It was the perfect marriage of rising technology, expanding musical forms, visual art, and the purchasing power of the most populous generation in the history of human civilization.

The Rock & Roll LP.

It spawned its own commercial broadcast format, Album-Oriented Radio, or AOR for short, which, in turn, single-handedly flipped the script and made new-comer FM the dominant transmission process after a half-century of AM as the only type of radio anyone would care to own.

Earlier recording and playback limitations made the high speed 78 rpm record king, but the speed limited the amount of playback time. The 45 rpm record allowed for smaller records, but did nothing to increase playback time.

The perfection of the stereo phonographic process, slowing the record to 33 1/3 rpm, and expanding to the Long-Playing (LP) format allowed artists to showcase more of their work in a stand-alone package.

The 12-inch-square flat packaging allowed an explosion of cover art that became more than just a photograph of the performer, and morphed from graphic art to a legitimate art form.

The Baby-Boomers, the primary creators and consumers of this new product, made it commercially successful.

Ten Albums You Must Have

There is some great music included in the albums I’m going to recommend today, but these titles evoke more than simple mastery of sound.  Packaging plays an important role, as does the possibilities, and limitations, of the LP itself.

Some began as efforts to push the limits of what an album could be in all its artistic splendors, others just ended up that way. Still others captured a glimmering moment in the history of the rock pantheon. Each has firmly planted itself in music history, if not cultural history, but they appear here because each has at least one reason why vinyl is the preferred medium, even for non-enthusiasts.

You should be able to get most of these titles wherever you purchase vinyl records.  So without further ado, let’s get started.

Cosmo’s Factory – Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fantasy Records, 1970

What a hit factory it was!

“Cosmo” is the nickname of drummer Doug Clifford. He and bassist Stu Cook served as the perfect rhythm section for lead guitarist/lead singer/writer John Fogerty, and his older brother, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty.

This quartet had been a working-class act for a decade by the time this record was created (think Travelin’ Band from this set, and Lodi), were on the brink of falling apart (the elder Fogerty would soon leave), and Factory refers to the nickname Clifford gave the band’s rehearsal space because of how much time John Fogerty made them spend there.

The result is an album that reads like a greatest hits compilation. Sprinkled with covers, it includes the powerful originals:

• Travelin’ Band
• Lookin’ Out My Back Door
• Run Through the Jungle
• Up Around the Bend
• Who’ll Stop the Rain
• Long As I Can See the Light

This list would serve as a career for any lesser band and it’s hard to imagine any other American band getting so much airplay from the songs off one album, including their driving cover of I Heard It Through the Grapevine.

On vinyl, you get a real feel for what masters of the 3-minute epic these guys were.

All Things Must Pass – George Harrison, Apple, 1970

A 3-disc set as a debut was, and is, unprecedented, and if it had been offered by any other performer, would have been too pretentious to be released, never-mind that the artist owned one-fourth of the label.

Neither John nor Paul had a sufficient backlog of material to make this album, and they certainly didn’t have the humility to employ the lineup of musicians George did at this nascent stage of their solo careers.

This album works on vinyl because of the packaging: a simple black and white cover photo of George decidedly solo in his own backyard with no one but his gnome statues sharing the space. Each of the 3 discs serves as its own album, including the third which feels like payback to the musicians with names like Clapton, Starr, Preston, Voorman, Badfinger, Delaney, and Bonnie who were allowed to stretch out on jams.

Harrison even gets a one-up on his former bandmates, becoming the first ex-Beatle with a number 1 record, this album’s My Sweet Lord.

Woodstock – Various Artists, Atlantic-Cotillion, 1970

“Rock and roll won’t last.”

“Fifty percent of marriages end in divorce.”

Are there any more iconic images and sounds of the sixties in general than what’s on this album? The cover photograph of a young blanket-shrouded couple among what has been described alternately as “breakfast in bed for 400,000, “ or just squalor, Richie Haven’s Freedom, Hendrix’s Star-Spangled Banner, or Country Joe MacDonald’s Fixin’-to-Die Rag, to name a few.

On vinyl, you get the rare 3-disc set with side one backed by side 6, and so on, allowing for consecutive play of 3 sides with a record changer. When side 1 was done, the disc with side 2 would plop down on top of the first for automatic play, followed by the disc with side 3. Flip them all over as a unit, and you can play sides 4, 5, and 6 the same way. It’s hard to imagine that wasn’t hard on the records, but it’s history.

Rock and Roll has lasted, as has the marriage of the couple on the cover. Still together, they were interviewed during the 40^th anniversary year of the concert.

The Beatles – The Beatles, Apple, 1968

Whether it sounds like a collection of solo recordings using other members of the band as sidemen or not, The Beatles, aka “The White Album,” offers up four sides of monumental recordings that cross the spectrum of musical genres.

Packaged with 8×10 glossies of the individuals, it became apparent that it was impossible to get the four of them together for a group photo during this period.

The included poster also unfolded to show candid shots of the group. . . alone together.

Side 4 on vinyl has the distinction of either containing 4 rarely-heard gems, or the most-played 8 minutes of non-song gobbled-gook on one of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums. Revolution 9 is cut 5 at nearly the end of the side.

Without being able to skip tracks as is possible with digital formats, LP listeners usually either muddle through that track after listening to the first 4 tracks, or skip that side altogether.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles, Capitol, 1978

This could have been for the original release in 1967, with its cardstock insert of Sgt. Pepper cutouts, gatefold packaging, ground-breaking inclusion of lyrics to each song, or the iconic cover photo.

But it’s for the most kitschy of all official Beatles releases, the 1978 picture disc release, Cat. SEAX 11840.

Popular in the late 70’s and early 80’s, possibly as a last-gasp for vinyl prior to the rise of digital formats, picture discs took the cover art of some of the most popular albums of the day and pressed it into the vinyl. Imagine the cover of this album cropped into a circle, losing the corners. The record is then repackaged into a cardboard sleeve with a nearly equal sized circular opening making the disc visible from outside.

The saving grace of his release is that side 2 has a picture of the Sgt. Pepper drum covering the vinyl, making a nice 12-inch visual.

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Sticky Fingers – The Rolling Stones, Rolling Stones Records, 1971

You say this isn’t the best Rolling Stones album? It does have a few standouts among its 10 tracks with Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, and Dead Flowers.

But can you get more Rock & Roll than that cover with the waist-down photo of a man’s jeans (Jagger’s?) complete with a working zipper fly, stamped with the album title?

Try streaming that.

Disraeli Gears – Cream, ATCO, 1967

Take the original rock power trio, a healthy amount of pink and magenta ink, and some quintessential psychedelic artwork, and you get a cover that can only really be appreciated in its original 12×12 inch size.

The very sixties album title helps, too.

The super music doesn’t hurt.

Strange Brew, Sunshine of Your Love, and Tales of Brave Ulysses are some of the most identifiable of the groups songs.

Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd, EMI, 1973

Firmly ensconcing Pink Floyd as pioneers of art rock, this album made the band immortal.

With the wave of new laws across the country legalizing marijuana, the only way for a modern teenager to completely recreate the image of their forebears from the seventies is with this platter spinning in the background.

Especially if your entry level turntable is not equipped with auto shutoff.

Abbey Road – The Beatles, Apple, 1969

This represents the final recording sessions of these four together, and they knew it. They made it worthwhile.

They used every skill they had accumulated in their near-decade together as performers and thousands of hours in the recording studio to craft their legacy. As you would expect, there isn’t a weak song or wasted second on the album.

One of the most annoying aspects of the digital world is the lag between tracks, usually not an issue with clean gaps between cuts on most records, but on this album, the songs are precisely spaced, and of course, lead into each other on the celebrated back side. Vinyl is the only way to hear them correctly.

Even if that weren’t enough, every music lover needs to experience the euphoria of completing the sonic dirge of I Want You (She’s So Heavy) at the end of side one, turning the record over, and being rewarded with the uplifting optimism of Here Comes The Sun.

Who’s Next – The Who, Decca, 1971

Who can take a failed concept, cutting-edge instrumentation, a trio of musicians and a lead singer, and create what many consider the greatest rock album of all time. And don’t you forget it.

Pete Townshend wanted to follow up Tommy with a concept called Lifehouse. When that project became untenable, he scaled it back, added other songs, and created a tour de force for the relatively new electronic synthesizer.

Not programmed, as some expect, the synthesizers on this album are played by Townshend to the rest of the arrangements. Using it in concert meant taking copies of the synthesizer tracks on the road, duct-taping headphones to Keith Moon’s head, and playing live to the recorded music, much like a click track.

It’s not the only instrument besides drums and guitars on the album, but it takes center stage, dominating the lead off and ending tracks; Baba O’Riley and Won’t Get Fooled Again; bookend anthems like nowhere else in the recorded universe.

The beauty of the vinyl version here is not juxtaposition, ala Abbey Road, but a much-needed intermission between songs 5 and 6 of the 9-song set. There is so much going on musically on these sides that you’ll want to strap on the headphones (no tape, please!), add your own “We’re all wasted!”, and experience the non-stop energy of a Who performance.

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If you are reading this because you have no Beatles albums in your collection and you need some advice, one of these two questions must be asked: what’s wrong with you, or where have you been?

Almost no one, except for a select few who think it is somehow cool to do so, will deny the influence The Beatles have had on Rock & Roll, recording, touring, or music in general, beginning in 1963 and continuing today.

It’s hard to imagine the recorded works of any artist being more collectable, or to many folks, better sounding, than The Beatles. The popularity of The Beatles’ music and its ready availability on vinyl may well have played a critical role in the resurgence of vinyl as a widely used medium.

Why Beatles Vinyl Records Are Worth Owning

There are still probably billions of Beatles fans in the world, and more young music lovers discover the band daily.

That level of popularity has led to and supported an industry of research, thought, publishing, curating, and idolatry of the band.

Having all the album tracks released in England put into

This, and the seemingly limitless permutations of mono versus stereo, record labels, cover art, and copyrights have made The Beatles’ catalog fertile ground for serious collectors, fans, and demanding audiophiles. The volumes written covering the band, such as the excellent series of in-depth books about the various labels which released records, by Bruce Spizer, have made collecting the group a whole new sport.

Without further ado, let’s get to our top 10 favorite Beatles albums available on vinyl.

The Albums

Let’s begin the countdown with number 10.

10.  Rarities -Capitol, SHAL-12060

Much of the allure of collecting Beatle recordings is the number of different mixes for many songs, between singles, album cuts, mono/stereo, or issuing label. This 1980 Capitol album collects some of those variants.

Inclusion of some B sides and others left off the early Capitol albums makes this selection a little dated, but it’s a good starting place for a completist. One track takes two rare-for-the-U.S. mixes of Penny Lane to create a new version. The liner notes state as much, either in apology, or to advertise that there is something here available nowhere else.

9.  The Beatles – Apple, Embossed Cover

A double LP full of excellent songs and performances, the album commonly referred to as the “White Album,” despite seeming at times more like three singer/songwriters and their all-star session men. But what session men they are.

The cover art is considered either inspired . . . or nonexistent. The all-white cover originally was interrupted only by an embossed “The BEATLES,” and a printed sequential number, from 1 (apparently Ringo’s copy, sold at auction in 2016) to the millions. Later pressings eschewed the embossing and replaced it with a printed version of the album title.

But an embossed copy is a piece of history regardless of number, so pay attention to condition. Unless you find number two, three, or four.

8.  Magical Mystery Tour– German Apple, Cat. 1c 072-04 449

This is the only U.S. repackaging of U.K. releases that has become the preferred configuration. Initially conceived to take the EP of songs from the movie, as it was released in England, and put them in an album for American consumers, the longer format caught on around the world.

While the original EP is highly collectable, and mono copies of the Capitol release are exceedingly rare, this import pressing has incredible sound quality. For instance, one listen to Baby, You’re A Rich Man will give new appreciation for McCartney’s bass playing, as if you needed it.

It also sports very different artwork than the U.S. release.

7.  ‘Live at the BBC’ – Apple

As the title implies, this album is in essence recorded live in the BBC studios, without an audience.

British musician union rules at the time did not allow playing previously released recorded music, to guarantee more work for performers. Therefore, recording artists like The Beatles were required to make new recordings of their hits for play on air. The Beatles did this so frequently that they took up recording covers of tunes they never intended for release, to augment their collection of album and singles tracks.

Their hectic touring and recording schedule gave them literally only hours to show up, set up gear, and record several songs for the BBC’s use. They weren’t performing live on air, so the possibility of recording multiple takes was there, if not for time limitations.

This album and the follow up collection represent the only recordings of the group playing many of the songs, and interesting alternate versions of the others. The album’s success paved the way for other groups of the time to release albums of their BBC performances.

6. Sgt Pepper – Apple, Mono

Here is the watershed album for the purists’ argument that mono is the preferred format because John, Paul, George, and Ringo sat in on these mixing sessions, but not for stereo.

Yes, George Martin’s son, Giles, has famously remastered a mix to closely resemble the original mono recently, but it is just that – a remaster. As in #1 above, this creates a whole new version of the album.

The original mono pressing is the preferred version here because John and George listened to it. The new album is on vinyl and is easily available, but a vintage copy will cost much less if you can locate it.

5.  Please Please Me – Parlophone Stereo

The 12 songs on this album that weren’t singles were recorded in one night with no overdubs, although there is editing.

The songs were chosen to replicate a typical Beatles concert in 1963.

To get an AAA LP, you will need to find an original copy from the 60’s or 70’s. The current official reissue on vinyl is from the digital master, making it ADA like many new release vinyl records.

For most Beatles albums, the stereo version is preferable, so long as there is no significant difference in the mix. Stereo allows more sonic separation between individual instruments and voices. The arrangements on this LP are so close to a live album, that separation is illuminating.

4.  Yesterday. . .  and Today – Capitol, First, Second, or Third State

Only with The Beatles will there be an album recommended that has absolutely nothing to do with the music. This one is because of the cover, which is hard to find.

The numbers refer to the condition of the cover, and do not appear anywhere on the package.

There are rumors and theories about how these album covers came to be, but these seem to be the undisputed facts:

1. The four Beatles sat for a photograph dressed in white butchers’ smocks, covered in raw meat and dismembered dolls. Think “Butcher Cover.”
2. Capitol put this photo on the cover of this album.
3. Some of these copies got into private hands. These copies are referred to as “First State.”
4. Many of the others with this cover had a different cover pasted over the butcher photo; some of these made it into private hands. These are “Second State.”
5. Some owners of Second State copies over the years have wanted to see the butcher photo, so they have tried various methods to remove the less offensive cover. These resulting copies are “Third State.”

To tell whether you have a Second state copy, look at the right side of the cover. In the butcher photo, Ringo is wearing a black turtleneck shirt under his white smock. The lapels of the smock form a “V” with the black shirt. This black “V” is visible on Second state covers under the white section of the second cover.

If you get your hands on one of these, especially a Second state, do not try to alter the cover. There will never be more Second state copies than there are right now. Other, less well-read, collectors will continue to change Second state copies into Third state, reducing the supply of Second state albums.

Stereo copies of each are worth more than mono, because fewer stereo were made in those days.

3.  Rubber Soul – Parlophone, Stereo

Some reviewers, including a guy named George Harrison, rate this album as the group’s best. 

Some also consider it part A to Revolver’s (see below) part B. It does define the group’s transition away from using the studio solely to memorialize what they were playing in concert.

This was something different.

Using new instruments like sitar, distortion pedal (Paul’s immortal fuzz bass), and harmonium; writing songs of deep introspection (John’s Nowhere Man), murderous jealousy (Run For Your Life), and arsonist revenge (Norwegian Wood), this was no longer the moptop band of just the last album, Help!

2.  Abbey Road – Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs

Product of the final recording sessions of The Beatles, many consider this to be their finest album. After the fiasco (in their collective minds, anyway) of the Let It Be project, the group re-enlisted George Martin to produce. He obliged only because the band agreed to create the album “the old way,” whatever that means to the world’s most innovative recording artists.

Much like a 4^th of July bottle rocket will go faster as it loses weight by burning its fuel, The Beatles came up with a record that is a culmination of their personal and group growth and evolution. It is truly a masterpiece.

But even they knew it was their last effort as Beatles.

Starting in 1980, the MFSL recordings went back to the original master tapes and recut master disks at half speed. In a nutshell, moving the process at half speed allows the cutting stylus additional time to vibrate, allowing it to create a depth of sound unobtainable under full speed mastering.

Pressing onto super high grade vinyl that is so pure it’s translucent completes the package. Yes, hold the disk up to the light and you can see through the grooves.

This album is such a sonic wonder, and such a memento of this band, it deserves special treatment. This is a crossover treasure for any collector of high quality vinyl records.

1.  Revolver – Parlophone, Stereo

For the half who don’t think Abbey Road is the best.

Revolver takes the studio freedom begun with Rubber Soul and adds the tremendous confidence gained from that success and turns it into the true masterpiece.

It spawned several firsts for the group: George’s Taxman is the first of his songs to lead off an album, the seemingly simple Yellow Submarine becomes the group’s first single on which Ringo sings lead, George’s Love You To goes beyond the sitar on a pop song to full Indian instrumentation, John’s Tomorrow Never Knows is a swirling hive of tape loops played directly into the master, all done to a single chord of C.

Sgt. Pepper would not have happened without Revolver, and on closer inspection seems a lesser follow up. This album has an edge that Abbey Road lacks, giving hope for things to come.

And to recap, here are what we believe are the best Beatles albums on vinyl:

10.  Rarities -Capitol, SHAL-12060

9.  The Beatles – Apple, Embossed Cover, Low Number

8.  Magical Mystery Tour– German Apple, Cat. 1c 072-04 449

7.  ‘Live at the BBC’ – Apple

6. Sgt Pepper – Apple, mono

5.  Please Please Me – Parlophone Stereo

4.  “Yesterday” . . .  and Today – 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd State

3.  Rubber Soul – Parlophone, Stereo

2.  Abbey Road – Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs

1.  Revolver – Parlophone, Stereo

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There’s something special about live recordings.

Whether performed by a lone singer and their instrument of choice for accompaniment, or by a full band with additional instruments and singers, live recordings will certainly be different than what was done in the studio.

Artists performing live must pare down their arrangements to what they think is the core of the song. What they leave in, do without, or change, gives the listener a new insight into what the performer feels is important about the song.

Beyond the music, the musicians’ chatter on a live recording speaks volumes about the artist. How a song is introduced, how the musician reacts to a mistake on stage and how they recover from it, and just getting an idea about their sense of humor, are things that make live records on vinyl valuable.

Essential Live Recordings On Vinyl

This list is in no particular order, in no way exhaustive, extremely subjective, bound to start conversations or arguments, but hopefully we be fun and illuminating to read. Many of these titles are hard to come by, but if you are willing to buy records online, all can be found.

Without further ado, let’s begin.

Newport 1958 – Columbia, 1958

Dave Brubeck-piano, Joe Morello-drums, Paul Desmond-alto sax, and Joe Benjamin-double bass.

Four top-flight jazz musicians at the top of their game taking on the work of the great Dizzy Gillespie at 1958 Newport Jazz Festival during a multi-artist tribute session to Gillespie’s work. And not only is Gillespie present, he’s performing!

Despite whatever pressure they feel, or perhaps because of it, the quartet put on a performance that demonstrates their mastery of the form.

What you hear, in stereo, is every note of each player, alternating between unison counterpoint, to “trading eights” in a show of individual virtuosity, with no note out of place.

Out of print in vinyl.

Live at the Regal – ABC Paramount, 1965

B.B. King knew how to whip up an audience! It’s hard to imagine anyone doing it better than he does on this recording, outside of an evangelist’s revival tent.

This album does not include King’s crossover hit, The Thrill is Gone, or the also well-known, Paying the Cost to Be the Boss, famously covered by Pat Benatar. It does encompass a no-holds-barred, uncompromising blues performance from his prime.

On How Blue Can You Get, he has the highly appreciative fans in the audience squarely in the palm of his hand as he carefully instructs them to concentrate on the words of the song, not the music. Then mid-song, the rhythm and tempo change for a call/response verse that rams home the depths of just how blue you can get. And the crowd goes wild!

Also MCA, 1980; Ace Records, 1995

At Folsom Prison – Columbia, 1968

Johnny Cash is well-known for the impact of his prison concerts, which included an early effort at San Quentin where a young inmate named Merle Haggard was in the audience, and would soon go on to his own successes in music largely because of that concert.

Cash returned to San Quentin in 1969 to record a live album there, but Folsom is the better, and better-known, album, for a variety of reasons.

It’s the first in the series of prison concert albums by Cash, and its song list is filled with titles, and lyrics, about doing wrong, being in prison, fixing to die, and just plain ’ole wishing you were someplace else, knowing you can’t be. And, you know, the title of the song.

4 Way Street – Atlantic, 1971

Recorded in a very intimate setting by today’s standards, this concert has a lot of things going on that make it almost a sacred relic from that era.

Hailed as the first supergroup, David Crosby from The Byrds, Stephen Stills from Buffalo Springfield, and Graham Nash from The Hollies, supposedly got the idea to join musically over dinner at the house Nash was sharing with his then-girlfriend, Joni Mitchell.

These 3 have put out several albums over the decades, some featuring all 3, some featuring various pairs. However, besides one studio album, “Déjà Vu,” this is the only significant recording with all three, plus Neil Young, who had played with Stills in Buffalo Springfield.

What you get is two LP’s worth of killer harmonies, fine musicianship (even with Nash’s flub on the piano intro to Chicago, and the most endearing false start to a song ever heard on Triad), and enough musical camaraderie to fill the venue.

The way the four musicians take turns introducing each other and their songs leaves you with the feeling that not only is there a mad respect going on between them, but they actually love each other, more than any other set of brothers or musicians could.

If the obvious personal and musical symbiosis weren’t enough, the album is neatly divided into the opening acoustic section with just the four players, which covers the first three sides, and an electric section on side 4.

The electric section concludes and Stills admonishes the crowd to quiet down again for the closing number, an acoustic guitar intro that gives way to one of the most beautiful, multi-part harmony, a cappella songs on a live album, Find the Cost of Freedom.

It all ends with an understated, almost whispered “Good night” from Stills.

Live At Leeds – Polydor, 1970

As intimate and friendly as “4 Way Street” is, The Who’s “Live at Leeds” is raucous and noisy as high-octane rock & roll should be, but equally filled with superb musicianship.

Pete Townshend, who made the term “power chord” well-known, is on record as saying that John Entwhistle’s bass was the true melodic driver of the band. Entwhistle has explained that in the studio, with Townsend playing multiple instruments, the bass didn’t have to play so many notes to fill out the sound.

Live, it was much different because there they really were only a 3-piece, with the phrenetic Keith Moon on drums, and lead singer Roger Daltrey. That’s when the bass had to produce lavish runs and riffs which aren’t on the studio recordings. In those days, even a band with as many hits under their belt as The Who didn’t bring along extra musicians and singers for a concert.

Nowhere is this aspect of playing live so noticeable, and rewarding, even though the LP includes only 6 tracks, 3 of which are covers of blues songs that the quartet managed to make their own, to the point of releasing one recorded here as a single. This band knew how to pull out all the stops to put on a really good show.

Also Geffen, 2010; Super Deluxe Edition with CDs.

MTV Unplugged in New York – Geffen, 2013

This performance was different from other concerts in the MTV series, and different from a typical Nirvana performance.

MTV had been trying for some time to get the band. Kurt Cobain resisted because he didn’t want to be what he felt was just another big band playing their big hits, on acoustic guitars instead of their regular instruments.

When he relented, the band showed up intent on playing lesser-known songs he felt would sound better “unplugged.” The irony is that he insisted on playing his acoustic through his electric guitar amplifier, which makes it almost indistinguishable at first listen. Although they rehearsed on set, they did not adhere to a setlist, evidenced by band members at times asking about which song they will be playing.

What comes through it all, though, is the melodies and the players’ musicianship. For Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For a Sunbeam, bassist Krist Novoselic switches to accordion, handing the acoustic bass to Dave Grohl. Throughout, Grohl demonstrates great dynamics, switching from drumsticks to brushes, and to rods, a sort of hybrid.

The MTV Unplugged series was designed to provide the most intimate setting possible for performers and the audience, which it thoroughly succeeded in doing. This edition was one of its best.

The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl – Capitol, 1977

It’s only 13 short songs, but until the “Anthology” series in the 1990’s, this was the only official opportunity to hear a Beatles live performance that wasn’t part of a video. And those 90’s releases did not include all the songs here.

The energy is palpable from the outset as Bob Eubanks, then a young radio DJ who scored big by landing The Beatles in his first attempt at concert promoting, introduces the world’s biggest act.

The main feature of a Beatles concert was the constant screaming of their adoring fans, mostly teenage girls in America. That sound is evident here, and probably made editing the tapes easier because the volume level of white noise between songs in 1964 is similar in 1965.

The Beatles were masters of song choice and order on their albums, and this one is no exception. Side one ends with the rocking “Roll Over, Beethoven.” When you turn the record over, side two keeps the pace up with one of the most enthusiastic introductions on record: Paul McCartney for Ringo Starr singing Boys.

The convivial banter between Paul and John is also heard, but probably the most poignant words of the album are written by George Martin, in the liner notes. He tells his daughter, who is too young to understand, that The Beatles were “probably not” as good as her beloved Bay City Rollers. Less than a decade after The Beatles ended, he is confidant she will one day figure out the truth. Imagine if that conversation happened today.

The 2016 remastered and expanded album on Capital features techniques to augment clarity, but much of the appeal of this record is as a testament to the technological austerity of a Beatles show. Find the original release.

The Concert for Bangladesh – Apple Records 1971

First. Benefit. Concert. Ever.

It would not have happened without the pull of an ex-Beatle, seemingly one of the nicest, albeit direct, musicians in the world at the time. What he did was hear an off-handed remark by his friend and mentor, Ravi Shankar (Norah Jones’s dad, for those of you under a certain age), about the trouble in Bangladesh, get an idea for a way to help financially, book an arena, and round up some of the best talent in the world, all within a few short weeks.

With so little time to prepare for something no one had ever done before, and even though they were all familiar with each other’s material, the artists had to strip down the arrangements so they could serve as each other’s backing band. To compensate, they turned in some of the best performances imaginable.

Fresh off a decade or so taking a backseat to Lennon and McCartney, and the success of his expansive solo album, “All Things Must Pass,” the Quiet Beatle switches effortlessly from lead to supporting player amongst the likes of Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Billy Preston, the afore-mentioned Shankar, and Ringo Starr. He even brings out new material, the appropriately-titled “Bangladesh.”

Frampton Comes Alive! – A&M 1976

How does a relatively obscure recording artist become an international superstar on the strength of a live album? Answer: he records this one.

Frampton is given a healthy momentum by the live audiences that actually become part of the performance at every opportunity, clapping rhythmically, stamping, and adding enthusiastic whistles during the songs with the full band; sitting in rapt attention during solo acoustic selections.

A Grammy Award winner for best album and one of the best-selling live albums ever, it’s popularity was supported by 3 tracks which received, and still receive, substantial airplay: Show Me the Way; Baby, I Love Your Way; and Do You Feel Like We Do. The fact that the players were so good that, amazingly, only one vocal verse, one piano intro, and one rhythm electric guitar track were re-recorded later doesn’t hurt.

After 10 weeks at Number One, 97 weeks on the chart, no wonder it’s considered by many to be the finest live rock album of all time.

And to recap, here are the albums we discussed today:

• The Dave Brubeck Quartet – Newport 1958
• B.B. King – Live at the Regal
• Johnny Cash – At Folsom Prison
• Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young – 4 Way Street
• The Who – Live at Leeds
• Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York
• The Beatles – The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl
• George Harrison and others – The Concert for Bangladesh
• Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive!

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