Live Album In Your Collection

[Papa Josh]

So, seeing JayKeeley mention the Scorps live album, it got me thinking. Most people disregard the live albums in an artist's discography. Personally, I own a few and I was interested in which ones you guys own and stand truly behind in your collections. Live albums have the ability to be really cool, if packaged right and the sound is right. Not necessarily polished, per se, but fitting of the band.

 

[Krilons Resa]

Probably My Dying Bride - Voice of The Wretched or Rush - In Rio

A few bootlegs, but other than that I can't remember any others at the moment that stick out.

 

[JayKeeley]

With all honesty, I'm not that much of a fan of live albums or DVDs. I much prefer to go see the real thing at the end of the day, however, I cannot deny:

a. Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute
b. Iron Maiden - Live After Death

The reason why I stand behind these specifically is because (a) features Randy Rhoads at his absolute best, just letting himself go and adding all the fills/melodies/improvisations that couldn't be captured in a studio -- see live rendition of Mr Crowley and Suicide Solution -- and (b) because it truly captures Maiden at their peak. The World Slavery Tour cannot be matched IMO.

Stuff like Scorpions, Malmsteen, Metallica's S&M all have their cool moments too. I'm probably the only person here who liked "Minus Human" and "No Leaf Clover". In fact, I think those two tracks are better than anything on Load or Reload, so I was really quite interested in what St Anger might have been....

I have some Radiohead live bootlegs that I listen to as well. Thom Yorke is one of the greatest vocalists ever.

I also have Opeth's Lamentations at the Shephards Bush Empire. Biggest waste of money ever. This is just a crock, and I just feel totally jipped. I thought that the Damnation stuff might work better live, and it really doesn't. Not bad, just boring as hell.

 

[MajestikMøøse]

My live albums are:

My Dying Bride - Voice of the Wretched (This live album RULES, great spreadout of work across their career and noone misses a note. Sounds great)

Death - Live in LA (poor production, but it WAS a soundboard recording so its excellent considering that, and its a lot better than most bootlegs I've heard)

Iced Earth - Alive In Athens (pretty good, but sounds like it was touched in the studio too much and isn't that "live")

Iron Maiden - Rock In Rio (I have the DVD. why bother with the live album when there's a DVD?)

Megadeth - Rude Awakening (really poor performance on the part of Dave's screeching voice, but finally having extended versions of symphony of destruction and she-wolf is cool)

Kreator - Live Kreation (2CD/DVD) (Great live album, but I don't listen to it that often since I keep it with my DVDs and not my CDs, so I've only listened to it a couple of times)

 

[Papa Josh]

Well, then here's a list to pick at and see who's got any of these or heard them...but you're right about MDB, that album is very, very good.

VAN HALEN- Right Here, Right Now

WHITESNAKE- Live... In The Heart Of The City

PINK FLOYD- Delicate Sound Of Thunder

TESTAMENT- Live At The Fillmore

JOURNEY- Captured

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN- Trial By Fire- Live In leningrad

STRAPPING YOUNG LAD- No Sleep Til Bedtime

VICIOUS RUMORS- Plug In And Hang On

W.A.S.P.- Live... In The Raw

W.A.S.P.- Double Live Assassins

EMPEROR- Emperial Live Ceremony

DREAM THEATER- Live Scenes From New York (I have the orig. w/ the twin towers )

DEEP PURPLE- Made In Europe (excellent Coverdale/Hughes/Blackmore era cd on Metal Blade)

DIO- Intermission (awesome ep, has the Time To Burn studio track)

CANDLEMASS- Live

BLACK SABBATH- Live Evil (one of my faves of all time)

BLACK SABBATH- Cross Purposes Live

ARCH ENEMY- Burning Japan Live

ANNIHILATOR- In Command (features Randy Rampage and Coburn Pharr)

FATES WARNING- Still Life

THE GATHERING- Superheat

SAVATAGE- Japan Live 1994 (Skolnick!)

SAVATAGE- Ghost In The Ruins

PORCUPINE TREE- Coma Divine

OVERKILL- Wrecking Your Neck

MORBID ANGEL- Entangled In Chaos (fucking brutal!)

MAYHEM- Mediolanum Capta Est

MARILLION- Made Again

MARDUK- Infernal Eternal

MANOWAR- Hell On Stage

LIZZY BORDEN- The Murderous Metal Road SHow

JUDAS PRIEST- Unleashed In the East

JUDAS PRIEST- '98 Live Meltdown

IRON MAIDEN- BBC Archives

IRON MAIDEN- Live AFter Death

IRON MAIDEN- Beast Over Hammersmith

INCANTATION- Blasphemy In Brazil

And just to throw it out there... DURAN DURAN- Arena

 

[JayKeeley]

I also have a digipak of Mayhem - "Live in Leipzig" laying around. I suppose I should listen to that one day...

Savatage - Ghost in the Ruins. That's very cool for Criss Oilva fans. I really like Savatage, and yet I don't listen to them enough.

 

[Krilons Resa]

Pink Floyd's Pulse was live wasn't it? That is a goodie.

 

[Papa Josh]

I also have a digipak of Mayhem - "Live in Leipzig" laying around. I suppose I should listen to that one day...

Savatage - Ghost in the Ruins. That's very cool for Criss Oilva fans. I really like Savatage, and yet I don't listen to them enough.

That Mayhem sounds like piss compared to Mediolanum Capta Est, so don't expect a lot..

 

[NAD]

I generally don't like live albums, but there are two in my collection that are Out. Fucking. Standing.

Slayer - Decade of Aggression
This is Slayer at the peak (recorded in '90 and '91) doing what they did best. Honestly if I was only allowed to keep one Slayer album in my collection, this would be the one. The rendition of The Anti-Christ is one of my all time favorite performances.

Morbid Angel - Entangled in Chaos
Another one recorded during the peak of a band (during the Domination tour of '95 - '96), this captures some of their finest moments of early albums during the absolute intensity of their best years. I was fortunate enough to catch one of the shows on this tour, and needless to say it was the best death metal performance I've ever seen.

I have several other live albums, most are average to crap, although bootlegs are fun, and Type O Negative's The Origin of Feces is hysterical because they took Roadrunner's money and made a fake live album.

 

[lurch70]

Probbaly the best Live album I have is EXODUS - Another Lesson in Violence ... this thing just pounds and is super krunchy.

Other faves include:

Scorpions - World Wide Live
Iron Maiden - LIve After Death
Slayer - War at the Warfield (dvd)

 

[J.]

I usually disregard live albums. It's usually songs I already have, but with poorer sound quality and fans clapping and yelling between songs. I prefer the better quality stuff.

I don't own any live albums, just little extras on studio albums, like the tour CD on Aeternus' And SO the Night Became or the bonus disc on Mabool

 

[ProgMetalFan]

I usually don't get live albums... unless it's a band I know is exceptionally sharp and powerful in concert... like Symphony X's live album... or if the songs are completely re-arranged... like Pain of Salvation's acoustic live "12:5"... I do like live DVDs though.

 

[Thanatopsis123]

The Gathering - Sleepy Buildings and Nirvana - Unplugged are the only live albums I think I own.

I don't understand live albums that try to reproduce their studio sound and neither of these did that.

 

[NAD]

Nirvana Unplugged is great, forgot about that one. I foolishly sold that album some years ago then bought it again. Where Did You Sleep Last Night is one of music's finest moments.

I don't understand live albums that try to reproduce their studio sound and neither of these did that.

Yeah I think that's pretty stupid too, but then again both albums I mentioned above are exact renditions, but the intensity of the moment is captured, which is what matters more with extreme metal as opposed to doing the extended version or something, hmm I wonder how many more sentences I can run on into this one, what do you think about sixteen more, no let's stop at 12 okay fine.

 

[Ayeka]

Iron Maiden - Rock In Rio (I have the DVD. why bother with the live album when there's a DVD?)

Because you can't put a DVD in your stereo/Discman/car?

I think, if you rule out live albums as a rule of thumb you are unnecisarily ruling out a significant aspect of what a band can do - play live with energy and thunder. Do you not go to gigs ever or something? Or a bit too l33t for your own good? Damn, you're missing.

Deep Purple - Made In Japan (not so much a live album, more of a demonstration of what they were capable of live...there is a difference)
Iron Maiden - Live After Death (for old stuff), Rock In Rio (for new stuff)
(A Real Live Dead One & Live At Donington are crap sadly...kudos must be given to the Eddie's Archive material, that is BROWN BREAD!)
Judas Priest - Priest Live (yes, the material on the Electric Eye DVD...the music is grand, the visuals is everything that made 80s Metal great, and the fit girls in the audience are an added bonus)
Whitesnake - Live...In The Heart Of The City (the perfect live album? I'd definately say)

I have many more live albums, but those are my distinct favourites of the top of my head. Yes, I thought of Unleashed In The East, but David Coverdale shouting "ARE YOU READY?!" as the band kick into a crash intro to the show and a grand version of Come On beats it, I definately think.

 

[NAD]

I think, if you rule out live albums as a rule of thumb you are unnecisarily ruling out a significant aspect of what a band can do - play live with energy and thunder. Do you not go to gigs ever or something? Or a bit too l33t for your own good? Damn, you're missing.

Yeah but there's a lot of shitty live albums out there. Case in point, Nine Inch Nails is an INCREDIBLE band live. Tons of energy, extremely lengthy and interesting show (over two hours and I never got bored), and all kinds of kickass shit. They released a live album from the tour I saw them on, and it SUCKED SHIT.

 

[J.]

Do you not go to gigs ever or something?

No.

Or a bit too l33t for your own good?

Yes.

 

[Ayeka]

I assume the J stands for Jew right?

Yeah but there's a lot of shitty live albums out there. Case in point, Nine Inch Nails is an INCREDIBLE band live. Tons of energy, extremely lengthy and interesting show (over two hours and I never got bored), and all kinds of kickass shit. They released a live album from the tour I saw them on, and it SUCKED SHIT.

Aye, but you can't rule 'em out as a rule of thumb! Of course there's shit ones out there...but fuck, you could apply that same logic to studio albums, and where the fuck would you be then?!

 

[NAD]

Too true, true too.

 

[J.]

I assume the J stands for Jew right?

You assume wrong. It's Jeff, for the 48498191654435484th time.