and what are examples of some?

i like different live albums for different reasons, but they're not always consistent. i like mike dought's "smofe and smang" because of the entertaining banter and idiosyncrasies. i hated anything live that counting crows put out b/c adam duritz tried his damndest to make all the songs sound completely vocal-melodically different and it didn't come off so well. i like jeff buckley live stuff because you can get a feeling of when he goes crazy. this new gomez live album... i don't know yet. how can i tell if it's any good?

you?

i really don't like most live albums and therefore I don't buy many.

If it was a show I actualy attended, i can put up with bad sound quality and such, cause just being able to re-live a show that I actually wanted to own via bootleg or something, is enough for me...

Otherwise, sound quality and set list is what matter most....I bought a few of the on slaught of Pearl Jam bootlegs a few years back, so I could get all the songs I wanted, and make my ultimate Pearl Jam live show...

for me it's when an artist captures an aspect of their music that never came across on the album or at least not enough. Example - Johnny Cash rebel attitude really doesn't come off on his regular albums.

When it sounds like you're at a good concert, for me. If it sounds just like the studio but with clapping, why bother. And if it's Adam Duritz moaning and hamming his way through their standards, shoot me in the head.

Nobody else is a fan, but Stevie Ray Vaughn always sounds phenominal on live recordings, because that's what the style of music begs for - an audience to blow away. Him in the studio is kinda like listening to one side of a heated argument... something's missing. And to further alienate myself, Rush's Exit Stage Left was killer when I was 13. Good stuff recently... Guster On Ice.

Great performances that shed new light on the originals.
For example:
Cheap Trick - At Budokon
Took a bunch of great songs that were a bit overproduced and let you hear them raw, loud and ROCK... as they were supposed to be.

Television - The Blow Up
Inspired performances overcome awful recording quality. (Essentially a legal "bootleg" of an incredible show.)

this is an excellent comparrison. i will steal this line.

i agree! i love the 'vaughn

i think there definitely has to be some sort of variation on the songs without turning into blatant experimentation of the "what happens if i try all the pedals at once" variety.

I've been listening to bootlegs all morning and was thinking about this myself. I'm going to reiterate that Primal Scream's Live in Japan might be my favorite live album ever that wasn't recorded by James Brown.

[KISS Alive!]I wuz tawkin' ta' someone backstage...an' they said theh's a lotta you people theh' that like ta' drink vodka an' orange juice!!!!"[KISS Alive!]

You stole Spade Kitty's thunder!!!

I used to love live albums, then I hated them and now I take them on a case-by-case basis. I hate it when bands just play their songs exactly like they are on the album, throw in a cover and the crowd chanting one of their songs. It's boring, pointless and just a way to sell more records to fans. Live albums are best when the band or artist takes one of their songs and expands it or experiments a little. A really long guitar solo when there wasn't one before (assuming the guitarist is capable of making it good) is a nice touch sometimes. Singing a song with a little more passion than comes across on a studio recording works, too. Just little things that actually makes listening to the songs a new experience is key.

I actually prefer to listen to live blues recordings over studio recordings because blues artists tend to be better at improvising and such. Allman Brothers have some great live albums as well.

For live rock albums it comes down to how much I like the band. I'll always by live stuff of the bands I'm a huge fan of and I can pick out the little differences and appreciate them. For bands I'm not so into or haven't heard much, chances are I'll always like the studio stuff better.

Judas Priest's live cd is good.

A great audience makes a great live cd. If the band is feeding off the energy...
You also need to have a good, clear recording of it right off the soundboard. Bootlegs tend to piss me off because of that dude standing next to the guy with the recorder who keeps "w00tin"

Big fan of Zappa's live material. Never witnessed his live show, but the recorded performances seem to really embody who this brilliant individual actually was. His performances sound more like variety shows than a rock concert. Always in store were a shipload of fictional characters, constant banter -mostly innuendo- between bandmates, slagging off then covering other bands' songs (and bettering most originals), and incessant tinkering with instruments. By the early to mid-70s, records like Weasels Ripped My Flesh, Bongo Fury (tech. Beefheart), Burnt Weenie Sandwich offer transitions from studio track to live performance - something we rarely hear these days. I'd recommend the above along with Mothers Live at the Filmore '71, Live In New York, Roxy & Elsewhere and the comprehensive You Can't Do That Onstage Anymore for some of his better highlights.

I recently found a bootleg from his Boston Garden performance on my actual birthday in '76. Not his best effort, but still shits on most live material.

Iron Maiden's - Live After Death
is great because:
a) they are SO fucking tight and energetic
b) you get to hear a couple of their old songs done with the current singer
c) it just is

Dude, "He's So Gay" from the You Can't series is phenominal for being live. It's astounding how good those guys were live, as well as how damn funny and ahead of its time that song was.

It really depends for me, but I kind of like it when they either extend what they are great at (Allmans) switch around arrangements (most dylan stuff) or capture a moment in time (Stones on Get Yr. Yayas Out!)

Also, I like to play live albums as a whole...so if I wanna hear one song, I might just put on a studio version. If I wanna hear a whole album of some awesome stuff, I might go with a live album.

• Recorded in a prison
  
• Recorded in a church
  
• Involves James Brown
  
• Involves a good Brazilian artist

Any of the above seems to result in a good one

np: Yellowman "Mister Yellowman"

You forgot:

• Recorded at the Napa State Mental Hospital

Good question. I think everyone has different expectations when it comes to the live album.

I know that I really became a Springsteen fan after listening to the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Live 75-84 box set. The songs on that just beg to be played live and you get the feeling that they had this "best bar band in the world" vibe for a long time.

The very beginning of Hungry Heart where the verse starts "Got a wife and kid in Baltimore Jack" he lets the crowd sing it and it's so loud.......is just awesome. Interaction like that really gives you that "oh this is what rock and roll is all about" vibe.

If you ever need to kill about 4 hours of a road trip this is an excellent choice.


Loogar has some good reasons but I'd say it's a combo of all those things. I am more of a fan of loose renditions of their songs but I don't need a complete revamp most times. Dylan pulls it off pretty well though.

Roxy And Elsewhere is my favourite live album at the time of this writing.
Not only do you get the Desonex burger...

my favorite live album is dave brubeck's the great concerts, recorded in amsterdam, copenhagen, and new york. the sound is excellent and the band just sounds so on. there are interpretations that didn't make it onto studio versions of the songs.

there's a great story about the new york show that they'd just gotten off the plane from europe and were exhausted. nobody wanted to play the show at carnegie hall. paul was apparently really sick too. dave started the show just messing around the piano and no one else had any idea what he was playing until he dropped in a few bars of "pennies from heaven." everyone picked it up from there and the show went off splendidly. knowing that just makes the performance sound so much better.

one of my dislikes of live albums is hearing the crowd singing. on the mighty blue kings live album, they play a different version of a standard than from their album. for the first few verses, everyone's singing along and then they change it up and there's ONE girl right near the mic that knows the other version and seems to be the only other person in the club singing along. it is SO annoying.

A good friend of ours got a Mr Bungle live video one year as a present, and there's a guy right next to the camera who yells out "Take a shit on staaage" and "whip out yer dick!!" Hi-larious.

i grew up on two live albums that i like more than any of the studio versions

Neil Diamond "Hot August Night"
Harry Chapin "Greatest Stories Live"

i generally hate live albums because i'd rather be at the show than listen to the band. and they're usually just note for note copies of the album versions anyways. i think the only live stuff i can get into on record is jeff buckley or stuff like dj shadow/RJD2.