They just sound like a greatest hits compilations with crowd noise!

I love the live albums which offer something truly special, like a revamped-larger than life sound for a group/artist (JB at the Apollo, Prince at Dortmund 88, etc.), or when they have been recorded during a very special event (Woodstock, Johnny Cash at Folsom, etc.), but the 90% of the live albums are lame, unispired, offering boring versions of old classics...

what about Frampton Comes Alive? thats a great one

I don't like them too. Can't listen to them lmao.

I really love live albums...especially unplugged ones.

MikeMatronik said:

Yeah, that's it, I like some of them just because they offer something NEW, for god's sake, Nirvana and Clapton's unplugged albums are essential...

I love live stuff.

Live versions are often totally different songs, and you wonder why in the hell they played it safe with some bland recording.

I'm not a big fan of them mainly because you rarely get a complete concert and there's often loads of overdubbing. If you do get a full show it's often two shows combined etc. However it also depends on the band you're listening to. Many just replicate the studio versions of their songs so you do basically get crowd noise that distinquishes it as a live show. Live bootlegs now they're a different matter completely especially now recording equipment is so much better than it was. I could listen to boots of my favourite artists all day. Prince is a great example of someone who is a far better live musician than he is studio.

Beyonce's live album has great energy

right now i've been listening to Peter Frampton's "Come alive"-classic

They piss me off the better they are cause it just constantly reminds me that I WAS NOT their. Besides, with Prince i can at least imagine the facial expressions and interaction with the band. But with most artists i have NOT seen them live so....some of the "live" experience is missing....just my opinion...

Kim69 said:

i will never ever EVA look or listen to U2 when they were here in Chicago

InsatiableCream said:

i missed this

The live music makes me a fan...it shows if they can do it or they can't...the boots are what really made me a Prince fan

Oh and listen to Donny Hathaway Live and learn something...

Slave2daGroove said:

Slave2daGroove said:

I was about to say...



Not to mention....

I used to say that disliked live albums.
Then I found myself owning:

One Nite Alone
Basia On Broadway
Under A Blood Red Sky
Hell Freezes Over
The Dance
Eagles:Farewell 1 Tour


I found myself becoming hypocrical with my musical tastes.
So now, I try from saying stuff that may limit my mind from enjoying stuff that I previously wouldn't have given a chance to.

i dont mind some of them as long as the crowd noise is at the right level sometimes its overpowering but what annoys me just as much is when its a live recording and the crowd noise has been almost completely removed

Geez, I can't compile a BEST of 2007 list cuz 95% of what I've been listening to is live concerts downloaded from torrents 9new and archived). It helps tremendously that most of setlists are varied that the artists is getting the same songs every time out and most of them are doing something that's never going to be done in the studio. crowd noise is indeed a problem, as is signal quality, but I've gotten recent Led Zeppelin reunion and that ranged from B- to A, while the Stevie Wonder gigs were absolutely superb!

Illustrator said:

Wow!

I think you just blurred what I felt but wouldn't admit

I especially like live albums if it's a show I went to! (Hello Prince!) Other than that, I don't usually buy them.

I really like live albums if they do something new and interesting with the source material or capture a side of the artist not evident in the studio. In fact there are many live albums that I believe surpass much of certain artists studio work

Curtis Mayfield-Curtis/Live!: This one is great because it funkifies many of the smooth soul late 60s material curtis did with the impressions and performs both those and his recent solo material in looser, jammier and more stripped down arrangements in a very intimate club setting.

Sam Cooke Live At the Harlem Square club-Sam's voice is more rough and intense, and it grooves harder and louder than any of his studio recordings, plus the crowd is absolutely in Sam's pocket, singing along in perfect unison.

The Who Live At Leeds-The Who was WAY heavier, louder and more kinetic live in the studio, as well as more than willing to expand and stretch out and tinker with songs. John Entwistle's bass playing was rarely as prominent, nor his skills as evident in the studio as it was in a live setting too.

Get Yer Ya Ya's Out-Again, it rocks harder than much of the stones' studio stuff as well as serving as a better showcase for their musicianship.

Otis Redding Live At The Whiskey A Go go- Yet again, Otis is crunchier, faster and more intense live, and his live band, while not as tight as the MGs, has more of a garage/punk (dare I say) charm.

And of course there's tons of great Jazz live albums as jazz artists generally emphasize making things "brand new every night" more than rock ones do.

I've never been a big fan of live albums, but there are exceptions. For example, Joni Mitchell's "Miles of Aisles" is still in heavy rotation for me, and I've had the album for 20 years. I acatually prefer the live versions to the studio recordings of several songs on this album.

They say you can't become a fan of someone from a live album, but this is the first Joni CD I ever bought. (I didn't know it was a live album when I bought it.) I've been a die-hard fan ever since.


[Edited 1/7/08 3:57am]

earth wind & fire : gratitude

jacktheimprovident said:

The live albums you mentioned are exceptions to the rule as they were from a great era. Nowadays live albums are often not band or artist statements but simply stopgaps between albums or an easy way to may a couple of extra dollars for an artist. I think back then they genuinely meant something and were exciting. Look at the stones, live boxsets and albums of every tour with arrangements virtually the same as the studio ones. I personally love what bands like The Allman Brothers Band and Gov't Mule do where you can download shows from their website and it brings the artist closer to the fans. If Prince had an iota of sense he would do this too because it truly captures what he is.
[Edited 1/7/08 7:39am]

Top of the World Tour (Dixie Chicks) is amazing


Lil' Jack Slade

Harlepolis said:

Let the church say AMEN!!!!

Not just greatest hits and hardly any crowd noise (it almost sounds like a studio recording)

Love it!!!