Best/Fav Fully Representative List of Live Releases
Hi there,
I've been visiting this site for many years and one of the things I've often read threads about is people's recommendations for live releases. In fact, that's what my only previous thread was about - asking for advice.
I now own and have listened to most of the Live Trax and official live releases and thought I might be in a position to give something back. Many people who have recently got into DMB or existing fans looking to invest in some live material often come here asking for advice and usually receive it. However, there are a number of hardcore fans that love the older releases and/or don't enjoy particular periods of the band's studio or live releases, and that's OK!
Myself, I enjoy all of the band's releases. In fact my least favourite period of live releases are the pre-BTCS ones, mainly due to a smaller variety of songs but Dave's voice can also be a factor.
I decided that I would like to compile a list of my favourite live releases spanning the band's history, that represents a reasonably even distributuion throught the various iterations of the band. I ended up with a small number of rules to guide my choices:
1) The list comprises 15 live releases - not too small or large a number and is effectively one per two years of DMB
2) The 15 were selected from the Live Trax and offical live releases, mainly as that is what I have and listen to (DMB only too, no D&T)
3) I limited the selection to contain only one show from any single year
4) I wanted the selections to provide a reasonable representation of each ieteration of the band and settled on 1 from pre-1995, 4 from 1995-2000, 4 from 2001-2008, 3 from 2008-2012, 2 from 2013-2017 and 1 post-2017.
Anyway, the list I have come up with in chronological order is:
1993 - Live Trax 20 - this one is my favourite of the early releases and I was surprised by how much I enjoy it. Warren Haynes guesting is a welcome addition and I love Blue Water.
1995 - Live at Red Rocks - this is such a good show and I find it a much easier re-listen than the other 95-96 releases. Tim Reynolds guesting throughout and many of these songs are top notch versions.
1997 - Live Trax 47 - despite LT7 being a favourite among most fans I have never really loved it for some reason - don't flame, I still think it's good! However, I much prefer this release in terms of the overall show flow. It has Bela Fleck guesting rather than the full Flecktones.
1998 - Live Trax 1 - this was one of the first I bought and is still a favourite. Butch Taylor and Tim Reynolds guest throughout with occasional input from Bela Fleck. The show is bookended by the superb Seek Up-Linus and Lucy opening and the IBYU-Last Stop closer. Sensational.
2000 - Live Trax 3 - another early purchase and a firm fan favourite. It's hard to say what makes this one so special, but I think it's the overall pace, flow and vibe of the show is just so on point. Again it features Seek Up-Linus and Lucy and Butch Taylor.
2001 - Live Trax 31 - I think this is the most enjoyable listen of the live releases with a heavy Everyday presence. Features the Lovely Ladies guesting on backing vocals. An interseting song selection and a good production mix.
2003 - The Central Park Concert - the first DMB release that I ever owned. It was listening to this over and over that made me catch the bug! Many of the songs on here are among the best live releases you will find. Warren Haynes guesting on Cortez the Killer is a highlight.
2004 - Live Trax 8 - all of the 2004 releases are great, but this is the pick of them for me. Although I love the Carlos Santana guest section of LT2, this show is just such a solid selection of songs and flows really well. No Loving Wings is the only thing you could hold against it as a 2004 release!
2007 - Live Trax 42 - I avoided any of the shows that were too Stand Up focussed. I love some of the Stand Up songs, but the shows which are dominated by them are not among the best IMO. This release is one of the very best in the DMB collection. Another great flowing show that has been mixed well. It picks up the Loving Wings that is missing from the previous selection and also includes Shotgun, which for me is over-rated but many love it something crazy.
2008 - Live Trax 13 - this is another release that is just so solid throughout with a great overall set of songs and flow. #27 and Water into Wine are nice inclusions and the Hey, Hey, My, My cover is fantastic.
2009 - Live Trax 35 - I think this is the best of the Big Whiskey era live releases. Another show with good flow, backed up with a good mix. Some great songs in here. I especially enjoy the performance of The Dreaming Tree.
2010 - Live Trax 28 - this year is overly-represented with live releases for some reason. I think they're all pretty good, but for me this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. I like the overall flow and energy of the show and it includes a performance of Spoon. I really love the Squirm through DDtW opening sequence too.
2013 - Live Trax 45 - I decided to stear clear of the two-set 2014 releases so settled on choosing one from 2013 and one from 2015-16. I enjoy this release more than the other 2013 option, which is LT29. I think this one is a more solid show overall, with a good energy. The run to the close of the main set and the encore is an incredibly strong finish.
2015 - Live Trax 36 - this one is a two-set structure, with an acoustic set including The Stone and Snow Outside. I picked this one over LT44 because I thought it good to include one two-set show and I enjoy the overall main set of this one more. I prefer the mix on this one and Dave's vocals seem a little off on LT44.
2018 - Live Trax 46 - no alternatives here, as I had to choose this one to represent the Come Tommorrow release era! Nevertheless, I do like this show and enjoy hearing the Come Tommorrow material in a live setting.
Wow, that was some effort!
Hopefully people find this now or years down the track and it helps them make some informed choices as to how to start or expand the DMB live release collection. For those of you that have already been there and done that, you are welcome to suggest improvements to this list, add supporting comments to my selections that you agree with or to come up with your own list of 15 following the rules I set out at the beginning of the post (with maybe one non-confrmance of the rules if you really feel it must be done!).
Cheers,
Dan.
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