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 which means the record is more intriguing as a historical document than as casual listening."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...
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