Top Live Vinyl Record Albums

To show off some of my vinyl records, I'll be making a list of some of my favorite records. The first list is for live (concert) records. The albums listed are from my vinyl collection--but it does include one 8-track tape. Also, the list below is not quite complete...I still some records that are packed away.

If You Want Blood You've Got it is the first live album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, originally released in the UK and Europe on 13 October 1978, in the US on 21 November 1978, and in Australia on 27 November 1978. All songs were written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott. The album was listed at #2 on Classic Rock magazine's readers' poll of "50 Greatest Live Albums Ever". Wikipedia link.

You Can't Argue with a Sick Mind (subtitled Recorded Live) is a live solo album by the American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joe Walsh. The album was released in early 1976, on the label ABC Records. It was recorded live just before Walsh joined the Eagles, who also play on "Help Me Through the Night". This was Walsh's first and final album to be released by ABC Records. It was re-issued three years later by MCA Records in 1979. Wikipedia link.

 The Woodstock Music & Art Fair—informally, the Woodstock Festival or simply Woodstock—was a music festival attracting an audience of over 400,000 people, scheduled over three days on a dairy farm in New York from August 15 to 17, 1969, but ultimately ran four days long, ending August 18, 1969. Rolling Stone listed it as one of the 50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll.

The event was captured in the Academy Award winning 1970 documentary movie Woodstock and an accompanying soundtrack album. Wikipedia link.

Live at Leeds is the first live album by the English rock band The Who. It was the only live album that was released while the group were still actively recording and performing with their best known line-up of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon. Initially released in the United States on 16 May 1970, by Decca and MCA and the United Kingdom on 23 May 1970, by Track and Polydor, the album has been reissued on several occasions and in several different formats. Since its initial reception, Live at Leeds has been cited by several music critics as the best live rock recording of all time. Wikipedia link.

Aloha from Hawaii Via Satellite is a concert that was headlined by Elvis Presley, and was broadcast live via satellite on January 14, 1973. The concert took place at the Honolulu International Center (HIC) in Honolulu and aired in over 40 countries across Asia and Europe. Despite the satellite innovation, the United States did not air the concert until April 4, 1973 (because the concert took place the same day as Super Bowl VII). Viewing figures have been estimated to be between 1 and 1.5 billion viewers worldwide. The show was the most expensive entertainment special at the time, costing $2.5 million. Wikipedia link.

Strangers in the Night (with original subtitle A Double Live Album) is a live album by British heavy metal rock band UFO, first released in 1979 on the Chrysalis label. The original double LP album was recorded in autumn 1978 at shows in Chicago, Illinois and Louisville, Kentucky. Strangers in the Night peaked at No. 7 on the UK charts and No. 42 on the US charts. Strangers in the Night is often listed by critics and fans as one of the greatest live rock albums of all time. Wikipedia link.

Slade Alive! is the first live album by the British rock band Slade. The album was released on 24 March 1972.  It was Slade's first album to enter the UK charts and also the first to enter the Billboard 200 in the United States, where it reached No. 158. 

Today, the album has been considered as one of the greatest live albums of all time. Kiss, who were heavily influenced by Slade, would title their 1975 live album Alive! as a homage to Slade Alive!. Wikipedia link.

As you can see, I have this album on 8-track tape. Even so, I really enjoyed it. It has a good old rock and roll party feel to it. I used to play this album quite often. 

Over the years, I packed away my 8-tracks and forgot about them. I tried to look for them but could not find them. In November, I finally found them—in a box that was in plain sight! Most of the tapes did not do so well over the past fifteen years, but I’ve been repairing them as best I can. 

I have recently found the vinyl version of this album, as well as many other albums that I originally had on cassette tape or 8-track tape.

 

Frampton Comes Alive! is a double live album by English rock musician Peter Frampton released in 1976. It is one of the best-selling live albums in the United States, and considered by many to be one of the finest live rock recordings of all time. Following four solo albums with little commercial success, Frampton Comes Alive! was a breakthrough for the artist. Wikipedia link.





Cheap Trick at Budokan is a live album released by Cheap Trick in 1978 and their best-selling recording. The album was intended for release only in Japan but with strong airplay of the promotional album From Tokyo to You, an estimated 30,000 import copies were sold in the United States and the album was released domestically in February 1979. It was ranked number 426 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Wikipedia link.

Back when I was in high school, this album helped Cheap Trick to get very popular. But because the album was not released in the U.S., you had to get the Japanese import version of the album. As their popularity increased, the album was finally released in the U.S. 

Alive! is the first live album, and fourth overall, by American hard rock band Kiss. It is considered to be their breakthrough and a landmark for live albums. Released on September 10, 1975, the double-disc set contains live versions of selected tracks from their first three studio albums, Kiss, Hotter Than Hell and Dressed to Kill. It was recorded at concerts in Detroit, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; Wildwood, New Jersey; and Davenport, Iowa on May 16, June 21, July 20 and July 23, 1975. Wikipedia link.

Vintage Vinyl, Music, and Radio

Here are some of my records in my vinyl/shellac record collection. 

I don’t collect anything that’s rare or expensive. It must have been/be commercially available at one point in time. If it was not available in retail stores, record stores, or the Sears catalog; then I probably won’t collect it…unless it’s reasonably priced or found in a thrift store. All my records have been played on a record player/turntable and will continue to be listened to.

When I was growing up, I listened to AM radio stations. Some of the Philadelphia radio stations were WFIL, WIP, and WIBG and some of the New York City radio stations were WOR and WNBC. During this time, I listened to a lot of pop or top-40 music of the 1960s and 1970s. 

Some my music influences came from television shows which featured the Jackson 5, the Partridge Family, and Bobby Sherman. Others included the Fifth Dimension, Ray Charles, and the Beatles.

By the late 1970s, I had switched over to FM radio stations such as WMMR, WYSP, and WIOQ. At the time, these stations were playing what we now call Classic Rock. WMMR even played Punk/New Wave.

The first record that I bought with my own money was the Beatles red album—The Beatles/1962-1966. Most of my early record purchases were mostly Beatles’ records after 1966 and John Lennon records. Because they were cheaper, I also bought a wide range of 45 rpm records during the late 1970s.


By the 1980s, I was buying mostly rock and roll records—punk rock, new wave, and heavy metal. By the end of the decade, I had switched over to CDs.

Since the 1990s, I have only purchased two new vinyl records. Even though I have enough records to listen to, I do have a short list of some albums that I would like to get if I can find them in good shape and at a decent price.

Traveling with Snuggles--San Francisco

Recently, we visited San Francisco, CA. We just happened to go during the wettest time in recent history. Despite the wet weather, we all had a good time between the rain drops.

The Golden Gate Bridge is popular with pedestrians and bicyclists, and was built with walkways on either side of the six vehicle traffic lanes. The main walkway is on the eastern side, and is open for use by both pedestrians and bicycles in the morning to mid-afternoon during weekdays and to pedestrians only for the remaining daylight hours. 

My most anticipated destination was the historic area of Haight-Ashbury. The mainstream media's coverage of hippie life in the Haight-Ashbury drew the attention of youth from all over America. During the "Summer of Love," psychedelic rock music was entering the mainstream, receiving more and more commercial radio airplay. 

"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)," became a hit single in 1967. The Monterey Pop Festival in June further cemented the status of psychedelic music as a part of mainstream culture and elevated local Haight bands such as the Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Jefferson Airplane to national stardom.

The neighborhood's fame reached its peak as it became the haven for a number of the top psychedelic rock performers and groups of the time. Acts such as Jefferson Airplane, the Grateful Dead, and Janis Joplin all lived a short distance from the intersection. They not only immortalized the scene in song, but also knew many within the community as friends and family.

Across the street from Skates On Haight, is Amoeba Music. They are located in a converted bowling alley at the eastern edge of Golden Gate Park.  They stock lots of music and movie titles from every genre imaginable. I spent a lot of time browsing through just a small part of their vinyl records.

One of the busiest and well known tourist attractions in the western United States, Fisherman's Wharf is best known for being the location of Pier 39, the Cannery Shopping Center, Ghirardelli Square, a Ripley's Believe it or Not museum, the Musée Mécanique, Wax Museum at Fisherman's Wharf, and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

Seafood restaurants are aplenty in the area. The area also has an In-N-Out Burger; local business leaders said they opposed every other fast food chain except In-N-Out, because they wanted to maintain the flavor of family-owned, decades-old businesses in the area, with one saying locals would ordinarily "be up in arms about a fast-food operation coming to Fisherman's Wharf," but the family-owned In-N-Out "is different."

There is a sea lion colony next to Pier 39. They "took-up" residence months before the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. The sea lions lie on wooden docks that were originally used for docking boats.

Vintage Vinyl

For the past ten years, I’ve been playing my records on a Crosley CR711 record player. Since I’ve been playing my records more frequently now, I decided to look into getting another turntable/record player. To save room, I looked at record players with built in amplifier and speakers.

Last year, I purchased a Gadhouse record player from Amazon.com. Just a few weeks earlier, I bought, a Jenson, but that one didn't work too well. The Gadhouse record player, like the Crosley, is just a basic and cheap record player. It needed a little bit of maintenance (loose speaker cover, loose connections, etc.) to keep it working properly, but it sounds OK with external speakers.

This year, I bought two used Garrard turntables. After cleaning/restoring them, I discovered I discovered that my last receiver did not have a phono input. Instead of buying a preamp, I purchased a 1970s Realistic receiver. Using an A/B input switcher box, I have the two Garrard turntables working with the Realistic receiver.

I’m also back to using my Crosley record player. Since I have enough turntables/record players, I’m dedicating the Crosley to playing only shellac 78 rpm records. I replaced the stylus/needle with one specifically made for 78 rpm records, which require a different size needle for playback--it is wider than the needle used for 33/45 rpm records. Now I can play my parent’s old records as well as some that I’ve purchased at thrift shops.

Joke a Day Video Project

A few weeks ago, I started a joke a day video project. My goal is to record on video (at least) one joke per day for an entire year. At the end of the year, I would edit all the jokes into one video and post it.

At first if sounded easy, and the only difficulty that I would have was to remember to record something. After a few days, I realized that I was not only telling a joke but also creating a kind of journal. The context of the joke should try to match the environment of the background in the video. I have a few jokes planned for certain situations, but usually most are not planned out in advance.

Also, I now realize that not only should I edit all the jokes into one final video, but also I should have been posting each individual one to Facebook. Yeah...I might still do that.

Looking back at the videos so far, I can see that I don't look too comfortable in the early ones. I hope that the final video will also show how I progress in telling the jokes while I'm being recorded.

Here's a list of some of the jokes that have used or may use in the future:

Did you hear the story about the broken pencil…there’s no point.

What's the difference between a violin and a viola? 

A viola burns longer.

Why does a viola burn longer?

It’s usually still in the case.

My dog used to chase people on a bike. It got so bad that I finally had to take his bike away.

I wanted to grow my own food but I couldn’t get bacon seeds.

The secret to t good BBQ is to have a sauce that will cover up your mistakes.

When I see lovers’ names carved in a tree, I don’t think it’s sweet—I just think how surprising it is how many people bring a knife on a date.

I buy a lot of expensive cologne—I guess I have no common scents.

What happens when blondes move from New Jersey to New York? Both states get smarter.

Why can’t the bicycle stand up? Because it’s two tired.

Farting on an elevator is wrong on so many levels.

April 1

Since my last post, I've been busy connecting my electronics and audio projects. My, how time flies!

I've cleaned out a small section of the basement to use as an office. I moved a small desk into the area so that I can use a laptop to do my work. I'm still working on my job search, but in my spare time I now have a small space to relax and listen to music.

This weekend as I prepare to do my taxes, I'll see if I can locate a file cabinet to organize my paperwork. Right now, I'm using some crates as a bookshelf.

Last month, I purchased a new record player. It's nothing fancy--just enough to play my records without skipping. Since the audio output is not too strong, I have it hooked up to some amplified computer speakers. It's good enough to fill the room with sound.

Now when I do my work, I can listen to the record player, radio, CD player, or cassette tape player.

I also dusted off my guitar and amplifier. I'm running it through my iPhone so that I can use some guitar pedal apps and Garage Band. The batteries on my iRig stomp box keep dying--now I have to find my AC adapters.

Traveling with Snuggles

The new year started out with Snuggles traveling along the East Coast from Long Island, NY to the Washington DC area.

One of the first stops this year was to Center Moriches High School in Suffolk County, New York. We went there to see a girls volleyball tournament.

In February, it was off to the Capital Hill Volleyball tournament in Washington DC. While there, he toured the areas of Arlington, VA and Washington, D.C. Here's Snuggles reading the Washington Metrorail map.