Didn’t Frampton’s studio takes do poorly before they were re-released on Frampton Comes Alive (one of the biggest selling albums of all time, for you kidz)?
A local radio station was playing the BoDeans’ “Still the Night” recently. Catchy song. I listened to the album recently, and was confused why it wasn’t nearly so catchy and energetic. Next time I heard it on the radio, I realized it was live.
I’ll probably get booed out of here mentioning such pop but…
Kelly Clarkson’s “Beautiful Disaster (Live)” is hardly even the same song as the album version. The album version is an absolutely pathetic piece of pop drivel that was completely forgettable and never made into a single or anything. Her Live version is an extremely emotional, perfectly and powerfully sung ballad about… well it’s complex and I don’t even know if I can say what it’s really about, but it’s certainly one of her best songs ever.
I always wondered who made the decision to take the backtrack away, allow someone to play a soft piano melody to go along with her vocals, and sing it in a completely different tempo and in a completely different range. Simply amazing, though.
I prefer most of the versions of songs on AC/DC Live to the ones from the studio albums. Especially Highway to Hell (I’m sure some die hard Bon Scott fans just had a heart attack reading that, sorry).
Go here for album copy of “Never Say Good Bye” from my most favorite singer James Otto and here to listen to him sing it live. 
God bless you and him always!!!
Holly
Rock and Roll All Nite - Kiss. Yeah, I’m ancient.
Tommy is a completely different animal onstage than what you hear on the studio version.
Oooo, just thought of another one:
Roadhouse Blues - Doors
New Year’s Day - U2
…at the least the version on Under a Blood Red Sky.
Allman Brothers: In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (Fillmore Album)
Jefferson Airplane: Plastic Fantastic Lover (Bless Its Pointed Little Head)
i tell ya what…Red Hot Chili Peppers is just one of those bands where EVERY song is absolutely amazing live. They have such energy about them that they feed off each other, like they live to perform these songs live and studio work is a formality.
That said, their cover of Hendrix’s Fire at Woodstock '99 is outstanding and there’s just something special about it…maybe it’s Flea’s dong? rhcp -fire(woodstock 99) - YouTube
Here is a version close to the Back to the Bars version. I highly recommend picking that album up.
I always liked the live version of Eric Clapton’s Cocaine much better than the studio version. The guitar solo is better, anyway.
This - along with every track from the KISS Alive! record - all the songs sound better live than the studio cuts. Firehouse, Strutter, Black Diamond, She, Parasite, Deuce…on and on and on.
No mention of Joy Division? I typically am not a fan of live recordings. I love seeing the shows, but the live recordings leave me wanting something. That said, almost anything I’ve heard by Joy Division has sounded so much more impressive to me in the live version. Transmission is a perfect example.
I’m not sure I have ever heard the studio version of Bruce’s “Rosalita”. I don’t think I want to.
I prefer the live version of Rush’s “Marathon” on A Show of Hands much much more than the studio version.
U2’s Bad (Live) off Wide Awake in America is my favorite song in the universe. Much better than the slower studio version on The Unforgettable Fire.
I never like *Hotel California *until I heard the live version on Hell Freezes Over.
Pretty much the entire acoustic part of Live Across the Wire is better than any studio version of the songs (Counting Crows). I was at the concert, too, and was really blown away.
And of course Dave Matthews has untold number of great live versions of his songs. The one that I always think of is the opening song, Seek UP, which runs longer than 13:00 on Live at Red Rocks.
I bought a compilation CD of Peter Frampton songs. It was a big disappointment when I played “Show Me the Way,” and I discovered that it wasn’t the live version. I don’t think I’ve listened to that CD in years.