The list of live albums I've listened to is extremely short, it's only fair my best of list is short as well. Here are my top 5 live albums of the year.
5) Leprous - Live at Rockefeller Music Hall
Leprous is a band that should have made my list of 2015, WHY I NO DO THAT? I was a little worried that Einar Solberg's wouldn't sound as good live as it does in studio. Nope, I was totally wrong, and he just nails it with this live performance.
4) Fahir Atakoglu - Live at Umbria Jazz
For me, most jazz albums fall a little flat in the studio, but are incredible when performed live. I don't why that there is such a big disconnect for this particular genre.
In Fahir Atakoglu's case, his studio albums are quite good. But this live album absolutely SMOKES. Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez is not only one of the best latin drummers, he's one of the best drummers PERIOD. I had the absolute privilege of seeing him play with Eddie Palmieri, and he just makes me want to quit drumming forever.
3) Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane Re:lived
Remedy Lane is my second favorite Pain of Salvation album, just behind The Perfect Element. A companion piece to Remedy Lane Re:mixed, Re:lived is the album performed in its entirety at ProgPower USA 2014.
Hearing this makes me wish I made the schlep over to Atlanta, GA. I've never been able to see this band live before, and now in 2017 their US tour is not coming to the west coast. Maybe in 2020 they will tour for the 20th anniversary of The Perfect Element?!
2) Myrkur - Mausoleum
This live album was performed at the Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum in Oslo, Norway. The performance was a stripped down acoustic version of her music, accompanied by a girls choir.
What makes this so compelling is that the Mausoleum is like another instrument. The piano and voices just carry, making it sound like ghosts singing in a haunted cave. Both chilling and beautiful at the same time, Mausoleum is a live album you should not miss.
1) Snarky Puppy - Family Dinner Volume 2
The jazz collective known as Snarky Puppy really bring it on ALL of their live albums. Like Volume 1, Volume 2 has a whole slew of guest artists including Jeff Coffin, Nigel Hall, and even David Crosby!
The music and musicianship is astounding. It may not be immediately obvious, but there are multiple drummers. It can be sometimes hard to pick out due to the fact that we're all used to drummers making multiple sounds by themselves.
I haven't seen the accompanying DVD yet, but listening to the audio recording makes me want to watch the DVD. This is another band I wasn't able to see live in 2016. Next time they come around, I'll be sure not to miss them.