Thursday, April 10, 2014

Disappointing "Live" Albums

 
One of the Music Forums I frequent is going through one of their periodic best / favorite live albums threads.  And I think all of my favorites show up somewhere in the list (Rock Of Ages, Waiting For Columbus, One From The Road, Genesis Live, Live At Leeds...).  But it got me thinking about the other side of the coin.  Live albums that I don't particulalrly like, or which disappointed me...  SO, in alphabetical order here's a few:

  • Black Sabbath - Live At Last - This was an import I picked up in college. A 1973 recording, released in UK in 1980 "without the permission or knowledge of the band". It wasn't released in '73 because the band was "unhappy with the recording". If I had realized that, I probably wouldn't have bought it...
  • Blue Oyster Cult - Some Enchanted Evening - I know of some people who really like this album, but IMHO, it lacks the energy of On Your Feet... (Which I really like).  Or of the times I had seen them live.   Again, Allmusic sums it nicely: "A perfectly acceptable, completely unnecessary souvenir record . I just expected more than that...
  • Joe Jackson - Live 1980/86- I had seen Joe Jackson a couple of times when this came out, and he was great both times.  So I was pretty excited when this was released.  But I just doesn't capture my interest.  I think Allmusic put it perfectly when they said:  "The resulting album highlights his musical diversity ... which means the record is more intriguing as a historical document than as casual listening."
  • Monkees - Live 1967 - My disappointment centers around what Allmusic calls "the lack of anything resembling fidelity".  Perhaps interesting as documenting a moment...  but not as something you'd really want to listen to repeatedly....
  • Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Pack Up The Plantation - Yet another where I'm just not captivated.  And again, perhaps because the live recording didn't remotely match my experience of seeing them myself.  As Allmusic put it:  "it isn't quite the stunning performance that the Heartbreakers are capable of delivering."
Looking back at this list, I notice that 4 of the 5 albums mentioned are from bands that I saw in concert prior to hearing the live album.  Wonder if there's a connection... Meanwhile, for the 5 "favorites" I mentioned above, I'd only seen 1 of the bands live (before hearing the album). Hmmmmm...

No comments: