To make a great live album takes several things. First, you’ve got to have pristine sound. I need to hear all the instruments playing clearly, and the vocals need to be right up front. I wanna hear the crowd cheering, but only sometimes. Give me audience noise between songs and if there is a particularly brilliant bit of playing, otherwise keep the crowd in the far, far background. I really have no need to hear that guy screaming his request for “Free Bird”.
Next I want a great set list. Nothing sucks the life out of a concert like bad song choices. For me, this means not playing every song from the newly released studio album. If I haven’t had time to absorb the new songs, what can I sing along to? Man, I dig that you’ve gotta promote the new stuff, just mix it in with the old. A perfect set list includes some new songs, the greatest hits, some obscure b-sides and a few choice covers.
Yeah, I dig covers. Nothing perks up a concert like hearing a cool cover of something you just weren’t expecting to hear. You get bonus points if the cover song is something totally off the wall or from a different genre even - like Sam Bush covering Bob Marley, or bluegrass band Hayseed Dixie doing “Hell’s Bells”. Bonus points go to reworking the melody of one of your old songs. Who can forget the laidback version of “Layla” on Eric Clapton’s Unplugged?
Of course all of these things mean bupkis if the music sucks. An absolute must for any live album is that the musicians have to be playing at the top of their game. I’m an old school lover of improvisation. I dig the crap out of long, interesting jams. Nothing is more boring than an uninspired noodle fest, but a good band can turn a song on its head and create something inspiring out of the air. And if you can’t jam, then crank up the energy and give me something raw. If the song sounds exactly like the studio cut, then why am I paying for a concert ticket, when I can just stay home?
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
Good write-up, especially your take on what a live album needs. Have you checked out Yonder Mountain String Band or Hot Buttered Rum String Band?
2 - Mat Brewster
Thanks El Bicho. I very much dig the Yonder Mountain String Band. I caught them in Indy a few years back and have several of their shows on CD. I have just recently downloaded a Hot Buttered Rum show from the glorious archive.org site and am digging their sound a lot.