Top five live Rock And Roll Albums

Hmm, Lou Reed live and The Band Live At The Academy of Music 1971 sound very different from one other to me. When The Band played The Hollywood Bowl in ’71, they were given carte blanche for their opening act. They chose The Miles Davis Group. Garth Hudson and Robbie Robertson were and are big fans of Bill Evans, with whom Jack DeJohnette had worked. DeJohnette and Levon Helm became close friends, and when Jack himself headlined The Playboy Jazz Festival at The Hollywood Bowl in 2017, he performed one of Levon’s signature Band songs, "Up On Cripple Creek". DeJohnette was not a Jazz snob.

Neither was a later drummer of Miles'. When asked in an interview in the 1980's what current drummers he liked, Tony Williams replied "Have you heard the guy in The Ramones (referring to their second drummer, Marc Bell)? Now THAT'S a great drummer." I sh*t you not!

@initforthemusic , Ha, yup, I had heard that before! Diamond seemed SO out of place in that group of artists, pure showbiz schmaltz. I view him being there as Robbie doing not Neil, but himself a favour, bringing attention to Diamond in hopes the album he was producing for him at that time would therefore sell more copies. I think it sank without a trace.

Behind the scenes, the rehearsals for the show proved to be running long, so Robbie asked Levon to tell Muddy he was being cut from the lineup. Levon refused, telling Robbie if Muddy didn't perform, neither did he. My man! 

Lots of great nominees, some of which will be duplicated here. I don't know that these are "the" best live R & R albums, but they'll do for starters.

- The Band: Live At The Academy Of Music 1971. A great boxset.

- Dylan & The Band: Before The Flood. Dylan is on fire (his first tour in eight years), absolutely spitting out the lyrics. NO band other than The Band could keep up with him. Petty & The Heartbreakers? Weak. The Grateful Dead? Lame. One show I really regret missing was Dylan & The Hawks at The San Jose Civic Auditorium in late '65. I have two friends who were there, the rat b*st*ards. The little I had then heard from him left me bewildered.

- Dave Edmunds: I Hear You Rockin'. For my money, just about the best practitioner of pure American Rock 'n' Roll there has ever been.

- Rockpile: any of their bootlegged recordings. For my money (what I have left from above ;-), just about the best pure American Rock 'n' Roll band there has ever been. Not "American" Rock 'n' Roll band, "American Rock 'n' Roll" band.

- Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks: Where's The Money?".