There really weren’t many live rock albums released before 1970 for several reasons. First, live recordings, like concerts themselves, were not capable of high fidelity sound. Second, the record suits didn’t see live recordings as marketable. Third, bands wanted to promote new material, mainly in the form of singles, to promote themselves. The Beatles put out no live music, the Stones put out Got Live If You Want It which was sounded like garbage, and The Kinks put out Live at Kelvin Hall which was mostly studio material with overdubbed audience cheering.
1970 saw Live at Leeds and Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out, both classics. But the album that really started the trend of every major band releasing live material, and still considered the best live album all these years later, was Allman Brothers At Fillmore East, released on this date in 1971. Fillmore East was a bold move by a band that had modest success. They had released two albums which underwhelmed commercially.
After the Brothers smoking At Fillmore East, the 70s became the era of live albums. Didn’t it seem as if it was obligatory for every major band to release at least one double live album? Humble Pie, Geils, Stones, Skynyrd, REO, Zeppelin, Seger, Beck, Dylan, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Aerosmith, Rush, Zappa, Edgar Winter, Neil Young, Grand Funk, Outlaws, Mountain, Nugent, Tull, Traffic, Dave Mason, Wishbone Ash, Blue Oyster Cult, Kiss, Loggins and Messina, UFO, Queen, and Frampton all with double LP’s. Triple opuses from Yes, ELP, Paul, Santana, Leon, the Dead, and George’s Bangladesh. Plus some great single live albums by Jackson Browne, Cheap Trick, Lou Reed, Genesis, James Gang, Trower, Rory Gallagher, Foghat, Stills, Clapton, Elton, and CCR.
But like so many things in life, the best is still the first to kick in the doors. Where the Brothers perfected their blues, rock, jazz, Southern boogie, dual lead guitar stew.
Better than any woman I’ve ever seen.
Well, she treat me like a king, yeah, and she look like a doggone queen.
