10 Greatest Live Rock Albums Since 2010
3. Drive-By Truckers - It’s Great To Be Alive!
Perhaps the closest we’ll get to the Allman Brothers’ legendary 1971 live record, this three-hour sprawl of southern rock comes from one of the hardest working bands in the business. Drive-By Truckers are prolific, but they get it done every time, as this mammoth collection goes to show.
Compiled from a three-night San Franciscan residency, It’s Great To Be Alive! is a collection of the Truckers’ favourite characters - desperate hard workers, tough guys and lowlives, drinkers, brawlers, and their musical heroes.
The Truckers have a magical way of capturing a crowd, ensuring the audience actually listens to the yarns being spun, no matter how loud the music. “Ronnie and Neil”, a superb story song about the rivalry between Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young, loses remarkably little of its intricacy in the din of the live show.
The band are the best part of two decades into a career, and that tightness comes across on the beautiful harmonies of “The Living Bubba” or stomping guitar workout “Where The Devil Don’t Stay”. These are indisputably guys who get it done on stage.