Amp It Up: Exploring Live Albums

OK, so you took my advice when I was talking about The Eras Tour and listened to some Springsteen live and saw Stop Making Sense. You’ve heard The Killers and Lady Gaga are incredible live experiences but you don’t know when they’re going to tour next. How do you feed your burgeoning love of live music without entirely emptying your wallet? As a veteran show-goer, I’m here to share my most loved performances, as well as a guide to the most famous festivals of the 20th century. What more could you need?

General tips for experiencing a recorded show:

• Rock and jazz shows tend to come out better than pop shows. Pop shows are very much about spectacle, so they are very tightly choreographed, meaning fewer genuine moments of connection. That doesn’t mean they’re not worth seeing, by any means – they’re more likely to sing with polished, practised vocals, and you’ll gasp at set transitions – but a good pop show is better to watch than to listen to, because as much effort has been put into the dancing as the music, and is less likely to go somewhere you didn’t expect.
• Some artists have serious stans. Like, you know how intense Swifties are, but did you expect to go to a Bruce Springsteen gig and meet a guy who travelled from Spain to beg The Boss to play a rare b-side? Anybody with fans that serious tends to know how to reward them at a live show, so if you find a small artist with rabid fans (Chappell Roan, Fontaines DC etc) then you’re probably in for a riot, and if you can find a recording with some rarities on it then that is what you want.
• Some artists are very variable. I love Lana del Rey and I have to acknowledge that she is an absolute wild card: her tendency to sing unrehearsed versions of her songs means sometimes magic is created and sometimes she is living in an entirely different reality to her audience. Some of the best are like this (Bob Dylan springs to mind) – how much will you enjoy watching somebody on a different plane of existence? I love it, but it’s not for everyone, and when you encounter somebody you’ve heard a lot of good things about but it’s not hitting for you, it may be worth checking out another gig before writing them off.
• Think about the quality of the recording. Not all famous recordings are high quality (The Who Live At Leeds actually began life as a bootleg of only the last 3 songs), not all professional recordings are ideal (Bruce Springsteen’s official live albums don’t flow as well as the bootlegs because they cut between different nights and venues), YouTube and Spotify uploads are incredibly variable. Generally my favourites are radio broadcasts because they blend the alchemy of a single night with the professional recording standards and often contain a willingness to mix it up (just look at BBC Live Lounge performances for an idea of what I mean on a smaller scale).
• Avoid festival recordings in general – you’ll get a shortened set designed for casual fans. For artists with short catalogues or new careers that haven’t had a chance to build much of a fanbase yet they can be an opportunity to generate energy and buzz, but anybody with more than one album will find themselves stuck with singles and a hits-radio politeness that is wonderful, but not what I’m looking for in a live album.

A list of lesser-known live albums for your listening pleasure:

Nerina Pallot, RAK

This showcases Nerina’s voice and the incredible musicianship of the Stay Lucky album at its best. I actually think this is the best way to enjoy a no-skip album – it’s raw, practised, and jazz-pop songwriting at its best. Pallot generally has some incredible live performances up on YouTube and Spotify (Union Chapel is also a fave of mine) but this is her longest and, in my opinion, is in her best period so far.

Tori Amos, Montreux Jazz Festival

Tori did this two years in a row in the 90s (’91 and ’92) and was in her element. Her prodigy training shines through, her voice is gravelly and expressive, and the covers chosen are wonderfully executed. It feels like a great introduction to Tori and her style, as well as a really enjoyable gig.

¡Los Campesinos! A Good Night For A Fistfight

Some of my friends are massive ¡Los Campesinos! stans and honestly, I’ve never regretted going with them to a couple of shows, because their raucous, wordy songs are made to be played live, and it has translated well to live recording. This is indie filth for those who couldn’t be there.

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, The Rainbow Concert

This sounds like being in the car with my dad. A lot of this list looks like my dad’s taste in music, to be honest, because it’s with him that I learned to love gigging and messily mixed live albums and long solos. Rainbow is a great example of something that you probably haven’t heard (unless you have a middle aged rocker in your life) where the stagecraft has translated to the recording – the clips of Wizard of Oz, the long solos, the shrieks (from the band, not the audience) put you in the place of listening.

Joni Mitchell, Miles of Aisles

This isn’t even rare, it’s just not on Spotify and I’m telling you to seek it out. It’s all the Joni Mitchell songs you love at the highest point of her career, and her voice is like a church soloist ringing out in the giant venue

Bruce Springsteen at Hammersmith

This iconic show is worth it just for the incredible, raw performance of Lost in the Flood, but the way the band mashes up classic standards and Van Morrison into Springsteen’s own songs is masterful. It also contains one of the best performances of Jungleland which, by one calculation, The Boss has played 650 times live , so it’s no mean feat. I might prefer the Main Point show, but if you only listen to one Springsteen show then this is THE one.

Billie Holiday at Carnegie Hall

This one, along with music, gives live readings of extracts from Holiday’s autobiography (which I’m amazed have not been sampled by Beyoncé or Ariana Grande). It gives a fantastic introduction to jazz phrasing, to 1930s jazz, to the philosophy of jazz, and is much more accessible than virtuoso brass performances of the 20th century.

Bowie, Serious Moonlight

Whilst the most obvious Bowie show to recommend would be the Spiders from Mars in Santa Monica, and the most virtuosic Bowie show to recommend would be The Reality Tour, my favourite is still Serious Moonlight. Again, it’s worth watching, as Bowie always paid attention to costume and spectacle, but it’s a riot of a show from a man who’s remembered he loves pop and characters and his own music as much or more than he loved hard drugs. Plus, it’s in Bowie’s saxophone era, and I am weak for sax.

Everything But The Girl, Acoustic

This isn’t technically a live album, but it is a series of reimaginings that includes a live album. I ride for the covers they do on this album (this is the only version of Time After Time that exists to me) but the live titbits are a quieter, more soothing type of live than some of the more wild moments on this list. It’ll make you sway before it makes you headbang, but it’s no less emotional for it, and Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn have incredible harmonising. Highlight is probably Come On Home for the comfort Tracey displays in her voice and the excellent piano-playing from Ben.

We Are Scientists, Live from Union Chapel

This isn’t on here for being the best musicianship or the best setlist, but Chris Cain is a funny guy and Keith Murray is a perfect foil for him. Their rapport is dialled up to 11 on this album, and they’re a delight to listen to together. If you get a chance to see these guys (especially in some kind of pub or small venue) they absolutely rock in a way that you absolutely would not guess from hearing the lazy slide guitar in this show.

Van Morrison, It’s Too Late To Stop Now (with The Caledonia Soul Orchestra)

Even missing some of the best and most famous tracks in Van Morrison’s discography (no Moondance to be found here – though he did play it at the show, so you can find an illegal version) the setlist here is unimpeachable, and Morrison’s role here is more of a bandleader than a singer. It’s worth listening to with your full attention, and a must-play for any Lana del Rey fans who want more of that transcendental experience that is seeing Lana live.

Tom Robinson, Living In A Boom Time

Honestly worth the entry fee for the title track alone, which is the rage of a man at his own generation (somebody is surely writing a millennial equivalent as we speak), this is a quintessential post-Elvis Costello, Woodstock-was-a-dream folk. For fans of Frank Turner and Marina and the Diamonds’ last album.

Warren Zevon, Stand In The Fire

Is it any surprise that a man whose piano teacher (thanks to his mafioso father) was Stravinsky, who was close friends with Bruce Springsteen (does Jeannie or Janey need a shooter?), who was a roommate of Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, was an electric live performer? The crowd is clearly immensely entertained by the power and drama of Zevon live, and Zevon and the band too seem to be having a great time. Listen, and learn to love Zevon’s other songs (not just Werewolves of London. But that is a banger.)

Maria Callas, Live in Paris (with Tito Gobbi)

Including her signature aria from Norma as well as other famous songs (including the entire second act of Tosca), it is a primer on why Callas is considered such a powerful voice in opera, even today, almost 100 years after her career’s peak. This is a television performance, so it is possible to watch, but is powerful enough as just the voices.

Richard Thompson, 1000 Years of Popular Music

This is an incredible and deliberate ‘fuck you’ to everyone who says pop music started with The Beatles. Thompson is more comfortable with the heritage material, but his cover of Oops I Did It Again sparks and fizzes with his guitar strings. This is a man who’s the top of his genre showing off his knowledge as well as his prowess, and it’s fantastic.

Lloyd Cole, Folksinger Vol. 2

This is actually my favourite album of all time. I love the setlist, I love the performance, I love the human moments, like hearing Lloyd walk away from the microphone to get a fade-finish in-person.

Raye, My 21st Century Symphony (with The Heritage Orchestra)

I actually wanted to go this but I already had tickets to see The National that night. That was a great show too so I don’t regret it, but I’m desperate to catch Raye doing this again. She’s a brilliant writer so the setlist is fire, but the true joy is seeing a musician vibe with an orchestra, show off her voice, and take pride in what she has created. I’m already excited for the next chapter in Raye’s story.

Simon & Garfunkel, Old Friends

I actually did get to see this one live. The purpose of this show was to explore years of collaboration (and point out that they’re now ‘too old to fight’), and you’ll get as much fun, upbeat 60s pop as you can handle, as well as some of Paul Simon’s most emotional writing. I’m a Simon stan, but I have to admit that they’re wonderful together.

Janis Ian, Working Without A Net

Janis Ian is another artist with a sense of humour and a string of hits to back it up. We get a moment of biography and the inspiration behind the songs, but the main point is the music, spanning her career from Society’s Child in 1965 to Boots Like Emmylous from her (at the time) most recent release God And The FBI (great title). It’s fun, soulful, honest – the kind of accompaniment people wish for on their favourite compositions.

A list of surprisingly good live acts I’ve discovered on my travels:

• Charlotte Church – Charlotte is famous for her classical vocals and one pop hit, but when I saw her it was for her more staid singer-songwriter EP series. The tour was Church and a pretty large rock band which included two full drummers – not what I expected, an an excellent night
• Amy Macdonald – this one’s probably not surprising if you’re European, where she plays a lot of festivals, but Amy Macdonald is all about the live show.
• The Ting Tings – an old pop act that properly surprised me with how hard they went
• The National – These guys have a reputation for being a great live act, but just HOW good they are surprised me. They do, in fact, have a live album, but it’s pretty hard to come by so I haven’t heard it.
• Kitty, Daisy and Lewis – they could be written off as a nostalgia or novelty act, but these siblings show such passion for their music that you couldn’t help rock and roll along. Bonus shoutout to Kitty Liv, the youngest, who’s embarking on a solo journey and deserves eyes on her.
• Vintage Trouble – one of the very few times I’ve continued to follow a support act is when these guys opened for The Who. They managed to hold a stadium impressively.
• Chappell Roan – she’s so young, and not a trained singer, but my god the energy and the voice make her one to watch.

A Guide To Woodstock and Live Aid

Look, Woodstock was iconic, but it was very much a ‘you had to be there’ moment – the recordings are pretty low quality, and I don’t feel great idealising a festival where a bunch of people got dysentery and where the most iconic memories associated with it are about missing it to do a TV recording or another protest entirely.

Live Aid was a very ‘of its time’ moment, with several of the acts being quite 80s and not necessarily being what people want to hear now, but it is worth watching in its entirety as everyone did put on a great show. With that said, there are high points and low points of both festivals, so here’s what you should cherrypick if you want to get into it.

Woodstock:

• Grateful Dead – this is an intense performance but if you like it, congratulations, you just unlocked s-tier intense fandom
• Janis Joplin – Woodstock was not her best work – neither her best performance, nor does it contain her best songs – but her covers of Work Me, Lord and Piece Of My Heart are iconic
• Jefferson Airplane – Grace Slick is the good kind of high, she’s on another plane entirely but enjoying it
• The Band – actual professionals, genuinely a pretty tight performance
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
• Jimi Hendrix – you want to watch this one, not simply listen to it, but this performance alone created his legacy

Live Aid:

• Boomtown Rats – people sleep on Bob Geldof as a musician because he’s so associated with this shindig but this is a great set, and you can tell he really means it
• Elvis Costello – only sang one song but he fucking killed it. Listen to more Elvis Costello, people.
• Sade – do you know how good Sade actually are? Like, I would watch Sade sing anything, and I think it’s time we acknowledge the band as hugely influential and powerful visionaries
• Brian Ferry and Dave Gilmour – both in their comfort zones with a jazzy set, and kind of a wild pairing that works
• U2 – watch Rattle & Hum instead. Their Live Aid setlist is fun but they shine in a longer show.
• Queen – the most iconic moment of Live Aid, and one of Freddie’s most iconic performances full stop.
• Elton John – this is my least favourite Elton era but he’s out for fun, playing some of his biggest songs, and the George Michael collab is great.
• Crosby Stills and Nash (and CSNY if you like that) – these guys were so good people begged for them to get back together… then regretted it
• Tom Petty – the only unmissable performance of the US show

On This Topic:

• Malcolm Gladwell’s exploration of Elvis’ live laughter
• Learning all the words to Megan Thee Stallion before I go to my first rap show later this year
• Working out what to wear to the Eras tour

To-Do:

• Email (& pay) photographer
• Email supervisor
• Do a grocery shop

Today’s Culture:

• My partner found one of my favourite biscuits in the ‘low calorie snacking options’ and I’m so happy.
• What is appropriate cycling wear for summer? I don’t want to get to work sweaty, but I also don’t want to cycle in just a vest…
• As if I’ve been doing anything this week except being a tortured poet…