I was chatting to a friend recently who said they want to go to more concerts because “it’s a thing”. I started thinking about what the ‘thing’ is about live music that we miss when listening to a pristinely recorded album on our various devices. Is it the atmosphere? The skill of your favourite tracks being nailed in one take (in some cases)? The fact it hasn’t been processed and compressed in the back room of a studio somewhere? Or perhaps, it’s the communal feeling of being in a place filled with like-minded people sharing an idea or admiration for the same musicians and their music. For me, its all of the above and the fact that live music makes me feel free…

I digress.

If, like my friend, you are looking to bridge the gap between gigs by listening to live records then let me recommend this absolute corker to you. Supertramp – Paris was recorded at the Pavillon de Paris in 1979 during their Breakfast In America tour. Following the success of their aforementioned album, Breakfast In America, Supertramp needed to release a follow up album pronto. However, the earliest they’d feasibly be able to release a record they were happy with would be 2 years later, so they decided to record and release an album of one of their live shows in the interim.

The album unexpectedly went to Gold immediately in 5 countries including the US, and peaked in the UK Albums Chart at number 7. It’s in my top 3 favourite live records. The thing I love about this album is the sense of atmosphere. On the night of the recording there were about 10,000 people in the audience and that wall of sound from the punters really cuts through start to finish. This has also, arguably, got one of the best starts for a live record I’ve ever heard. You can almost see the concert happening, the lights coming up, the crowd going wild, the tease of instruments, and then you are straight into it. Dear God I wish I could’ve been at this. This is exactly what I mean by two decades late. It’s moody as fuck.

If you like a bit of 70s prog rock/pop and you wish you were going to a gig tonight then let this London-based band fronted by Roger Hodgson see you through. You won’t regret it.

My favourite tracks from this album are School (for the opening and atmosphere), Bloody Well Right (for that insane fingering *steady* on the keys), and From Now On (because who doesn’t love a sax solo to get romantic to?). As ever, you can hear these for yourself in the playlist.