Ten amazingly brilliant 1970s live albums

Two absolute rockers from the J. Geils Band

“Live” Full House

The first of two superb live albums from the J. Geils Band released in the 1970s. A third, Showtime, came out in 1982. This was well before their hit singles came out but the band still had plenty of great songs in their set list at this point. They had a reputation as an amazing live band but were struggling to make an impact with studio albums. Getting the act on record for a live release seemed an obvious move.

That paid off to some extent. The band made sure their live show and energy was captured on the album. It got them noticed and attracted more attention and airplay for their songs. As an album itself, despite being a perfect example of what a live album should be like, didn't achieve amazing sales levels. But it did pave the way for them to make more of a breakthrough with their follow-up album, Bloodshot. 

The only drawback with “Live” Full House is the decision to make it so short, only 34 minutes long. They had so much more to offer. Have a listen to their live version of John Lee Hooker's song “Serves You Right To Suffer”, it’s superb.

Blow Your Face Out

The J. Geils Band released their second live album Blow Your Face Out in April 1976. It was recorded over two nights in November 1975, one in their home city of Boston, the second in Detroit where “Live” Full House was taken from. That was also where Showtime was recorded in 1982.

This almost had to be a double disc as it was following in the footsteps and guitar solos of Frampton Comes Alive which had just set the world alight. Record labels and artists were keen to try and repeat that. The J. Geils Band with their strong live act reputation and earlier excellent live album gave them a chance for their second live record.  

Blow Your Face Out was the outcome, 75 minutes of live music and an exceptional concert atmosphere. The band also managed to avoid repeating much of the setlist from “Live” Full House. Just one song, “Looking For Love”, appears on those two live albums. It’s a superb live album and ranks just ahead of their first by being more than twice as long.

Continued on next slide