There Ain't Half Been Some Great Albums: Live! Quiz

Answer: Elvis Presley

Although "On Stage" was a good country mile from the epiphany of Elvis's eponymous debut album from 1956, it did prove once again that Elvis could sing anything.

The album opens with a convincing version of the blues classic "See See Rider", followed by a great version of the country standard "Release Me". After giving two classics the Elvis treatment, he had a go at Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" from just one year earlier. Next up was Elvis singing Del Shannon's 1961 hit "Runaway". What Elvis was so good at was avoiding mimicry and turning whatever he was singing into his song, and that's what he did here. It's not a patch on the madcap original, but neither is it a travesty.

The album also produced a hit single for Elvis in "The Wonder of You". It had been a hit for Ray Peterson back in 1959, but eventually became more closely-associated with Elvis thanks to this version.

Answer: Judas Priest

As the title suggests, "Unleashed in the East" was recorded in Tokyo, Japan. Having said that, even among us diehard Priest fans it's known as "Unleashed in the Studio" in recognition of the blatant tidying up which was done.

However, what made it so great wasn't so much the group's performance as the choice of songs. Judas Priest had released five studio albums at that point and had changed drastically over the years. "Unleashed" gave them the chance to pick the real gems from those five albums and put together a sort of best of compilation in a live (well, sort of) setting.

So, you got superb versions of Priest classics "Exciter", "Running Wild", "Sinner", "The Ripper", "Victim of Changes", "Genocide", and "Tyrant". It also featured a cover of the Joan Baez song "Diamonds and Rust", and some versions had the Fleetwood Mac cover "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)". The Japanese version also had further extra tracks and was called "Priest in the East".

Answer: Miles Davis

"Dark Magus" was recorded in New York in 1974. It wasn't released anywhere until three years later, and didn't come out in the USA until 1997. I heard it as a teenager in the 1980s on Japanese import, and was totally blown away. What I have always loved about it is how hostile Miles Davis and his pals were sounding at that point. It's as though he invited various family members who don't get on very well to a wake. Brothers jazz, rock and funk all came but it didn't take long for tempers to get frayed. A tune occasionally emerged, but as soon as it did, someone else interfered and derailed it to make sure it didn't gain the upper hand.

"Dark Magus" featured a number of musicians who had worked with Miles Davis on several occasions such as saxophonist Dave Liebman and drummer Al Foster, but also a one-off with saxophonist Azar Lawrence. Miles also brought in the relatively unseasoned guitar player Dominique Gaumont. Although Miles often changed side-men, the choice to bring in two unknown quantities for a gig at the prestigious Carnegie Hall was brash to say the least. It worked a treat as far as I can tell.

Answer: John Lee Hooker

As John Lee Hooker would say, "Alone" is "nothing but the best, and later for the garbage." It was recorded in 1976 in front of a college audience, probably just about the only crowd well-brought up enough to let John Lee get really intimate. And intimate he got. "Alone" is just one man with his guitar and his voice telling stories, chewing the fat, and getting very, very heavy. You could hear a pin drop while John Lee Hooker exorcised his demons, twisted his old standards into something else, and took a deep look at life. Oddly (or possibly not), the silence from the audience got him in a chatty mood.

John Lee Hooker and other musicians were incongruous, he couldn't play their time and they couldn't grasp his. It's so great to hear him completely freed from that and just playing in Hooker time.

Answer: Whitesnake

Before David Coverdale reinvented Whitesnake as a top class slick heavy metal group in the late 1980s, they had been a top class blues rock outfit. What better way to experience a blues rock band than live at London's Hammersmith Odeon?

"Live...in the Heart of the City" was prime quality, good-time British rock featuring some great tracks from Whitesnake's early albums. Tracks from the album "Ready an' Willing" dominated since the 1980 live recordings were made on the tour promoting said album. There are also two songs from Coverdale's tenure as vocalist with Deep Purple.

The album showcased the talents of underrated guitarists Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden, both of whom were ousted when the group went for the throat of the lucrative US market.

Answer: Keith Jarrett

The legendary Köln Concert almost never happened. Apparently, the wrong piano was delivered and our Keith, not known for his flexibility, almost refused to play but was talked into going through with the commitment. People who surely know much more about piano playing than me, which is not difficult, have commented that the inferior instrument forced Mr. Jarrett to use a certain technique, which is partly what made the performance so unique. I daresay it would have been fabulous whatever.

Although Keith Jarrett has stated that we should live in the present rather than glorifying the past, I bet even he would be hard pressed not to grin at the longevity of this album's popularity. It really was a stunner.

Answer: James Brown

After a inciting introduction by Fats Gonder, James Brown and the unsung heroes The Famous Flames launched into "I'll Go Crazy", kicking off one of the absolute best live albums of all time.

The group went through a repertoire of hits, but at times just let rip and drifted off into tightly-knit funk heaven.

As much as I can't stand people messing about with classic albums, some versions do have the added track called "There Was a Time" followed up by "Cold Sweat" on which the group really let go.

Answer: UFO

"Strangers in the Night" was recorded on the group's US tour of 1978 and released in 1979. It was guitar wizard Michael Schenker's swan song with UFO and quite fittingly saw him pulling out all the stops. Although the whole band were on top form, it was his mind-blowing playing that really made the album. You'll never hear better hard rock guitar soloing than on the version of "Rock Bottom" on this album.

What made UFO so special was their ability to sound like a jam session down the pub one minute and a stadium rock band the next, sometimes in the same song. Singer Phil Mogg had oodles of charm which he used to great effect on his phrasing and delivery, but on occasion you hear it coming through on the quips he made to the audience too. I wonder what the crowd in Kentucky made of his use of the very British "ta" to express his gratitude?

When the record company re-released the album as a CD, some bright spark chose to rearrange the track listing. Not only did it make less sense, it can be extremely disconcerting to stick on an album you have grown up with and find it has been meddled with.

Answer: Motörhead

Motörhead recorded the tracks which surfaced on "No Sleep 'til Hammersmith" while on tour around Great Britain with their mates Girlschool. Most of the versions that made it onto the album were from two-nights at Newcastle City Hall.

Somewhere along the line the incredibly astute decision to buck the trend of releasing live albums as doubles and stick to forty minutes of Motörheadbanging was taken. The choice of songs was also shrewd. One criticism which is thrown at Motörhead all too often is that they just play the same song again and again with different lyrics. Anybody who hasn't seen through this evil rumour should have a careful listen to "No Sleep 'til Hammersmith". It kicked off with the kick in the family jewels called "Ace of Spades" and ended with the coup de grâce "Motörhead", but in between there were some mellow moments like the dystopian "Metropolis", and the moody "Capricorn".

"No Sleep 'til Hammersmith" has entered into rock parlance and been cited by many a later group such as the Beastie Boys' on "No Sleep till Brooklyn", on Strapping Young Lad's "No Sleep 'till Bedtime", and my personal favourite "No Sheep til Buxton" by the awful Macc Lads.

Answer: The Cramps

"RockinnReelininAucklandNewZealandXXX" was The Cramps' second live album. The sound was incredibly raw and the group's playing messy, but just like the Kiwi crowd, I love it. Lots of people were inspired to get up and start a band after hearing punk rock, for me it was hearing this album. I mistakenly thought, if this lot of technically inept Yanks can get to tour New Zealand and release a rough-as-sandpaper recording of it, surely the world is my oyster.

The whole album was as rock 'n' roll as anything ever put on tape, but standout tracks have to be the misanthropic "People Ain't No Good", the pertinent question "What's Inside a Girl?", and the second burning question "Can Your Pussy Do the Dog?", and the cover of Dwight Pullen's late 1950s "Sunglasses After Dark". Furthermore, believe it or not, it was The Cramps' version of "Heartbreak Hotel" herein which made me dig out my mum's Elvis Presley records and listen to him seriously. You could say The Cramps' "RockinnReelininAucklandNewZealandXXX" changed my life.