Live Evil! Bands Live On Stage, your Top 10 LIVE albums...

[Charger]

So...looks like we've never really talked about live albums here yet....I find that rather shocking.

I'm a huge live album fan myself. I know all of you aren't but still I think you could all come up with 10 live albums you like or atleast have listened to! 

I think we could do it the same way we did the Motörhead lists posting one album a day...

What do you guys think? Is there enough for a topic here or not?

[Jack the Stripper]

I’m off to the scratcher so will do my list tomorrow

G’night

[Zzzptm]

I gotta make a list so I know to post in reverse order... brb, makin' a list. And +1 to Charger for starting this off.

I'm going to have to have two lists, one overall, one for Deep Purple. 

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I don't know if I have 10! I'll have to take a look and maybe organise a top 7 or something!

[Zzzptm]

Here's my number 10 from my non-DP list:

FOGHAT LIVE (1977)

1. Fool for the City
2. Home in My Hand
3. I Just Want to Make Love to You
4. Road Fever
5. Honey Hush
6. Sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow Ride 

If I had to explain 1970s rock and all I had was this album to work with, I'd be good to go. Foghat's a great example of a band that sounded equally comfortable in the studio as on stage, as they were basically taking that stage act into the studio to record an album. This was something that bands like Deep Purple and Black Sabbath blazed the trail on, with Led Zeppelin relying more on studio magic than the others, leaving them high and dry when they couldn't multi-track 16 guitars on the stage.

No high and dry for Foghat: they are down and they are dirty. Even if the only track on the album was "Slow Ride", I'd still rank this in my top ten. I'm seriously thinking I'd like this song played at my funeral, such a sweet jam it is.

But, yeah, gimme summa dat Foghat!

[Zzzptm]

Number 10 from my DP list:

NOBODY'S PERFECT

Choosing between this and the other Mk2 Reunion album, I choose this. At least Blackmore is only trying to fire Ian Gillan, not kill him and the rest of the band in the process. Come Hell or High Water is a recording of a very ugly, very tumultuous period in the band's history, and that dark vibe comes across strongly.

My story for putting this in at 10 is essentially ruling out the other live albums - I had really stopped getting DP live after Total Abandon, so none of those. I don't think Bombay Calling is the Morse era at its best, and the Mk4 American tour recordings on the Foxbat tapes are also not all 100% good stuff. If I could include bootlegs, without hesitation I'd knock this one out and put in Hofstra University 1973 in at 10. Made in Europe is also out of the running, as those gigs would wind up in a much better version on a later release of Mk3 live material.

Having ruled out all but 9 other official DP live releases, that leaves this one at 10. For me, listening to this really would be a matter of doing so to avoid listening to other sets. Like I said, I can get enthusiastic about the other 9 as well as Hofstra '73. This one, I'm not enthusiastic about, but it's better than the others. If I had a top 20 of all live albums list, this would not be on that list, even though I'd have 8 other DP sets on that there top 20 list.

[Jack the Stripper]

This is a lot harder than I thought. I’ve made a list of about 25 and somehow have to whittle it down to 10.

Did we do a live albums list over at BSO at some stage?

[Charger]

Yeah not an easy task...

I can't remember if we did something like this at bso....maybe...

And KDC if you don't have 10 then do your top 5 or top 7 or what ever feels right.

And zzz's pulling a fast one...hmmm...I'm inclined to throw in a red card for that but honestly I want to see his list so I won't! 

[Charger]

It really isn't an easy job to just select 10 though....From Sabbath and Purple you could easily fill a top 10 list.

I was first thinking of limiting myself to a single album from those two bands but that turned out to be totally impossible...ofcourse with Sabbath you could cheat and do one under the Sabbath name and one under H&H but...come on...who are we fooling here...

Anyways here goes!

#10.

[Zzzptm]

Lol, I'mma get away with forum crimes! MUHUHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHA

[Zzzptm]

Non-DP #9...

ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE (1976)

Rush at their prime, doing a massively entertaining set. And while the rockers pull out all the stops, it's the quieter, more lyrical tracks "Lakeside Park" and "In the End" that captured my imagination in my younger days. And I think those tracks, along with "Something for Nothing" have aged with me the best. But start to finish, I always enjoy this Toronto show from '76.

[Zzzptm]

Number 9 from my DP list:

DEEP PURPLE IN CONCERT (1970/1972)


This was a 2-LP set from Portrait records, released back when we were all wondering if DP would ever have a reunion. The first LP covers highlights of their 1970 show, with Mk1 material still in the lineup. The second features a more confident Purple, along with live versions of "Never Before" and their killer closer, "Lucille".

Sadly, the set suffers from some poor overall production and that makes the performances less than electrifying. Nevertheless, I enjoy it for both the history and for the rarities on it.

[Jack the Stripper]

I can’t even decide on #25

What hope have I got 

[Charger]

I know this ain't an easy task...

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I got it down to 10 albums and then realised I had fogotten one of my favourites! Sp after a quick re-jig droping Dio's Holy Diver Live:

#10
Kate Bush - Before The Dawn



A few years back (2014) the reclusive Kate Bush did her fitst live shows in 35 years... a 22 date residency at the Hammersmith Apollo. The album is a 3CD set (150+ minutes), with the 2nd disc being an extended version of The Ninth Wave (side 2 from the Hounds of Love album). The set ignores the early material (no Wuthering Heights, no Hammer Horror, no Babooshka etc.) concentrating on the later material, which is fine by me.