I love wild live albums that really capture the atmosphere of excitement in the venue and would like to discover more.

My top five that I can think of off hand would be "James Brown Pure Dynamite Live at the Royal Theater" (crazy 1964 album full of primal screaming for both Brown and the audience), "Controversial Negro" by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (maybe my favourite of all time, amazing!), "Low Life" by Beasts of Bourbon (underground Australian rock at its nastiest), "Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the Star Club in Hamburg" (1964 album, super high-energy rock 'n' roll) and "Live in the Red" by Pussy Galore (perfect noise rock party).

Ben E , Reportedly , they worked out "Waiting" because Lou Reed was in the audience. Yeah , all those later TV appearances are great. They really wanted to stay in the game , be there for the obvious giant step Rock was going to take ....or already had. But , it fell apart.

A couple of my friends saw The Yardbirds with Blue Cheer in '68 ( I met the guy who recorded BC at the Shrine Auditorium in LA . Did'nt get a chance to ask if he was also responsible for the Yardbirds recording , I believe , the same night.) , and The Yardbirds were second on the bill , because Blue Cheer had a hit record at the time. If you look up the documentary on Ghoulardi on You Tube , there's a picture of the Marquee  when the smae tour hit Cleveland , with Traffic , and , I think , The Youngbloods(?).

Cheers for the info John, I'll have to track down some of those later live Yardbirds recordings - it would be cool to hear them play "Waiting for My Man!" I've seen a few clips on YouTube of that last line-up playing on French TV shows, pretty great stuff. I love their version of "Dazed and Confused"..

There's another album that came out in the 'Owts , taken from a recently discovered soundboard tape by the same lineup , Mk. 2 Yardbirds. It's only 30 minutes long , but it maintains the same high standard , though I don't think the band knew they were being recorded !

 "Last Rave Up in LA'' is really interesting , tho' , as another writer noted , it sounds liek it was recorded from a parking lot , two blocks away. It came out as a bootleg , 3 LP set. It' s ONE OF the band's last shows , ever. Jimmy Page really stretching the boundaries of what late Psych /early Hard Rock could be ,before forming Led Zeppelin ,and , well ,in my hardly - shared opinion , becoming deathly dull....Keith Relf was really improvising , lyrically , taking familiar songs into unfamiliar realms. On "New York City Blues'' ,  ALL THE LYRICS ARE DIFFERENT.   The song selection is amazing , too , everything from "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago'' and "Over Under Sideways Down" and 'I Ain't Done Wrong' to covers of "Hey , Gyp" , "I'm Confused " (" Dazed and Confused"), "Beck's Bolero"(!!) and "Waiting For The Man" (!!!). It's believed that only one other  band had covered The Velvets before this, Sure , it's sloppy at times , but , the energy is still there.

Then , there's "Live Yardbirds with Jimmy Page", a much better - sounding document. Liner notes by Lenny Kaye , band blazing away , but , it was pulled by Page shortly after it was released.

Yes those live Robert Quine Velvet Underground recordings are amazing! I love the Live '69 albums too. Another great crazy live album that I'd forgotten about until recently is the first Yardbirds album Five Live Yardbirds - a brilliant rave-up with the group thrashing away and R&B standards like a punk band on speed..

Robert Quine's set of live Velvets recordings from around that time ( With his future boss , Lou Reed's blessing.) is nothing to sneeze at , either. I don't know that I wave a favorite , except the one that was mentioned earlier , cut possibly in '66 (?). I used that to shut my neighbors up one time when they were carrying on til 4 am , and I was trying to sleep.

"It's alive" by the Ramones is still one of the most excitig live recordings to me - pure energy! and I was totaly thrilled when I discovered that there is also a DVD released of that great show!

Another great live-record not mentioned here before is Velvet Underground "Live 1969" - (I like it much more than "Live at Max's") - it transports a great feeling as if you are actually sitting right there in the club... and I like those early versions of some songs still in progress at the time of the gig - great "Sweet Jane" version in example!

any of Frank Zappa's live albums should do the trick. great stuff.

No one's lynching you 'round HERE , unless they can get thru me......OK , GRANTED I'D ONLY BE ACTING AS YOUR ATTORNEY , BUT , I'D GET YOU A REAL SWEET PLEA BARGAIN......Seriously , "Live Bullet'' is some of the best live rockin' a dollar or less will surely buy you. There's maybe TWO turd tracks , the rest is prime rockin' send ups of "Get out of Denver", "Heavy Music , "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" , "Bo Diddley" ,  "Let It Rock" and later songs that also did'nt suck , like "Katmandu". This was the "Make it or Break it" era for Bob Seger , either blow headliners like KISS and Blue Oyster Cult off the stage , or go back to playing bars and bowling alleys....He succeeded in his mission , tho' the music sure suffered , as a result , tho' , not HERE. I saw Seger on the KISS tour in '76 , but , I was only 11. I just remember that he was really good. He was kicked off the tour , soon after (Guess why?). Don't judge by the FM ROCK SCHMALTZ THAT FOLLOWED ! There's a REASON everyone from Thin Lizzy to Dave Edmunds to Eddie and The Hotrods and Black Oak Arkansas were covering pre - fame Bob Seger.

I onlyrecently learned of that Viletones Live album's (Near-) existence. HA ! I once sent Steve Leckie a message on the band's My Space. Five years later , his people contacted me , apologizing that he'd never replied. I have'nt heard any Pretty Things live boots , except thru the tape trade. The 40TH Anniversary CD/DVD (With a guest spot by Arthur Brown!) kills , as will the upcoming "Live at the 100 Club" album.
 
Brian T. Kirchner said:

Ramones-It's Alive

Heartbreakers-Live at Max's

Glad to see some others like them too. I forgot all about Hanx!. I haven't heard that gem in years. I'll probably get lynched for the next one...

Bob Seger-Live Bullet

The Dragons-Live at the Casbah

The Viletones-Saturday Night/Sunday Morning

That Viletones one is amazing! Too bad almost nobody has heard it. Maybe one day it'll be rereleased.

Television-The Blow Up

Yeah, the sound quality is absolute shite but it's a great set. And my absolute favorite live album:

The Hitmen-Tora Tora D.T.K.

There's also bootlegs by The Mutants, The Heroes, The Pretty Things, The Buzzcocks, D.M.Z. and Jason and The Scorchers.

 

Ramones-It's Alive

Heartbreakers-Live at Max's

Glad to see some others like them too. I forgot all about Hanx!. I haven't heard that gem in years. I'll probably get lynched for the next one...

Bob Seger-Live Bullet

The Dragons-Live at the Casbah

The Viletones-Saturday Night/Sunday Morning

That Viletones one is amazing! Too bad almost nobody has heard it. Maybe one day it'll be rereleased.

Television-The Blow Up

Yeah, the sound quality is absolute shite but it's a great set. And my absolute favorite live album:

The Hitmen-Tora Tora D.T.K.

There's also bootlegs by The Mutants, The Heroes, The Pretty Things, The Buzzcocks, D.M.Z. and Jason and The Scorchers.

I have "See You Up There" . and a DVD THAT'S PRETTY GOOD , CAN'T REMEMBER IF THAT'S THE TITLE. YOU MAY BE RIGHT , THO' I HEARD REALLY GOOD THINGS ABOUT THEIR LAST COUPLE OF SHOWS IN CHICAGO. I just did'nt want to see them at House of Blues , as their Bouncers don't know whether to cause violence , or ignore it outright , at "Punk" shows , there. I saw X there , a couple of times , and it was fine , but , other gigs were just absurd.

Do they? I don't know; the last time I saw them was 2006 and I just thought they'd lost their edge - time to stop.

There's a cd/video set from 1999 called "hand held and rigidly digital"; also a couple of live recordings from when they first reformed in the 80s, "see you up there" and "no sleep 'til belfast".

I SEE.....
That was the one time I saw Stiff Little Fingers ,was with Bruce Foxton , maybe in '93. Great show , but , they only reeled off about a half dozen classic tracks. I hear they do a lot more of them , now.
The Fnords said:

Val Doonican; Irish crooner best known for stuff like "Paddy McGinty's Goat" and so on*. SLF covered "Walk Tall" to good effect; the CD is DOJO CD 224 and was recorded in 1993. Bruce Foxton on bass, throwing Jam shapes. I recognised him, but he was out of context so I didn't work out who he was. D.

*and the album "Val Doonican Rocks.....But Gently...."

Val Doonican; Irish crooner best known for stuff like "Paddy McGinty's Goat" and so on*. SLF covered "Walk Tall" to good effect; the CD is DOJO CD 224 and was recorded in 1993. Bruce Foxton on bass, throwing Jam shapes. I recognised him, but he was out of context so I didn't work out who he was. D.

*and the album "Val Doonican Rocks.....But Gently...."

Teengenerate- Live At Shelter is a great one. It gets so out of tune as the show goes on..and the intro is great. "(something in Japanease) Mothafucka! Okay Mothafuckin...TEENGENERATE!"

Smugglers- Growing Up Smuggler. One of my favourite live albums ever. Better than any of the studio albums.

YES , "STUPIDITY" IS A GOOD ONE. Don't know if I know the Stiff Little Fingers album you mentioned. I HAVE A DOUBLE LP called "See You Up There" and one of those Live and Loud SERIES albums. Val Doonican ? I should know this name , yes? But , I don't. Irish Folk Composer?
 
The Fnords said:

Stupidity by Dr. Feelgood. Great LP.

There's a good SLF live album recorded at the Barras on March 17th. There's a Val Doonican song on it....good Johnny Was on Hanx!, incidentally.

Stupidity by Dr. Feelgood. Great LP.

There's a good SLF live album recorded at the Barras on March 17th. There's a Val Doonican song on it....good Johnny Was on Hanx!, incidentally.

Wow , I bought "Hanx" in '83 , I think. The pond was'nt exactly brimmin' with SLF records at the time , so , I grabbed it , not knowing it was a live album. Of course , I liked it, but , I was looking for the studio versions of those songs , which , hard as it may be to believe , took several years.  I am a bit tired of people raggin' on "Loco Live". Sorry about their favorite bands . Mine (Cramps ,Ramones , Fleshtones.) were in it for life, and doing just fine at the time . Good point about the later stuff. Plus , COME ON ! IT'S GOT "CARBONA , NOT GLUE"! I don't hold it above "It's Alive" ,but I've heard damn few live Ramones recordings that did'nt do it for me - Like "Greatest Hits , Live" and a show from '76 a friend taped me , it's good , they're just off....AND a tape I found for a dollar from the Milwaukee Summerfest, in '92 or '93. Again , it's not BAD , but they're playing way too fast , as Der Fuhrer commanded..... 

Maybe this is blasphemy but I'd put Loco Live above It's Alive. It's just that their later work sounds much better live, and if I want to hear their early stuff I'd rather put on one of their first five studio albums. Rock and Roll Holiday by the Oblivians is a really fun, wild record. The last half of Pagans' Shit Street! Stiff Little Fingers - Hanx. But the most insane one has to be Live In-Competence by the Zip Code Rapists (with Gregg Turkington from Neil Hamburger fame). Here you can see them doing a Black Flag cover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UAWfEzo2g0.

Coincidentaly (Though I know there's another thread for it.) , Link Wray reportedly pulled a knife on John Cale at the 9:30 club in Washington, DC , around this time.....

Once , in Dallas , a fan showed up , backstage , at a John Cale show , with maybe 20 LPs , asking if Cale was around. A Roadie told him , Cale is'nt very sociable , but , if you leave your LPs and your Sharpee here , and  come back in about 20 minutes , I'll ask him to sign them for you.   What happened next is a valuable lesson.  The guy came back , and all his albums were signed (By the Roadie and a friend.) "HAVE A NICE PENIS , JOHN CALE". Later , I heard one of the records turned up at a used record store  with an $80 price tag.  IF this guy decieved the store owner , good on him .He was a prick.

BACK ON TRACK - I saw Link , once , it must have been 2002 or early 2003 , because he was talking about 9/11 , as it was somewhat recent , saying he wished he could have been here in the states with us when it happened. I told him , he WAS here with us. He said , "Yeah , in spirit , I was. BUT , WHAT WE NEED TO DO.....IS ROUND UP SOME OF MY SHAWNEE BROTHERS ....AND CUT THE TALIBAN'S MOTHERFUCKIN' HEADS OFF !!!!!". Then , HE STARTED TO sing "Ice People" from the "Link Wray" album on Polydor , which is a very quiet song , but has some very good lyrics about social and racial injustices. BUT , he could'nt do it...He'd get as far as the first verse , then go off ! - "CUT THE MOTHERFUCKIN' TALIBAN'S HEADS OFF AND BURY 'EM UNDER A TREE !!!!!'' . It's not a live album , but, it should have been.

For some mad, deranged 70s avant-rock, John Cale's Sabotage/Live is well worth checking out. Cale was alcoholic and totally fried mentally at this point in his career and it all spills over in the intensity of his performance.

Link is my ALL-TIME HERO!  The man started it all; well Link and Bo both did in their own unique ways.  Live in '85 was the 2nd Link album I got my grubby mitts on, right after I scored a copy of Early Recordings. I was very, very fortunate to see him live in Glasgow (Scotland) around '96/'97. Loudest gig I've ever been to (with the exception of MBV), wild feedback, Link playing loose and ferocious...total chaos! Link was grinning like the happiest kid in the playground throughout the entire gig. Check out Jimmy McDonough's brilliant article on Link; Jimmy wrote the definitive Neil Young bio and was friends with Lux and Ivy; he knows his onions!
http://www.furious.com/perfect/linkwray.html
 
John Battles said:

Well said , The wolf in his natural habitat. Many's the time I wished I could see Link Wray "Like all those people in Europe". Then , he started touring the states , extensively, in 1997. There were nights when , sure , his axe might go out of tune , and he'd just let it bleed. People would complain because it was'nt BORING and slick like Danny Gatton.
 I guess Rock'n'Roll really is'nt for everybody. PEOPLE WOULD COMPLAIN  BECAUSE HE'D USE A MARSHALL STACK. 'THE MAN COULD'NT HEAR FOR SHIT ! I met Dick Biondi , a CHICAGO DJ WHO DATES BACK TO THE 50'S AND 60'S. hE TOLD ME HE WENT TO SEE LINK IN THE LATE 50'S , AND HE HAD HIS AMP CRANKED AT FULL VOLUME (FOR BACK THEN). , BECAUSE HE'D ALREADY DESTROYED HIS HEARING !!!!1

 

 

Cheers for the pointers, I feel Wray's live albums are his natural habitat so I'll have to check those out.

Well said , The wolf in his natural habitat. Many's the time I wished I could see Link Wray "Like all those people in Europe". Then , he started touring the states , extensively, in 1997. There were nights when , sure , his axe might go out of tune , and he'd just let it bleed. People would complain because it was'nt BORING and slick like Danny Gatton.
 I guess Rock'n'Roll really is'nt for everybody. PEOPLE WOULD COMPLAIN  BECAUSE HE'D USE A MARSHALL STACK. 'THE MAN COULD'NT HEAR FOR SHIT ! I met Dick Biondi , a CHICAGO DJ WHO DATES BACK TO THE 50'S AND 60'S. hE TOLD ME HE WENT TO SEE LINK IN THE LATE 50'S , AND HE HAD HIS AMP CRANKED AT FULL VOLUME (FOR BACK THEN). , BECAUSE HE'D ALREADY DESTROYED HIS HEARING !!!!1

Cheers for the pointers, I feel Wray's live albums are his natural habitat so I'll have to check those out.

Cheers for the pointers, I feel Wray's live albums are his natural habitat so I'll have to check those out.

 I like that one , but "Live in '85"   and the later "Rumble Man" CD/DVD  have something IT DOES'NT HAVE.....the non - participation of Richard Gotterher and Anton Fig. Can't stand that man's drumming....i saw him with Booker T. and The MGs, once. Enough to put you off your food.  The other two live albums are LOUD and Raw , with no Richard Gotterher to dumb down the sound (Which he's done time and again , especially on The Fleshtones' Live 85 LP.). But , don't get me wrong , the Paradisio set is good , there's some (Then) neworiginals that he never did in the studio (That I know of.) that are real good- "Walk Away From Love" , "SHE'S NO GOOD", "SUBWAY BLUES " (Despite the atypical , near - Jazz guitar solo and scatting.), and others that I forget.