By: Martin Rots

I recently read a review of the remixed, live Rolling Stones album, Get Yer Ya Yas Out.  You know the one where you hear a woman's voice, with a distinct east coast accent yells out, "Play Paint it Black,  you devil."  In the review he mentions that he thinks it's one of the best live albums ever released.  Maybe he likes the picture of Jagger with the Uncle Sam Hat and the donkey roadie carrying the equipment.  I'm sure the jack-ass is a metaphor for something, I'm just not sure what.  Their earlier live album, Got Live if you Want It!, featured the customary screaming girls and bad sound system.
 

I was a rabid Stones fan in the day and I bought both of them, but I didn't care for either, that much.  Same goes for the Jefferson Airplane live on Bless It's Little Pointed Head.  In fact, I don't care a lot for live albums as a rule.  Especially from the Classic Rock era.  A lot of them suffer from poor sound systems and the archaic audio technology available at the time.  You'll notice that the Beatles organization has never been shy about re-releasing the Beatles' catalogue, but we haven't seen or heard The Beatles Live at the Hollywood Bowl  released digitally.  Maybe the girls' screams were too shrill to reproduce digitally.

Sometimes a live album is the answer when an artist or group of artists have creatively run dry.  It's a great way to make some more money by recycling the same old material.  If you record an entire tour, it's likely you'll be able to cull together an entire set without any embarrassing mistakes.  The release buys time to work on new original material and momentarily at least, satisfies the fans.

In spite of some really lame, live albums, there are a few that were truly outstanding.  One of my favorites was atypical for the time.  There was no studio album of the material.  John Mayall's The Turning Point  featured live, inspired performances by a band unique in Mayall's long history.  There was no drummer and the music was closer to jazz than rock or Mayall's customary blues.  I was fortunate to have seen it performed live at the Mount Clemens Pop Festival in 1969.  It is still some of my favorite music to this day.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the first MC5 album, Kick Out the Jams.  I was at the Grande Ballroom to see them record on Halloween night 1968.  The Five (as we called them at that time) were the house band at the Grande.  We'd been watching them evolve into a powerhouse of energy at nearly every venue in Detroit.  Billed as the Zenta New Year, the Five aimed to please that night.  It's been over forty years since they took the stage at the Grande, but the album still conveys not only the spirit of the times, but the unbridled enthusiasm of the band and their appreciative audience.

Live at Leeds was recorded in February 1970 and released the following May.  It captures the Who at their peak.  The product of years of relentless touring, Live at Leeds initially featured just six tracks.  Technical limitations prevented the entire set from being released until the digital age.  It is often mentioned as one of, if not, the best, live album of all time.  The fullness of the sound is remarkable for a trio.  Townsend, Moon and Entwhistle are definitely in synch.  Roger Daltrey hits all the notes in perfect concert with his band mates.  They cover Eddie Cochran's Summertime Blues, Mose Allison's Young Man's Blues and Johnny Kidd's, Shakin' All Over bringing new vitality to the songs.  A nearly fifteen minute version of My Generation exemplifies the energy of the original band.  

On Wheels of Fire, Eric Clapton displayed the kind of playing that earned him the nickname "Slowhand" and prompted his fans to write, "Clapton is God" on the walls of the London underground.  His skill is particularly evident on Crossroads.  Recorded at Winterland (not the Fillmore West) in February 1968, his original solo performance allegedly had over ten minutes edited out of the final track.  In spite of this sacrilege, Clapton's was at the top of his form that nightl.  I'd love to hear the entire unedited performance.

Jimi Hendrix did two shows New Year's Eve 1969 at the Fillmore East.  They were recorded to fulfill a contract with Capital Records and released as Band of Gypsys.  After an early show, in which Hendrix gyrated and played with his teeth, an angry Bill Graham told him to go out for the second show and "just play."  That's what Hendrix did and the results are outstanding on tracks like Machine Gun, Who Knows and Changes with Buddy Miles on vocals.  It's the second set that you hear on the recording.

Also recorded at the Fillmore East less than three months later was the Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East.  Released as a double album, Duane Allman shines playing the slide guitar he would use so effectively on Eric Clapton's Layla. Whipping Post, at almost twenty-three minutes, took up an entire side of the vinyl release.  In Memory of Elizabeth Reed was...well, memorable.

J. Geils Band's  Live Full House, was if nothing else, full of energy.  Recorded in Detroit at the Cinderella Ballroom, in the presence of almost the same audience that had witnessed the MC5 record their first effort on the other side of town at the Grande two years earlier, Live Full House delivered what it promised.  In light of the enthusiastic audiences the Geils Band encountered in Detroit, they recorded two live albums there and part of a third one.  Once again, I was lucky enough to be in the audience that night.  Hard Drivin' Man had enough energy to keep that Detroit audience moving late into the night.  The whole album is relentless, like a multiple orgasm that just won't let you catch your breath.  The fun never stops, even when they become slightly less manic with a breezy Homework.  In between Homework and Pack Fair and Square, Peter Wolf famously declares, "Take out your false teeth mama, I want to suck on your gums."

No one doubted his sincerity.