The top ten live albums of all time…as they occur to me this minute

Following on from a non-sequitur on yesterday’s show, and the news (thanks, Mike Ritchie) that Van Morrison is a father again at the age of 64 (to George Ivan Morrison III, dead spit of his dad, poor wee sod), it occurred to me that the Top Ten Live Albums of All Time might be an interesting notion to pursue…so, off the top of my head (and revealing a sad nostalgia for the 70s and beyond):

(1) It’s Too Late To Stop Now – Van Morrison and the Caledonia Soul Orchestra
(2) Live in Europe – Rory Gallagher
(3) Bootleg Series: Live 1966 – Bob Dylan
(4) Live – Randy Newman
(5) Live 1975-1985 – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
(6) Get Yer Ya-Yas Out – Rolling Stones
(7) Live at Folsom Prison – Johnny Cash
(8) Live at Leeds – The Who
(9) My Feet Are Smiling – Leo Kottke
(10)Before the Flood – Bob Dylan and the Band

….and I have to admit that in my admittedly dodgy opinion, Wings Over America, Bob Dylan At Budokan, the 1964 Dylan Bootleg series live album, and Bruce Cockburn’s Slice O’Life are lurking just outside…

Discover more from Tom Morton's Beatcroft

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

5 responses to “The top ten live albums of all time…as they occur to me this minute”

  1. Single Track Avatar
    Single Track

    Never been a live album fan – always a poor second to the actual gig – but I must just mention an old favourite of mine, The Almighty's Blood, Fire and Live from 1990. Brilliant hard rock cover of BTO's "Ain't seen nothin' yet", Let's Rock, as they say…

  2. David Avatar
    David

    ps Van's 'A Night in San Francisco' is pretty damn fine too. Especially the storming final tracks ….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Night_in_San_Francisco

  3. David Avatar
    David

    New Mini-van "On the global message board Twitter, fans dissected the revelation. Some offered congratulations, others seemed surprised that the singer was still alive. Within a few hours, all over the world, George Ivan Morrison III was being referred to as the "Mini-Van"."http://snipurl.com/tx2le [www_independent_ie]

  4. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Ach, you can't miss out "Townes van Zandt, Live at the Old Quarter" from the list. All you have to do to make room is drop one of Zimmerman's miserabilist efforts 🙂

  5. Someone Said Avatar
    Someone Said

    Hard to find any decent live record past 1980. One recent one is My Morning Jacket's Okonokos. Tom Petty's Anthology is brilliant but not representative of one show.

Leave a comment