Here are my top 5 live albums of the year.
5) Eivør - London Solo Sessions
Faroese pop star Eivør is back with the London Solo Sessions. It's a live EP comprised of 4 tracks, 3 of them stripped down acoustic versions of her songs off of Slør and a Leonard Cohen cover.
With only 16 minutes of music on here, it's definitely a small dose of music, but I really enjoy the reimagined versions of her tunes.
4) The Pineapple Thief - Where We Stood
I'm not much of a Pineapple Thief fan. I've heard their name for years but haven't really paid them much attention. When I read that Gavin Harrison contributed drums on Your Wilderness, I immediately gave it a spin and I enjoyed it.
Then I saw he was also drumming on their live album, Where We Stood. I'll listen to any damn thing Gavin Harrison drums on. His drumming is both technical, tasteful, and pretty. I'm still just casual Pineapple Thief fan at best, but this makes the list mostly because of Mr. Harrison.
3) Carpenter Brut - CARPENTERBRUTLIVE
Carpenter Brut is yet another French synthwave artist. With only 3 EPs (or 1 album made up of those three EPs) of material, he is already making waves in the synthwave scene.
The live show is an entirely different beast. It has so much more energy to it, which can probably be attributed to performing live with a guitarist and a drummer. I missed him last time he came around, but I have my ticket to his upcoming show at the Regency!
2) Cult of Luna - Live at La Gaîté Lyrique: Paris
When Cult of Luna were teasing this live DVD/CD, I thought it was going to be a live version of Mariner. When they finally made a full announcement, I was disappointed that there were zero Mariner on this.
Once I listened to it though, it was so damn good I quickly forgot about Mariner. With Mariner topping my list in 2016 it's easy to forget that Cult of Luna has an entire back catalog of amazing music. I don't think I've said Mariner enough. Mariner.
1) King Crimson - Live in Chicago, 28 June 2017 (Collector's Club Special Edition)
King Crimson's latest live incarnation was billed as having four drummers. I totally got duped because Bill Rieflin was taken from the drums to the keyboards, and they added Jeremy Stacey to replace him on the skins. Technically, I guess you can say there were four drummers there, just not all of them were playing drums. GTFO.
This two and half hour set from their Chicago show is not too different from the setlist for Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind. Since King Crimson absolutely shines in a live setting, the small personnel change and small change in setlist is not a big deal. They are experts in improvisation, so it would be fine even if it was 100% the same setlist.
Let's not forget the biggest reason I love this live album, and why I saw them live with "four drummers." The man, the myth, the legend, Gavin Harrison absolutely kills it on drums. Adding Harrison on drums is perhaps the most briliiantest move that King Crimson could ever make in the history of ever. His drumming, along with Pat Mastelotto and Jeremy Stacey, injects new life into King Crimson classics.
I'm not sure how much longer King Crimson will be around. They haven't released a new studio album since 2003's The Power to Believe. Robert Fripp is 71, and I imagine he won't be touring for much longer. If you get a chance to see them live, DO IT.
