Best live album?

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jb
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Best live album?

Post by jb »

Encouraged by the excellent Spaceman podcasts I'm moving beyond the studio albums...what's the pick of the live albums out there?

Thanks all
angelsighs
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Re: Best live album?

Post by angelsighs »

For me it's 100% Live in Europe, nice wide ranging setlist and superior sound quality compared to the more famous Performance.
Ian
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Re: Best live album?

Post by Ian »

It's difficult to recommend just one, as the Kember-Pierce-Bain-Roswell and Kember-Pierce-Carruthers-Mattock lineups were quite different.

For the first of these, this gig from 11 January 1988 at the Rose Club, Cologne, was released on the bootleg CD All Fucked Up, although it used a poor recording. A version from the master tape is on YouTube, and is pretty hard to beat.



For the second, the 18 May 1989 gig at the New Morning in Geneva is probably the best recording we've got, although there are many other excellent shows, albeit with pretty much the same setlist as this. It has been officially released on Space Age on CD only, following an unofficial release on Mental Groove on LP only, but it's an audience recording that has been doing the rounds for years and is also on YouTube. The official release changes the order of some of the tracks and drops in some of Pete's between song banter in places other than when it was spoken.

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olan
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Re: Best live album?

Post by olan »

https://www.discogs.com/Spacemen-3-kale ... e/14183372

I listen to this more than any of the other Spacemen 3 live recordings I have. It is the 09.05.1989 Nurnberg gig. I'm pretty sure Runcible has one of the other 22 copies doing the rounds.
Ian
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Re: Best live album?

Post by Ian »

olan wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 6:06 pm https://www.discogs.com/Spacemen-3-kale ... e/14183372

I listen to this more than any of the other Spacemen 3 live recordings I have. It is the 09.05.1989 Nurnberg gig. I'm pretty sure Runcible has one of the other 22 copies doing the rounds.
That is quite an artifact, but I would be amazed if anyone can find one for sale anywhere. If you just want to hear the recording, the gig is one of the ones currently on Dime.
I have a passion sweet Lord...
http://www.spacemen3.co.uk
jb
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Re: Best live album?

Post by jb »

Brill, thanks all. Going to make my way through these...

James
BessieBoporBach
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Re: Best live album?

Post by BessieBoporBach »

Ian wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 12:52 pm It's difficult to recommend just one, as the Kember-Pierce-Bain-Roswell and Kember-Pierce-Carruthers-Mattock lineups were quite different.

For the first of these, this gig from 11 January 1988 at the Rose Club, Cologne, was released on the bootleg CD All Fucked Up, although it used a poor recording. A version from the master tape is on YouTube, and is pretty hard to beat.



For the second, the 18 May 1989 gig at the New Morning in Geneva is probably the best recording we've got, although there are many other excellent shows, albeit with pretty much the same setlist as this. It has been officially released on Space Age on CD only, following an unofficial release on Mental Groove on LP only, but it's an audience recording that has been doing the rounds for years and is also on YouTube. The official release changes the order of some of the tracks and drops in some of Pete's between song banter in places other than when it was spoken.

I completely agree with what you've said, although I'm not sure that it's accurate to say that the Mental Groove release of the New Morning gig was "unofficial." It was overseen by Sonic himself.

The Space Age release copied the Mental Groove release down to the sleeve design and liner notes. It even retains a unique skip in the mastering (IIRC during "Revolution").

Among the other live recordings, Dreamweapon is indispensable, of course. And I seem to enjoy Performance and Threebie 3 more than most -- that version of Starship is definitive.
SpEnCeR1
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Re: Best live album?

Post by SpEnCeR1 »

Threebie 3 is awesome, just a shame Performance cant be remastered to that SQ.

the Barbue - Copenhagen (is it 1989?) is pretty solid
Ian
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Re: Best live album?

Post by Ian »

SpEnCeR1 wrote: Tue May 25, 2021 8:24 amthe Barbue - Copenhagen (is it 1989?) is pretty solid
Yeah, that's another great one, and again is on YouTube.

I have a passion sweet Lord...
http://www.spacemen3.co.uk
Laz69
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Re: Best live album?

Post by Laz69 »

I enjoy them all, warts and all, as initially, Performance, Threebie 3 and Dreamweapon were all i could get hold of before i knew what a rich bootleg treasure trove was out there.

The version of Suicide on Threebie 3 will always win me over. An absolute MONSTER of a version and my favourite, although the New Morning release is superb too.
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Re: Best live album?

Post by runcible »

olan wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 6:06 pm https://www.discogs.com/Spacemen-3-kale ... e/14183372

I listen to this more than any of the other Spacemen 3 live recordings I have. It is the 09.05.1989 Nurnberg gig. I'm pretty sure Runcible has one of the other 22 copies doing the rounds.
Guilty :roll:

It's a totally bonkers thing. As is the KLF Chill out box I bought from the same guy!

I probably enjoy Performance the most. The versions of Come Together & WWJ are superb.

That Rose Club show from January 88 is monstrous. The Little Doll & OD Catastrophe are off the scale in that recording - as is the 2nd Come Together at the end...
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