There’s nothing quite like seeing your favourite band live, but whether it’s a matter of geography or finances, sometimes the stars don’t align. However, there’s one thing – when it’s done right – that comes close to a live experience: a recording that captures the essence of the live performance.
So far this year, there have been a few standouts, including two Record Store Day releases that encapsulate the spirit and energy of a great live performance: David Bowie’s ‘Ready, Set, Go!’, which is the late artist performing his underrated 2003 album ‘Reality’ in its entirety, and the essential live album by Kelela – ‘In The Blue Light’ – which features twelve reimagined tracks by the singer, performed at her residency at New York’s famed jazz club The Blue Note. It’s hands down one of 2025’s best releases.
This week also brought the goods – especially for fans of Pink Floyd.
The week saw the release not only of a 4K restoration of Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII, a concert film which is out in cinemas now, but also the first official release on vinyl of the now legendary 1971 set played by the British experimental rockers to an empty Roman amphitheatre. The soundtrack was remixed by prog genius Steven Wilson – and it’s quite something.
Indeed, as excellent as the documentary by Adrian Maben is, showing a band on the cusp of brilliance and at their experimental peak, the vinyl release of ‘Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII’ is truly remarkable. Haunting, electrifying and otherworldly, the album showcases tracks from early albums like ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’, ‘Ummagumma’ and ‘Atom Heart Mother’, and proves to what extent Pink Floyd were once one of the greatest live bands in the world. With or without an audience.
With so many great live albums out there (especially from the 60s and 70s), it’s hard to know where to begin.
This is where Euronews Culture comes in, with our Top 10 live albums you should choose to discover or revisit, LPs which are essential to any record collection.
Before we get down to it, shout outs to the live recordings from Bob Dylan, Duke Ellington, Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin, The Temptations, The Who, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Portishead, Lauryn Hill and Neil Young, who would’ve made the cut had this been a Top 20.
However, difficult choices had to be made for the Top 10…
We proceed chronologically.
John Coltrane – Live! At The Village Vanguard (1962)
Recorded at the famous jazz club at Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, this is the first album to feature the members of the classic quartet of Coltrane with bassist Jimmy Garrison, pianist McCoy Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones. Their four-night residency represents the innovation that Coltrane strived for. At the time, it sounded to many like anarchy – especially the saxophone madness of ‘Chasin’ the Trane’ – but over time, controversy turned to admiration, as the break from traditional harmonies showed a forward looking artist at the height of his brilliance. The live record is powerful, absorbing and deeply joyful.
James Brown – Live At The Apollo (1963)
Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater saw James Brown at his prime. This record was famously made on James Brown’s own dime, as his label saw no value in releasing a live album. How wrong they were, as ‘Live At The Apollo’ is one of the very greatest live recordings ever – one which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. It’s barely half an hour long, but in that space, Brown sings and performs like his life depends on it. The penultimate track, a medley of ‘Please, Please, Please’, ‘You’ve Got The Power’, ‘I Found Someone’, ‘Why Do You Want Me’, ‘I Want To So Bad’, ‘I Love You, Yes I Do’ and ‘Bewildered’ is nothing short of show-stopping. The fact that you can hear the euphoric crowd pushing Brown to excel is magic.
Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison (1968)
After recording his 1955 song ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, Johnny Cash was aching to perform in a prison. He did so, but none of the performances were recorded. Thankfully, his 1968 set at Folsom was, and the world took notice. It came at the right time, as Cash was trying to control his drug addiction and hadn’t had a hit in years. The live recording – which starts with ‘Folsom Prison Blues’, ends with the moving ‘Greystone Chapel’ and features Cash duetting with June Carter on ‘Give My Love To Rose – reinvigorated his career. This was proper jailhouse rock: a raw statement on which you can hear his connection with the inmates through cheers and evocative noises – especially on the track ‘Cocaine Blues’.
Aretha Franklin – Live At Fillmore West (1971)
“Does anybody feel like hearing the blues?” Aretha Franklin asks when she introduces the song ‘Dr. Feelgood’. Yes, we do, and so did the crowd in 1971. This is a beautiful record, featuring favourites like ‘Respect’ and a handful of brilliant soulful covers of Stephen Stills’ ‘Love The One You’re With’, Paul Simon’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ and a stunning rendition of The Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’. The moment Ray Charles shows up unexpectedly for the penultimate track of the set – ‘Spirit In The Dark’ – brings the house down. It’s an incredible listen and a quasi-religious experience.
Bill Withers – Live At Carnegie Hall (1973)
This is an absolute must-have, the sound of a then-rising soul star who owned one of the world’s most prestigious stages like a pro. From his banter with the audience to the sheer joy that emanates from his performance alongside Benorce Blackmon, Melvin Dunlap, Ray Jackson, James Gadson and Bobbye Hall, Withers showed quite to what extent he had made it big. From the fantastic opener ‘Use Me’ to the excellent ‘Harlem / Cold Baloney’, there’s so much sensuality and uplifting melancholy here. While that might seem like a contradiction in terms, you’ll believe the feeling exists when hearing this stunning 77-minute set.
ADVEReadNOWISEMENTTom Waits – Nighthawks At The Diner (1975)
Many debate whether this third album by one-of-a-kind music pioneer Tom Waits can actually be considered a live album. But it’s too good not to include on this list. Recorded over two days in the summer of 1975 at the Record Plant in Los Angeles and performed to an invited audience of record executives, friends and associates, ‘Nighthawks At The Diner’ is remarkable in the way it captures the mood of a jazz club. Waits, backed by a quartet of seasoned jazz musicians, is in showman mood: he’s the charismatic entertainer, the cool jive-talker, the unpredictable kidder and the whiskey-soaked balladeer. The recording makes you feel like you’ve been transported to the mid-70s, witnessing and hearing what sounds like an improved jam session complete with asides and jokes. Standouts include ‘Emotional Weather Report’ and ‘Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson)’, but this is one record you’ll want to listen to from start to finish to get the full experience. Straight live album or live-in-studio experiment? Who cares when the end result so transportive and so much fun?
Keith Jarrett – The Köln Concert (1975)
Organised by 18-year-old Vera Brandes, then Germany’s youngest concert promoter, ‘The Köln Concert’ took place around midnight on 24-25 January 1975. Everything was going wrong: Jarrett hadn’t slept the night before, he was suffering from back problems, and the Bösendorfer 290 Imperial piano he’d requested had been replaced by an inferior model. And yet, the hour-long solo concert took place, with around 1,400 people showing up and Jarrett improvising every piece. It shouldn’t have worked, but the gig was a success. The live record ended up not only capturing the essence of the completely hypnotising set but ultimately became the best-selling solo piano album in the history of music. While you’re at it, check out the film Köln 75, which premiered at this year’s Berlinale, which tells the story of Vera Brandes and the uphill struggle it was to put on the concert.
Talking Heads – Stop Making Sense (1984)
Serving as the soundtrack to the concert film of the same name, directed by future Silence of the Lambs filmmaker Jonathan Demme, this stunning 40-minute recording captures American rockers Talking Heads at their best. The classic recording kicks off with a David Byrne solo version of the band’s hit ‘Psycho Killer’ and from then on, it doesn’t stop getting better, with the band members gradually joining in – one song at a time. It was innovative at the time and it hasn’t been surpassed since. The film is also required viewing, as it gives you the best seat in the house to witness Byrne’s intricate dance moves and his now-iconic “big suit”. But even without the stagecraft, the live album is quirky, frenetic and vital.
Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York (1994)
When ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’ was recorded on 18 November 1993, Nirvana were the biggest band in the world. They had gained international recognition and legions of fans following their landmark album ‘Nevermind’, and had just released the uncompromising ‘In Utero’, their third – and final – studio album. Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl (and touring guitarist Pat Smear) agreed to perform an hour-long set at New York’s Sony Music Studios, and the result was unexpected. Instead of playing the hits, they delivered a 14-song setlist which boasted their versatility and a more introspective side to the grunge heroes. It showed a vulnerability that few had seen or heard live, as if Cobain was conveying that he understood his pain, yet still sought connection through this intimate set. Five months after the recording, Cobain was found dead, and ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’ became Nirvana’s first posthumous release. A requiem and a poignant testimony to a talent gone too soon.
ADVEReadNOWISEMENTDaft Punk – Alive 2007
Following their first live album in 1997 (‘Alive 1997’), the legendary and much-missed French electronic duo Daft Punk delivered an incredible second live helping ten years later with ‘Alive 2007’. Recorded in Paris, the epic set features a stunning mashup of tracks and a keen display of what made them so euphoric and addictive in the first place. By opting for medleys of their hits, this live album works as a sort of Best Of mixtape – as well as testimony to their creative verve. The merging of ‘Around The World’ and ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’ is layering genius, while the album highlight ‘One More Time / Aerodynamic’ shows that this was a band to be experienced live in the biggest arena possible. No chance of that happening again any time soon, since the French Touch pioneers Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo dissolved the band in 2021. But at least the Grammy-winning ‘Alive 2007’ remains.
There we have it. What did we get right, what did we miss, and what are your favourite live albums? Let us know.