Live albums: love them or loathe them?

[Bürggermeister]

Kiss Alive! is probably their definitive album, it's what I'd usually stick on if I'm in the mood to listen to them

The music is great but Stanley's Colonel Saunders impression is head-wrecking 😂

[open face surgery]

I should point out that a good example of an artist where you really need the live albums more than anything else is Rory Gallagher. I'm not a huge blues rock fan and threfore I don't listen to his studio output much. But his live albums are something else and that is where he shines. So Irish Tour 74 and Check Shirt Wizard 77 are my go to, along with this, which is absolutely phenomenal:

His live albums are amazing but definitely not true to say you need them more than the studio albums.

[Jward]

Ozzy Osbourne – 'Randy Rhoads Tribute' & 'Speak Of The Devil' are good listens

Deep Purple - 'Made in Japan' is a classic

I got Deep Purple – 'Live In Paris 1975' a couple of months ago
The band are on fire
Almost like it is all ready to fall apart any second 

[Jward]

I have bootleg pic disc of Suffocation – 'Beginning Of Sorrow (Montreal 19.03.1992)'

The sound is so bad, it's great! 

[Carnage]

Lots of mentions of Made In Japan here, but I always preferred Nobody's Perfect. That was just out when I started listening to Purple, so that explains that.

I's also go for Life/Live over Live And Dangerous for Thin Lizzy, mainly because the former is actually live.

Of course the opposite is true of In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up, if you hear the raw tracks for that (Live Necronomicon) they're pretty awful.

[mickO)))]

Emperial Live Ceremony is another example of a great live album and one were all of the songs on it are the best versions currently available of those particular songs. The only issue I have with it is it's too short and from what I remember one or two tracks from the show are missing.

[Jward]

I might avoid 'Live Necronomicon', except for bonus tracks

'In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up' is one of the best 'live' albums

A band I've never seen live

[Black Shepherd Carnage]

Unfortunately, Gillan was already needing to pinch his vocal chords to hit the real high notes by Nobody's Perfect, making Highway Star and Child In Time, most notably, incomparably better imo on Made In Japan. Understandable, of course, that his ability to hit the insane notes deteriorated, so not even a criticism as such, but still takes away from the songs a little.

[Carnage]

I'm sure MIJ is objectively better, they were in their prime then, but formative years and all that.

I might avoid 'Live Necronomicon', except for bonus tracks

'In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up' is one of the best 'live' albums

A band I've never seen live

Me either, and ICYDFLSU is up there alright. I've been meaning to put a supercut together from that plus Breathe and TLORAH from Live Necronomicon. I have a rip of the video with both of those tracks (I cut the Jello Biafra bit out, can't stand the prick) but the sound's a bit ropey.

[Cosmic_Equilibrium]

I's also go for Life/Live over Live And Dangerous for Thin Lizzy, mainly because the former is actually live.

This has been debunked. A deluxe box set was released a few years ago with all the raw full concert recordings that the album was put together from, and it shows that there wasn't that much overdubbing done at all.

[Goosebumples]

Generally don't reach for live albums at all, I've just heard few in the extreme end of the genre that stand above the studio recordings.

But, whenever I go on an Urfaust binge, Trúbadóirí Ólta an Diabhail stands out to me as their finest record. Theres something magic about it compared to the studio recordings. Kicking myself to this day for not making it to that show 

[Trev]

Love S&M as well, doesn't work on every song, but on the likes of Ktulu and the Load, stuff the orchestra sounds fantastic with it and adds an extra dimension. Plus the No Leaf Clover and -Human were probably the last two songs they really sounded genuine on

[Circlepit]

Emperial Live Ceremony is another example of a great live album and one were all of the songs on it are the best versions currently available of those particular songs. The only issue I have with it is it's too short and from what I remember one or two tracks from the show are missing.

Forgot about this one, it's savage.
They were on fire at that point.