Better off Live

It took me awhile to grow into liking live albums. The sound quality is rarely any good, the mix usually just as bad and I was never too impressed with some dude with a microphone saying words like "St. Louis" or "Cleveland," which apparently translate to "scream like a banshee" in rock lingo. And no matter what, the albums always seem to be missing a few of my favorites.\nOn the flip side of the coin, live albums usually have a raw intensity that studio albums fail to capture, and the band sounds, well, more like the band actually sounds. Despite how hard it is to avoid the inane comments that seem to creep into even the best performers live sets, these are the best opportunities to really hear the players' personalities. \nSo I could discuss the obvious albums like the Who's Live at Leeds or Isle of Wight, Clapton's Rainbow Concert, Dave Matthews Band's Live at Red Rocks (even I like this one!), B.B. King's Live in Cook County Jail or Frampton Comes Alive by Peter Frampton. But I thought I'd shed some light on a few lesser-known live albums that will impress even the biggest music nerds and spice up your collection. Here are the albums that changed my mind about live albums. \nNeil Young -- Live Rust\nRecorded during late 1970s, this album has over an hour of music that shows Crazy Horse at their peak and spans the first half of Young's career. The set opens with Young's Utopian, folk-hippie anthem "Sugar Mountain" and continues with this style for the next few songs. Later it switches over to his hard-hitting distortion drenched songs with the full band. The second half of the set is packed with energy and contrasts beautifully with the laid-back feel of the first half. "Sedan Delivery," "Like a Hurricane," a mega-distorted "Hey Hey My My" and my personal favorite "Powderfinger" are all here complimenting his gentler side on tunes like "Comes a Time." \nJaco Pastorius Trio -- Live in New York\nOften heralded as "the best bassist ever" (and with good reason), Jaco Pastorius was a rhythm machine with enough style to make Prince jealous and one of pop music's greatest tragedies. Though dying young is not a foreign concept to any rock or jazz musician, most of them at least have the opportunity to taste fame before they die and many of them are too doped up to notice they're dying. Pastorius was beaten to death for trying to get into a club to perform. Damn! Of the handful of Live in New York cds, I've only heard the first two (Punk Jazz and Vol. 2) and if the others are half as good, then they're worth buying. \nThe trio rips through a set mostly comprised of covers like "I Shot the Sheriff," "Dear Prudence," which showcases guitarist Hiram Bullock's uncanny sense of rhythm, and "Ode to Billie Joe." The highlight is undoubtedly Jaco's "Teen Town" with unbelievably tight unison lines that weave into complex jazz-rock-funk melodies before Jaco bumps out some of the most inventive and ballsy bass solos ever. Bullock and Pastorius craft a unique sound over Kenwood Dennard's tight groove. This is one of the ultimate jazz-rock albums and aside from the cheesy opener "Wipe Out," this is one of the most consistently exciting live discs ever made. \nLittle Feat -- Waiting for Columbus\nSouthern-fried cajun blues soul funk masters Little Feat have re-released this album as a double live disc. Though I usually listen to this album in the spring and summer, it makes a fun party album almost any time of the year. Lowell George's slide playing and Bill Payne's organ and keyboard work lead the way, but the horns and backup vocals make it almost impossible not to sing along. Standout tracks like "Willin'" and "Oh Atlanta" flat out rock and titles like "Tripe Face Boogie" and "Don't Bogart That Joint" need little explanation.\nBilly Joel -- Songs in the Attic\nI know there are a lot of people who are laughing right now and thinking, did this guy just turn into a wuss suddenly? But I guarantee this album rocks. "Captain Jack" covers getting head in a parking lot, masturbation, suicide, getting high, picking your nose and closet queens -- not even Ozzie has covered this combination in one song. This collection of the best live takes from the band's tours in the late 1970s has a few of the more obscure tracks from Joel's earlier albums like the gripping "Streetlife Serenader" and Joel's perfect keyboard sound on the killer track "Los Angelenos." Of all the things I could say about this album, the most impressive and concise would be that the first time I heard this album I was absolutely mesmerized. It's one of the five or so times I've ever had to immediately stop whatever else I was doing, look at the liner notes and try to take it all in because I didn't want to miss one element. It also includes short comments by Billy Joel about each particular song, my favorite being the one for "Los Angelenos." Joel says, "Despite what you've heard, LA is not a whore, she's just easy. She forgives everyone, even the rapist"