Ten amazingly brilliant 1970s live albums

Here are ten live albums from the 1970s that you don't often see in the usual top ten list from back then, but are just as brilliant to listen to.

J. Geils Band in concert
J. Geils Band in concert | Ron Pownall Photography/GettyImages
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Nils Lofgren - Back It Up - An Authorized Bootleg

Nils Lofgren is probably best known these days for his role in the E Street Band playing with Bruce Springsteen. He was also in Crazy Horse for a while, backing Neil Young. Lofgren has been a fabulous guitarist for years and had a long solo period along with being part of Grin. 

Back It Up is his first live album released in 1975 as a promo bootleg on a limited basis. That made it quite limited in terms of audience and it became very much sought after. A CD version was eventually released widely in 2007. 

It was recorded for a broadcast on San Francisco’s KSAN-FM. There is still a very live feel to this as Lofgren and his band play and jam on seven great songs.  There have often been mentions of them sounding similar to the Rolling Stones, there’s a nod to that when they play "Keith Don't Go (Ode to the Glimmer Twin)" about Keith Richards.

He did release a second live album, Night After Night, a couple of years later, but although much shorter, this earlier album is by far the better of the two. Lofgren and his band are excellent on it. The songs played were great selections and there's a superb and very live version of “Beggar’s Day” at the end worth the money on its own.

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