Live album - Definition and Overview

A live album is a musical recording containing concert performances. Live albums have existed since the early 1960s when the album began to be seen as an artistic entity unto itself and not simply a collection of songs.

Most successful recording artists release at least one live album at some point during their career. Most live albums are seen as expendable parts of an artists’ catalogue, often failing to sell as well as studio albums. However, a few artists are known for live albums that are better than their studio albums, including Kiss, James Brown and The Grateful Dead.

Notable live albums include:

• The Allman Brothers Band - Live at the Fillmore East (1971)
• James Brown - Live at the Apollo (1963)
• James Brown - Sex Machine (1970)
• Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison (1969)
• Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick at Budokan (1978)
• Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: The "Royal Albert Hall Concert" (1998)
• Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive (1976) - the best selling live album ever
• The Grateful Dead - Live/Dead (1969)
• The Grateful Dead - Europe '72 (1972)
• BB King - Live at the Regal (1964)
• Kiss - Alive! (1975)
• Bob Marley & the Wailers - Live! (1975)
• Nirvana - Unplugged in New York (1994)
• Phish - A Live One (1995)
• The Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Yas Out (1969)
• The Who - Live at Leeds (1970)