In the 1970s, a live record was often more than a souvenir. Bands used the format to prove what they could do without a studio’s safety net, and a few of those recordings did more for a career than any studio release.
Critics still return to the decade’s concert albums when they list the best live recordings ever made. The nine below come from rock, soul, gospel and reggae, and each one has a strong case.
The Who, Live at Leeds (1970)
The Who recorded this album on February 14, 1970, at the University of Leeds. It came out that May. The original release was a lean collection of just six tracks, and it still sounds ferocious.
Critics often point to it as the standard for raw, loud, unpolished rock on record. Later reissues expanded it to cover much more of the night. Even so, the compact original is the version many reviewers remember best.
The Allman Brothers Band, At Fillmore East (1971)
The Allman Brothers Band recorded this double album in March 1971 at the Fillmore East in New York City, and it came out that July. The long, interlocking guitar work of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts is the main draw. The band stretches its songs into extended improvisations without losing the thread.
The album has been widely praised as a high point of Southern rock and of live recording in general. The Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry in 2004. Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident that October, which gave the record a lasting weight.
The Rolling Stones, Get Yer Ya Yas Out (1970)
This one captures the Stones on their 1969 American tour, with recordings made in November of that year, including shows at Madison Square Garden. It was released in September 1970. The band had just added guitarist Mick Taylor, and the playing is sharp and loose at once.
The album reached the top of the UK chart, and it did well in the United States too. Critics have long treated it as a snapshot of the band at its peak. It remains a regular fixture on best live album lists.
Aretha Franklin, Amazing Grace (1972)
Aretha Franklin recorded this gospel set in January 1972 at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles. The record was released that June. Her voice, backed by a choir and a live congregation, carries an intensity that studio gospel rarely matched.
It became the best selling album of her career. Many critics rank it as one of the finest gospel recordings ever made, live or otherwise. The church setting is part of why it feels so immediate.
Bob Marley and the Wailers, Live! (1975)
This album was recorded in July 1975 at the Lyceum Theatre in London and released that December. It introduced many listeners outside Jamaica to the full force of Marley’s band on stage. The slow, simmering version of No Woman, No Cry became the track most people associate with it.
Critics have frequently called it one of the best live reggae albums, and it is often cited as a turning point for his international profile. The performance feels warm and unhurried, with the crowd singing along. It rewards patient listening.
Kiss, Alive! (1975)
Kiss released Alive! in September 1975, after studio albums that had not sold as well as the band hoped. The recordings came from several American shows, including dates in Detroit and Cleveland. The band later acknowledged that some studio work went into the final mix.
The album changed the group’s fortunes and helped keep their label, Casablanca, afloat. Critics are divided on its polish, yet many still rank it among the decade’s essential live records. It captured arena rock excitement for a mass audience.
Peter Frampton, Frampton Comes Alive! (1976)
Released in January 1976, this double album was assembled from concerts recorded in 1975, including shows in San Francisco. Frampton’s talk box guitar on Do You Feel Like We Do became a signature sound. The album turned a modestly successful solo artist into a major star.
It spent ten weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 and went on to sell millions of copies in the United States. Critics at the time and since have counted it among the biggest live success stories in rock. Its reputation rests as much on its popularity as on the playing.
Cheap Trick, At Budokan (1978)
Cheap Trick recorded this album in April 1978 at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, where the band had a devoted following. The record was first issued in Japan, then released in the United States later that year. The screaming crowd is nearly as memorable as the songs.
The live version of I Want You to Want Me became a hit single in the US, which lifted the band into the mainstream. Critics often hold it up as proof that a live album can outshine the studio originals. Power pop rarely sounded this muscular.
Thin Lizzy, Live and Dangerous (1978)
Thin Lizzy released this double album in June 1978, produced by Tony Visconti. It reached number two on the UK album chart. The twin guitar harmonies and Phil Lynott’s storytelling make the band sound both tough and generous.
Many critics rank it among the greatest live rock albums of all time. There has long been discussion about how much studio fixing was done afterward, but the energy of the performances is rarely questioned. It remains the record most fans point to first when introducing the band.
