Post by Pete70s on Jul 25, 2007 20:43:54 GMT -5
I got to thinking about this earlier today, and thought I'd start a discussion on it:
What do you think of live albums? And, taking that a step further, what do you think of albums that mix live tracks with studio tracks?
The most obvious example of this is Cream, one of the greatest live bands of all time, who actually had TWO consecutive albums that mixed live with studio tracks: "Wheels Of Fire" (a double album with one disc devoted to each), and "Goodbye", (a single album with a side devoted to each).
In the case of "Wheels Of Fire", it's like you get a new single Cream album with a second album of live tracks. Each stand well on their own. "Goodbye", on the other hand, was a hodgepodge of live and studio tracks to kind of "wrap up" their career. With the exception of "Badge" and "What A Bringdown", it's like the rest of the album was stuff that got cut from "Wheels".
Keeping with the "one side live, one side studio" formula is ZZ Top's "Fandango!". This album is strange to listen to, as it seems like they only do three tracks on the live side (the third a 'medley' of sorts), leading one to believe that that was their ENTIRE SHOW(all 15 minutes of it!). The live band had an amazing energy onstage and at times were "in the zone", so to speak. But the studio tracks on side two do not stand well alongside the live tracks, making for a very unusual album (Don't get me wrong, side 2 of "Fandango!" is an awesome album side, but should have been paired up with other studio tracks).
In the 80's, it became common practice to release a live double album, and feature one or two new studio tracks, which would usually get the airplay. Examples of this include: Triumph, Journey, Styx, & Dokken. Steppenwolf had actually done this in 1970, including "Hey Lawdy Mama" on their live album. The only problem with this is you get one or two new songs for the price of a double album full of songs you may already have.
Kiss and Genesis did three sided live albums with a fourth side of studio tracks.
And occasionally bands would slip a single live track onto a studio album, usually the closing track, giving a "taste" of what the band sounded like live.
The most interesting example of mixing live and studio tracks is the Grateful Dead's "Anthem Of The Sun" (refer to my album review from last year). They mixed it so effortlessly you literally can't tell "if it's live or if it's Memorex".
So, let's have some feedback, gang! What are your opinions of this?
What do you think of live albums? And, taking that a step further, what do you think of albums that mix live tracks with studio tracks?
The most obvious example of this is Cream, one of the greatest live bands of all time, who actually had TWO consecutive albums that mixed live with studio tracks: "Wheels Of Fire" (a double album with one disc devoted to each), and "Goodbye", (a single album with a side devoted to each).
In the case of "Wheels Of Fire", it's like you get a new single Cream album with a second album of live tracks. Each stand well on their own. "Goodbye", on the other hand, was a hodgepodge of live and studio tracks to kind of "wrap up" their career. With the exception of "Badge" and "What A Bringdown", it's like the rest of the album was stuff that got cut from "Wheels".
Keeping with the "one side live, one side studio" formula is ZZ Top's "Fandango!". This album is strange to listen to, as it seems like they only do three tracks on the live side (the third a 'medley' of sorts), leading one to believe that that was their ENTIRE SHOW(all 15 minutes of it!). The live band had an amazing energy onstage and at times were "in the zone", so to speak. But the studio tracks on side two do not stand well alongside the live tracks, making for a very unusual album (Don't get me wrong, side 2 of "Fandango!" is an awesome album side, but should have been paired up with other studio tracks).
In the 80's, it became common practice to release a live double album, and feature one or two new studio tracks, which would usually get the airplay. Examples of this include: Triumph, Journey, Styx, & Dokken. Steppenwolf had actually done this in 1970, including "Hey Lawdy Mama" on their live album. The only problem with this is you get one or two new songs for the price of a double album full of songs you may already have.
Kiss and Genesis did three sided live albums with a fourth side of studio tracks.
And occasionally bands would slip a single live track onto a studio album, usually the closing track, giving a "taste" of what the band sounded like live.
The most interesting example of mixing live and studio tracks is the Grateful Dead's "Anthem Of The Sun" (refer to my album review from last year). They mixed it so effortlessly you literally can't tell "if it's live or if it's Memorex".
So, let's have some feedback, gang! What are your opinions of this?
