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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 26, 2022 1:37:25 GMT
Is there enough interest in the live albums to rate them? I'm not sure I want to rate every Ringo/ASB cd, as there are many. Likewise, I'm not too interested in the many 90s/00s Macca live albums, but others might be.
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Post by kds on Apr 26, 2022 12:53:40 GMT
My interest in an in depth discussion of Beatles related live albums is pretty lukewarm to be honest.
The band themselves only have one live album to their credit, and it was out of print for damn near 40 years.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 26, 2022 12:54:25 GMT
I voted no. Live albums generally just aren't my thing.
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Post by kds on Apr 26, 2022 12:57:56 GMT
I voted no. Live albums generally just aren't my thing. I also voted no. I generally enjoy live albums. But, to be honest, I rarely listen to any of my Beatles related ones.
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Post by B.E. on Apr 26, 2022 15:51:07 GMT
We could just discuss/rate/rank the live albums in this thread. No specific order or poll. Just post at will. I’ll join in.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 26, 2022 18:25:13 GMT
The only important ones IMO are Live Peace in Toronto, The Concert for Bangladesh, Wings Over America, and as historical documents, The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, and the Hamburg recordings.
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Post by kds on Apr 26, 2022 19:10:56 GMT
Weren't the Hamburg recordings "gray area" releases? I remember I'd sometimes see them in the local record stores, but I don't think those releases were official.
I'm not sure if this counts, but I really enjoy the Concert for George release....well, minus the Ravi stuff.
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Post by B.E. on Apr 26, 2022 23:17:31 GMT
Weren't the Hamburg recordings "gray area" releases? I remember I'd sometimes see them in the local record stores, but I don't think those releases were official. It was a legitimate release in 1977 (and numerous reissues) but the Beatles and their label did try to stop it and eventually won ownership of the tapes in the late 1990s (and have not re-released it since). They had multiple chances to buy the tapes, though, so if they didn't want it out they should have bought them earlier.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 27, 2022 1:25:50 GMT
I only have the original album, Live! at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, 1962. I find it barely listenable. Four sides of that stuff was overkill. The vocals are buried throughout. I'm sure they did all they could to make it a good album, but in every case I prefer the versions on Live at the BBC. The Hollywood Bowl album is another story. Either way you go - the Ron Howard version, or the original lp - your ears are tortured by those screams throughout. The Beatles best live stuff is mostly on the BBC and Anthology albums.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 29, 2022 0:40:35 GMT
Some capsule reviews: The Plastic Ono Band - Live Peace in Toronto - this one generally gets rave reviews from the Lennon-centric critics. I'll say this - it's honest. But does it capture a great band at the peak of their powers? No. It's sloppy, raw, authentic, but there are better recordings of these songs elsewhere. At least side one is listenable. This habit of John forcing Yoko on his fans is kind of annoying. The Concert for Bangladesh - this album is a minor miracle. It's not a touring band, just a bunch of friends gathered together to help the people of war torn Bangladesh. It would be notable for that alone, but it's actually a very strong album musically. I've never bought a Ravi Shankar album - but I should - because his set here is mesmerizing. The rock and roll portion of the show is stellar. George being George, he doesn't try to dominate the show. He gives us some of his best known songs, some excellent versions of ATMP material, but Billy Preston gets a song, Leon Russell gets a moment in the spotlight, and of course there's Ringo singing "It Don't Come Easy". Then all of side 5 is turned over to the Bobster. I consider this album essential. Wings Over America - hard to believe that Wings toured the US only once. This is a great band- some say that's because the album was heavily overdubbed. I don't know how true that is; certainly they did SOME repair work in the studio, maybe I should check out the bootlegs from the tour. Paul's bass (or, on some songs, Denny's bass) is up in the mix throughout; Joe English on drums has his own style, he doesn't try to copy the original versions. Amazing how they could do a two hour show where the Beatles songs were just a small part of it. Can you imagine Paul going on tour now, having the set list focus mostly on songs from McCartney III, Egypt Station and New? I consider this album essential, too. The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl - I don't know how they sang in harmony or played in tune over all that noise! They're still sounding very good here (compared to the 1966 live recordings), but it's not an album I go back to very often. The recent makeover didn't improve it any to my ears. It is what it is. Not essential. Live at the Star Club in Hamburg, Germany, 1962 - a very difficult listen. I'll stick with Live at the BBC and Anthology 1 for some early live Beatles.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 30, 2022 7:29:19 GMT
I'll go ahead and post my final thoughts on live Beatles albums. Been a long time since I've listened to any of Paul's live albums. I remember borrowing Tripping the Live Fantastic from the library, and at times, feeling like he was trying to recapture the glory of the Wings years. Mostly, though, I just thought it sounded like bloated stadium rock. I did watch his Unplugged appearance,and thought that was a bit better. Paul is Live from 1993 had a more interesting track listing than Tripping; after that, I lost interest. Similar thoughts on the many Ringo ASB albums. The first one, with Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Billy Preston and Dr. John was very enjoyable; but I think the formula wore thin after the first 3 tours. Most of the guys sharing the stage with Ringo were of no interest to me. The earlier tours had people of similar vintage, people like Dave Edmunds, John Entwhistle, Felix Cavaliere, Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Joe Walsh. Their styles blended pretty well with Ringo's. George, oddly enough, put out a live album of his only tour after Dark Horse in 1974. The Live in Japan album is not a bad listen, but none of these live versions improve on the studio recordings; and it's kind of sad that George had to rely so heavily on his Beatles songs. John's Live in New York City is pretty cool to see on video, but I'm not an Elephants Memory fan. Compare this recording with the stuff that has come out from the Wings tours around the same time. Paul's band was tight; John's was loose and ragged. Maybe that's the way he wanted it. Somebody mentioned the Concert for George; i think that's as good as your gonna get for a tribute show. It was nice they limited it to people that actually had a relationship with George, instead of letting it be overrun with flavor of the month pop stars. I need to watch that again.
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