theboarddot's Favorite Live Albums of All Time- Discussion

[Tweet]

Also on the Monk live albums train:

[monasterymonochrome]

May 21, 2024 9:32:02 GMT -6 llamaoftime said:

A few more for your consideration

Huge fan of this - largely thanks to having the only version of "Walkin With Jesus" on Spotify 

[monasterymonochrome]

Just spent an hour combing through ~8 years of Spotify likes searching for "Live" and here we gooooo:

- AC/DC - If You Want Blood You’ve Got It
- Agitation Free - Live ’74
- Ahmad Jamal - At the Pershing: But Not For Me
- Albert Ayler - In Greenwich Village
- Alice Coltrane - Transfiguration
- Allman Brothers - At Fillmore East
- Archie Shepp - New Thing at Newport
- Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace
- Art Ensemble of Chicago - Bap-Tizum
- The Band - Rock of Ages
- The Band - The Last Waltz
- Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Live Art
- Bill Evans Trio - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
- Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live!
- Bob Dylan - Live 1966 “The Royal Albert Hall” Show
- Bob Dylan - Live 1975: The Rolling Thunder Revue
- Bombino - Live in Amsterdam
- Brad Mehldau - Live in Tokyo
- Built to Spill - LIVE
- Can - Live in Paris 1973
- Cecil Taylor - Nefertiti, the Beautiful One
- Charles Lloyd - Forest Flower
- Charles Lloyd - Sangam
- Charley Crockett - Live from the Rylan
- Charlie Christian / Dizzy Gillespie - After Hours
- Charlie Parker - Jazz at the Philharmonic
- Cheap Trick - At Budokan
- Creedence Clearwater Revival - Live at Woodstock
- Dave Matthews Band - Live in Chicago
- Doc & Merle Watson - Never the Same Way Once
- Donny Hathaway - Live
- Duke Ellington - Ellington at Newport
- Eric Dolphy - At the Five Spot
- Fairport Convention - House Full - Live at the LA Troubadour
- Fania All Stars - Live at Yankee Stadium
- Frank Zappa - Waka/Wazoo (Winterland Ballroom 1972)
- Garcia Peoples - 10-10-2019 Nublu
- Goose - Live at the Salt Shed
- Grateful Dead - Cornell 5/8/77
- Grateful Dead - Crimson, White, and Indigo
- Grateful Dead - Dead Set
- Grateful Dead - Europe 72
- Grateful Dead - Hundred Year Hall
- Grateful Dead - Live Dead
- Grateful Dead - Reckoning
- Grateful Dead - Skull & Roses
- Grateful Dead - Veneta, OR 8/27/72
- Grateful Dead - Wake Up To Find Out
- Hot Rize - So Long of a Journey
- Howlin Rain - Under the Wheels Vol. 2
- Ichiko Aoba - “Windswept Adan” Concert at Bunkamura Orchard Hall
- James Booker - Gonzo: Live 1976
- James Brown - Live at the Apollo
- Jerry Garcia Band - After Midnight: Kean College
- Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys
- Jimmy Smith - Root Down
- John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard
- John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard Again!
- Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
- Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles
- Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert
- Keith Jarrett - Solo-Concerts Bremen / Lausanne
- Kurt Rosenwinkel - The Remedy (Live at Village Vanguard)
- Laurie Anderson - United States Live
- Lee Morgan - Live at the Lighthouse
- Leonard Cohen - Live a the Isle of Wight 1970
- Les McCann - Swiss Movement
- Les Rallizes Denudes - ’77 LIVE
- Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus
- Liz Cooper + the Stampede - Live in Chicago
- Lou Reed - Rock n Roll Animal
- Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens - Music Inferno
- Miles Davis - Live-Evil
- MJ Lenderman - And the Wind (Live and Loose!)
- Moses Sumney - Live from Blackalachia
- My Morning Jacket - Okonokos
- Neil Young - Arc
- Neil Young - Carnegie Hall 1970
- Neil Young - Citizen Kane Jr Blues
- Neil Young - Live at the Fillmore East 1970
- Neil Young - Live Rust
- Neil Young - ROXY: Tonight’s the Night
- Neil Young - Way Down in the Rust Bucket
- Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Bad Seeds
- Nina Simone - Emergency Ward
- Nina Simone - In Concert
- Nirvana - Unplugged in New York
- Ornette Coleman - At the “Golden Circle”
- Ornette Coleman - Friends and Neighbors
- Otis Redding - Live in Europe
- Pharaoh Sanders - Live at the East
- Phil Ochs - Phil Ochs in Concert
- Phish - Amsterdam
- Phish - The Baker’s Dozen
- Phish - Live at Madison Square Garden New Year’s Eve 1995
- Phish - A Live One
- Prince - Prince and the Revolution: Live
- Quicksilver Messenger Service - Live at the Fillmore June 7, 1968
- Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong
- Ray Charles - Ray Charles in Person
- Richard and Linda Thompson - In Concert November 1975
- Robert Earl Keen - The Live Album
- Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!
- Sam Cooke - One Night Stand - Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square
- Screaming Females - Live at the Hideout
- The Seldom Scene - Live at the Cellar Door
- Sonny Rollins - A Night at the Village Vanguard
- Spiritualized - Live at Royal Albert Hall
- Staples Singers - Freedom Highway
- Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell Live
- Sun Ra - Unity (Live at Storyville)
- Taj Mahal - The Real Thing
- Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
- Television - Live at the Old Waldorf
- Thelonious Monk - At the Five Spot
- Thelonious Monk - Monk in Tokyo
- Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous
- Todd Snider - Near Truths and Hotel Rooms
- Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter
- War on Drugs - Live Drugs
- Warren Zevon - Stand in the Fire
- Waylon Jennings - Waylon Live
- The Who - Live at Leeds
- Wilco - Kicking Television
- William Tyler - Secret Stratosphere
- Willie Nelson - Willie and Family Live

[chvrchbarrel]

May 21, 2024 10:26:20 GMT -6 monasterymonochrome said:

Just spent an hour combing through ~8 years of Spotify likes searching for "Live" and here we gooooo:

this list omits Kid Rock - Live Trucker

but otherwise good

[chvrchbarrel]

May 21, 2024 10:26:20 GMT -6 monasterymonochrome said:

Just spent an hour combing through ~8 years of Spotify likes searching for "Live" and here we gooooo:

SPOILER: Click to show

- AC/DC - If You Want Blood You’ve Got It
- Agitation Free - Live ’74
- Ahmad Jamal - At the Pershing: But Not For Me
- Albert Ayler - In Greenwich Village
- Alice Coltrane - Transfiguration
- Allman Brothers - At Fillmore East
- Archie Shepp - New Thing at Newport
- Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace
- Art Ensemble of Chicago - Bap-Tizum
- The Band - Rock of Ages
- The Band - The Last Waltz
- Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - Live Art
- Bill Evans Trio - Sunday at the Village Vanguard
- Bob Marley and the Wailers - Live!
- Bob Dylan - Live 1966 “The Royal Albert Hall” Show
- Bob Dylan - Live 1975: The Rolling Thunder Revue
- Bombino - Live in Amsterdam
- Brad Mehldau - Live in Tokyo
- Built to Spill - LIVE
- Can - Live in Paris 1973
- Cecil Taylor - Nefertiti, the Beautiful One
- Charles Lloyd - Forest Flower
- Charles Lloyd - Sangam
- Charley Crockett - Live from the Rylan
- Charlie Christian / Dizzy Gillespie - After Hours
- Charlie Parker - Jazz at the Philharmonic
- Cheap Trick - At Budokan
- Creedence Clearwater Revival - Live at Woodstock
- Dave Matthews Band - Live in Chicago
- Doc & Merle Watson - Never the Same Way Once
- Donny Hathaway - Live
- Duke Ellington - Ellington at Newport
- Eric Dolphy - At the Five Spot
- Fairport Convention - House Full - Live at the LA Troubadour
- Fania All Stars - Live at Yankee Stadium
- Frank Zappa - Waka/Wazoo (Winterland Ballroom 1972)
- Garcia Peoples - 10-10-2019 Nublu
- Goose - Live at the Salt Shed
- Grateful Dead - Cornell 5/8/77
- Grateful Dead - Crimson, White, and Indigo
- Grateful Dead - Dead Set
- Grateful Dead - Europe 72
- Grateful Dead - Hundred Year Hall
- Grateful Dead - Live Dead
- Grateful Dead - Reckoning
- Grateful Dead - Skull & Roses
- Grateful Dead - Veneta, OR 8/27/72
- Grateful Dead - Wake Up To Find Out
- Hot Rize - So Long of a Journey
- Howlin Rain - Under the Wheels Vol. 2
- Ichiko Aoba - “Windswept Adan” Concert at Bunkamura Orchard Hall
- James Booker - Gonzo: Live 1976
- James Brown - Live at the Apollo
- Jerry Garcia Band - After Midnight: Kean College
- Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys
- Jimmy Smith - Root Down
- John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard
- John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard Again!
- Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison
- Joni Mitchell - Miles of Aisles
- Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert
- Keith Jarrett - Solo-Concerts Bremen / Lausanne
- Kurt Rosenwinkel - The Remedy (Live at Village Vanguard)
- Laurie Anderson - United States Live
- Lee Morgan - Live at the Lighthouse
- Leonard Cohen - Live a the Isle of Wight 1970
- Les McCann - Swiss Movement
- Les Rallizes Denudes - ’77 LIVE
- Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus
- Liz Cooper + the Stampede - Live in Chicago
- Lou Reed - Rock n Roll Animal
- Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens - Music Inferno
- Miles Davis - Live-Evil
- MJ Lenderman - And the Wind (Live and Loose!)
- Moses Sumney - Live from Blackalachia
- My Morning Jacket - Okonokos
- Neil Young - Arc
- Neil Young - Carnegie Hall 1970
- Neil Young - Citizen Kane Jr Blues
- Neil Young - Live at the Fillmore East 1970
- Neil Young - Live Rust
- Neil Young - ROXY: Tonight’s the Night
- Neil Young - Way Down in the Rust Bucket
- Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Bad Seeds
- Nina Simone - Emergency Ward
- Nina Simone - In Concert
- Nirvana - Unplugged in New York
- Ornette Coleman - At the “Golden Circle”
- Ornette Coleman - Friends and Neighbors
- Otis Redding - Live in Europe
- Pharaoh Sanders - Live at the East
- Phil Ochs - Phil Ochs in Concert
- Phish - Amsterdam
- Phish - The Baker’s Dozen
- Phish - Live at Madison Square Garden New Year’s Eve 1995
- Phish - A Live One
- Prince - Prince and the Revolution: Live
- Quicksilver Messenger Service - Live at the Fillmore June 7, 1968
- Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong
- Ray Charles - Ray Charles in Person
- Richard and Linda Thompson - In Concert November 1975
- Robert Earl Keen - The Live Album
- Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!
- Sam Cooke - One Night Stand - Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square
- Screaming Females - Live at the Hideout
- The Seldom Scene - Live at the Cellar Door
- Sonny Rollins - A Night at the Village Vanguard
- Spiritualized - Live at Royal Albert Hall
- Staples Singers - Freedom Highway
- Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell Live
- Sun Ra - Unity (Live at Storyville)
- Taj Mahal - The Real Thing
- Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
- Television - Live at the Old Waldorf
- Thelonious Monk - At the Five Spot
- Thelonious Monk - Monk in Tokyo
- Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous
- Todd Snider - Near Truths and Hotel Rooms
- Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter
- War on Drugs - Live Drugs
- Warren Zevon - Stand in the Fire
- Waylon Jennings - Waylon Live
- The Who - Live at Leeds
- Wilco - Kicking Television
- William Tyler - Secret Stratosphere
- Willie Nelson - Willie and Family Live

my additions not on this list / mentioned in this thread after a cross-ref with mine:

10,000 Maniacs - MTV Unplugged
AC/DC - Live
Aerosmith - A Little South of Sanity
Alice in Chains - MTV Unplugged
Aretha Franklin - Aretha in Paris
Bob Dylan - At Budokan
The Clash - Live at Shea Stadium
Coldplay - Live 2003
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Live in Europe
Dave Matthews Band - Live at Red Rocks
David Bowie - David Live
Iron Maiden - Live After Death
Fleetwood Mac - Live
Fleetwood Mac - The Dance
Frank Sinatra - Sinatra at the Sands
Hold Steady - A Positive Rage
INXS - Live Baby Live
The Jackson 5 - Live at the Forum
Jimmy Buffett - You Had to Be There
Led Zeppelin - The Song Remains the Same
Local H - Alive 05
Metallica - S&M
Motorhead - No Sleep Til Hammersmith
Nine Inch Nails - Live: And All That Could Have Been
Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute
Paul McCartney - Paul is Live
Phish - Hampton Comes Alive
Phish - Slip Stitch & Pass
Pink Floyd - Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980-81
Pink Floyd - Delicate Sound of Thunder
Pink Floyd - Pulse
Queen - Live at Wembley
Rage Against the Machine - Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium
REO Speedwagon - Live, You Get What You Play For
Rush - Exit Stage Left
Simon & Garfunkel - The Concert in Central Park
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Pack Up the Plantation
The Tragically Hip - Live Between Us
White Stripes - Under Great White Northern Lights
Widespread Panic - Light Fuse Get Away
Wings - Wings Over America

[scoots]

[doso]

Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue
Wes Montgomery - Full House
Van Morrison - It's Too Late to Stop Now
Van Morrison - A Night in San Francisco
The Replacements - The Shit Hits the Fans
The Replacements - For Sale: Live at Maxwell's 1986
Keith Richards and the Xpensive Winos - Live at the Hollywood Palladium
John Scofield - Pick Hits Live
The Rolling Stones - Still Life
The Rolling Stones - Love You Live
Soul Asylum - After the Flood: Live from the Grand Forks Prom
Bruce Springsteen - Live 1975-1985
The Who - Live at Leeds
X - Unclogged
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Live Rust
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Weld

Edit: Obvz Wilco - Kicking Television, too

[doso]

May 21, 2024 10:26:20 GMT -6 monasterymonochrome said:

- Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace
- The Band - The Last Waltz
- Cheap Trick - At Budokan
- James Brown - Live at the Apollo
- John Coltrane - Live at the Village Vanguard
- Nirvana - Unplugged in New York
- Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
- Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter

Obvz these too

[Kamera]

May 21, 2024 11:55:32 GMT -6 doso said:

The Who - Live at Leeds

"Young Man Blues" is one of my favorite drum charts in Rock Band. I wish I could 100% FC it.

[doso]

May 21, 2024 10:50:20 GMT -6 chvrchbarrel said:

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Pack Up the Plantation

Oh hell yeah this, too.

I might choose Live at the Roxy for The Hip, not sure.

[zircona1]

Camper Van Beethoven - Greatest Hits Played Faster

I don't think this is on Spotify (I killed my account, so I can't check). I think it was a bonus album in a box set. I listen to it more than CVB studio albums.

Also, this one:

[borracho]

these are what i grew up listening to and will always hold a soft spot in my rock-n-roll heart. as a kid just starting to listen to music, live albums were my gateway into each band's catalog. thank goodness for an older brother and cousin who had pretty good music taste!

led zeppelin - song remains the same (the first album i ever bought)
aerosmith - live bootleg
kiss - alive
kiss - alive II
deep purple - made in japan
ted nugent - double live gonzo
bob seger - live bullet
judas priest - unleashed in the east
cheap trick - at budokan
queen - live killers
yes - yessongs
jethro tull - bursting out
foghat - live
ac/dc - if you want blood

[ferro_man]

I forgot about social distortion - live at the roxy

Family Values 98 Tour (which only half is on spotify) and Tattoo the Earth tour (which isn't on spotify) are live albums I listened to a whole bunch while I was in high school

[chvrchbarrel]

May 21, 2024 12:35:00 GMT -6 zircona1 said:

Camper Van Beethoven - Greatest Hits Played Faster

what a great live album title lol

[scoots]

[scoots]

One of the more endearing parts about a Sondre Lerche show is the crowd trying to sing along with Modern Nature and almost always screwing it up, which is captured on this album.

[obmit]

Live albums have always been hit or miss for me, but there have been a handful of standouts.

I'm a basic bitch, but Nirvana Unplugged is king. Perfect blend of hits and covers, the mixing is immaculate, and the stories behind it enrich the lore. The Man Who Sold the World is truly one of the best covers of all time, and Kurts painful exit on Where Did You Sleep Last Night echoes to this day.

The Alice in Chains unplugged is also great though my only minor criticism is that the setlist wasn't as dynamic and varied as Nirvana's.


I don't care too much about this band these days but there is some merit to Tool's Salival live disc. A worthwhile cover of Led Zeppelins "No Quarter," a great cover of Justin Chancellors previous band Peach's "You Lied" as well as a great version of "Third Eye." To top it all off, easily one of the best versions of one of the best Tool songs "Pushit" that was reimagined for the tour at the time. To this day, this is, to many fans, the definitive version of the song. The original is beautiful on Aenima but the Salival version is transcendent.

This doesn't count bc it's not an official album but way back in 2011 Deerhunter did a BBC session where they played the unreleased "60 cycle hum" and it's great. Not an album, just a great rarity that snuck into a radio show that's a nice reminder/throwback to the bands peak years.

It doesn't compare to his albums but the live Car Seat Headrest album Faces from the Masquerade is worth a mention. It aptly captures the bands energy and fan response, even if the setlist doesn't quite capture the strength of Will Toledo's songwriting (really should have left off Hollywood, c'mon Will).

Mount Erie's 2018 live album "After" has an underlying despair obviously bc of the reality of Phil Elverums life in 2017, but the echoey whisper of the venue he's performing in - a church in the Netherlands iirc - still reverberates the rawness of A Crow Looked At Me, which is rare.

[Tweet]

Ok it's time to pin the thread let's pin the thread.

I think this is my list of stuff I'm gonna listen to for the first time/for the first time in a long while:

Guided by Voices- Live at Austin City Limits
The Cure- Bestival 2011
Elton John- Live in Australia
LCD Soundsystem- The Long Goodbye
Blink 182- The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show
Nina Simone- At The Village Gate
Merle Haggard- Rainbow Stew
Allman Bros- At Fillmore East
BB King- Live From Cook County Jail
My Morning Jacket- Okronos
AC/DC- If you Want Blood, You’ve Got IT
Ramones- It’s Alive
Drive By Truckers- It’s Great to Be Alive
Bob Marley- Live at the Roxy
Johnny Cash- At San Queinten
Daft Punk- Alive 2007
Wilco- Kicking Television
Spiritualized- Live at Royal Albert Hall
Alice Coltrane- Transfiguration
Bob Dylan- Royal Albert Hall
Can- Live in Paris 1973
Duke Ellington- Ellington at Newport
Creedence Clearwater Revival- Live at Woodstock
James Brown- Live at the Apollo
Otis Redding- Live in Europe
Phish- A Live One
Sam Cooke- One Night Stand
Rolling Stones- Get Yr Yeah Yeahs Out
Screaming Females- Live at the Hideout
Sufjan Stevens- Carrie & Lowell Live
Staples Singers- Freedom Highway
Thin Lizzy- Live and Dangerous
The Who- Live at Leeds
Warren Zevon- Stand in the Fire
Waylon Jennings- Waylond Live
Big Star- Live in Memphis
Peter Frampton- Frampton Comes Alive
The Velvet Underground- Max’s Kansas City
Velvet Underground- 1969
Keith Jarrett- The Koln Concert
Bob Seger- Live Bullet

[Tweet]

I swear I'm not gonna leave Monastary as the only content maker in this thread this summer. I would post my list of all that I'm seriously considering but there's so much recent/embarrassing stuff on there I will not do that to myself this early.

I will say I think my early frontrunners for my #1 are:

Nirvana- "MTV Unplugged"
Neil Young- "Live at Massey Hall, 1971"
Oasis- "Familiar to Millions"

I am also going to cap myself to no more than 4 Dead releases which, lol

[monasterymonochrome]

Yeah I'm gonna start making some daily/regular posts here next week once the busy-ness of my last month finally dies down. Wanna run through most of the records on my list with some little research nuggets, i.e. "Where was this recorded? When was this recorded? Where is it situated in the artist's career? What makes it unique from their studio work? Best moments / general thoughts?"

[doso]

Just occurred to me that Running on Empty (a favorite from the ‘70s exercise) is basically a live album.

[doso]

Just saw a post this morning about Before the Flood being released 50 years ago. Havent listened to it in forever, but should probably give it consideration (though it’s hard to imagine it would top the Bootleg Series Rolling Thunder Revue for me).

[Tweet]

Only known, professionally filmed complete Big Star concert!

The gig poster read: “BIG STAR IN THEIR FAREWELL U.S. PERFORM-ANCE.” Luckily, this iconic Memphis band’s homecoming show was nothing of the kind. As Jody Stephens points out in his liner notes, “We played Los Angeles three days later and went on to play together for another 16 years. No one ever said anything about the poster.”

[monasterymonochrome]

Live Album Writeups #1: Television - Live at the Old Waldorf



Recording background: Television hit the stage at San Francisco's Old Waldorf club almost 46 years ago today, on the evening of June 29, 1978. Their seminal debut Marquee Moon was just over a year old, and its follow-up, the perennially underrated Adventure had just come out in April. With two top-tier LPs in the tank, one would think the band would be riding high, but Television was coming loose at the seams. Sales on both records were low, Richard Lloyd's heroin addiction was worsening, and he and Tom Verlaine were oft at odds. The Old Waldorf only held about 300-400 people, and they would've witnessed a band that sounded as perfectly enmeshed as Verlaine and Lloyd famously swirling guitar lines. But the band would implode less than a month later, playing the final shows of its classic incarnation from July 27-29 in NYC. Television wouldn't reunite for another 14 years. In the meantime, the tapes from this June show in SF - nabbed in high-fidelity from an FM simulcast - circulated widely amongst fans. The band cleaned up these tapes and released them on Rhino in 2003 - chronicling one of the final performances of a brilliant yet doomed band.

What separates this from studio material? Television was already the jazziest/jammiest of the CBGB bands. I believe that Verlaine is actually on record as a Deadhead. So it shouldn't be a big surprise that they stretch out here to looser, more free-flowing improvisational territories. "Marquee Moon" on record is already the crown jewel of punk jamming, but this version takes it even farther, dropping down to near silence around the 9-minute mark, before bringing back the guitar fireworks of Verlaine/Lloyd's twin attack. They're not just rote playing their solos, the band is teasing and twisting things out, putting enough variations on the central themes such that you feel you're hearing these songs for the very first time.

Best moment? It's gotta be "Little Johnny Jewel," an early single for the band, here pushed to its absolute limits over nearly 12 minutes. The solo here sounds like it was devotionally studied by current masters of punk/indie-jam like Chris Forsyth and Tom Malach (of Garcia Peoples). A must-hear, sometimes I even think it's their best song.

Overall thoughts: I just love this record. It takes the best punchy tracks from their career, combines them with two jaw-dropping jam pieces, then closes with a jittery reading of "Satisfaction" that would make DEVO proud. It perfectly encapsulates their 70s period, and shows off why Verlaine/Lloyd were one of the best guitar duos of all time. Perfect for long-time fans of the band and newcomers alike. An essential hours-worth of music.

[nanatod]

Jun 12, 2024 17:06:40 GMT -6 Tweet said:

Ok it's time to pin the thread let's pin the thread.

I think this is my list of stuff I'm gonna listen to for the first time/for the first time in a long while:

Merle Haggard- Rainbow Stew

still waiting for your review / view of this.

[Tweet]

You’re gonna be waiting a while but I’ll get to it I promise

[monasterymonochrome]

Live Album Writeup #2: Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys



Recording background: Jimi Hendrix was at a crossroads in 1969. Capitol Records was on his ass for another contractually obligated record, his Experience band (feat. Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell) was dissolved, and his music was pulling him into newer, freer directions. His legendary performance at Woodstock featured a new lineup, with Billy Cox on bass, a second guitarist (Larry Lee), and a pair of percussionists including future free-jazz staple Juma Sultan. But by the year's end that group was mostly dropped, and Hendrix brought together a new trio, this time with Cox on bass and the Electric Flag's Buddy Miles on drums. Armed with a crop of loose, new tunes, this Band of Gypsys rolled into NYC's Fillmore East for a New Year's set + live recording. They played four sets over two nights (a typical arrangement for the East), but the resultant album only drew from night 2, January 1st, 1970. Two months later the record was out, but - as with Television yesterday - the band didn't even last a month after the recorded gig. Buddy Miles was reportedly fired following a disastrous show at Madison Square Garden on January 28th. 9 months later, Hendrix himself passed away, leaving Band of Gypsys as the final record released during his lifetime.

What separates this from the studio material? Namely, these are all new tracks. As a collection of tunes, it doesn't quite stand up to the best Hendrix LPs - but holy fuck does it overshadow them in intensity. I mean, things songs are essentially vehicles for Jimi to shine on guitar. Usually a funk-driven bassline, some sparse verses, not a ton of vocal melody. Then absolute mayhem is let loose. And, I mean, his is beyond shredding. This is some repainting the cosmos shit. If any one record showcases Jimi's radical mastery of the electric guitar, it's this one. Check out the ferocious wah-heavy solos on "Who Knows" or firestorm unleashed about three minutes into "Power to Love." This record has acolytes ranging from James Blood Ulmer to Trey Anastasio - it's simply that great.

Best moment? Machine Gun. It's Machine Gun. Hendrix here plays the freest he ever did on record, incorporating elements of drone, funk, metal?! Goddamn if I know. It's like if Coltrane's "India" was dragged to hell and back. Very fitting for a tune recorded on January 1, 1970. This track, more than anything else I've heard, signals the death of the sixties. Listen to that section that starts around 5:00 and tell me I'm wrong. I'll wait.

Overall thoughts: Lol I've said what I wanted to say. This is the Hendrix record I come back to the most these days. Idk if his "best" - I'd still prolly lean to Are You Experienced?, but it's the clearest example of his supremacy over the guitar. It'll easily find a spot high up on my list.

[mookie]

I would like to point out that Nothing put out a live recording of a set they did during the pandemic. It just came out a few weeks ago, it's called Auditory Trauma, and it's great

[Tweet]

They tried opening a record store in Galesburg my senior year and I was basically the only customer. Got this and my original of "Let it Bleed" from there so I think about that whenever I put those on. I don't think this is a controversial take but Mick Taylor is the best guitarist this band ever had

[Tweet]

It's a bit surreal to listen to this these days, especially since this iteration of GbV, after the 2nd breakup, has been around longer than the "original" 90s era, and more than this version of the band was together. The wheels so very clearly start coming off midway through this show, like many a GBV show, but there's also moments where, yeah actually, I see how this band could've and should've been bigger.



For me, the only Guided by Voices fan you can handle talking to, what most stands out about this are the deeper cuts, or the songs that I started to fall for beyond the Bee Thousand/Alien Lanes era, though there's plenty of that on there too. "Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud", "Redmen and Their Wives" into "dayton ohio 19 something and 5", "jill hives", and a version of "Teenage FBI" that doesn't feel too far off from the version I last saw almost 20 years later.

Drink up. Play loud. Ask yourself- where was I when "I Am a Scientist" was almost a hit?