'Live At Folsom Prison'

Listening to Johnny Cash's live records from prisons, I always wondered what a treat that was for the guys in lock up. Really, it's probably more of a privilege than they actually deserve. To see one of the stalwarts of early rock and roll and country and western while you're wearing a prison uniform. I bet those dudes never even thought twice about how lucky they were. 

Although a neat concept, this album is just some sort of fantasy play for Cash as he attempted to paint himself as some sort of outlaw. It's my one gripe about Cash, the simple boy from backwoods Arkansas  that grew up singing gospel songs to his mother is suddenly a pill-popping badass, who is singing songs  about killing his cheating wife, snorting cocaine and counting down his minutes to his meeting at the gallows. 

Cash was a big phony baloney, in actuality. He was a small insecure man, who was probably incapable of having any kind of real human compatibility or useful relationships. He wasn't Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis or any of those other guys and he knew it. And he tried everything he could to make up for that. 

Live At Folsom Prison was actually a comeback record for Cash. It was his 27th EP. Strung out on drugs, his popularity waned in the 1960s. He got (somewhat) clean and a change in leadership at Columbia Records prompted him to approach several California prisons to record live. 

Just glad he was able to go inside to keep up his image. 

'Live at the Star Club, Hamburg'

It's slightly odd that a true American treasure's possible most lasting impact comes in a recording done across the Atlantic Ocean in Germany.

More odd, that maybe his lasting footnote is that he married his first cousin once removed and that she was 13 years old.

On the other hand, which is much easier to type, it's hard not to marvel at the legacy the man actually carries as an American artist and, maybe more importantly, as a Southern artist.

He was born in Concordia Parish in Louisiana where the family mortgaged the family farm in order to purchase a piano. His cousins were the excellent musicians Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggart.

His family moved to Waxahachie to Southwest Bible Institute where he was ran out of town for doing a boogie woogie rendition of "My God is Real." Thus his unruly path down the near invention of the most famous genre in recorded music.

Lewis went to Memphis in 1956 and began recording for Sun Records. He'd later tour and record with Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash recreating the sound of rock and roll and country music.

Live at the Star Club, Hamburg was recorded in April 1964 two months after The Beatles "invaded" the United States in large part due to the influence of Lewis, Presley, Little Richard and American soul.  Ironically, Lewis captured the pure energy and libido of American culture in the city where The Beatles, like young Lee Lewises, popped a bunch of pills and played endless hours on many stages of Hamburg.

Live at the Star Club, Hamburg is considered one of the greatest live records of all time. There's little to argue about here.

'Live and Dangerous'

One of the most masterful live records ever from one of the most underrated bands in rock history, Thin Lizzy.

They were an Irish band playing rock music  with a black lead singer. Their first hit, "Whiskey in a Jar," was a Irish folk song.

Live and Dangerous is connected to controversy as overdubs were used. To what extent is the question. The producer claims 75 percent of the album was done in studio. The band and others claim 75 percent was done love over the course of a few shows in London.

What is there is Thin Lizzy's undeniable groove and a line-up of face-melting guitar solos. Also, playing harmonica was "Huey Harp," or a bluesman known as Huey Lewis, whose own band, Clover, had just disbanded. Two years later, Lewis would be the frontman for one of the biggest selling bands in the world.

'Live At Leeds'

I think the live album is an interesting concept especially when the live album is considered, arguably, one of a band's or performer's best albums. This is probably different in the early days of recording as some jazz and R&B artists may have only had live albums to go on or not many studio albums to even it out.

But The Who are a different animal. I don't particularly like them, but many consider them a great band responsible for some of the greatest rock and roll songs and albums in the history of the genre.
Yet, one of their best is an unevenly recorded live album with the bare minimum of hits released on the heels of their magnum opus, Tommy.

Live albums, generally, are for fans of the band. If you want the general gist of Paul McCartney, buy his greatest hits. If you're a fan, get Tripping the Live Fantastic. Marginal fans have little use for live albums.

Why do live albums have appeal? I think you get a sense of how they sound outside of the studio without the crutches of producers, multiple takes and multi-tracking. It's raw.

The Who are an interesting band to see this side of. Keith Moon is always excellent and brings it no matter what. But I find that doing these songs live is tougher for Pete Townshend who is responsible for all of the melodic contents of the band as there's no other guitarists, keyboards or anything outside of a bass guitar and drums.

His guitars on Live at Leeds are uneven and hurried. He's trying to do everything to paste together these riffs he constructed in the studio. Seems forced. That's probably why "Substitute" is the best track off the album.

Thumbs down for butchering "Summertime Blues."