Top 5 70's live prog albums

[Yves]

A few not mentioned yet (since we all know this thread will become about naming them all...)

Harmonium- En Tournée

Rush- All The World's A Stage

Kansas- Two For The Show

[Mikhael]

#1 with a bullet - Yessongs. Terrible recording, incredible playing of incredible music, and no overdubng (that I could tell).
Kansas -Two for the Show (even better when recently released with extra material)
ELP - Welcome Back my Friends. I really liked it, but it showed the weakness of Carl Palmer's tempo pretty clearly.
Rush had a good one; they were proto-prog-metal in those days.
Bursting Out by Jethro Tull was good.
The rest aren't prog, like Allman Bros., Humble Pie, GFRR

I know there were more prog live albums, but I was unaware of many of those bands in those days. No 'net, and word didn't spread quickly to Kentucky...

[Reid]

Mahavishnu Orchestra - Between Nothingness and Eternity

I don't know what the vinyl sounds like, but I bought the CD a couple of years ago, and it sounds horrible.

[No Pride]

I don't know what the vinyl sounds like, but I bought the CD a couple of years ago, and it sounds horrible.

I know, but how many of these live albums from the '70s sound great?

[Reid]

I know, but how many of these live albums from the '70s sound great?

There are quite a few that sound much better. But the MO CD is really bad. I guess I should just blast it, and not worry about the sound.

Here are a few with good sound I enjoy.

Little Feat-Waiting For Columbus
Santana-Moonflower
Weather Report-Live In Tokyo

[BobM]

There are quite a few that sound much better. But the MO CD is really bad. I guess I should just blast it, and not worry about the sound.

Here are a few with good sound I enjoy.

Little Feat-Waiting For Columbus
Santana-Moonflower
Weather Report-Live In Tokyo

The newly reissued Moonflower sounds noticeably better than the original (on vinyl of course).

[willyswing]

Genesis-Live
Yes-Yessongs
ELP-Welcome Back My Friends...
Camel-A Live Record
Kansas-Two For The Show

[Steve F.]

my favorites:

Area - Are(a)zione
Magma - Live/Hhai
801 - Live
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Between Nothingness & Eternity
King Crimson - The Great Deceiver (if that can count)
if not, then Hawkwind - Space Ritual

[Crystal Plumage]

I'd say:

Banco - Seguendo Le Tracce

Because I didn't read that second part of the original post

[Steve F.]

I don't know what the vinyl sounds like, but I bought the CD a couple of years ago, and it sounds horrible.

I don't think it sounds that bad. Won't win any awards, but it certainly doesn't stop me from loving it.

[Gravedigger]

Be-Bop Deluxe- (mostly)Live In The Air Age
Rush- All The World's A Stage
Grobschnitt- Solar Music Live
Genesis- Live or Seconds Out (changes daily)
ELP- Pictures At An Exhibition

[Digital_Man]

#1 with a bullet - Yessongs. Terrible recording, incredible playing of incredible music, and no overdubng (that I could tell).
Kansas -Two for the Show (even better when recently released with extra material)
ELP - Welcome Back my Friends. I really liked it, but it showed the weakness of Carl Palmer's tempo pretty clearly.
Rush had a good one; they were proto-prog-metal in those days.
Bursting Out by Jethro Tull was good.
The rest aren't prog, like Allman Bros., Humble Pie, GFRR

I know there were more prog live albums, but I was unaware of many of those bands in those days. No 'net, and word didn't spread quickly to Kentucky...

That good Rush live album you are referring to is "all the world's a stage." I only just heard it this year for the first time. Pretty good for a live album but for me there's too much from the first album and not enough from COS or even 2112. They should have waited until after AFTK to put out a live album but I understand them wanting to capitalize on their new found success at the time.

[Digital_Man]

Live Hai, Solar Music live, Yessongs(or even Yesshows), Seconds out and Playing the Fool float my boat.

[Adrian]

Genesis - Live
Yes - Yessongs
Mahavishnu Orchestra - Between Nothingness and Eternity
King Crimson - USA
Rush - All the World's a Stage

[PeterG]

I'm goping to go by actual date of performance rather than release date of album:

Uriah Heep - Live January 1973
Jethro Tull - Bursting Out
Pink Floyd - BBC Paris Theatre 1970 (this is not a bootleg it is an official BBC broadcast)
Genesis - Seconds Out
Mike Oldfield - Exposed

The reason Ummagumma isn't in my top 5 list is twofold 1) it isn't a 70s album, the 2 gigs were in 69 and it was released in 69. 2) on vinyl, only half of it is live.

[ronmac]

I'm goping to go by actual date of performance rather than release date of album:

Pink Floyd - BBC Paris Theatre 1970 (this is not a bootleg it is an official BBC broadcast)

Has that been officially released? If so, top of my list.

[miamiscot]

Genesis Live

I am confused why this amazing single disc doesn't get more love.

[miamiscot]

Genesis-Live
Yes-Yessongs
ELP-Welcome Back My Friends...
Camel-A Live Record
Kansas-Two For The Show

Add Playing The Fool and you got it!!!

[Scrotum Scissor]

Has that been officially released?

Wasn't this the one that got pirate-issued ultimo 1989 with faux green Harvest logos in a white cover sporting the infamous cow walking down a highway, named Atom Heart Mother on the Road? I had that one and remember loving it; the whole thing opened with a monster rendition of "Embryo" which I thought had to have been the greatest set opener of all time. There was a 25-minute "Atom Heart" with choir and brass - and a 26-minute plus version of "Echoes", as well as "Green Is the Colour" and a lengthy "Fat Old Sun" sporting cosmic guitar attack, along with a less convincing "Axe, Eugene" and "One of These Days". I BELIEVE that's the one; it had near-perfect sound.

[Bake 1]

Agree w/ a lot of the others...but fattening up the list anyway:
-Kraan Live (was named before but should be mentioned more than once) maybe the...same w/ Roxy Music Viva
1. Rory Gallagher Irish Tour*
2. Miles Davis Aghatra*
3. Frank Zappa Bongo Fury (Not entirely live, but listing on the merits of Advance Romance and Muffin Man).
4. New Trolls Tempi Dispari (not great sound and a little jammy...but the playing is good).
5. Sugarcane Harris Sugarcane's Got The Blues.
.
*(playing on this rocks and is more mind blowing than most "prog"...so maybe that makes it @*!!#&** prog or at least progressive).

[ronmac]

Wasn't this the one that got pirate-issued ultimo 1989 with faux green Harvest logos in a white cover sporting the infamous cow walking down a highway, named Atom Heart Mother on the Road? I had that one and remember loving it; the whole thing opened with a monster rendition of "Embryo" which I thought had to have been the greatest set opener of all time. There was a 25-minute "Atom Heart" with choir and brass - and a 26-minute plus version of "Echoes", as well as "Green Is the Colour" and a lengthy "Fat Old Sun" sporting cosmic guitar attack, along with a less convincing "Axe, Eugene" and "One of These Days". I BELIEVE that's the one; it had near-perfect sound.

It's been released as as a boot several times. I don't think it's ever come out officially, though.

[GuitarGeek]

Wasn't this the one that got pirate-issued ultimo 1989 with faux green Harvest logos in a white cover sporting the infamous cow walking down a highway, named Atom Heart Mother on the Road? I had that one and remember loving it; the whole thing opened with a monster rendition of "Embryo" which I thought had to have been the greatest set opener of all time. There was a 25-minute "Atom Heart" with choir and brass - and a 26-minute plus version of "Echoes", as well as "Green Is the Colour" and a lengthy "Fat Old Sun" sporting cosmic guitar attack, along with a less convincing "Axe, Eugene" and "One of These Days". I BELIEVE that's the one; it had near-perfect sound.

You're describing two different performances. Whoever put that bootleg together combined songs from two different shows, one from 70, the other from 71.

And none of Pink Floyd's pre-DSOTM BBC recordings have been released officially. The only one that has been released is the Empire Pool thing from 74, which was only put out on one of those limited edition boxsets (which is going for obscene amounts of money now).

[GuitarGeek]

That good Rush live album you are referring to is "all the world's a stage." I only just heard it this year for the first time. Pretty good for a live album but for me there's too much from the first album and not enough from COS or even 2112. They should have waited until after AFTK to put out a live album but I understand them wanting to capitalize on their new found success at the time.

I think it was less a matter of capitalizing on their new success, so much as needing to have some breathing room before they had to write and record another studio album.

[No Pride]

List your top 5 fave live 70's prog albums...to qualify, the album must have been released in the 70's so things like King Crimson The Road to Red or Zappa's YCDTOSA Vol 2 wouldn't count

Well I guess that disqualifies this one, but I want to mention it anyway :

Jan Hammer Group - Live in NYC

This was recorded in '75 but wasn't released until '08 and only as a download. Hardly an audiophile recording either, but it kills! To me, this was Jan wanting to do the Mahavishnu Orchestra his way (with his own tunes) and it was a worthy contender! Almost equal to the MO in fire and passion, but with more ensemble precision. The setlist covers tunes from "Oh, Yeah," "The First Seven Days" and "Like Children." Particularly notable is the drumming of the underrated Tony Smith, but the whole band is burning throughout.

[Adrian]

I am confused why this amazing single disc doesn't get more love.

Same here. For me it collects the strongest material of the Gabriel era (with one obvious exception) and adds a fire to the compositions that I find lacking on their studio counterparts. If they'd included "Supper's Ready," it would probably be my all-time favorite Genesis album.