Having only read four of the 17 pages, I'm going to cheat and name two that have possibly (probably, actually) already been named:
Miles Davis—
The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel
Already quite conversant with the studio recordings of his first and second great quintets, I was in no way prepared for what
young whelp Tony Williams could and would do live. The first time I heard the by then incredibly familiar "So What" I was beyond flabbergasted. And I'm not the only one--right after the intro, when the main body of the tune kicks in, you can hear at least one guy in the audience laughing, no doubt in astonishment. (Sadly, Davis himself is not at his finest on this recording, having had several health challenges shortly before it was made, but the rest of the unsurpassed band is absolutely on fire.)
Mahavishnu Orchestra—
The Inner Mounting Flame
In which
Billy Cobham apparently eats Ginger Baker for breakfast, Keith Moon for lunch, John Bonham for dinner and then
plays at a level none of them were even capable of approaching without even breaking a sweat. Which is honestly not meant as a slight on almost any of them—Moonie would have had no interest in even trying to play this kind of music and would have laughed like a loon at the very idea, while one suspects Bonham (sometimes my favorite drummer ever and beyond integral to the artistic and commercial success of Led Zeppelin) would have equally had little interest and happily acknowledged Cobham's monstrosity. Some may prefer S
pectrum or
Crosswinds, both of which are superb, but when I think of Cobham or incendiary fusion playing, this is always where I first go.