Poll: legendary classic rock concerts (1966-75)

As the title states, we will be discussing here great live shows and their recordings from the classic rock era. The shows that became legendary thanks to released recordings, both official and bootleg ones. Quite a few of them have been honoured with lavish multi-disc boxes in recent years.

25 poll slots leaves little room for invention, so the list does not contain any lesser known gems. I have also decided to include only shows who got officially released, even if partially. In several cases live albums quoted in brackets contain extra live material recorded elsewhere, so I had to pick arbitrarily the particular shows/runs which provided an important bulk of material included in the release.

Finally, do not hesitate to throw your suggestions outside the poll list, both for canonical live tapes already published and those which beg to be released.

 

Eight of the multi-night runs/tours were honoured with (almost) complete recordings boxes: Hendrix, Grateful Dead, The Doors, Allmans, Humble Pie, Deep Purple, YES and Rory Gallagher. Velvet Underground's Matrix tapes box has been rumoured for some time and hopefully will see the light of day.

However, the most electrifying news I would love to read one day would be a box with complete tapes from Van Morrison's live album. Apart from Troubadour's May run the tapes were rolling during the gigs at the Santa Monica's Auditorium (June 29) and the London's Rainbow Theatre (July 23–24), so there should be enough material in the vaults to make Van's fans happy.

 

Lots to vote for here. A couple of these could be bumped in favor of King Crimson's USA ( or The Nightwatch, or the recent Red/Starless boxes, depending on eligibility rules)

 

I have been actually considering some particular show and venue/tour runs from King Crimson, but I could not decide on any particular one.

Amsterdam November 23, 1973 gig ("Night Watch") was very high on my list, but I thought that the band like this deserves a more expansive entry. Unfortunately the most concise quality-wise "Great Deceiver" box spans over two years, so I had to discard it (for the same reason I could not pick EL&P's "Welcome Back My Friends...").

So I was left with their big album-related box sets. "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" box is not an option because of its poor sound quality, but "Starless & Bible Black" has a fantastic string of German shows (March 27 - April 2, 1974) while "Red" boasts the legendary East Coast finishing run of their North American tour (Jun 28 - Jul 1, 1974), which was the source for their classic live album "USA". Yeah, I could have definitely picked the latter for the poll!

 

I voted for Ummagumma but I would have voted for Zappa's YCDTOSA Vol. 2 The Helsinki Concert from that era.

 

Clearly not enough people on this form have heard Lotus

 

I voted for Hendrix at Winterland but Monterey and Berkeley are held in higher reverence. Of course, Woodstock is arguably his most famous gig even though the band was under-rehearsed and the vast majority of attendees had left the mud and mire by the time Hendrix took the stage early Monday morning.

 

pae

Many of the choices are compilations of more than one performance. Still, there was 'Pictures', which is a lamentable omission.

 

Some of them are compilations indeed, but their material comes from the same venue or tour, and/or you can pinpoint a run of shows bound by geographical or time proximity which constitutes a significant chunk of their content.

I could not find any info on what particular dates were chosen for ELP's "Welcome Back My Friends...". Do we know any detail apart from the rather laconic "1973-74 worldwide"?

Oh yes, I did consider it, but it just did not make the final top 25. Probably my mistake, at least judging by the distribution of votes in the poll.

 

For me the album is one of the pinnacles of Santana band's career, although many may prefer the classic lineup and style.

I was also considering "classic" options, like the run at the Fillmore West, Dec 19-22, 1968 (documented by the terrific "Live at the Fillmore '68") and of course his Woodstock 1969 performance (released on Woodstock Experience series), but both seemed to me too early to do justice to that excellent band.

 

80 members have already voted and here is the poll's top 3 for the moment:

1. The Who - Leeds, Feb 14, 1970 ("Live at Leeds") - 40 votes, the unquestionable leader almost from the beginning. Is it the magic of this classic show or just the proof of the Who's supremacy on stage?
2. Allman Brothers Band - Fillmore East, March 12–13, 1971 ("At Fillmore East" & box) - 31 votes, it has taken them some time to catch the wind but with these legendary dates they prove again to be a tough contender.
3. Bob Dylan - Manchester, May 17, 1966 ("'Royal Albert Hall' Concert") - 26 votes, 49 years after the infamous "Judas" show its recording still electrifies the audience!

Rock on!

 

I voted The Who, but Black Sabbath Paris 1970 is an incredible performance/film as well.

 

Leeds! I never get tired of hearing it.. The latest Mastered for iTunes is outstanding

 

Zepp's '72 dates, despite being heavily edited on How The West Was Won...I mean, the unedited shows

 

Bob 66, Jimi at Monterey and Peter Greens Fleetwood Mac Boston Tea Party joint winners.
In my imagination The Beach Boys Smile performance at Monterey was pretty **** hot too.

 

you forgot the Bongo Fury 1975
shows with Beefheart and Zappa.
The two eccentric geniuses of 20th century music.......together again.

 

Just in case you have overlooked it - you can pick more than one entry!

 

Brussels Affair for me, but where is the Concert for Bangladesh?

 

Though not on the list, the Greatest Ever (IMHO) was the Jethro Tull "Thick as a Brick" tour!

Next to that, if you're talkin' live, you're talkin' The Who (like, for decades [not just "Leeds"])!

 

Yeah, I was considering Jethro Tull too. Their performance at the Isle of Wight 1970 festival is stunning and it could qualify as it got officially released on its own as "Nothing is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight".

However, just like Santana's Woodstock performance (or Tull's own Carnegie Hall concert from Dec 4, 1970, included in the deluxe edition of "Stand Up") it comes from the band's early period, before they broke with their most revered albums like "Aqualung" or "Thick as A Brick".

Much more appropriate option would be the live disc from the deluxe edition of "Minstrel in the Gallery", which contains large portions of their excellent Paris gig from July 5, 1975. However, this is a rather recent addition to their discography and probably will require more time to gain the traction among non-ardent Tull fans.

All in all, a band like Jethro Tull could definitely do a bit more about their live vaults from the peak period.

 

Without Dylan's 1965 & 1966 tours none of these others would even exist!

 

Beatles Rooftop Concert

 

Many of my favorites are on the list - it's a shame Band of Gypsys wasn't included, though, I would vote for that one as well.

 

Second day's recap with almost 150 voters participating.

The top 3 poll has not changed: The Who's Leeds show still sits safely at the head of the list with 75 votes, followed by the Fillmore East dates by the Allman Brothers Band with 57 picks, while Bob Dylan's Manchester gig secures the bronze with 45 votes after, just above the Rolling Stones' Brussels date (42 votes) which has been chasing Bob the whole day.

And where have all the fans of Chicago gone? Say what you want but their Carnegie Hall run was really strong, as clearly evidenced on the expanded and sonically improved four disc edition of their first live album.

 

~The Beatles- Apple Headquarters Rooftop, 3 Savile Row London, England, January 30th 1969 ("Let It Be", "Let It Be...Naked", "Anthology 3")

My favorite live performance ever, by far! And the greatest end to a film in the history of happy endings!

Also...
~The Plastic Ono Band- The Toronto Rock 'N' Roll Revival, Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 13, 1969 ("Live Peace In Toronto")

~Various Artists (George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr, etc.) Madison Square Garden, New York City, August 1st, 1971 ("The Concert For Bangladesh")

I voted for most of the shows here, so the list was pretty fine, but would have preferred the above shows over the 9 I didn't vote for- Chicago, Santana, Rory Gallagher, The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, Humble Pie, Deep Purple, Frank Zappa & Yes.