SoundsXP Message Boards - Indie, Indiepop, Nu-Folk and Alt-Country Forums

THE LAST WALTZ... That is all.

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Why do all the cats get all the flaps, you do not have a dog flap innit.

Making a live album that's worth listening to is a difficult proposition, so no wonder that often people don't bother. Do you mess around with the songs and alienate the folk who came out to hear you play your hits that they heard on the radio - or do give in to that pressure and end up just putting out inferior versions of your old songs?

There's also the dismal "live" phenomenon of putting a crappy live recording out as a B-side, instead of bothering with another proper song. The "(Live)" tag is rarely a hallmark of quality...

But there are plenty of counterexamples where something special and different is going on - to add to the growing list above, both Talking Heads live LPs ("The Name Of This Band Is..." and especially "Stop Making Sense"). Tindersticks do beautiful live albums, but I wouldn't rate them up with the studio stuff.

One like a lot is "801 Live" - Eno, Manzanera and a few other folk set about funked up versions of Eno tracks like "Sombre Reptiles", "Baby's On Fire" and "Third Uncle" - plus you get Eno's perculiar version of "Tomorrow Never Knows". Priceless - but some of the rest reminds you why live albums are usually a bad idea, particularly if like the Strokes you have ony two albums worth of tracks and one way of playing them...

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http://www.fivesevenyc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/peter.html

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Looks like Elijah Wood. Supports Liverpool. Likes Coldplay.

The very real issue is that once a gig has been recorded, it's no longer 'live', and is then at the mercy of further twiddling by producers and precious band members. There is simply no substitute for being there. Even live video footage rarely does justice to a performance, as the recent broadcasts of the festivals showed with embarrassing clarity.

For the record, the only live album I can bear to listen to all the way through is that man Neil Diamond's Hot August Night. Although I am intrigued, to say the least, by the metal album Death Live.

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Life's But A Walking Shadow

Well well well - wonders never cease - Sir Diamond is proving to be a cut (pardon the pun) above the rest when it comes to 'live' performances - come on everybody in your best husky voice

'Song sung blue, everybody knows one....' Gives me chills...

"LA's fine, the sun shines, most of the time. And the feeling is laid back. Palm trees grow and the rents are low, but lately I've been thinking about making my way back..."

OK so I know the words from the magnificent Killdozer cover version, but Neil's greatest hits are a staple round our house too.

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Pukka Pie pest

Embrace the margin
Always Changing at Retford http://sptxx.tumblr.com/
Not Changing at Retford http://sptxx2.tumblr.com/

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Mod Supreme, Demon Headmaster