floyd "Pulse"
Roger Waters "The Wall-Live in Berlin"
Diana Krall "Live in Paris"
Eagles"Hell Freezes Over"

I really love watching concerts on DVD.Also, I have Shania in Chicago on DVD. Not so much for the excellent recording but I get to see Shania for awhile. Hubba,Hubba!!!
+1 on Shania. She is extremely talented & yummy ta boot. : )~~~

[edossin4]

Led Zeppelin 'How the West Was Won'. The remix is fantastic, and this really captures one of the best rock bands ever at the top of their game. This makes 'Song Remains the Same' sound like a cover band.

Allman Brothers 'Live at Fillmore East' Alot has been said already but this is one of the best live performances ever recorded.

The Who 'Live at Leeds' Can't believe no one mentioned this one yet. Another great performance by a classic band at the top of their game.

Jimi Hendrix 'Band of Gypsies' Also recorded at the Fillmore East. This one would make the list for 'Machine Gun' alone.

Frank Zappa 'You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore' Vol 1-6 This body of work is so massive. Frank is often overlooked. He is one of the best guitarist/composers ever.

[heiney9]

Led Zeppelin 'How the West Was Won'. The remix is fantastic, and this really captures one of the best rock bands ever at the top of their game. This makes 'Song Remains the Same' sound like a cover band.

Allman Brothers 'Live at Fillmore East' Alot has been said already but this is one of the best live performances ever recorded.

The Who 'Live at Leeds' Can't believe no one mentioned this one yet. Another great performance by a classic band at the top of their game.

Jimi Hendrix 'Band of Gypsies' Also recorded at the Fillmore East. This one would make the list for 'Machine Gun' alone.

Frank Zappa 'You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore' Vol 1-6 This body of work is so massive. Frank is often overlooked. He is one of the best guitarist/composers ever.

All good choices--How The West Was One is great for what it is and where it came from. It was never intended to be a live release therefore when it was recorded it was done haphazardly and the tapes were not stored properly, etc, etc. It IS fantastic what they were able to do to restore the tapes and put out a great live document, but on a really nice stereo it's just not that great of a recording compared to others of that time period that were intended for release eventually. Overall the energy and playing is leaps and bounds above TSRTS. I have 3 bootlegs of this show and even with the marginal recording (although there always was a great sounding audience recording called "Burn That Candle") it was always an exciting show to listen to. I was glad they combined it with the Long Beach show and put it out officially.

Who-Live at Leeds is a great example of what a recording could sound like back then if proper attention is paid. That was recorded with the intention of releasing it right way.

Hendrix-BOG is also great especially the 2cd set re-released by Experience Hendrix It's songs pulled from all 4 sets and it does have some stinkers in there (audio quality), but as a live document it's great.

H9

[treitz3]

Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your input. I'm off to go see if I can pick up some of the selections. Please keep 'em coming if you have more that fit the bill of what I am looking for and again....Thank you.

You folks ROCK!!! ;) :D

[Bill Ayotte]

Eagles Hell Freezes Over is probably the best i have heard, and they sounded the same way live, man was that an expensive ticket......

[mhardy6647]

I am a big Who fan, and I'll acknowledge that every time they re-release Live at Leeds with more content, it gets better and better, but it's just never been one of my favorite live albums. I think my problem with it is mostly the very rough sonic ambience. I am not that crazy about the 2nd side of the original album, either, although I do like the Naked Eye section of the sprawling My Generation. Don't care that much for the rest of its 14-plus minutes, though.

Now, Philistine that I am, my favorit live recorded 'OO is, I think, the very last performance with Moonie, from The Kids are Alright. Not the last word in quality, but a great Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again. End of an era stuff. Great on video, too.

[capecodder]

One of my favorite recent cd's is a release of an early 1970's Neal Young concert. Great music and very good recording.

Neal Young- Live at Massey Hall

[treitz3]

I am a big Who fan, and I'll acknowledge that every time they re-release Live at Leeds with more content, it gets better and better, but it's just never been one of my favorite live albums.
Well, the only version of The Who "Live at Leeds" they had was the standard redbook but I was lucky enough to stumble into a hybrid SACD of The Who "Tommy" [I know, not live, but I'm pumped...I dig SACD, what can I say?], I'm listening to that now and it sounds pretty good for my first impression of it. What would you say is the best version of "Live at Leeds" that you've heard?

Ended up getting a Deluxe Edition [whatever that means] of "The Allman brothers at Fillmore East". It's a two disc CD set and daggum, it's got one song that's 33.39 minutes long! :eek: I hope it's a jam session as I miss singers shutting the F up and just letting the band jam away.

Also picked up an SACD [not hybrid] of Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Time*Sex*Love". Never heard her before, but I keep hearing her name so who knows? I might like it. Found out I'm gonna have to get the Arnes Domnerus Group's "Jazz at the Pawnshop" on the internet. What's the best version you guys have run across on this? I have heard it mentioned countless times and everything I hear is positive so far. Mo-Fi? SACD?

[heiney9]

If you like jam bands and great musicians another great set is

Government Mule- Deepest End a 2cd - 1dvd set very reasonably priced - over 6 hours of music.

Allen Woody the original bassist died and they have several guests play bass on this wonderfully put together set. Including, Roger Glover, Jack Casady, Les Claypool, Jason Newsed, Rob Wasserman, plus others fill in on bass. Other guests include, Bela Fleck, Dirty Dozen Brass Band Horns, Sonny Landreth, Bernie Worrell.

A great set with a great laid back groove. Highly recommended.

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1276546

H9

[mhardy6647]

I remember hearing a nice, heavy vinyl pressing of the original Live at Leeds at "The Analog Room" in San Jose CA (right at the edge of Cupertino, at least then) a few years back that was pretty good. I think it was a newish pressing (at least then), and it was on about $100k worth of gear.

[treitz3]

The Who 'Live at Leeds' Can't believe no one mentioned this one yet. Another great performance by a classic band at the top of their game.
This is the redbook CD I picked up today and my observations.....

Great tunes but not dynamic, the audience doesn't seem real and it seems as if there is a blanket covering the speakers. The separation of instruments is limited and resolution is non-existent. The stereo separation and time delay on song #14 "Magic Bus" is interesting but not what I would consider stellar. Sounds like an older recording.

Perhaps another recording/mastering?

[heiney9]

This is the redbook CD I picked up today and my observations.....

Great tunes but not dynamic, the audience doesn't seem real and it seems as if there is a blanket covering the speakers. The separation of instruments is limited and resolution is non-existent. The stereo separation and time delay on song #14 "Magic Bus" is interesting but not what I would consider stellar. Sounds like an older recording.

Perhaps another recording/mastering?

Wow, not what I get at all. This recording is cited by many audio reviewers as a good demo disc. I like the rawness of the recording and environment. Mhardy made a good comment earlier rough sonic ambience. That's what I like about this disc, everything today is so over processed and slick and shiny. This has a raw energy and Moonie's drums sound great. Listen to the drums they just about bowl you over with their intensity.

H9

[heiney9]

What stereophile had to say about it:

THE WHO: Live At Leeds
MCA MCAD-31196 (CD only). The Who, prods. AAD. TT: 37:44
Ah, Live At Leeds; the greatest live rock album of them all. This is the Who at their absolute performing peak, when everybody in the band was gobbling speed like caged rodents and hated each other with such passion that even an urbane ditty like Gentleman Mose Allison's "Young Man Blues" became an atomic blast of churning snarl when thrown into their collective midst. And the sound is more than up to it all; this is what Who concerts sounded like before Keith Moon died. In fact, the guitar and bass are recorded just as they stood onstage, with Pete's guitar panned hard right and John's thunderous bass all the way left; I spent a good part of my adolescence first cranking the balance control all the way right to learn the guitar parts, then all the way left to learn the bass!

"The best live rock album ever made." – The New York Times, 1970

That line just about sums up the universal opinion of the first official live recording release by The Who. After repeated failed attempts on their '69-'70 UK Tommy tour, the hall on the campus of Leeds University was intentionally scheduled for the main purpose of recording a live album. The results, although only six selections from a much longer performance were used, were a triumph. Riding the crest of the Tommy album and their monumental appearance at the Woodstock Festival, the original quartet of Townshend, Daltrey, Entwhistle and Moon deliver a perfect mix. This Classic Records reissue includes all of the original artwork and packaging. Cut from the original two-track master tapes at Bernie Grundman Mastering by Chris Bellman on Classic's all-tube cutting system.

[treitz3]

I have listened in low, normal and concert levels and yes, the drums kick some serious *** but it's not what I would consider a good demo disc. Not in the slightest.

Looks like my copy was recorded in 1970, released in the same year and the redbook version I have is apparently from 1995. Same thing?

[treitz3]

MCA MCAD-31196 (CD only).
I have MCAD-11215. What in the hell does this mean? Or do you have any inkling? I sure don't.

[heiney9]

I have listened in low, normal and concert levels and yes, the drums kick some serious *** but it's not what I would consider a good demo disc. Not in the slightest.

Looks like my copy was recorded in 1970, released in the same year and the redbook version I have is apparently from 1995. Same thing?

I believe so, MCA-11215 is what I have. I believe it is the remastered version. If we all liked the same things we'd be boring. I enjoy recordings like this that are a bit raw and rough around the edges sometimes. A steady diet of these types of recordings would get old but this just has a certain ambiance, mix and energy that I really enjoy. No overdubs or studio fixing, no polish or shine, just recorded right from the stage exactly how it would have sounded from the front row, warts and all.

H9

[treitz3]

That's cool. Hey, have you ever gone from "Friday Night in San Francisco" to "Live at Leeds"? I guess this is where I'm coming from. Night and day in terms of recording quality/realism/like you are "there" qualities IMO.
One sounds real [for reproduction] and one sounds....well, I've already described what I'm hearing.

[heiney9]

That's cool. Hey, have you ever gone from "Friday Night in San Francisco" to "Live at Leeds"? I guess this is where I'm coming from. Night and day in terms of recording quality/realism/like you are "there" qualities IMO.
One sounds real [for reproduction] and one sounds....well, I've already described what I'm hearing.

LOL.......no that's a pretty drastic change in music and intensity. :D. Perhaps give "Live at Leeds" another spin when you aren't listening to such light music, although "Friday Night in San Francisco" can get intense in some spots just in a different way.

It's kind of like going form Frank Sinatra to Marilyn Manson <LOL> :p

H9

[george daniel]

Grant Green,,"Live at the Lighthouse" lp,,,,"Walk in the night"

[mhardy6647]

I'll listen to Live at Leeds a bit tonight. Probably vinyl, but we'll see...

[bigyank]

Allman Brothers live at Fillmore East SACD. Good stuff.

I do not have it on SACD but have had it on both LP (wore out a few copies) and on CD.:D

One of my personal favorites is BB King "Live at the Regal" in that this album introduced me to Live Blues in general when I was a youngin' and the recording quality is great (even for a 1965 recording!).:D

Yank