Live music vs. CD music

Are you more into bands that sound better live or bands that sound better on CD? Do you know may bands that sound great both ways?

I tend to prefer studio sound. There are some situations where it is incredibly hard to recreate that studio sound live.

The exception to this are many R&B/Hip Hop artists. Some of them sound great with a live band...much better than the blips and samples.

Several bands I've seen sound great live and on wax: Depeche Mode, Ministry, Smashing Pumpkins, the Reverend Horton Heat, Collective Soul, Stone Temple Pilots.

For me it's all about the song and the artist. I am a big Neil Finn/Crowded House fan. I've had the great pleasure of seeing him in full-blown rocking band format and solo guy-with-a-guitar mode. Eacht ime he's brought something new to the song and the show and I've left feeling musically satisfied.

Live performances now are not as live as we think or wish they were in many cases. Many of the popular divas aren't singing live, they are lip synching. Samples and sequencers are used extensively.

One of my favorite rock bands is U2 and they are studio wankers live. They use lots of sequencers and an extra musician that they keep under the stage. It bugs me because they should be honest about that guy - let him be onstage if he's playing!

Even Paul McCartney let me down with his Back in US DVD - he's not playing bass on Band on the Run even though he wearing one and going through the motions (he gestures to the crowd at one point but the bass line keeps being played).

So, live music now is me and my pals playing in my living room with our acoustic guitars, acoustic bass, laptop snare, shakers, bongos, tambourine and singing. Everything else is completely suspect.

Originally posted by sycamore
Several bands I've seen sound great live and on wax: Depeche Mode, Ministry, Smashing Pumpkins, the Reverend Horton Heat, Collective Soul, Stone Temple Pilots.

Reverend Horton Heat were really great live. The last time I saw them, they were actually arrested right there on stage after the show! Apparently, they owed money to the government, or something - I don't remember exactly what was going on.

Have you ever been to an O.A.R. concert?

Nah...I have only heard of them recently.

Well, you really should try to see O.A.R. live if you ever get the chance. I haven't seen a whole lot of live shows in my time, but their live show is awesome. The energy and electricity of the crowd is so contageous and the music is a lot of fun. They have a new CD coming out at the end of this month called In Between Now And Then, which will be their first major label CD ever, so I'm curious to see how the energy of the live music translates to the CD. But if the CD does the energy of their live show justice, then you can still get a sense of what it's like even if you can never make it to their live concert.

All the bands I like (Metallica, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Pantera etc.) are all much better live. Why? Because they will push and push themselves as far as they possibly can with a crowd in front of them. The studio sound might be more technically accurate etc, but it does not have the pure, raw energy that their live performances have behind them (assuming they have a decent crowd).

As I listen to a lot of electronic music, live is infinitely better. Relatively small space, pulsing, danceable music. I hope Heaven has a disco and God likes sequined pantsuits and rollerskates.

Odd_Bloke wrote:

All the bands I like (Metallica, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Pantera etc.) are all much better live.

Indeed so because IT IS ANALOGUE when you see them live!!!

Digital is flat/voidish crap........ I would love going to concerts when I know the band is using 100% analog setup,the sound is gorgeous :) (I havent been to one in along time)