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.