How well do you recall the live albums of the 1990s? There were some amazing albums released back then with plenty of hard rock artists strutting their stuff. The decade certainly had a well-trodden path to follow with all the very successful live music which came out in the 1970s and 1980s.
Of course by then, with the success of those live albums in earlier years, record labels and artists were well aware of the success such releases could bring. That led to much scouting through old tapes and recordings to see what was available. Which in turn saw quite a few live albums released in the 1990s, but where the actual recordings were made many years earlier. And why not if they’re good enough to be heard?
Then we had a new concept, stripped back and unplugged live albums. MTV Unplugged started in 1989 but peaked in the 1990s with some amazing albums across a range of artists, including many rock bands. I’ve written about the MTV Unplugged albums separately so I won’t include any from that series on this particular list.
Six of the best live hard rock albums from the 1990s
Sure, leaving out the MTV Unplugged series means a few top artists are missing here. But the quality of live hard rock albums in the 1990s is still very strong and it’s not a hard task to find plenty of others that count among the best of the decade. So here are six that I’d highly recommend you have a listen to if you haven’t done so yet or recently. There are also an extra couple of connected albums mentioned which are better avoided.
Pearl Jam - Live On Two Legs (1998)
Here’s another band where bootlegs of concerts were very common, but with strong demand for an official live album. Live On Two Legs was their first live album to meet that gap. Released in 1998 it was taken from various gigs on their summer tour that same year across North America.
Whoever was responsible for selecting the songs to include deserves an award. This has a terrific combination of anthems and old and new tunes. There are some great jam sessions across the songs plus some more laid-back numbers among the grunge and rock. Pearl Jam and the producers definitely captured the experience of seeing the band live, even if it is taken from multiple shows. Have a listen to the singalong on “Better Man”, you’ll be joining in soon enough as if you were there.
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AC/DC - Live (1992)
The Australian band's second live album came out in 1992. Their first If You Want Blood You’ve Got It was way back in 1978, in the early days of the band’s success. A lot has changed in between but AC/DC were still rocking hard and having fun.
The biggest difference of course was Brian Johnson on vocals after Bon Scott passed away back in 1980. Johnson was well established after all those years and gives a fine performance across Live. As do the rest of the band, notably Angus Young with his amazing guitar work throughout.
There could be concerns that a second live album is a contract filler or a rushed piece of work. The time was right for another from the band and Live delivers excellently over its two discs. This is a great example of the band's stagecraft.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Weld (1991)
This 1991 double live album came from Neil Young and Crazy Horse as they toured their 1990 Ragged Glory album. Some issues came with a third disc, Arc. That one was probably for collectors and deep fans of Young, it was 35 minutes of distortion, feedback, some vocals, and other assorted noises. It’s one of two on this list to give a miss to.
But worry not, Weld itself is not one to miss. It’s loud, grungey, and pretty full-on. There are some excellent versions of the newer songs from Ragged Glory, perhaps even better than the album tracks. Not to mention a 14 minute “Like A Hurricane” which is classic Young and Crazy Horse. I’d rate Weld as their best live album.
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Metallica - Live S***: Binge and Purge (1993)
Metallics is another band that has been prolific as far as live albums are concerned. This 1993 release was the first of those and set a very high bar for the rest. Initially released as a box set with three CDs plus some videos. The albums have 24 songs and close to three hours of Metallica performing, that's quite a collection.
It’s by no means quantity over quality. This album-set rocks from start to finish. The production quality is high and the band is tight and on top of their game. The multiple disc format has perhaps allowed more than the usual, levels of extended chat and crowd participation plus some extensive soloing. That’s a plus or minus based on your preferences, but it does bring the atmosphere alive on the albums. Across their many live releases, this is the one to head for first.
Phish - A Live One (1995)
This was the first official live album from Phish when it was released in 1995. Like many bands, there had been plenty of bootlegs around but the band hadn’t got as far as releasing their own live set. That’s despite many fans asking the question about when they would get ‘a live one’, which is where the title apparently comes from.
Phish is a bit of an odd band though for a live album, maybe that’s why it took so long to come. They are renowned for being amazing live, but each gig is quite individual. Each song seems to be played differently every night as extended solos, improvisation, and jamming sessions take varying directions. You don’t quite know what you’ll get until it happens on the night.
So that’s great in some ways as this album gives a snapshot of a range of songs the way they sounded at the various gigs they recorded. Or you may not like that particular version of a song as much as others. Such is life! The album went platinum and is one of their biggest sellers, so plenty of people reckoned it worked for them. And for those fans who have particular favourite versions from Phish gigs, there is the amazing LivePhish online with every show since 2002.
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Kiss - Very much live in the 1990s
Kiss got stuck into the live album groove over the years. They have released 13 live albums, so far that is. Don’t rule out a future one from the Kiss avatar show being developed!
The 1990s were no exception for them. The band released three live albums that decade. Alive III (1993), Kiss Unplugged (1996) and You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best!! (1996). As mentioned earlier, I’ll put aside the MTV Unplugged album and take a quick look at the other two 1990s live releases.
Kiss - Alive III (1993)
While they were pretty prolific with the live albums over the years, this third live album in their Alive run, was their first since 1977. Which, for such a strong live act, with ten other albums released since Alive II in 1977, isn’t unreasonable at all. It sometimes though, doesn’t get the full recognition it deserves.
It’s a particularly good live album, if you like Kiss of course. It avoids too much duplication from the two previous live sets and gives a view of their music across all their formations before their 1996 reunion. With several top-class musical performances in there, they all combine very well to make this as good as the very popular Alive I for me.
Kiss - You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best!! (1996)
This is perhaps slightly strange and the second album on here that’s best avoided. It’s a live compilation album. There aren’t too many of those around. But then there aren’t too many bands like Kiss either. This 1996 release does rather ride on the back of the Kiss reunion that year.
It draws on the first two live albums, Alive I and Alive II with four songs from each of those. That then gets topped up to 12 tracks with four more unreleased songs from those original concert recordings. Then to add to the reunion razzmatazz, there’s also an interview with the band by Jay Leno. I doubt that part gets on many playlists these days.
The album is fine, it sounds as good as a Kiss live record, but then it would, it’s the same music more or less. So you wonder what the point is and imagine $’s are the answer. Look, it’s worth a play, but you are far better digging out Alive I or III for a longer and deeper Kiss.