Live

[potterfan3]

Why do singers ruin perfectly good songs by singing a different, worse, version at live conserts/shows? If it aint broke don't fix it, the live versions never sound right.

[chimney]

Which artists/bands were you thinking of in particular?

[potterfan3]

all of them

[chimney]

When you hear it live that is how it should be heard, too much emphasis is placed on the tweaking of the mixing desk in the studio.

[rosieo]

are you kidding???????

[mormess]

Probably because they get bored singing the same song in the same way every time they go on stage. Why would you go to a concert if you wanted to hear the song played exactly the same as the record you have at home? Imagine if you're a star that has had a long career, and your fans won't let you get away without singing your "hit" that made you famous - that could have been 30 years ago!

If it really is worse, then I agree they should tighten up their act, but different doesn't always mean worse. It's personal preference I'd say.

[robbo82]

Chimney is right. An album track is often the result of weeks' or months' production. It's therefore bound to sound different live on stage. Personally, I often prefer these more raw versions.

[Postdog]

And besides, if they didn't sing - or try to sing - songs they have had records of, the audience would feel cheated. I want to hear the songs I know them to sing, not ones I don't.

[Pippa68]

I agree with robbo82 ~ in most cases I have seen a band live quite often a song of theirs I don't like very much sounds much better live! don't know if it just a 'caught up in the moment' thing, but I do think it's nice to hear the song in the way the band played it in the studio..before all the tweaking ;o)

My exception to the rule is Madonna (sorry to any Madge fans!) I have seen her live 3 times now & each time was awful. You can really tell how much tweaking is done to her voice in the recording process ~ she is flat as a pancake, & that is before she has even started dancing & wearing herself out!

[Deliverance]

studio wizardry is to blame too many overdubs and backing vocals!!Metallicas black album uses something like 8 different guitar tracks and cause there are only 2 guitarists live they sound a bit weak!!

[lazaru2000]

Don't go to live gigs then. Stay at home & listen to the CD or whatever. Remember that the live version af a song is much closer to how it would've sounded when first written & rehearsed. Often the recording process can detract from or mask the artist's original intention. In any case, songs are a form of human communication to be expressed according to the mood or vibe at the time & therefor will never be exactly the same twice, after all, you never greet your friends in exactly the same way every time, or have exactly the same conversations all the time do you? We are Human, not robots.

[bondy]

I think they get bored with them.If they they do it different its got to good or better. I don't mind if its acoustic. The Police used to do them different live or I should say Sting sang them differently and worse usually though instrumentally they were great.

[mormess]

Sorry to be a pain, I have to come back here. Studio recordings are where the artist can really get stuck in to a song, putting on as many overdubs as they like. Think of Queen and all Freddie's choirs. Live, they sounded completely different but the focus was on the energy. There are still some dodgy moments where notes were missed etc but I'd still love to have been there.

Album recordings have to stand up to many repeated listenings. If there are any notes or moments that the artist isn't happy with, they need to fix it or that moment will come back to haunt them forever.

There's nothing wrong with studio wizardry, used in the right way. It should be used to get what's in the artist's head onto a recording. The frustration is often the other way round - the recording is what the artist thinks the song should sound like. If they want to record it live, straight to tape, as it were, they can.

The only problems come if the artist doesn't have strong ideas about what they want the song to sound like and the producer gets trigger-happy with effects.

There, I'll shut up now.