If there’s one genre that’s consistent about putting out great live albums, it’s rock. But if you’re a little tired of the same old formula, here are three unique releases that take the concept of a live album and turn it totally inside out.
‘Live Drugs’ by The War On Drugs
Live Drugs was released in November 2020, but it’s not your typical live album. Instead of recording one live show and turning it into an album, The War On Drugs took a different approach. The band assembled the tracklist by pulling from live performances between 2014 and 2019. By combining performances spanning multiple tours and sequencing them to resemble a full live set, the band showcased how they’ve changed over the years. While listening, the tracks flow into one another like a typical live show. But really, it serves as more of an examination of The War On Drugs’ evolving live performances.
‘Black Symphony’ by Within Temptation
Dutch metal band Within Temptation released their third live album in September 2008, accompanied by a DVD release. Black Symphony was recorded in February 2008 during a sold-out concert in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Within Temptation is already known for their symphonic and theatrical approach to heavy metal. But this concert took things up a notch. The band was accompanied by the Metropole Orchestra and the PA’dam Choir of the Netherlands, along with several special guests. This live album is really best experienced alongside the video recording, though, as it went beyond a typical Within Temptation concert. There were choreographed circus segments and pyrotechnics, including fireworks and simulated lightning. All in all, a technological marvel for a symphonic metal show.
‘Ruin Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah’ by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes’ Ruin Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah is probably the most unique live album I’ve come across in my studies so far. Released in October 2004, the goof-punk supergroup recorded the album at the actual Bar Mitzvah of Jonny Wixen. It’s mostly cover songs typical of a live party band, like “Stairway to Heaven”, “Heart of Glass”, and “Come Sail Away”. But there are unique little quirks throughout the album that humanize it almost to the point of second-hand embarrassment. The album opens with the Bar Mitzvah boy reciting a Hebrew blessing, and from there, the fact that this is a teenager’s birthday party never really goes away.
Recorded in real time, the album is peppered with ambient party noise ranging from excitement to begrudging tolerance. Uncle Roger (apparently a relative of the Bar Mitzvah boy) takes a verse on “Seasons in the Sun”. Meanwhile, Jonny himself does some drumming on the track “Sloop John B”. Overall, though, this live album is a treasure. Where else are you going to hear a rendition of “Hava Nagila” containing an interpolation of “Come Out and Play” by The Offspring?
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