Well if the 1970s was crammed full of great music captured on some stunning live albums, what about the 1980s? The good news is that the following decade was exceptional too. It'd be a close call to decide which of the two decades, the 1970s or 1980s, had the better live albums.
The 1980s certainly had quite a diverse mix of music genres. New bands and artists with different styles emerged though heavy rock remained throughout. That’s all reflected in the range of live albums released.
Here are ten of those that I reckon rank amongst the best that decade has to offer. As always people will have their views and preferences, that's fine. Have a read and see which of your personal choices are included or missing.
10 stunning live albums from the 1980s
Iron Maiden - Live After Death
When it comes to live heavy metal albums there aren't many, if any, that can top Iron Maiden and their 1985 release Live After Death. This album featured the band on their lengthy World Slavery Tour. The live show was visually amazing and a video was filmed and released too.
That doesn't detract from the music with Iron Maiden at their most powerful throughout. Recorded mainly at Long Beach California in October 1984, it’s a double album with 102 minutes of top metal from the band. As you'd expect plenty of their classic songs are featured and the band knocks them out of the park performance-wise.
Minimal overdubbing in production retains the live authenticity. For many fans and reviewers, they'd rate it as the top live heavy metal album ever. It’s hard to argue with that.
Motorhead - No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith
Continuing the heavy metal theme, here’s Lemmy and the gang with their June 1981 live album No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith. It's a blast of, loud, fast, hard-hitting metal recorded on tour in the UK (but not at Hammersmith!). This has everything you’d expect from Motorhead and more.
Unusually perhaps, Motorhead opened with probably their most well-known song “Ace Of Spades”. It’s as good, if not better than ever. And that's a theme for the album, the songs performed are often better than their studio album versions. Pacier, perhaps more distortion, and a bit grittier too. It’s a full-on overdrive to the end. If you want to hear Motorhead, start with this brilliant live set.
U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky
At the time this was released in November 1983 U2 had three albums behind them. Their reputation for music was growing, especially as a live band. Under A Blood Red Sky was a great representation of that. It wasn’t crammed with hit songs, as is often the case on live albums. Neither was it a double album, as tends to be the case. It was just eight songs when released, now described as a mini album.
It does feature a couple of their best ones, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year’s Day” and exceptionally good versions of both. Recorded mainly in Germany, with a top up from a gig at Red Rocks in Colorado, it’s a great live album. It went on to triple platinum status in the US and UK.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Live/1975-85
A box set with 40 songs over five albums/three CDs, this live release in November 1986 is pretty damned amazing. Springsteen had a great live reputation, so wanted to make a real statement in his first live album. As the title shows, it's a series of songs recorded over several years at a variety of concerts. That gave Springsteen plenty of options to select from.
The Boss chose well, there are some epic performances in this one. Plenty of his classic songs and hits too. Springsteen and The E Street band bring their heart, honesty, and superb musicianship to this collection. A thirteen-times platinum seller, this box set ranks as the second-highest live album seller behind Garth Brooks Double Live. It's a must-have of a live album.
Dire Straits - Alchemy: Dire Straits Live
This is an exceptionally good live album, full of Dire Straits’ early classics and with the band and Mark Knopfler in excellent form. It's all the more remarkable when you realize it was recorded in July 1983. Well before their mega 1985 album Brothers In Arms and all the great tracks that brought.
Alchemy was recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, and features songs from the band's first four albums. Dire Straits, Communique, Making Movies, and Love Over Gold. An absolute peak point in the album is the brilliant 11-minute-long version of their debut hit, “Sultans Of Swing”. The closing track “Going Home”, written by Knopfler for the movie Local Hero runs it close. The album only reached 46 on the Billboard 200 but was in second slot in the UK. It's a great example of the band's live shows.
Fleetwood Mac - Live
Fleetwood Mac went through many lineups and styles to match. Their peak of course was mid to late 1970s with their second self-titled album, Rumours and Tusk. This album covers that pinnacle period superbly.
Recorded primarily on their Tusk Tour of 1978-79, Live focuses on the top songs from those three albums. There are also some extras from Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, and a cover of The Beach Boys' “The Farmers Daughter”, which cleverly highlights the band’s close harmonies.
Perhaps surprisingly for such a huge group, Live wasn't a huge seller by their standards. Gold status in both the UK and US and charting at 31 (UK) and 14 (US) means it's still a success. If you like Fleetwood Mac, then the Live album covers all the bases for you.
Peter Gabriel - Plays Live
Peter Gabriel left Genesis in 1975. By the time he released this live album in June 1983, he had four great solo albums to draw on. A very visual artist his music was very strong on its own too. This is one of those albums where the live versions can be slightly different from the studio recordings and are often better. The album version of the closing song of his set “Biko” is a personal favourite.
Although there has been some criticism over the sound quality at times and a fair amount of overdubbing in production, the album is pretty solid and conveys the live performances well. Plays Live may not have been a huge seller, but it's highly regarded as a great live album, and deservedly so.
Simon & Garfunkel - The Concert In Central Park
This album had a lot going for it. Half a million people turned up to a free benefit concert in September 1981 at New York’s Central Park. That’s already a pretty big event. Add in that it marked the reunion of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, back on stage and playing together again after ten years apart.
Some people wondered if the pair would reunite and continue working together. Others weren't sure they'd even make it through the concert given the tension and arguments during three weeks of rehearsals. Simon referred to the sessions as miserable. They did go on a world tour in 1982 but by then were barely speaking to each other and broke up again soon afterwards.
The concert itself and this record were magical. The duo performed their joint work and did some solo songs too. It still seems a shame that “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was performed by Garfunkel as one of his three solo numbers rather than as a duo. The encore from them both included a superb version of “Sound Of Silence” which is rather special to see and hear.
Putting the tensions aside, they gave us great harmonies, great songs, and despite their own later reservations, great voices too. It's one of those albums marking a momentous time and doing so very well. The album, released a few months after in February 1982 went double platinum and sold well around the world
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
Perhaps unusually this was the third live album from Talking Heads in a short space of time. A promo album for radio play only Live On Tour was issued but not released in 1979. Then a second, The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads was released in March 1982 and was moderately successful. The band then decided to make a concert film, Stop Making Sense. This was filmed at Pantages Theater, Hollywood in December 1983. The live album of the concert film followed in September 1984.
Stop Making Sense as a film is brilliant and a must-watch if you haven't seen it yet. It was restored and shown in all the glory of 4K and IMAX at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023. The film is far more than just a live concert. David Byrne and the band, in conjunction with director Jonathan Demme, create a visual and theatrical performance that supports rather than detracts from the great music. The opening scenes with Byrne, a tape player, and a simple version of “Psycho Killer” are a great opener. His later scenes in a large, and I mean large, suit on “Girlfriend Is Better” are iconic now.
But that's about the film, does the lack of those visuals and imagery mean the album itself loses impact? There may be mixed opinions here with the success of the album telling a story too. Double platinum status and although it only peaked at number 41 on the US Billboard 200, it did spend over two years on the charts
My view is that to get the best from the album, you have to have seen the film. It helps put the versions of the songs into a better context and allows greater appreciation of the album. But others will no doubt have different views. Either way, it's a very good slice of Talking Heads. Further enhanced releases have followed and added to the tracks. The latest is a remastered 2023 version, that added bonus tracks extending from the original nine songs to 16.
Rush - Exit Stage Left
Exit Stage Left from Rush has a lot going for it as a live album in terms of preparation, production, and performances. Released in October 1981 the band trio of Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and Alex Lifeson had taken particular care in selecting the right blend of songs and recordings for the album.
That includes a whole second side of the double disc from The Apollo, Glasgow, well-known for its great audiences. The crowd comes across very well on the record, adding nicely to the live performances. The remainder of the three sides was recorded in Montreal, as part of the tour for their prior album Moving Pictures.
The album captures the band at its best and often sounds even more powerful live than on their studio albums. Quite a feat for a three-man group. They rock up quite a storm on the record, building an amazing wall of sounds at times.
Many of the songs, largely drawn from their previous four albums, benefit from a live adaptation, extended intro, or a variation on instruments used over the studio versions. Which in turn adds to the interest in the live album for Rush fans. It's a great summary of their recent work at that point in time. The album hit platinum status and was a top ten hit in the US, UK, and their Canadian homeland.