“She’s Got A Way” by Billy Joel. This is hardly surprising because the original recording on Cold Spring Harbor sucks the ass off a herd of big-assed ass monsters. What you get instead is the version from Songs In the Attic, performed live at Madison Square Gardens.
For a while, you’d get the same effect from Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind.” They’d always play the version Live From Sydney’s Got Its Own Opera House With Some Australians Playing Quaint European Instruments.
There is a studio version, and man, is it feeble. Even the band members hate the production of In Color. Link
A few more: Rock And Roll All Nite by KISS. Why the radio plays a heavily edited Alive! version rather than the already shorter studio one is beyond me.
The Star Spangled Banner by Jimi Hendrix. The one you usually hear is from Woodstock, but there was a beautiful studio version on the out-of-print Rainbow Bridge soundtrack, and it’s included in that purple boxed set.
I think I prefer every track on Wilco’s Kicking Television: Live in Chicago to the original album versions.
Just came back to this thread to inform that I bought the album because of this comment, and it was spot on. Many songs are really noticably better. It seems it is because they got a new guitarist.
The two songs where I have noticed the biggest improvement:
The Late Greats
Handshake Drugs
Likewise, I’ve only ever heard the studio version of “Miami 2017” twice, on satellite radio.
There certainly is a studio version, and it’s awful. Incredibly saccharine take on the song, and no guts whatsoever.
Man, first I get beat naming IWYTWM (which I think is the answer to this thread). Then I scroll to the bottom to find out that I get beat panning the studio version too.
Just to add some signal to my noise, I’ll throw in Genesis’ ‘Turn It On Again’.
I think y’all are getting away from the OP. It’s not about live versions that are better than the studio version, but instead have almost completely replaced it. To the point where you almost never hear the studio version anymore.
I’ll chime in with J. Geils Band - Must of Got Lost. I’m not even sure if there is a studio version. I’ve never heard it.