Great live recordings

Loheswaran

Well-Known Member
Dec 19, 2014
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I am curious what albums out there any format, any actual musical genre - has a good quality live recording? By that I mean to your ears, preferably having heard the musician un-amplified, the albums and recordings that are pretty damn accurate so to speak?
 
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Dave Brubeck Quartet-Back Together For The First Time..this excellent live set from the Jazz master recorded in the seventies-Temptations Live..this one is a soul classic from the mid-sixties featuring David Ruffin's My Girl an Paul Williams classic-Don't Look Back.
 
Pat Metheny The way Up Live. Very well recorded, very dynamic and amazing performance. Love the Blu-Ray, the only version I have heard.


 
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I am curious what albums out there any format, any actual musical genre - has a good quality live recording? By that I mean to your ears, preferably having heard the musician un-amplified, the albums and recordings that are pretty damn accurate so to speak?
Thanks for starting this thread :cool:
 
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One I like: Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, Sir Colin Davis, LSO live at the Barbican, London 2000 CD
 
I think you should consider Neil Young"s Live at Massey Hall. It's an very old acoustic set that introduces several new songs that went on to be classics. The SQ is absolutely stunning. One of my live fav's.
 
David Murray "Ming's Samba"
Art Pepper "Live at Ronnie Scott's"
Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense"
Christian McBride Trio "Live At the Village Vanguard"
 
Giovanni Mirabassi - Live at the Blue Note, Tokyo, 2010
One of my reference point for evaluating different gears or settings.
 
The two classic albums of the Bill Evans Trio at the Village Vanguard (done shortly before the tragic death of Scott LeFaro, his immensely talented bass player):
Waltz for Debby
Sunday at the Village Vanguard

Another famous live jazz album is Jazz at the Pawnshop - an audiophile favorite.

Belafonte at Carnegie Hall - another audiophile favorite, as is
The Weavers - Reunion at Carnegie Hall 1963

I like Miles of Aisles, the Joni Mitchell live album.

Larry
 
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Allman Brothers "Live At Filmore East" (original pink Capricorn pressing)
Anat Cohen "Clarinetwork"
Miles Davis "At The Blackhawk"
J. Geils Band "Full House" (provided you can find a non beer soaked original pressing)
Benny Green "Testifyin'
Oliver Jones Trio "Cookin' At Sweet Basil"
Damien Jurado "Live At Landlocked"
Wynton Kelly & Wes Montgomery "Smokin' At The Half Note"
Los Lobos "Disconnected in New York City"
Joshua Redman "Live At The Village Vanguard"
Rolling Stones "Stripped"
Stanley Turrentine "Up At Mintons, Vol 2"
Caetano Veloso & Gilberto Gil "Two Friends, One Century of Music"
Sadao Watanabe "Parker's Mood"
Ben Webster "At The Renaissance"
 
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My standard answer to this question is: Bill Henderson, Send in the Clowns (Jazz Planet/Classic Records).
 
I just thought that everyone goes on about being neutral, but how is it truly assessed? I can't remember the last truly live un-amplified music I ever heard

We go to about 70 classical music concerts a year - all unamplified music. Also we host one or two chamber music concerts a year in our home. Last Monday we had two members of the San Francisco Symphony play a violin and piano concert
to about 30 of our friends at our home. Unamplified music at its most intimate and best.

Larry
 
there are many albums that have been already in nomination in this thread, a few are really awesome starting from a true classic like the Harry Belafonte at the Carnegie Hall.
I just add three suggestions, rarely performed during the audio fairs, songs in english, french, italian.
1) Joe Bonamassa "An acoustic evening, Live at the Vienna Opera House". 2 cd's very cheap on the bay. The "slow train coming" song is thrilling.
2) Michel Jonasz "La fabuleuse histoire de Mr. Swing" 2 cd's not so easy to find. The "le temps passé" is a touching song.
3) Ivano Fossati "Dal vivo volume 1" registerd live in 1993 at the Ponchielli's theatre in Cremona. Surprisingly enjoyable.

Just for contribution...
cheers
Marco
 
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We go to about 70 classical music concerts a year - all unamplified music. Also we host one or two chamber music concerts a year in our home. Last Monday we had two members of the San Francisco Symphony play a violin and piano concert
to about 30 of our friends at our home. Unamplified music at its most intimate and best.

Larry

Unfortunately, I live in London, and even intimate jazz clubs feel that it is necessary to amplify music. Go to any of Londons concert halls - and yes amplified too :mad:

I think the last time I heard an un amplified voice was at the Vertere FM Acoustics dim last year. Before that I recall a famous opera singer (sorry I know nothing about opera) came into Covent Garden and did a kind of promotion/busk - it was incredible... Maybe I should check out Opera - can't get over fat ladies singing ;)
 
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A great live DVD is the Concert for George, the concert that honored George Harrison after his passing. All star cast including Clapton, Jeff Lynn, Tom Petty, Ringo, Paul, etc.
 
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Unfortunately, I live in London, and even intimate jazz clubs feel that it is necessary to amplify music. Go to any of Londons concert halls - and yes amplified too :mad:

I think the last time I heard an un amplified voice was at the Vertere FM Acoustics dim last year. Before that I recall a famous opera singer (sorry I know nothing about opera) came into Covent Garden and did a kind of promotion/busk - it was incredible... Maybe I should check out Opera - can't get over fat ladies singing ;)

We spend about a month in London each year and go to many concerts, all classical. I don't think any of them are amplified (we don't go to Royal Albert Hall except very rarely.) Wigmore Hall is a great place to hear chamber music. We go to the Barbican for the London Symphony, Cadogan Hall near Sloan Square for the Royal Philharmonic, Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall in the South Bank - always sitting pretty close for orchestral and chamber music and even done to Glyndebourne for opera. No jazz or rock however.

Larry
 
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We spend about a month in London each year and go to many concerts, all classical. I don't think any of them are amplified (we don't go to Royal Albert Hall except very rarely.) Wigmore Hall is a great place to hear chamber music. We go to the Barbican for the London Symphony, Cadogan Hall near Sloan Square for the Royal Philharmonic, Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall in the South Bank - always sitting pretty close for orchestral and chamber music and even done to Glyndebourne for opera. No jazz or rock however.

Larry

You are a lucky man my friend - unfortunately - my experience is not so good - maybe it is what I have seen/heard thus far.
 
Check this; This is how good a completely not amplified band recorded live in concert with ONE microphone can sound;

I think with the advance of amplification something has been lost; natural dynamics, musicians really listening and reacting to what is happening around them. And check the audience participating in the introduction.

Video is from the Feenbrothers play Dave Brubeck album;
 

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