First album performed live in its entirety?

This came up in the Bowie box thread. Someone suggested Bowie invented the tremd for playing a classic album live (when he performed Low). Someone else stated that "Brian Wilson was performing Pet Sounds in its entirety by at least 2000. And then there's those Phish Halloween shows going way back..."

So who was first to play an existing album live in its entirety?

 

Pink Floyd played all of Dark Side, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall back in the 70's, no?

 

I believe Jethro Tull performed "Thick As A Brick" entirely in 1972.

 

The Who did Tommy in full in 1969:

The Day the Who Debuted ‘Tommy’ in Concert

 

As far as a band performing another band's album in full, I don't know offhand if anyone did it before Phish in 1994.

For artists doing retrospective performances of their own albums, Frank Zappa and the Mothers performed most of Freak Out! on the Mothers Tenth Anniversary tour in 1974, but not all of it.

 

But that was different: that was performing a new song cycle rather than recreating an existing album.

 

I think this thread title is a little ambiguous. The other thread was suggesting what you are saying, that Bowie created a classic album (Low), then performed it live several years later in its entirety after it had become a "classic" album. This thread title leaves it open to interpretation that it's just playing an album live in its entirety.

I'd vote Dark Side of the Moon from the Division Bell tour in '94/95? But am sure there's got to be something earlier.

 

I think what the OP is going for is the concept of performing an entire previous album, not the one contemporaneous with the tour.

The first band I saw do this was Cheap Trick, in I think 1998. They played a three night stand in Austin where they did each of their first three albums in running order on one of the nights, plus a short career-spanning second set. Tbe band were at the top of their game musically, and that was a tutorial in how to play a powerful, entertaining, and exhilarating live rock show.

 

Didn't Rush do their 2112 album in its' entirety during the Test For Echo tour? 1996-97?

 

I'm hard pressed to come up with an earlier one.

 

Just side 1.

 

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

Gotcha. Might want to ask a gort to change your thread title to clarify.

 

Believe Mike Oldfield did it as early as 1973. Of course with his albums he could play several albums by playing just a handful of tracks

 

There were some mid/late 70's Yes shows where they were still playing all three songs of Close To The Edge, but not in order.

 

Pink Floyd played Dark Side of the Moon entirely on their Division Bell Tour in 1994

 

Meat Loaf's stage show was basically Bat out of Hell and River Deep Mountain High

 

Just Part 1, I think.

 

The Who with Tommy and Quadrophenia, I would think, would count as the earliest examples in rock, as each album was performed live in their entirety (at least to my knowledge) after each album was recorded and released. All but two tracks or so ('Welcome', for instance) were performed from Tommy as a special live occasion in 1989 after the album had achieved 'classic' status, which may be earliest instance of that.

 

Also, wasn't Going For The One performed in it's entirety on it's tour (albeit out of order)?

Everyone knows about the infamous complete Tales From Topographic Oceans tour, haha.

90125 was played in it's entirety, out of order as well, on said tour.

The first few dates of the Big Generator tour also featured every song from the album.

So, technically the albums were played live, but I know this doesn't count officially per the thread topic. Still worth noting.

 

If I'm not mistaken Fairport rolled out Liege and Lief in their first post van accident concert. Denny and Hutchings bolted right after the album was released so this was one of the only times that lineup played live.

 

Genesis did 'The Lamb' in '74/'75? *edit: ....and, my God, I would have loved to have attended one of those shows

 

Since no one seems to know the answer I will just settle it and say the Beatles.

 

Correct.
The Beatles performed Sgt Pepper in its entirety at the Star-Club in Hamburg in 1962, about 5 years BEFORE the album came out.
Incredible for the people who were there---just interview any of them ...

 

Camel - Snow Goose 1975?