What was the first live album to top the charts?
Harry Styles recently proclaimed, “Not everything has to last forever in order for it to be special”. This rings especially true in the case of live music, where for one perfect moment, nothing else exists except how you feel in the moment.
It’s actually something we should talk about more: sure, shutting out the rest of the world and listening to your favourite record in headphones is one of the most magically intimate experiences you can have. Even better when it’s songs you get goosebumps at the mere thought of listening to, like Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘America’ or worse, Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’.
But one of the most beautifully tragic things about live music is also that, as Styles said, it doesn’t last forever. Most of our greatest memories are of one perfect fleeting moment where everything made sense for a while, and live music is no different. Really, is there any greater feeling than hearing your favourite song live?
Why the live album is so special is that, while we might not be able to time-travel and re-live the memories, it is the closest thing to feeling like we’re actually there, hearing those songs in the moment, and feeling the energy from the crowd, hearing and experiencing that performance almost exactly as it happened.
This is also why, across history, the live album is one of the most popular formats, many of which sparked their own movements or historical moments that changed the course of music forever. For instance, Talking Heads’ 1984 masterpiece Stop Making Sense delivered everything great about new wave and DIY, or, as David Byrne said, a “dramatic” and “physical” build-up of that groundbreakingly energetic Talking Heads brilliance.
Depeche Mode’s 101 is also a good example of how one live explosion can solidify a band’s position as global revolutionaries, capturing both the monumental achievement of breaking America and the fierce devotion of loyal followers who back you at your creative and experimental peak.
In some cases, like Johnny Cash’s incredible At Folsom Prison and Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same, live albums can also attract enough popularity to climb the charts, with commercial numbers that rival even some of their more established studio recordings.
What was the first live album to top the charts?
Some live albums have even reached number one, the first of which was The Rolling Stones’ 1970 LP Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!: The Rolling Stones in Concert. The band’s final release under Decca, Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!, did more than just achieve a number one spot in the UK: it set a completely new standard for the live album, immortalising the band at the pinnacle of their explosiveness with a setlist that has your heart going from start to finish.
When it first came out, people immediately claimed it was one of the best live concerts ever put on record, a testament to how much that raw energy pierces the speakers any time you pop it on for another listen. Suffice to say, then, that that’s the true beauty of a live album done well, for that energy that immediately pulls you in and makes you feel a part of history, even if you weren’t even born yet when it happened.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Classic Rock Newsletter
All the latest Classic Rock content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.