Live albums are the cure to the no-concert blues

By: Eric Mulligan

The ongoing global pandemic has effectively canceled live music performances for the foreseeable future. While this is of course a monumental problem for people whose livelihoods depend on those performances, it also negatively affects music fans who enjoy attending concerts and supporting live music.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much in the way of suggestions to help the former – aside from donating to venues at risk of closing and purchasing artists’ recorded music or merchandise – but I do have a way to help the latter cure those no-concert blues. My solution? Listen to more live albums.

I have something of a love-hate relationship with live albums. As an audiophile with a rather picky ear, I’m rarely impressed by their sound quality. The albums are often hampered by crowd noise, bad mixing, poor overdubs, echo and any number of other problems that arise when music is performed and recorded outside of the womblike safety of a studio. In that same vein, many live albums reveal the flaws of the performers. A few off-key vocal moments or lapses in instrumental cohesion can damage the reputation of the entire project.

But then again, there are some aspects of live albums that I greatly enjoy. The same problems that I mentioned above can make live recordings feel that much more intimate, raw and immediate – as long as the artist has enough energy and talent.

Live albums can offer new takes on overplayed hit singles, exciting and unusual covers, and – in some cases – definitive versions of lesser-known songs in an artist’s catalog. So, I certainly believe that live albums have their place, and I admit to having a personal list of favorites. Some of those favorites are as follows (in alphabetical order):

“Europe ’72” – Grateful Dead

Before you ask: no, I didn’t misspell “Live/Dead”. While I understand the significance of the Dead’s 1969 avant-garde musical cash injection, I just don’t really enjoy listening to it. I’m not a fan of ultra-extended cuts, live or otherwise, and the album’s 23-minute-long opener “Dark Star” is about as ultra-extended as they come.

It takes up one whole side of the album’s first LP as well as most of my patience whenever I try to listen to it. Luckily for music lovers with short attention spans like me, the Grateful Dead have more live releases than most other bands have studio albums, so there’s plenty to choose from if you’re picky.

The songs on “Europe ’72” document the band’s 1972 trip across the Atlantic with a surprising amount of brevity. The album also captures the Grateful Dead at probably my favorite musical period in their career. Its track list is a perfect blend of the Dead’s earlier psychedelic style and the folksier, country-inspired music of their then-recent albums like “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty”.

In addition to showcasing some of the Dead’s past hits, “Europe ’72”debuts new tracks like “Brown Eyed Women” and “Jack Straw”. And it would sadly be the last Grateful Dead album to feature founding member Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKernan, who passed away not long after its release.

In all honesty, there are still some long tracks on “Europe ’72”, but the album’s lengthier overall runtime helps them not stand out as much. Besides, it wouldn’t be a Grateful Dead live album without one or two extended jam sessions. The varied track list and breadth of musical talent that “Europe ’72” displays make it my favorite live album from one of the greatest live bands in rock history.

“How the West Was Won” – Led Zeppelin

Before 2003, the only live album available from one of the most successful and popular rock bands in the world was 1976’s “The Song Remains the Same”. When I say the only live album available, I of course mean the only official live album available, because Led Zeppelin has the dubious honor of also being one of the most heavily bootlegged rock bands in the world.

However, the relatively poor quality of that lone live album might explain why unofficial live recordings of the group were so common. Released as the soundtrack to the concert film of the same name, which was recorded at Madison Square Garden in 1973, it captures Led Zeppelin on what most fans and critics agree were something of an “off” three nights.

Now, this is Led Zeppelin we’re talking about, so their lackluster performance is still pretty good, but fans hungry for live recordings of the band at the absolute top of their game had no choice but to turn to bootlegs. They had no choice, that is, until 2003, when Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page oversaw the official release of “How the West Was Won”.

The triple album covers two 1972 performances in California, and while audience recording bootlegs of those shows had been in circulation for years, the official release uses edited and remastered soundboard recordings for a much higher fidelity listening experience. Page has declared that Led Zeppelin was at their peak during the time of those performances. It’s hard to doubt him as they tear through a blisteringly fast rendition of “Heartbreaker”, intersperse riffs from “Whole Lotta Love” with several laid-back blues standards, and stand back to let John Bonham pound the skins for nearly twenty minutes on a performance of “Moby Dick” that shames “The Song Remains the Same”’s 11-minute version.

Every single song on “How the West Was Won” is an impressively tight and incredibly high-energy reimagining of its corresponding studio track, and the result is a listening experience that gives even the most highly regarded Zeppelin bootlegs a run for their money.

“Jimi Plays Monterey” – Jimi Hendrix

In a recent interview, Queen guitarist Brian May discussed the possibility of Jimi Hendrix coming “from an alien planet”. May is far from the first person to question the groundbreaking musician’s terrestrial origin. Hendrix’s otherworldly studio albums do little to prove that he didn’t simply fly down from space one day with one of his signature reverse-strung guitars in hand.

His performance at the legendary 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, however, shows his mortal side. Sure, Hendrix’s playing was still energetic, drenched in distortion, and utterly unlike anything the audience had ever heard before, but in the downtime between hits from his debut album “Are You Experienced?” and fuzz-tastic covers of songs by artists like Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King and Bob Dylan, Jimi talks and laughs with undeniably human ease.

Hendrix’s mortality is further confirmed by his alleged backstage rivalry with The Who; the infamous decision to set his guitar on fire at the end of his set was most likely driven by a showy desire to outdo The Who’s destructive antics during their set earlier in the festival. The performance has been released as two different albums, 1986’s “Jimi Plays Monterey” and 2007’s “Live at Monterey”, but it doesn’t really matter which version you listen to. Both recordings showcase the historic moment that helped put Hendrix and his playing on the map while also just being darn good rock ‘n roll albums.

“Live/1975-85” – Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

In my musings on “Europe ‘72”, I alluded to the fact that the Grateful Dead have literally tens of live albums to their name but contended that this is only fitting for a band with a reputation for legendary live performances. Bruce Springsteen – an artist whose live performances are nearly as legendary as those of the Dead – only released one live album during the first two decades of his career, but he made it a big one. The massive 5-LP box set “Live/1975-85”offers a comprehensive look at Springsteen and the E Street Band’s first ten years of live performances, and it is essential listening for even casual fans of the Boss. One of the most remarkable characteristics of the album is its consistency.

Springsteen and his band show the same energy and spirit whether they’re playing a relatively unknown song from their debut album or a smash hit single from “Born in the U.S.A”. It has everything a fan could want from a live album: big hits, deep cuts, covers, and even some insightful commentary from the Boss between tracks, all delivered with the same enthusiasm, sincerity, and raw talent that has made Bruce Springsteen a popular live act ever since his earliest days a rocker. And as the incredible success of his 2017 “Springsteen on Broadway”residency shows, that live popularity isn’t going away anytime soon.

“Live at Madison Square Garden” – Vulfpeck

The fact that the indie-funk act Vulfpeck even managed to land a gig at the legendary Madison Square Garden is impressive enough. When you also consider that they sold out the venue without the support of a manager, label or paid advertisements, “impressive” becomes a somewhat inadequate descriptor. But that’s just the magic of Vulfpeck.

The charismatic Michigan-based band’s combination of old-school influences and incredible musicianship has won them quite the dedicated fan base. And after hearing this album and/or watching the full video of the performance on YouTube (which you should definitely do), their conquering of MSG will make a lot more sense.

Vulfpeck’s goofy energy translates perfectly to a live setting, and even though the performance takes place in a mammoth venue, the band’s interactions with each other and the audience still add to the experience. The performance on “Live at Madison Square Garden” sounds like it could just as easily have come from one of the band’s at-home jam sessions as from one of the United States’ premiere performance venues. With a laid-back vibe that was only heightened by Vulfpeck’s decision to decorate the stage with rugs and other furnishings from the Michigan house where they record a lot of their music.

And as an audiophile, I must confess that the soundboard work and mixing for the performance are phenomenal. If not for a few choice snippets of crowd noise, “Live at Madison Square Garden” could easily be mistaken for a studio album. Listen to the album, watch the YouTube video, and discover what over 13,000 of the band’s biggest fans found out in person: Vulfpeck and Madison Square Garden are a match made in heaven.

“Live for Ireland” – Various Artists

“In May of 1986 there were nearly a quarter of a million people unemployed in Ireland – this in a country of just three and a half million people”. So reads the back cover of “Live for Ireland”, which documents the 1986 Self-Aid concert held as a benefit for Irish unemployment.

Featuring almost exclusively Irish artists, the event and album helped raise money for the Self-Aid Trust while also showcasing the plethora of Irish talent in the mid-eighties contemporary music scene. Big-name acts like U2, Van Morrison, Thin Lizzy and Elvis Costello (although he was designated an ‘honorary Irishman’ for the event due to his English nationality) performed alongside lesser-known Irish groups such as The Pogues, Clannad, and The Boomtown Rats. Additionally, the ridiculously high-energy rendition of “Don’t Pay the Ferryman” that Chris DeBurgh contributed to the concert has become the definitive version of the song in my opinion. All in all, the philanthropic spirit of the event and the diversity of the performers makes “Live for Ireland” a very pleasant listen.

Live in Cook County Jail – B.B. King

If you’re going to perform any genre of music in jail, you might as well play the blues. Outlaw country is a pretty good choice too, as Johnny Cash demonstrated on several occasions. However, there’s just something about the blues’ accessibility and maudlin spirit that make them a perfect fit.

When Winston Moore, the nation’s first Black warden, approached B.B. King in 1970 to ask if he would perform for the inmates of Cook County Jail in Chicago, the blues’ roots in Black history also played a large part in the decision, as a high percentage of the jail’s inmates were Black or of other minority races.

“Live in Cook County Jail” is a great example of the blues’ universal appeal. The audience reactions at the beginning of the performance range from ambivalent to hostile, but by the end of King’s set, most members of the crowd were clapping or cheering enthusiastically for the legendary guitarist. While it is by no means King’s best live album – most music critics give that honor to 1965’s “Live at the Regal” – his performance on “Live in Cook County Jail” is still significant.

True, it didn’t increase his popularity as much as “Live at the Regal” did, but the album captures King playing to an audience who could connect with his music’s subject matter better than almost anyone else. The experience also raised King’s awareness of the plight of prison inmates and convinced him to arrange performances in other prisons across the country. By taking the blues out of the comfy confines of a concert hall or studio, “Live in Cook County Jail” reminds the listener of the hard times and inequalities that the art form was born from, and proves that those issues are far from being things of the past.

“MTV Unplugged in New York” – Nirvana

In some ways, “MTV Unplugged in New York” captured the essence of Nirvana better than any of their studio albums ever did. To the chagrin of network executives, the notoriously contrarian rockers exercised a high degree of creative control over their 1993 performance for MTV’s Unplugged TV show, making it and its accompanying album – which was released the following year, mere months after Kurt Cobain’s suicide – unique among those in the MTV Unplugged series.

The performance’s setlist is enough to make it stand out, since the only real contemporary hit that Nirvana played during the concert was “Come as You Are”. Of the 14 tracks on the album, a mere 8 are Nirvana originals; the rest are covers of artists as diverse as Lead Belly, David Bowie, and the Meat Puppets.

During the concert, brothers Cris and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets even joined Nirvana onstage to perform three songs from their country-punk catalog. The show’s acoustic premise was also subverted by Kurt Cobain, who insisted on running his acoustic guitar through his usual amplifier and array of effects pedals.

Despite this, the album still sees Nirvana playing with a stripped-down sound, and that’s where much of its appeal comes from. By eliminating their characteristic noise, it allows the listener to focus on the band’s heart and musicality, and the copious amounts of both that are on display throughout the performance help show why Nirvana were such a monumental success.

“Rattle and Hum” – U2

When it comes to the genesis of U2’s 1988 live-ish album and accompanying rockumentary film “Rattle and Hum”, it’s hard to decide who to believe. On the surface, the intentions behind the project seem wholesome enough. After spending time in America on the previous year’s Joshua Tree Tour, the band wished to share their experiences and pay tribute to American roots music by releasing an album influenced by blues, folk, and gospel, as well as an accompanying commemorative film with concert footage.

Many critics did not have such a positive view of the project, however, accusing U2 of trying to stand shoulder to shoulder with the rock legends they were purportedly paying tribute to and calling “Rattle and Hum “pretentious and egotistical. While it can be debated whether the album was a rock ‘n roll power grab or a wholesome tribute to American music, it’s hard to deny just how good some of its songs are. The track list is an appealing blend of covers, reimagined U2 hits, and new compositions recorded both live and in the studio.

Standouts include the Edge’s heartfelt “Van Diemen’s Land”, a gospel reworking of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” that was recorded live with the New Voices of Freedom choir at Madison Square Garden, and the powerful, album-closing “All I Want Is You”.

In between, however, there’s still plenty to like, as U2 collaborate with artists like Bob Dylan and B.B. King, pay tribute to musical legends Billie Holiday and John Lennon, and, yes, get predictably political on the anti-Apartheid “Silver and Gold”.

For all its flaws, “Rattle and Hum” does an excellent job of documenting U2 as they grapple with superstardom. From a glass-half-full point of view,  the band’s struggle to find a new musical direction and silence their critics in the wake of its release would eventually lead to the creation of their 1991 masterpiece “Achtung Baby”. So – to paraphrase Bill Murray – “Rattle and Hum” has got that going for it, which is nice.

Eric Mulligan can be reached at [email protected].