# Why'd they use THAT recording of the song for the album? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 10, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyd-they-use-that-recording-of-the-song-for-the-album/944003 "2021-06-10T20:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyd-they-use-that-recording-of-the-song-for-the-album/944003/1 "2021-06-10T20:33:38Z")
For bands that have performed the same song many times (and recorded it or bootlegs of live performances exist), and the definitive version that they stuck on the album leaves you wondering _why_, when you’ve heard so many better ones. To kick off the category, I am nominating “Fat Old Sun”, from Pink Floyd’s _Atom Heart Mother_. I’ve heard more than half a dozen other performances they did of it, the BBC radio recordings and live performance bootleg recordings and so on, and nearly all of them are better than the draggy bleary dreary version they stuck on AHM. Example: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4qwSEISWSnw/maxresdefault.jpg "Fat Old Sun (BBC Radio Session, 30 September 1971)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qwSEISWSnw) Comparison: the album version [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PcT-xjnHCLA/hqdefault.jpg "Pink Floyd - Fat Old Sun - [HQ]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcT-xjnHCLA) ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2021, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyd-they-use-that-recording-of-the-song-for-the-album/944003/2 "2021-06-10T21:50:22Z")
The example that springs immediately to mind is **Feed The Enemy** by **Magazine**. It’s not the ideal example - I think the album version is good; but hell did that song have possibilities unrealized on the album track. Album track from Secondhand Daylight [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xeXhPKXjRVY/maxresdefault.jpg "Feed The Enemy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeXhPKXjRVY) Live from the Russell Club (B-side of uh, I forget) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tZKJD-LTEIc/maxresdefault.jpg "Feed The Enemy (Live From The Russell Club, Manchester, U.K./1980)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZKJD-LTEIc) j ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyd-they-use-that-recording-of-the-song-for-the-album/944003/3 "2021-06-12T07:23:32Z")
Obvious answer for your specific example is that the album was 1970, the BBC recording was 1971. More in depth answer is that most live recordings have imperfections that the band members don’t like. The studio version is the studio version, it’s had several takes, the guitar solo is probably a combination of several takes (that’s the way Gilmour worked in later years, not sure of Fat Old Sun was done that way), any glitches, imperfections, missed notes, etc are done again and again until it is “perfect”. My nomination, Pink Floyd again, would be for _Careful With That Axe Eugene_ on _Relics_. It’s the studio version while any live recording is far better. The first time it appeared on an album was as a live recording as well (_Ummagumma_). ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyd-they-use-that-recording-of-the-song-for-the-album/944003/4 "2021-06-12T07:26:48Z")
Relics (studio) version: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rjipVkl8kV4/maxresdefault.jpg "Pink Floyd - Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Studio Version on Relics)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjipVkl8kV4) Ummagumma (live) version: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/u9Q6qdR0Fvg/hqdefault.jpg "Pink Floyd - Careful With That Axe, Eugene (Ummagumma Version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Q6qdR0Fvg) Edit: Obvious answer for this one is that the studio version is shorter and more appropriate for a compilation album. That probably partly explains other examples as well. A studio version has to fit on to an album that was restricted to a little over 40 minutes. Live versions don’t have that restriction. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2021, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyd-they-use-that-recording-of-the-song-for-the-album/944003/5 "2021-06-12T10:18:09Z")
This may not quite fit the premise of this thread. The Howard Jones song “No One is to Blame” on his 1985 album _Dream into Action_ sounds a lot thinner than the version most people are used to hearing on the radio. Album version: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uze7nDImakU/hqdefault.jpg "Needledrop | Howard Jones - No One Is To Blame (original LP version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uze7nDImakU) Radio single (re-worked in 1986 with production help from Phil Collins): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/08YqoGF6KPQ/maxresdefault.jpg "No One Is To Blame [Single Mix, 2020 Remaster]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08YqoGF6KPQ) ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whyd-they-use-that-recording-of-the-song-for-the-album/944003/6 "2021-06-14T14:13:49Z")
Pete Townshend, “A Little Is Enough.” Please skip the synth-drenched 1980 studio version and go straight to the live 1985 version with Pete’s band Deep End. It’s amazing what adding horns, backup singers and David Gilmour’s guitar can do to a song. 1980: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_WjDpIv905s/maxresdefault.jpg "A Little Is Enough") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WjDpIv905s) 1985: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DBRG-KI_UWk/hqdefault.jpg "A Little Is Enough") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBRG-KI_UWk)