This is by no means a “best of” list, but certainly these are live efforts that belong in any discerning music collection!
- Lou Reed – Rock & Roll Animal This is my favorite live album, period. Recorded in New York in 1973 after the demise of the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed breathes fierce energy into these tunes that simply didn’t exist when Andy Warhol produced the VU. Steve Hunter is superlative on guitar, and this disc contains the definitive version of “Heroin.”
- Eric Clapton – Rainbow Concert The Who’s Pete Townshend brought Clapton out of a two-year hiatus in 1973, assembling a stunning support band for this concert including himself, Steve Winwood, and Ronnie Wood. Clapton sounds happy to play again, and it shows. The setlist is a Cream/Derek & the Dominos greatest hits.
- Keith Jarrett – La Scala When Jarrett plays concerts, it is 100% improvisation, and it is stunning. This 1997 jazz album recorded in Milan is headphone candy as well as perfect background music for an elegant dinner.
- Bob Seger – Live Bullet After the monster success of Frampton Comes Alive, bands scrambled to release their own DOUBLE LIVE ALBUM. Between 1976 and 1978, innumerable bands released disposable double-live garbage, replete with 15 minute drum solos and album-side-long jams to nowhere. Live Bullet is not one of these. This was first and foremost a live band, and you can hear the fun Seger and crew are having playing. The music is well-played, tight, and superbly recorded and mixed.
- The Rolling Stones – Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out I would have loved to have been in MSG in 1969 when this album was recorded. The Stones have released a lot of very good live albums, but this is the classic among classics. The spot-on setlist includes “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Stray Cat Blues,” “Midnight Rambler,” and “Honkey Tonk Women.” Jagger starts the concert by proclaiming, “I’ve lost the button on me trousers! You wouldn’t want me to lose me trousers now, do you?” Musical chaos commences.
- Dave Brubeck – We’re All Together Again for the First Time Gerry Mulligan’s baritone sax joins Paul Desmond’s alto sax to accompany Dave on piano for a 16 minute “Take Five” that is stratospheric.
- Traffic – On the Road Two months after playing in Clapton’s Rainbow concert, Steve Winwood took Traffic on the road in 1973, and in Germany recorded their hits-to-date live in a jazz format. The results work magnificently, and this is the most underrated live album of all time.
- Rush – Exit … Stage Left How do just three guys make this much music, live? The precision of this 1981 disc is impossible to overstate, and the band chooses a setlist that satisfies the casual fan (“Tom Sawyer”) and the aficionado (“YYZ”).
- Stan Getz – Cafe Montmartre Getz passed away shortly after this show was played in 1991, but he was clearly enjoying the response of the Danish crowd, as evidenced by his banter between songs. Stan loved breathing lovely music through his sax, and this is his very best.
- Grateful Dead – Live Dead In 1969, the Dead played a “Dark Star/St. Stephen/The Eleven” medley that cast their improv chops in stone. A 40 minute jam that every Deadhead longs to hear played just one more time…
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