Live Albums

13 May 2024 – Written by Valentin Huber – in random

I’m a big fan of well-done live recordings and over the past years, my mind has accumulated a list of great live albums, from all over the genre spectrum, in no particular order:

John Mayer — Where the Light Is: Live in Los Angeles

This list has to start with this album. John Mayer playing a mixture of his best songs, and ripping some of his best guitar solos ever, in my opinion. I also love how he plays songs in vastly different settings: Starting out with just him and his acoustic guitar, then with Robbie Mcintosh and David Ryan Harris adding more acoustic (slide) guitars, gorgeous acoustic pop. Oh, and don’t miss the amazing cover of Free Fallin’! Then, he plays a set in a classic rock trio: guitar, bass (Pino Palladino), and drums (Steve Jordan). Really shows his roots in blues and plays two Hendrix covers. Finally, he brings out the full band for a total of more than two hours of music.

This may just be my favorite ever live album.

David Gilmour — Live at Pompeii

I’m not sure why this album has been my go to for music by Pink Floyd, but it is. David Gilmour certainly brings the guitar magic and the songs are just timeless classics.

Watchhouse — Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater

I’ve been lucky enough to have seen Watchhouse live a few years ago. And it’s the definition of relaxing summer night music for me. There is so much space in their music, and so much intention in every note played or sung. And once they released a recording of a concert, it took about half a song to ensure a permanent place on this list.

Steven Wilson — Home Invasion: In Concert at the Royal Albert Hall

Steven Wilson plays a mix of his solo work and old Porcupine Tree songs on this album. It’s a great introduction into prog rock, with some almost pop songs ranging to complex prog arrangements. Oh, and some more simply amazing guitar work (anybody notice this is written by a guitarist?).

Alison Krauss & Union Station — Live

Very different, yet still very beautiful music by maybe the best voice in bluegrass. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that her band is a who-s-who of bluegrass musicians, including Jerry Douglas, the defining dobro player.

Alter Bridge — Live at the Royal Albert Hall

I’m not a big metalhead, I don’t really like screamed vocals. But since Alter Bridge doesn’t do that (quite the opposite actually, they do some impressive clean rock singing), this album makes the list. Oh, and metal with an orchestra is almost almost a recipe for a great album.

Dire Straits — Alchemy

It’s Dire Straits. ‘nuff said.

Vulfpeck — Live at Madison Square Garden

This may be the funniest and most entertaining album of this list. It’s dirtily clean funk from a band with a great sense of humour and lots of great guest artists.

Honorable Mentions

These didn’t quite make the list for different reasons:

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