Songs that are better "live" than in the studio.

Cafe Society
1

Inspired by this thread, I ask the opposite: What songs are better live than their studio recordings?

For me it is an endless list, but some of the standouts are

*Burning Down the House * - Talking Heads Even without the after-concert “seasoning,” the live version blows the studio take away.

Prove It All Night - Bruce Springsteen For that matter, most of Bruce’s live show. This is the best of what is what makes live music better - extended jams showcasing each guitarist, etc.

*One Particular Harbor * - Jimmy Buffett See above. Extended chorus in Polynesian, and an excuse to rock out with a fanatic audience. Always a crowd-pleaser.
So what songs do you remember better live?

2

Pretty much anything the Talking Heads did live was better than the studio version.

3

Anything by KISS or Gwar.
Not taht I consider anything by GWAR good in the first place, but it it more tolerable live, because it’s more like a freaky show than a concert.

4

Stevie Ray Vaughn’s live recordings blow away the studio versions. SRV’s studio stuff has all of the emotion and rawness engineered and processed out of it.

5

I think most of Aerosmith’s stuff is better live. Especially the anemic orginal studio version of Dream On. Try to get a hol dof the 1991 Michael Kamen-conducted Dream On, on the Last action Hero soundtrack. Or the eight-minute Sweet Emotion with Jimmy Page. Amazing stuff.

6

Just about any song by Pearl Jam, with W.M.A. being the only example I can think of right now. My favorites live include:

Porch
Release
The Long Road
Present Tense

7

:smack:
I meant to type the word ‘exception,’ not ‘example.’

8

I haven’t seen it live, but I love the live version of Tom Petty’s Breakdown. I’m a sucker for great crowd participation songs anyway, and they really did a great job in that song. The exended version is the best - where he basically rants in breakdown fashion against whoever it is that supposedly broke his heart.

Also, one of the best videos I’ve ever seen was for Rush’s YYZ. I think it was a concert in Russia (or someplace thereabouts) and the entire crowd was… singing. Hard to explain how one sings YYZ but, they did it perfectly, and it is amazing to watch.

9

Not songs, but I’ll give you a couple of artists: Bob Marley and Little Feat.

10

The J. Geils Band. Their live album Full House is the best example of their early work – every song there is better than the studio versions.

Later, the band was able to make good studio songs, but their early albums never came close to catching them live.

11

I’ll second the Talking Heads. After seeing Stop Making Sense, I thought for the longest time that I was a Talking Heads fan, even though album after album proved me wrong. I eventually realized that I’m just a fan of Stop Making Sense.

And to add another: I’ve never actually seen Allison Krauss and Union Station live, but I got their Live album and every single song they do there is better than the studio version.

12

John Cage’s “Silent Symphony” (aka 4’33").
The live version captures nuances that the recordings couln’t even begin to reproduce.

13

I’ve seen them twice (once in 2001 & 2005) and they are fantastic. You’d be hard pressed to find a better group of musicians.

14

I’ll add to the chorus of Stop Making Sense enthusiasts. My main motivation for popping open this thread in the first place was to make sure it was mentioned early… every song on it smokes the studio version.

In other news, there are a few live versions of “Tea in the Sahara” out there… the best is from Sting’s Bring on the Night, a strong live double-album from shortly after the Police break-up. “Tea…” is pretty ignorable on Synchronicity but shines on the live set.

15

Every song Phish did live was far superior to the album versions. Also usually far longer.

16

Virtually anything by Great Big Sea. They are so much more fun live than on CD. They’re fun on CD, too, but once you’ve seen then, it’s just not the same.

17

SoundGarden, Gun and Jesus Christ Pose, 2 of the greatest mosh tunes ever, studio versions just dont hold a candle to being there live.

early Aerosmith was fantastic live, havent seen them in over 20 years since every album post 80 blew chunks.

18

Ooohh. Full House. A monster album.

19

Fleetwood Mac’s Big Love from The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac was great live. He’s really wailing on that guitar. The studio version is only OK.

20

The Who’s Baba O’Riley.