Ah, the "live" album. It seems that EVERY act in the '70s eventually put out a live album. But, live albums have been around during almost the whole history of rock 'n roll. While they still survive to the present day mostly in a contractual obligation form for musicians to fulfill their record contract, occasionally a good one still emerges!

For our August issue of EAR CANDY (Also our 6th anniversary!), we decided to feature yet another survey amongst various EAR CANDY writers, contributors and artists.

I know that most surveys usually list the predictable "favorite albums of all time" sort of stuff - but we thought it would be interesting to explore another aspect of rock: the live album. So, instead of the average (and boring) "Desert Island discs" we asked our friends to tell us:

a) Their top 5 favorite LIVE albums (and why).
b) What is one live album that you think is overrated!
c) Honorable mentions can be added.

Also - bootleg albums were eligible for this survey.

DJ Ivan:
For the most part, "Live" albums are the musical equivalent of a tour program. The best performances from a given tour are "sweetened" up and packaged as a nifty souvenir for the "fans". My favorite "live" albums are those that rise above such typical packaging mentality. A sure sign of a great live album for me is a performance that makes me regret missing the show recorded. I have no "overrated" live albums because most albums don't rise above the level of tour merchandise. Here goes.

My five favorite live albums:

1. The Ramones: "It's Alive": A quintessential collection of Ramones classics from their first three (best) albums: "The Ramones", "Leave Home" and "Rocket to Russia" The Ramones performances on this recording put the studio versions of these songs to shame; an almost impossible feat. Ramones classics such as "Blitzkrieg Bop", "I Wanna Be Well", "Havana Affair", "Commando", "We're a Happy Family", "Rockaway Beach", "Cretin Hop" and "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World" never sounded better. Only the live Ramones medley on the "Rock and Roll High School" soundtrack and the Ramones live record "Loco Live" (see the honorable mention list below) come close to "It's Alive". If you don't own this record, go buy it NOW.

2. Devo: "Dev-o Live": Originally released as a 6 song EP of Devo recorded during the "Freedom of Choice" tour, Rhino Records re-released this EP with additional tracks. While the original live EP had great versions of "Planet Earth" and "Gates of Steel" the reissue improves upon this by adding great recordings of Devo classics "Snowball", "S.I.B", "Uncontrollable Urge", "Mongoloid", "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" and "Gut Feeling". Rhino did a great job of repackaging and improving upon an outstanding performance. If you don't catch Devo on the road, this will do until you see them.

3. Killing Joke: "Ha" EP: An incendiary performance of Killing Joke in 1982 that brings Killing Joke vocalist Jaz Coleman's apocalyptic visions to a ferocious pinnacle. The songs "Pssyche", "Sun Goes Down" "The Pandys are Coming" and "Unspeakable" (available only on this EP) are the musical soundtrack of a world sliding head first into extinction while the live version of "Wardance" captures perfectly the lockstep, groupthink, scorched-earth savagery of an army on the march. This EP also features "Take Take Take", a song only available on this EP. Unfortunately, this EP is long out of print. Only the version of "Pssyche" is available on the Killing Joke best of CD "Laugh, I bought one". If only Rhino would do for this EP what they did for the "Dev-o Live" EP. Somebody at www.killing-joke.com might burn you a copy if you ask nicely (be forewarned that the killing joke fans on this website bite when cornered).

4. The Who "The Kids are All Right": I'm not sure this qualifies as a "live" album. This is a collection of live tracks and rarities from the movie "The Kids are Alright" so I guess it counts (until somebody burns me a copy of "Live at Leeds"). The Who's live version of "A quick one" is phenomenal and the live versions of "Baba O'Riley" (among the last performances of the Who with Keith Moon) and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" are superior to the studio versions and their version of "Young Man Blues" almost makes me wish I could have seen them at Woodstock (well almost…minus the hippies, rain, and lame bands).

5. Elvis Presley "The Alternate Aloha": Before I heard this record, Elvis Presley was the fat guy in the white jump suit who made those terrible films and was second only to the Bat Boy in being most frequently written about by the "Weekly World News". After hearing "Alternate Aloha" I understood why people revere Elvis. This recording, a dress rehearsal for his live satellite broadcast from Hawaii in 1973, has top notch professional musicianship that doesn't sound sterile. Only Elvis could make silly songs like "American Trilogy" work and bathetic songs like "You Gave Me A Mountain" seem passionate and sincere. Superior to the officially released version of this concert, "The Alternate Aloha" is a superb reminder of why Elvis is the King.

Honorable mention:

Husker Du "The Living End": Nice live "greatest hits" package with a few songs from all of their albums; a nice intro to Husker Du for the uninitiated.
Husker Du "Land Speed Record": A sub bootleg quality recording; the Beatles "Star Club" recordings sound slick and produced by comparison. "Land Speed Record" features Husker Du playing 45 second hardcore punk songs at warp 11. Despite the nonexistent production, "Bricklayer" and "All Tensed Up" are brilliant.
REM "So Much Younger Then": A bootleg (don't they call them "fan club" releases these days?) of a 1981 performance. None of the songs in the set ("body count", "a different girl", "action"….)were officially released. A nice reminder that once upon a time, REM didn't suck. If anybody has a version of this on CD, drop me a line at the ear candy address.
Street Walking Cheetahs "Live on KXLU": The Street Walking Cheetahs are the very rare garage rock band that can actually play and write good songs; "Satisfy You" is an amazing song.
Ramones "Loco Live": A matching bookend to "Its Alive" proving that the Ramones were still a great live band despite the uneven quality of some of their later albums.
Dead Kennedys "Live at the Deaf Club": Great performance of pre first album Dead Kennedy's songs; added bonuses include hilarious covers of "Back in the USSR", "Have I the Right" and an unreleased Dead Kennedy's song "Gaslight". This would have been number 6 had I been given the option of 6 rather than 5 favorite "live" albums.
Kiss "Alive II": A guilty pleasure. I've heard that by the time the studio techs got through doctoring this recording there was nothing "live" about it. Still "Detroit Rock City", "King of the Night Time World", and "Hard Luck Woman" rock on this recording and the between song banter is so over the top as to be unintentionally humorous. Stiff Little Fingers "Hanx": Live Stiff Little Fingers greatest "hits" package. Includes excellent versions of "Nobody's Hero" and "Barbed Wire Love".
Conflict "Increase the Pressure": Side two has a live recording ferocious enough to make you believe that a mohawked punk rocker screaming at you can actually smash the state. Excellent version of "Exploitation"
The Dictators "Fuck 'Em If They Can't Take a Joke": Bootleg quality recording; nice intro to the Dictators. "Science gone too far" and "Weekend" sound great and Handsome Dick Manitoba is in top form.

Close but no Cigar: U-2 "Wide Awake in America". Musical last gasp of greatness before U-2 veered into pathetic self parody and self-appointed messiah status. The live version of "Bad" is superior to the studio version. This record won't save the rain forests, stop global conflict, or turn water into wine; just like the rest of the U-2 catalog. When U-2 recorded "Wide Awake in America" they still knew this.

Worst live album(s): Any Grateful Dead "Live" recording. Hippie musicians suck as bad when playing in front of their stoned brethren as they do in the studio. I have no desire to do the amount of drugs it would take to make of these recordings sound decent. On the bright side, Jerry Garcia's death has reduced the amount of these recordings to a finite (if still huge) number. Unfortunately, given the amount of money to be made from the Garcia estate, we have many years of posthumous Grateful Dead "live" recordings to look forward to.

DJ Ivan: EAR CANDY writer

Domenic Priore:
1.) THE WHO LIVE AT LEEDS. Reason, in the '70s, when I was suffering through a very DAZED AND CONFUSED movie High School life, and I was beginning to hate Heavy Metal day by day, I got sick and tired of hearing about bands like Black Sabbath, Kiss and Angel, so I played side two of this album at a party ("My Generation" and "Magic Bus") and everybody shut the fuck up and apologized. Blew their junkie-ass shit away. "Summertime Blues," "Shakin' All Over" and a cool "Substitute" are on there too.

2.) Bob Dylan tracks from his film EAT THE DOCUMENT. I really prefer this film to DON'T LOOK BACK by a longshot; it's in color, The Band provides kickass backup and the editing of the film by Dylan and Howard Alk has been a total influence on everything I do. I sort of live to be in context with that sense of editing. The version of "Ballad of A Thin Man" with Garth Hudson playing keyboards trumps everything, and then there's that "I Don't Believe You" that slaughters all on the documentaries it's been pulled for. It's the Beat/Angry Young Man thing, being given just the nudge to push everything right over the edge... if anyone had ever doubted the power of the new movement, what happens in this film shows the final kick into a new world of awareness and existence. "Something is happening, and you don't know what it is, DO YOU, Mr. Jones?" at its most stunning.

3.) ALAN FREED'S ROCK 'N' ROLL SHOW #4 (I believe that's the number in the series) features Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, the Moonglows and a bunch of other killer Rhythm & Blues vocal groups gettin' all the teenage girls hot, I mean, the excitement of Rock 'n' Roll at it's outset is palpable... you can't find this kind of thing anywhere else. But it is Little Richard's performance of "Lucille" that clinches the deal. It really feels like the building around you is crumbling as he hollers this live version in a manner that makes the studio version we all know sound like a rehearsal. I mean, Little Richard gets gutteral, he bellows in a deep, deep voice that's scary, like, you wouldn't want to see the back of this man's hand sweep across your face, because the power would send you far, far out into outer space. WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!! fer fuckin' real, with a killer sax solo to follow it up. Joe Satriani, eat shit with nuts in it!

4.) DON HO's first two albums on Reprise, plus the Hawaii-Goes-Mod vibe of the Tower release WAIKIKI SWINGS, nails the whole perfection of decadence that mid-'60s Hawaii came to encompass. The Reprise material was recorded at Duke Kahanamoku's club, basically a treehouse in Waikiki's International Marketplace that had previously been Don the Beachcombers (where The Exotic Sounds of Martin Denny had set the pace for what is now known as Exotica music). Martin Denny recorded a great live album at Duke Kahanamoku's as well, but it is Don Ho who tosses the Hawaiian Elvis movie thing into the mix and sings about "little coeds" with the refrain "e lei, lei lei". Not too much question as to what's going on here, as later on the islands, it was rumored that Don Ho lived(lives) with a harem. The Tower release WAIKIKI SWINGS was an earlier recording from a place that Don's mom used to own called Honey's... where the Don Ho thing got started. Kui Lee, who according to Ho "was to us, like the John Lennon of Hawaii" appears on the album along with slack key genius Sonny Chillingsworth and others. You can pretend that you've got it better than these guys did, but that would be a lie.

5.) (TIE) THE STANDELLS LIVE AT P.J.'s/OTIS REDDING LIVE AT WHISKY A GO GO etc. I collect live albums from Greater Los Angeles area nightclubs during the '60s, and there are a lot of great ones; The Seeds live at Merlin's Music Box, a club out in Orange. The Afro-Blues Quintet + 1 on Mira is total genius, pre-War, pre-Senor Soul mid-'60s Sunset Strip coffee house-house band Jazz with Rock 'n' Roll leanings. The 1966 Otis Redding album has "I Can't Turn You Loose" and a bunch of other things he would reprise at the Monterey Pop Festival. The Standells, pre-"Dirty Water," playing at thee hangout for Hollywood up-and-coming actresses, P.J.'s, in 1964... real sweat, skinny ties, Crest logos on the wall, unbridled rock 'n' roll dance numbers like "Linda Lu," sqeaky organ in place... and really jazzed people inside... yeh. If you search out the original bootleg, THE BEATLES LIVE AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL (not the super-inferior Capitol release), it comes from a 1964 acetate that was being prepared for U.S.-only release... this mono recording (with the screaming mixed nice 'n' low) slaughters most anything the Beatles do in the Rock 'n' Roll form, because Hollywood was a pretty exciting place to be right at that moment. They, too, were pretty jazzed to be here. Then there's SHAKE, SHOUT AND SOUL on Impact Records, which features live recordings by two primo Surf groups, the New Dimensions and the Original Surfaris, plus a few tracks by East L.A.'s raving singer Li'l Ray... the New Dimensions do a version of "Miserlou" that's easily a match for anything the Who did on LIVE AT LEEDS, and at one point, spotting him in the audience, the crowd shouts out DEWEY WEBER!!! (a cool surfer and surfboard shaper of the era). Dick Dale & his Del-Tones' first album SURFER'S CHOICE was also recorded live at the Rendevouz Ballroom in Balboa, Newport Beach... and this remains the best LP Dick ever put out.

Honorable mention: DUKE KAHANAMOKU PRESENTS A BEACHBOY PARTY WITH WALTAH CLARKE (1962, Duke Kahanamoku Records). Live on Waikiki beach counts; this preceded, and was the template for RECORDED LIVE AT A BEACH BOYS PARTY by the Beach Boys (Capitol Records, 1965)

Domenic Priore is the author of SMILE: THE STORY OF BRIAN WILSON'S LOST MASTERPIECE (Sanctuary Publishing) and has just released (with his partner Brian Chidester) DUMB ANGEL #4: ALL SUMMER LONG, which can be found at the website: www.dumbangelmagazine.com

Donnie Thompson:
1. Cheap Trick – Cheap Trick At Budokan
Everybody reading Ear Candy probably knows this album backwards and forwards so no explanation necessary.

2. Crowded House – Paul Is Dead
This was available only through the fan club, a 1994 Atlanta show and one of my favorite concert memories. I even get my own cameo appearance. Crowded house were famous for their spontaneity in concert. A sadly prophetic title though.

3. Wings – Wings Over America
Great music, great package. Released when I was 13, it took me a while to save up the twelve dollars to buy this three record set but it was worth it.

4. The Beatles – Over Atlanta And Shea (unofficial CD)
It’s the Atlanta portion that I like the most on this disc. It seems to convey a Beatles stadium show more authentically than the officially released “Hollywood Bowl” album. This is especially important to those of us who were too young to attend. Were The Beatles’ stadium performances ragged? Sometimes, but never lacking on adrenaline.

5. Blondie – Picture This Live
An official CD release of material that was broadcast on “The King Biscuit Flower Hour” in 1979. I played the tape that I made off the radio heavily, until my 8-track deck gave up the ghost. Sometimes sloppy but very fun performances.

Donnie Thompson is a Melody Hill Writer.
www.circleskyrecords.com

John Lane:
I'm not generally a fan of live albums, but my favorite live one is The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl. I know it's a pasting of 2 different concerts, 1964 and 1965, but I live the sheer electricity of it. Capitol released this about 30 years ago on vinyl, and it should one day be put out on CD!

It's the only one I really like. Honestly, I've never been a fan of the live-album record much. Actually, wait - I like the BBs live stuff a lot. How could I forget?

John Lane is the co-proprietor of The Smile Shop and a EAR CANDY contributor.
www.thesmileshop.net

Richard Oliver:
1. Johnny Cash – Live At Folsom Prison
Because he’s Johnny fucking Cash and nobody else is or ever will be!

2. MC5 – Kick Out The Jams
There’s more energy coursing through this slab of vinyl than a van load of three year old’s on a Pixie Stix and Mountain Dew binge.

3. Rolling Stones – Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out
It’s definitely the Stones at their peak and listening to this one is almost like being there.

4. Kiss – Alive
I used to close my eyes and daydream I was on stage playing guitar while listening to this one. Hey, I was eleven. I still dig it out every few years and just to give it a listen and daydream a little.

5. Johnny Winter – And Live
There’s three reasons for this one, “Johnny B Goode”, “Rock N’ Roll Hoochie Coo” and “Jumping Jack Flash”. Anybody that can cover those three songs and make their version stand out in your mind above and beyond or at least on the same playing field as the original has got to make your favorite list.

What is 1 live album I think is overrated?

Kiss – Alive
I really love this album but if I had been twenty years old when I first heard it instead of eleven I don’t think it would have made much of an impact on me. It's kinda like the shitty tasting candy you get inside a Pez dispenser. You know it's shitty but you still buy it anyway because of the cool packaging.

Richard Oliver a.k.a "Rev. Cooterfinger" from the band Cooterfinger and EAR CANDY music reviewer.

Jerry Boyd:
I'm not crazy about live albums, because of the audience noises. I prefer the "pure" and controlled sound of a studio. There are plenty of great performances and alternate interpretations of artists' own songs on live albums, and often the acoustics of the venue can add to the overall ambience of the record. If you could just get rid of all those people yelling & screaming, it would be perfect!

And, it is somewhat ironic listening to a recording of a live performance, which sort of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? DVDs and videos of live performance are a little closer to the experience, with some visual content and, now, surround sound. But again, there's no real interaction between the artist and his fans, which is often the most exciting characteristic of attending a live show. To see and hear one of your favorite musicians feeding off the energy of you and hundreds (or thousands) of other fans is one of the most thrilling musical experiences a fan can have. This feeling is always lost in a recording, especially just a CD.

But one particular live album comes to mind that I would call a "favorite." And that would be Bob Marley's "Babylon By Bus". Marley's energy (and that of his band and the I-Threes) are captured in this fantastic collection of some of Bob's best music. His previous 1975 "Live!" album just doesn't have the same feel.

I can't think of any live albums that are over-rated, since I've never heard anyone slam a live album, save for poor sound quality, which seems to be the most common complaint.

Jerry A. Boyd is a producer.
www.geocities.com/djsurfclown

Christopher DeCrocker:
1) The Residents -- Kettles of Fish On the Outskirts of Town
A brilliant and beautiful box set of live performances on three CDs and one DVD. The Residents are not known for being a live band, having performed their first tour a whole ten years after their first official release, but fans will eat this up. The sound quality is great and it represents every major tour as well as many one-off performances. The real treat is bits from two early performances, one of them being the first Residents live show. It's easy to appreciate their music and visual prowess seeing how these performances are put across. And people will be happy to get a few hints at who's really behind the eyeballs.

2) The Stooges -- Open Up and Bleed
A collection of concert performances and live studio rehearsals from after "Raw Power," this has some of my favorite Stooges material. Songs like "Open Up and Bleed," "Cock in My Pocket," "Johanna," and "Rubber Leg" are fantastic. Hearing them here makes me yearn for proper versions, but the band never got that far. Hearing how gone Iggy was on drugs at this point makes the cruddy sounding recordings sound even more intriguing. It doesn't quite work as an album, but the choice bits have kept me coming back for years.

3) Television -- Poor Circulation
This is a bootleg of early Television rehearsals and various live shows at Max's Kansas City and CBGB from when Richard Hell was in the band. Again, the sound is nothing special, but there are many pop gems here that have been lost because the band never recorded them or never finished the recordings for albums. Tracks like "Judy," "UFO," "What I Heard," and "Hard On Love" show off Tom Verlaine's amazingly consistent songwriting and would have been very welcome additions to any of Television's albums. It's also interesting to hear an early version of the unfinished "Adventure," called "Excitement" and sung by Richard Hell.

4) Cheap Trick at Budokan: The Complete Concert
I prefer the band's studio work because the sound is thicker, but this is a fun show packed with most of their best songs. It even contains a few rarities. It's hard to argue with a series of well-written power pop songs performed by these guys. I just wish it was on DVD.

5) Nirvana -- Unplugged in New York
Probably the live album I listen to the most. I find Kurt's voice extremely moving and comforting, especially on tracks like "About a Girl," "The Man Who Sold the World," "Come As You Are," and "Plateau." The version of "In the Pines" is probably the best performance he ever gave. A consoling going away present.

Honorable mention: I never listen to Pere Ubu's "One Man Drives While the Other Man Screams Vol. 2," but I've always admired that none of the songs sound like their studio counterparts. Literally. For eight years I've wondered if this disc was mispressed.

Overrated:
The Velvet Underground -- Live 1969 I think this two disc album is pretty overrated. There are some great moments and the songs are all good. The problem is that the band really aren't the best players, and at these shows in particular their jamming is noticably aimless. One positive is that you get Lou Reed singing songs like "New Age," and this set is something VU fans should and probably will buy. But it's nothing definitive, like some fans seem to believe. I prefer the studio albums and bootlegs like "Sweet Sister Ray's Murder Mystery" and "Problems In Urban Living."

Christopher DeCrocker is an EAR CANDY contributor.

Kevin Gleeson:
OK, but I am REALLY biased.....you know.
1) Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out
The Rolling Stones in Concert 1969. Ampeg V4's. SBT's. Gretch. Gibson Les Pauls. Jimmy Hendrix crouched down behind Keith's amp for both shows. Even he knew Keith was magical. And Mick as everyone's Lucifer. Madison Square Garden. NYC. Vietnam War. Protests. and the Stones. Relevant. Vital. At their peak. The best live album ever. Even today.

2) Just One Night/Eric Clapton
Powerful, emotional and very telling. Check out Albert Lee's solo on "Setting Me Up" and get back to me.

3) Muddy Waters/The Country Sessions/1947
Essentially live without dubbing. "Catfish Blues" "Satisfied". Muddy, Open G, capo, slide......where Keith got it from. Basically, the Source file.

4) Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones (1972) Soundtrack
Turn your balance all the way to the left and listen to Mick Taylor fully gelled with Keith, particularly "Love In Vain". Left and Right hands of a powerful machine.

5) Live at the L.A. Palladium/The Expensive Winos
Keith soulful, reflective, forceful, hypnotic, groove riding and having fun. "How I Wish" "Make No Mistake""Locked Away" HELL...it's ALL good!

I never got out of my computer chair to reference these responses.....just off the top 'a me head....y'know? There's hundreds I've enjoyed. But there you have it.

Most Overrated: This is tough because it's hard to sound unappreciative but..... Frampton Comes Alive
…and why?
How much of it is relevant today? Other than "Do You Feel Like I Do" how many songs are "important: TODAY? Tough one though.

Kevin Gleeson is a Guitarist/Musician/Artist. "Keef" of Sticky Fingers and Beggars Banquet- The two best Rolling Stones Tribute Bands in the World!

Robert Pally:
1. Bad Brains "The youth are gettin restless"
There is no band that has more energy on stage. Live they are like a hurricane!!

2. XTC "This is live" (Bootleg)
XTC is one of my favorite bands. I always wanted to know how they do their songs on stage. Unfortunately, I never got to see them. This album gives me at least a little idea about their live show.

3. Thin Lizzy "Live and Dangerous"
Sad that their singer died. They were a great band on record and live. Just listen to this album.

4. 10,000 maniacs "Live"
I saw them a couple of years ago, still with Natalie Merchant. Their set had some real magic.

5. The Associates "Livetape"
Fascinating how they performed their songs live. With elegance and style.

Overrated Live album:
Kiss "Alive"
You must see Kiss really live to get the whole picture. Without their show its like a movie soundtrack without movie.

Robert Pally is a music journalist and EAR CANDY contributor.

Mike SOS:
I usually hate live albums. They seem contractually obligated much of the time and uninspired, but a few have managed to touch my soul.

1. Scorpions- World Wide Live
Capturing the heyday of metal's unsung heroes, this disc from end to end rocks!

2. Ozzy Osbourne/ Randy Rhoades- Tribute
Stunning fretwork, Ozzy at his first rebirth's peak.

3. Tesla- Five Man Acoustical Jam
The virtual template for MTV Unplugged, the stripped down venture ushered an era of campfire classics everywhere.

4. Led Zeppelin- BBC Sessions
Hear the magic in all of its splendor as a young English band plot to rule the rock world started from these very performances.

That's about all I got. Regarding overrated live releases, nothing really comes to mind, although I do immediately flip the switch after hearing the first four bars to the live version of both "Rock 'n' Roll All Night" by KISS and "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick, but manage to crank up "Feel Like I Do" by Peter Frampton with no hesitation. Go figure.

Mike SOS is a music journalist and regular EAR CANDY contributor.

Sean Koepenick:
1. Simple Minds-Live In The City Of Lights
A 2-disc set from a Paris show in August 1986. Singer Jim Kerr is in top form and songs like "Waterfront" and "Up On The Catwalk" sound magnificent. If you only have one live record from the 80's this should be it.

2. Ramones-Loco Live
Latter era Ramones barrel through 32 songs like an exploding gallstone. Recorded in Spain, Joey is treated like the second coming of Christopher Columbus. Would you rather be listening to "Standing In the Spotlight" instead?

3. The Replacements-The Shit Hits The Fans
Loose, fun set from November 1984. Hear 30 seconds of covers of some of your favorite bands like Motley Crue, Bad Company and BTO. I wish I could have been there to throw an empty beer can at Chris Mars. Good times!

4. Tommy Keene-Showtunes
Power pop with a biting guitar edge. With song titles like "My Mother Looked Like Marilyn Monroe" how could you possibly go wrong? All the songs that should be hits by this acclaimed journeyman musician.

5. Sex Pistols-Live In Chelmsford Prison
Spirited early set that showcases originals with covers by Iggy Pop and The Who. Paul Cook was so liquored up he almost fell off his stool, and Johnny Rotten baits the crowd with classic lines like "Thanks for being here!" Revel in the mayhem.

Honorable mentions:
Mission Of Burma-The Horrible Truth About Burma, X-Unclogged, Face To Face-Live, The Smiths-Thank Your Lucky Stars (bootleg), Echo & The Bunnymen-Live In Liverpool. The Psychedelic Furs-Beautiful Chaos, The Damned-Mindless, Directionless Energy 1981.

Most overrated live record-Kiss-Alive. Please, the only thing this release was good for was putting a down payment on Gene Simmons' Bahamas estate. Ugh!

Sean Koepenick is an EAR CANDY contributor.

Gary Pig Gold:
"a) Your top 5 favorite LIVE albums (and why)."

I guess I can't count "Beach Boys Party!" (they cheated; performed the songs live, but overdubbed the "party" a week later), plus I can't imagine how "Having Fun With Elvis On Stage: A Talking Album Only" can possibly qualify either),

so in that case then..........

1. JERRY LEE LEWIS "Live At The Star Club, Hamburg"
As if a brilliantly sloshed Lewis at the peak of his considerable powers (1964) wouldn't be reason enough to play this classic platter nicely and very loudly at least once a day, then add to such an already volatile sonic stew one ace back-up band (the fiery, immediately pre-"Tobacco Road" Nashville Teens) and a Star Club packed to the Teutonic gills with hundreds of rabid fans chanting "Jerra-LEE! Jerra-LEE!" between each and every gap in the proceedings. In a word or two then? REQUIRED LISTENING.

2. BOB DYLAN "Live 1966"
The Manchester, England Free Trade Hall one hot, mod May night. A three-track reel-to-reel recorder. Robbie Robertson's "mathematical" Telecaster. Garth Hudson. I repeat: Garth Hudson. "Like A Rolling Stone," Bob Dylan strung out to one great big new amplifier he doesn't quite know how to work yet, and at least one vocally VERY disgrunted "Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" fan within close mic range. So then: What more can I say? What more could you possibly WANT?!!

3. KING CRIMSON "Earthbound"
Supposedly recorded direct to cassette by an otherwise fastidious R. Fripp and Co. (in order to wheedle out of some contractual obligation or other), this three-quarters of an hour find the usually buttoned-up combo snarling its way direct through a "21st Century Schizoid Man," for example, that not only shreds each and every other version of this monstrosity ever recorded, but in the process possibly even invents grunge and/or lo-fi in the process. Must've been something to do with no-one bothering to monitor the input levels into the cassette deck that night.....

4. PHIL OCHS "Gunfight At Carnegie Hall"
At the absolute nadir of his career (circa 1970), the greatest anti-Dylan ever tore out upon the once-hallowed Carnegie stage, whipped on a vintage Elvis-style gold lame jacket and -- gasp!! -- electric guitar, then proceeded to burst into a totally spot-on Buddy Holly medley. No sooner had the audience's rolled-up copies of "Sing Out!" started filling the air than the lights, AND the power, was suddenly switched off. Audience cheers; Phil starts yelling helplessly into the void.... and this is ALL captured right there on nice black vinyl (if you happened to live in O Canada during the dreaded mid-Seventies that is: this delightfully calamitous album never ever was "officially" released anywhere else at the time).

5. RAMONES "It's Alive"
Like other such wonderful "ah, what the hell: let's throw out a live album to grab some quick extra cash over the holidays" classics as "Fleetwood Mac Live," the Stones' "Got LIVE [sic!!] If You Want It" and possibly even the Fugs' "Golden Filth," Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and a just-about-to-abdicate-his-drum-throne Tommy hear-in blast through what seems to be about seventy numbers in fifteen minutes flat (ok, ok: twenty-eight in a little under an hour but who, in or outside of the Ramones, is counting?) T'would that there was ever a god in gabba gabba heaven -- or at least a budget at the time (New Year's Eve in London, 1977) -- "It's Alive" would've made one heckuva video album too. But I guess that's why the Lord invented Roger Corman and "Rock 'n' Roll High School" ...and speaking of Essential Viewing, everyone go load "End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones" into the nearest DVD player right now too.

"b) What is 1 live album that you think is overrated!"

"LIVE YARDBIRDS! FEATURING JIMMY PAGE"
This supposedly legendary recording, cut within New York's legendary Anderson Theater during that legendary year of 1968 (just before the legendarily blues-wailing Yardies somehow morphed into the legendarily overrated Led Zeppelin), "Live Yardbirds!" instead contains a crappily-recorded band numbly running through their last-legged paces just before mercifully breaking up altogether. Sure, you can hear (kinda) a couple'a riffs that were later hijacked onto "Led Zeppelin One," and the overdubbed bullfight cheers, I kid you not, are kinda funny too. But for ONCE I agreed with Jimmy Page, who insisted this heresy be pulled off the market before too many misguided British Invasion fans had a chance to hear it.

Gary Pig Gold is a music journalist extraordinaire!
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Ronnie Dannelley:
Basically, my live disc list consist of live albums that I STILL play on a regular basis. Also, one of my criteria for picking live albums was ones that were great to jog to! Nothing like a great live album to get you motivated. There are many that I played a lot when I first got 'em in my youth, but then their luster wore off over the mist of time.

1. Dash Rip Rock - "Boiled Alive"
My favorite live album of all time. Easily what a live rock 'n roll album SHOULD be! Pure energy.

2. Ramones - "It's Alive"
Another adrenaline-filled album which captures a live show perfectly (not many bands can capture the energy of the live show on record).

3. TIE: Beatles - "The Beatles Live at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, 1962" (US, 1977) and "Beatles Complete Hollywood Bowl" (bootleg)
The Beatles have got to be there…but there are so many Beatles bootlegs that have moments. (My first actual "live" album was a Beatles bootleg) But these two capture the essence of the fabs at two junctures in their career…and before Beatlemania got tiresome for the lads. Also, there is nothing quite like hearing the drunk Beatles at a new years eve gig in 1962 before things changed forever.

4. Cheap Trick - "At Budokan"
I never got around to getting the "complete" show on CD - but I still love my old vinyl copy. "I Want You To Want Me" still does it for me.

5. Kiss - "Alive"
This was my first "official" live album. Yeah, I know…this will probably make the "overrated" category for a lot of folks, but it brings back so many memories and I still like to crank it in my car or when I jog!

Honorable mention:
AC/DC - "Got Blood If You Want It", Who - "Live at Leeds", Kinks - "Live Kinks"

Overrated:
There are so many I could list here. But what immediately comes to mind are: "Frampton Comes Alive" (but then again, I STILL love it!) and Kiss Alive II, III, IV, V, etc.

Ronnie Dannelley: Editor EAR CANDY mag.