Eight 1990s live albums that badly fail to capture the magic
- If you like live music albums you want to share in the concert experience.
- To feel and relive the atmosphere and the magic of the gig.
- These eight albums fail to do so and fall flat.
By StevieMac
The 1970s gave a real boost to live albums with so many great examples released. It makes a strong claim to the title for best live album decade. The 1980s followed on strongly and by the 1990s we were still seeing many great live albums released. But there were also quite a few at the other end of the scale.
It can be a very personal view on why a live album doesn't deliver. There will always be those who really like an album and others who don’t. For me, it needs to really capture a live show, all the atmosphere, live variations of songs, and a great performance. Transfer the magic from the show onto the album so I can share it. Just replicating the studio version isn't enough. Neither is churning out a live record as a contract filler or cash grab.
Sadly the 1990s seemed to have more than its fair share of live albums that just didn’t deliver a great experience for listeners. Here are eight live 1990s albums which all have multiple reasons why they miss the mark and don't deliver the magic. These don’t delight at anywhere near the level they should.
Eight live 1990s albums without the magic
INXS - Live Baby Live
Live albums in the 1990s were often released alongside a film of the concert or tour on video or DVD. That was very much the case here with both taken from a July 1991 night at Wembley Stadium, London. It is though another one of those live albums that are so close to the studio versions, you wonder what the point is.
The album doesn’t have that live energy you’d expect. INXS were usually full of that on stage, but it doesn’t come across here. Sure it’s an OK listen and it was probably a great night at the show, but you want to be able to participate in that when you listen to the album.
Perhaps that’s where the DVD release comes in. Visually you can see that it’s live, you can understand what’s happening and perhaps soak up a bit more from watching rather than just listening. But if you release an album, the sound still needs to have the magic from the gig, it’s done a disappearing act on this one.
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