Live Versions Over Studio.

Quite a lot of Pink Floyd sounds better live than in the studio starting with all four tracks on disc 1 of Ummagumma, the version of Echoes and One of These Days from Live In Pompeii, the RoIO versions of Embryo and Atom Heart Mother that we're not supposed to mention here and everything from A Momentary Lapse of Reason that made it onto Delicate Sound of Thunder.

I prefer the various boots of Triumvirat doing the Illusions On A Double Dimple album live, than the studio album. Even tho the sound quality is not that great, that album sounds great in a live context. And live, Triumvirat elaborate further on some sections of the two IOADD suites, which is an added bonus.


Edited by presdoug - August 17 2014 at 16:59

Oh, there are a lot for me. Often I like them better because they are played with more energy, or because they are expanded, or because they are updated. There's lot's of Pink Floyd I like better live, like Comfortably Numb and On the Turning Away on Delicate Sound of Thunder, or High Hopes on Pulse, and in general early Pink Floyd seems to have been much better live (pre Meddle)... the studio versions seem like just teasers of what the real song would be (the live ones). Also Gilmour solo sounds very nice live. I've heard some of his songs from the 80's live and they sound much better (specially Murder)... I wish they would be officially released. And On an Island, as stated before, is much better on it's live version (plus, it's almost a Pink Floyd album on that one, with Richard Wright on board, plus the guys from the backing band being many of them regulars from Pink Floyd tours - including Dick Parry).

Genesis also sounds better live, like Musical Box, Dancing with the Moonlit Knigt, and Cinema Show... much more energy, and Gabriel sounds less annoying, and Collins is just on fire... even many of the pop era songs sound better live... on studio they often sound too plastic, while live it sounds like they are actually played by a band. Jethro Tull is another example that I like live a lot in most cases... even the late 90's and early 00's sounds really cool and updated (actually, I think almost every song from Aqualung I like better in some live version). King Crimson, of course, also has lot's of songs that are really wonderful live, like Schizoid Man played by the Wetton era line-up (with guitar playing the main riff instead of the sax), and Starless too I like much better live, with the main theme played with the violin. And just about everything from the 80's (plus the song Red) sounds much better played live by the double trio in the 90's. Yes is another band that I like better live in many cases, in great part thanks to Wakeman that updates his keyboards on many songs, like Awaken, Starship Trooper, Time and a Word on Keys to Ascension, or Owner of a Lonely Heart from the Union tour. Or the Symphonic live songs, with Close to the Edge and Gates of Delirium being really wonderful. Steven Wilson and Porcupine Tree also seem to do very nicely live, Coma Divine being a wonderful album.

There must be many more from this artists, and other's as well, that I'm forgetting, though. I guess that an example of a band that I haven't really enjoyed live so much is ELP. And Dream Theater is nice enough, but they don't do much on the live versions that I would prefer them over the originals.

Hendrix of course. Performing live and in the studio are two different Hendrixs, you can't really compare his live playing to his studio playing. As I see it, in the studio he would focus on constructing and building the different layers of the song and tried to play the song in certain limits. But when performing live he would just play the song!! according to his mood (or drugs) no boundaries at all, just flying. Without putting down his studio versions (they are all really good) Of course there are a few tracks which were on par with his live stuff and that you can find on his Blues album and one or two in every album.
Live Hendrix is where it's at.

Led Zeppelin are probably the biggest example of this for me. Most of their albums are just 'good' to me, there are some great tunes but the whole affair just doesn't draw me that much. But live, especially How The West Was Won, now that's a killer band.

The Musical Box by Genesis (from Live, 1973)

The Return of The Giant Hogweed by Genesis (from Live, 1973)

Watcher of The Skies by Genesis (from Live, 1973)

Exiles by King Crimson (from USA, 1975)

Isle Of Everywhere by Gong (from Live, Etc. 1977)

Oily Way by Gong (from Live, Etc. 1977)

Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull (from Bursting Out, 1978)

Minstrel In The Gallery by Jethro Tull (from Bursting Out, 1978)

Heart of Sunrise by Yes (from Yessongs,1973)

Roundabout by Yes (from Yessongs, 1973)

Long Distance Runaround/The Fish by Yes (fromYessongs, 1973)

And You And I by Yes (from Yessongs, 1973)

The Torture Never Stops by Frank Zappa (from Zappa In New York, 1978)

Black Market by Weather Report (from 8:30, 1979)

The Endless Night by Return To Forever (from Live, 1977)

Bodhisattva by Steely Dan (from Alive in America, 1995)

Ulazak u harem by Smak (from OdLIVEno, 1992)

Pečurka by Igra Staklenih Perli (from Soft Explosion Live, 1991)

Edited by Svetonio - August 15 2014 at 06:36

A Saucerful of Secrets from Pompei definitely :)

Careful With That Axe, Eugene from Live at Pompeii; that version's rivaled by the one from the Rainbow Theatre in '73. it is on Youtube in video form. the version of Learning to Fly from Delicate Sound of Thunder is also awesome!

Sagichim wrote: Hendrix of course. Performing live and in the studio are two different Hendrixs, you can't really compare his live playing to his studio playing. As I see it, in the studio he would focus on constructing and building the different layers of the song and tried to play the song in certain limits. But when performing live he would just play the song!! according to his mood (or drugs) no boundaries at all, just flying. Without putting down his studio versions (they are all really good) Of course there are a few tracks which were on par with his live stuff and that you can find on his Blues album and one or two in every album.Live Hendrix is where it's at.

Absolutely! I don't remember the last time I listened to any of the studio albums.

Edited by SteveG - August 18 2014 at 11:35

Most live versions of Grobschnitt's Solar Music are better than the studio version.