Here we go with another Top 10 list. This time it is the Top 10 Live Albums of all time. Here are Numbers 6-10 in descending order, just to keep the suspense up.

Number 10: Not Necessarily Acoustic (Steve Howe): This may seem like an unusual selection to kick it off with, but knowing Steve Howe’s all around talent in almost any musical style, his one man show from 1994, is really something to see, hear and experience. I was fortunate to catch his one man act a few years ago and will never forget it. In this all acoustic tour-de-force, he melds classical, jazz, rockabilly, rock, progressive with his incredible sense of style and taste. Really this one is worth listening to again and again. It’s easy to see why he was the driving force behind “Yes” for so many years.

Number 9: 5 Live Yardbirds (the Yardbirds): from 1964 and recorded at the Marquee Club, the Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones pretty much made up the early British R&B scene at locations like this and the Crawdaddy Club. Up tempo songs like “Too Much Monkey Business” and “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl” along with Bo Diddley Staples like “I’m a Man” and “Here Tis” keep your foot tapping throughout. The real meat comes out in their cover of Howlin Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning” though and Clapton shines here. Every so often I just get the urge to listen to these great old numbers that started it all…

Number 8: Johnny Winter - Captured Live: This was the first Johnny Winter Album I ever got. It totally blew me away. I was amazed at the pure energy that came out of that Gibson Firebird of his. This 1976 recording is a true showcase of Johnny Winter and Floyd Radford trading licks throughout. High energy versions of “Bony Moronie”, “Rock and Roll People” and “It’s all Over Now” (a song the Rolling Stones had made famous years before) are followed by an incredible slide driven version of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” and the album closes out with an unbelievable version of “Sweet Papa John” with an intro that just about knocks your eyeballs out of their sockets. I know it sounds crazy, but I just get tired out listening to this one because of the energy you spend listening!

Number 7: One More from the Road (Lynyrd Skynyrd): Not much more needs to be said about this one - just good old fashioned hard Southern Rock with the classic versions of “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Freebird” along with great covers of JJ Cale’s “Call Me the Breeze” and Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads”. I really think this one is just about as American as Apple Pie.

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Number 6: Deep Purple “Made in Japan”: This album is so full of energy, it’s hard not get excited just thinking about it. The Greatest Deep Purple Lineup (Blackmore, Gillan, Paice, Lord and Glover) at their absolute peak released in the US in 1973 and the follow up tour to “Machine Head” this features supercharged versions of “Highway Star”, “Lazy” (awsome!) and “Space Truckin” as well as maybe the definitive version of “Smoke on the Water” which sounds just other-worldly. Truly one of the Greatest Rock Bands Ever totally at their Peak - not to be missed.

Well that’s the first five for today, tune in tomorrow on the same Bat Channel for the Top 5 Live albums of all time.

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