Controversial but data-backed ranking of the 20 best live albums

4 - Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Rust Never Sleeps

Here we are back with Neil Young and Crazy Horse and that Rust Never Sleeps tour. This is the overlap with the band's November 1979 Live Rust album. Rust Never Sleeps was released slightly earlier in June 1979.

 It’s slightly different from the usual live album approach. Mainly recorded live from the tour, there was comprehensive overdubbing and production afterward in the studio. That work cut back on all the live elements, removing and masking the crowd noise and adding more sudden starts and ends to songs. Although it dampened that live feel, it did leave a superb set of songs on a single album. It is perhaps a surprise that it features so highly on a ranking of live albums. 

3 - Fishmans - 98.12.28 Otokotachi No Wakare

This album from Japanese dub band Fishmans, featuring their lead singer Shinji Sato in his last ever live show, may be a surprise on the list for most. Recorded in Japan on December 28, 1998, and released the following September, it is a slice of the band's history and best moments in music. Sato passed away unexpectedly a few months after the concert.

The band's music has been described as a mix of dub, funky ska/reggae, and dreamy pop, with a touch of psychedelia perhaps. Sato has a soft and distinctive voice, which, accompanied by the bass and drums from the trio, makes a unique combination. Well worth hearing if the name is new to you. 

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