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  1. #1
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    Live versus Studio recordings

    For some reason, not knowing why, I am just not a big fan of live recordings, not all, but most.

    Anyone have a preference or does it matter since it is still music?


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  2. #2
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    My favorite albums are almost all live recordings.

  3. #3
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    I love many live recordings.

    EmmyLou Harris - Live at the Ryman. Anyone who’s been to the Ryman, can hear those wonderful acoustics in this recording.

    Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall

    Harry Belafonte - Live at Carnegie Hall

    Kenny Loggins - Outside: From The Redwoods

    Hugh Masakela - HOPE

    Jazz At The Pawnshop

    Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood - Live from MSG. You want to rock? This album is for you.

    EAGLES - Hell Freezes Over

    There are just too many to mention....


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  4. #4
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    It depends on the recording. I just listened to Marcus Miller - Live and More and it was stunningly lifelike. Bela Fleck - Live at the Quick is also another one recorded well.

    But then look at releases like Triumph - Stages which sounds like listening to a transistor radio in a trash can

    So again, it depends on the venue, it's acoustics, and the overall recording.

    That said, if I had to choose one over the other for the rest of my life, it would be Studio releases.
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  5. #5
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike View Post
    I love many live recordings.

    EmmyLou Harris - Live at the Ryman. Anyone who’s been to the Ryman, can hear those wonderful acoustics in this recording.

    Neil Young - Live at Massey Hall

    Harry Belafonte - Live at Carnegie Hall

    Kenny Loggins - Outside: From The Redwoods

    Hugh Masakela - HOPE

    Jazz At The Pawnshop

    Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood - Live from MSG. You want to rock? This album is for you.

    EAGLES - Hell Freezes Over

    There are just too many to mention....


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    We were replying at the same time and I also had JATPS in my mind
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  6. #6
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    One of my fav live recordings, "
    The Allman Brothers – ‘Live at the Filmore East’

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  7. #7
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Quote Originally Posted by CPP View Post
    One of my fav live recordings, "
    The Allman Brothers – ‘Live at the Filmore East’
    For sure!

    I was a little tyke when that came out but I have 3 older brothers. That was always spinning. I can remember a day when my mom was on the warpath about something and her nerves were shot. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed was cranked and at the spot in the jam where the same note gets played over and over. My mother yelled "Can't they play another note" I still remember that almost 50 years later.
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  8. #8
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    I like some live recordings that sound good, hence, Count Basie Live at the Sands, 1957. Why modern recordings aren't as good.......... That Allman Bros. mentioned is also very good. Live recordings, those not remixed and messed up, have a character that comes through that provides an extra enjoyment, that live ambiance.
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  9. #9
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    I like both. Sure, the studio recordings are usually better in a technical sense. But there’s something about live recordings where you can feel the energy of the musicians and the audience.
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  10. #10
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    I am a fan of all the open baffle designs (planar magnetic, electrostatic, dynamic driver). They really shine with live recordings. Great at conveying the sense of spaciousness of the venue.

  11. #11
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Of the approximately 25,000 hrs in my music collection, at least 50% are live.
    Rob
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  12. #12
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Quote Originally Posted by Dizzie View Post
    I am a fan of all the open baffle designs (planar magnetic, electrostatic, dynamic driver). They really shine with live recordings. Great at conveying the sense of spaciousness of the venue.
    Maybe that is why I can never get the same sound from Jessica Williams - Heather as when I heard it on the Pure Audio Projects with the Field Coil Voxatives driven by a Lampi Int and a Pacific DAC. Hmm, maybe it was the Lampi gear
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  13. #13
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Quote Originally Posted by Shadowfax View Post
    For sure!

    I was a little tyke when that came out but I have 3 older brothers. That was always spinning. I can remember a day when my mom was on the warpath about something and her nerves were shot. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed was cranked and at the spot in the jam where the same note gets played over and over. My mother yelled "Can't they play another note" I still remember that almost 50 years later.

    I'm 67 and I still spin that LP. Always sounds good. Nothing like a live jam.
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  14. #14

    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Live all the way!


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  15. #15
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Quote Originally Posted by DeadHead View Post
    Live all the way!
    LOL -- the ONLY way to listen to the grateful dead -- i remember a 6-month period where i listened to nothing but live shows. may 1977 was the sweet spot for me with the 5/8/77 barton hall show having the largest play-count. however, 1973 is pretty darn good as well... ymmv.
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  16. #16
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Quote Originally Posted by aKnyght View Post
    LOL -- the ONLY way to listen to the grateful dead -- i remember a 6-month period where i listened to nothing but live shows. may 1977 was the sweet spot for me with the 5/8/77 barton hall show having the largest play-count. however, 1973 is pretty darn good as well... ymmv.
    YMMV
    I'll say...72=73>74>>>77
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  17. #17
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    There are great studio recordings and great live recordings. I lean more to live recordings as they have that instant organic sound, record a performance in history, the ambience of the venue comes over and tend to have a far more punch in that musical message and last but not least it is live as opposed to an overworked, overpractised studio performance which often sounds stale and predictable, ofcourse the recording in question should be at least average otherwise all is nearly lost. I suppose for me it started with Deep Purple - Made in Japan album, the producers intended this album yet the band were not in favour as live recordings at the time were known to show up faults, errors etc.. But surprise, surprise the Album was a great success, it showed the group at full flow, the musicianship of the players and their love for improvisation (Ritchie Blackmore was not a fan of studio albums, liked to change it in each concert)

  18. #18
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Like others, I love both, but for me, the best live recordings give me more enjoyment than the best studio ones.
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  19. #19
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Every time I hear a live song/album by Jimmy Buffet it takes me back to the experience of seeing him in concert. It’s a nostalgic feeling. I think nearly all his songs with the Coral Reefer Band sound better live.
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  20. #20
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    This reminded me an old commercialellamemorex_vert-a0e0b5abda909bdfe5e3e7c2ff427c7673f92257-s800-c85.jpg , way back
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  21. #21

    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    90% (or more) of the time i prefer the studio version.
    Clearly.
    Although with mixing tricks, it is usually the perfect version.
    But it is also true that there are live moments when the bands have transcended themselves and surpassed the studio releases. Sometimes in the entire album (Made in Japan / Deep Purple; Paris / Supertramp; Live Tapes / Barclay James Harvest, etc.), other times only in some songs. In this last case I count for example the Dire Straits in Alchemy. Telegraph Road (and other songs but i like so much Telegraph road) sounds uninteresting and yet Sultans of Swing was absolutely unforgettable.

  22. #22
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    I’m not sure place is important. I prefer recordings where the band plays together - be it live or in the studio. Doesn’t matter much as both are usually multi-track multi-mike affairs anyway.

    Playing together is more human, more organic sounding - just more “right” as the musicians play off each other. I don’t like the “perfect” studio recordings that are tracked, over-dubbed, and perfected until all the life is gone.
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  23. #23
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    Quote Originally Posted by UltraFast69 View Post
    For some reason, not knowing why, I am just not a big fan of live recordings, not all, but most.

    Anyone have a preference or does it matter since it is still music?


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    2 ways to define 'live' recordings.

    ---50 years ago it meant with an audience.

    ---now it means it's done without editing or overdubs.

    and then there is another subset which is live to 2-track. and another subset of live to 2-track tape.

    likely my most valued recordings fall into one of these categories......and it's no coincidence that the majority of those are 50+ years old. when the performers had to just go do it right the first time or they did not get invited back, the cream rose to the top, and we had some amazing talents making our music. and the process was pure.

    in 100 years those will be the enduring recordings.

  24. #24
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    A go-to live recording for me is Sara Bareilles - Braveheart: Live at the Variety Playhouse. Also, all of the Jazz at the Pawnshop recordings from Arne Domnerus are also excellent.

    For me, it’s all about the recording. I have a few ‘bootlegs’ of the Allman Brothers recorded off the mixing board which should be but are not, great. SQ is just awful.
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  25. #25
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    Re: Live versus Studio recordings

    I think a lot of the classic's i grew up with were studio. Who, Clash, Police, Bowie, Sex Pistols, Van Halen, Aerosmith. That shaped my preference for studio.

    Now I go more for something new I have not heard and I gravitate to what is recorded well. And I very much prefer musicians that know how to play. And musicians that interact with other members of the band. That equals enjoying live.

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Live versus Studio recordings

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