Looking back again at the 1970s it was an amazing decade for music. Not just for the variety or the many new acts that appeared. It also seems to have produced an astonishing number of great live albums.
Capturing a live performance properly on a record is no easy feat. Especially when you consider the technology used was considerably below today's standards. The artist also has to be on top form for the shows being featured in the album. And that's before we even consider the need to somehow replicate the excitement and atmosphere of the live show.
Surprisingly many live albums from the 1970s have all that in place. Perhaps the extra tech used on later years' live records washed out or lost the real live feeling from recordings. A similar point to the arguments for vinyl over CD or low bit rate streaming.
Ten of the best live albums from the 1970s
Some bands may have used a live record to capture all their best songs together. Others may have seen it as a way to tick another album off the record company contract list. For a few though, their live album was either a way to launch their music to a wider audience or a pinnacle point in their recording or live career. They often brought success on the Billboard 200 and around the world too.
Having said how many great live albums there were in the 1970s, that means there are almost too many to list here. This article lists ten of the best, in my view anyway, in no particular order. Inevitably many other top contenders won’t make my list here. Read on and see how many of your favourites are included or missing.
Wings - Wings Over America
Wow, a triple album of Paul McCartney and Wings live from the US during their Wings Over The World Tour. Released in December 1976 this is an extensive collection of Wings music from their albums, with a handful of Beatles and McCartney solo songs in there too. This was McCartney's first live tour in the US for ten years, so it's a pretty big event for him too.
Wings as a band sound very tight-knit on this. Some of the performances on the album sound even better than on the original Wings releases. I always loved Venus And Mars as an album and the tracks from there are lifted a notch further in performance terms when live.
Over the space of a triple album, you'd perhaps expect a couple of lower points and that's the case here too. Who chose “Solly” as a closer for example? But on the whole, the live show sounds immense on this album and reminds us how huge this tour was for McCartney and what a body of work he had post The Beatles.
Deep Purple - Made In Japan
Classic UK rockers Deep Purple really hit the mark with this 1972 release. It has their top lineup, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, and Richie Blackmore, all in excellent form. The band hadn't been keen on releasing a live album fearing it wouldn't properly capture their onstage show. Their record company in Japan persuaded them otherwise and it was recorded on tour there.
There was a mixed response to the album, but that's just from the band! Blackmore apparently has never listened to it. Paice reckoned it's probably the best live rock n roll album ever made. Many fans would agree. It includes some of their best songs and the quality of the performances and the record is high.
The Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East
For a double album, seven tracks don't seem that many. But when you know it's Gregg and Duane Allman and their band playing live, it makes much more sense. Their live shows were full of extended versions, riffing between guitarists, and plenty of fun jamming across the band. A highlight is Duane Allman in inspired guitar playing form on the 23-minute long, “Whipping Post”.
Recorded at Fillmore East, the venue was known for its two-show concerts, often with a triple bill, several nights a week. The Allman Brothers Band were listed behind Edgar Winters and Elvin Bishop Group for the recorded sessions in March 1971, but their live performances quickly had them bumped up the bill to close. This album captures the essence of those shows.
The album came out in July 1971. The band’s live reputation was renowned, but they were still to reach their real potential on album sales. At Fillmore East climbed the charts and went platinum, helping to establish the band further commercially. It's a classic live album of its time.
Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive
One of the top live albums of all time, not just the 1970s. This record gave Peter Frampton’s solo career a much-needed boost. It became a high-selling, chart-topping blockbuster. The true feel of a live concert combined with great songs brilliantly performed. It was a must-have in most record collections in 1976.
It was originally intended to be a single album, but A&M Records wanted more. There was plenty recorded from the live shows so making it a double disc wasn’t a huge challenge. Top-selling single hits “Baby I Love Your Way”, “Show Me The Way” and “Do You Feel Like I Do” helped make the album a smash hit and kept Frampton’s songs all over the airways at that time.
Status Quo - Live
Status Quo were renowned for their live performances. Glasgow audiences were always lively. That’s an ideal combination brought together over two nights at the Glasgow Apollo in October 1976 for this double album released in March 1977.
This absolute rocker of an album captured Status Quo live with all the energy and rawness they had on stage. The crowd was bouncing, the band was sure they could see the balcony area moving up and down from the stage. Status Quo responded to the crowd, playing a hit-packed set with verve and aggression. There was little in the way of overdubs and production added later, so the album is pretty true to the two nights, flaws, and all.
Genesis - Seconds Out
This live double album from Genesis was another key milestone for the band. They had been adjusting to Peter Gabriel’s departure and had recorded a couple of well-received studio albums with Phil Collins as lead singer. This album dipped heavily into their Gabriel-led back catalogue with the new lineup performing those on stage. It was to be the last album featuring Steve Hackett who left the band in 1977 when it was released.
The recordings are mainly from June 1977 gigs in Paris. Widely regarded by fans as a masterpiece the playing performance and production are immense. The old songs sound amazing under Collins’ lead and stand up extremely well to the originals. The newer songs fit in perfectly too. It's a perfect take of the band at that time, looking back at their music and forward too. You won't find many live albums capturing performances better than this
Thin Lizzy - Live And Dangerous
This phenomenal live album was inspired in part by Frampton Comes Alive. Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott kept hearing that album on the radio and vowed his band could do an even better live album. They certainly gave it their best shot on Live And Dangerous when released in June 1978.
The live aspect is brilliantly captured, You can hear the band and the crowd enjoying themselves from the very start and interacting throughout. The sound quality and production are such that it’s as if you were there. Controversial claims suggest there was a lot of post-production and overdubbing work, reducing the real live content significantly.
The band though has always denied this. When a deluxe box set was released in 2022 with the original live recordings, it helped combat the excessive overdubbing claims. With so much great music and the live atmosphere on the record, Live And Dangerous still merits a claim as one of the best live albums.
Bob Marley And The Wailers - Live!
Here’s the album that took reggae music to a new level in the US, and probably many other places too. This was the band's Natty Dread tour recorded onstage in London in 1975. There wasn't a lot of pre-planning or preparation for a live recording. Island Records boss Chris Blackwell watched the band in the first of their two sell-out shows at the London Lyceum and arranged for the Rolling Stones mobile studio to capture the second night. What a great decision!
This was a great way to catch the Jamaican legend and his band live and hear their back catalogue of songs. It's another live album that retains the flaws and live issues, adding realism and authenticity. It is of course where the ultimate version of “No Woman, No Cry” comes from, with its feedback sounds and emotion it's a classic live song from a momentous album.
The Who - Live At Leeds
This album was released in May 1970. It's quite remarkable that after so many years, I saw The Who live last summer. Of course, they were missing a couple of original members but were still in incredible form.
Live At Leeds was the original four, possibly at a live peak. They'd been busy touring their rock opera, Tommy. But this album offered more from their live set. It came out looking and sounding like an official bootleg. The cover, the notes, the song selection, and leaving in background noise gave it that rogue quality.
It wasn’t crammed with hits, but had a rocking extended jam version of “My Generation” and a short burst of “Substitute”, along with other songs and covers. The authentic sound, the crackle of the energy, and the cables at times, help this one rank as one of the best live albums too.
Ramones - It’s Alive
The Ramones didn't have huge commercial success with their albums, and this one isn't any different. But that doesn't make them any less of a great punk rock band. Their live shows were usually where the real interest lay, so a live album makes great sense.
It’s Alive was recorded at the Rainbow Theatre, London on New Year's Eve, December 1977. Coming at the end of their UK tour that year, the recording marked another turning point. It was their last album with all four original Ramones members, Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy.
The band blitzed their way through 28 songs for the album. All short, all-powerful, all-punky Ramones songs were selected from their first three albums and played at their best. It was peak punk for sure, the album stands as another terrific example of catching a band live at their prime.