Prefer the masters live

So that was a comment mad by messiahen77 about Stevie Ray Vaughan in the This or That? thread.

So what's your thought? Do you prefer live albums or studio work? This seemed like a cool conversation.

I generally prefer blues or jazz live. SRV, Miles, BB King - all better live. But with most other stuff I prefer the studio version unless I'm actually at the concert. Especially Bob Dylan. That guy is a genius songwriter but he sings songs different every time, which I can appreciate but if you're about to sing Like a Rolling Stone or Gotta Serve Somebody, I want it to at least sound close to the studio version...

ThoughtS?

Though I have specific live albums I really love (Cheap Trick Budokan, MWS Live Set, Kiss Alive 1 and 2, Scorps World Wide Live, etc), I'm more of a STUDIO album kinda guy. Always have been. I've avoided live albums for the most part in my huge collection, as I know I most likely will not listen to them much if ever. Guess it's just personal preference.

Except for a couple of worship albums I have, I detest live albums.  The sound quality is poor and you have all the crowd noise that takes away from the music.  Besides, the performance you hear on a live album after the 80s has been enhanced by overlaying tracks on it back in the studio.  Sometimes they are done in a studio and have the "crowd noise" dubbed in.

With the poor quality of mixing at shows nowadays, who would actually want to hear a live album?  Lord knows, all you can hear is bass and bass drum.  You can't hear the guitars and vocals because of how many sound guys mix.

However, we are attending YEC (Youth Evangelism Conference) in Nashville, TN this weekend.  I must say that the guy doing the mixing on the band leading worship is superb.  While there is plenty of loudness, I can hear every instrument clearly--as it should be.  Sadly, this band put together by different musicians from Southern Baptist churches in Tennessee for this event have a better sound than some of the shows I have paid to see.  That is sad, actually.

I feel that live albums bring a different character to the music.  You get to hear the band/musician how they should be heard.

Through The Dark Radio wrote:

I feel that live albums bring a different character to the music.  You get to hear the band/musician how they should be heard.

That isn't necessarily so.  So many live albums are studio done with crowd noise added.  Some were recorded live and then overdubbed so that you can hear the different parts more clearly.  Thus, making it a studio album.

And some live albums, like Barren Cross' Hotter Than Hell, suck.

I was looking through my albums at Discogs and comparing live albums. I found a theme:

Those albums that didn't have any overdubs were way better. Albums that were recorded early during a tour also seemed better. The reason for the show was important too.

For instance:
Five Iron Frenzy - The End Is Here disc two is their farewell show before they broke up in 2004 (for 10 years). The goodbyes, the jokes, the thank you's are all amazing. Their energy is high and there are mistakes so I'm pretty sure there's no overdubs.

Glenn Kaiser Band - Live, Rez - Twenty Years, Glenn Kaiser with Joe Filisko at Cornerstone 2012 and Glenn,  Darrell Mansfield, Trace Bolin and Larry Howard - Blues Night are all amazing recordings with no overdubs. I think this because I don't think they could really afford them. Kaiser/Filisko is also all acoustic so an overdub would be noticeable.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Live Alive sucks. It's actually a comp of live tracks. Blah. But his Live at Carnegie Hall and Live at Montreax 1982 and 1985 are great. No overdubs, just a legend doing his thing. His In Session performance with Albert King is also amazing.

Brad Paisley - Hits Alive is a cool live record. I've seen Brad live and he does a lot of improvisation in his songs and these are different than the studio versions.

John Mark McMillan - Live at the Knight also a cool recording. John Mark's business manager suggested he overdub some mistakes but John Mark refused. Classy and real.

All Sons and Daughters - Live - I love this record but it sounds just like the studio recordings. I honestly only listen to it more because the audience seems pretty engaged in worship.

Xid wrote:

And some live albums, like Barren Cross' Hotter Than Hell, suck.

huh...that was the first live record I thought of when I saw this thread

I love it...always have

crucifyd wrote:

Xid wrote:

And some live albums, like Barren Cross' Hotter Than Hell, suck.

huh...that was the first live record I thought of when I saw this thread

I love it...always have

To each their own.  I thought the recording quality and mix were bad and the vocals were nowhere near as good as the studio recordings.

I think I still have my cassette.  I'll have to pop it in and see if it still plays and if it is how I remember it.

Live albums (particularly acoustic ones) rarely sound good in a car, which is where I do a lot of my listening. That said, they can offer a cool snapshot into a band's style at any given point. It's also cool to hear songs that may have been played live but not recorded for a studio album.