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A Token Of Their Extreme...
Oct. 19th, 2019 07:36 amA thought-provoking op-ed in the NME...
Live Albums Are Pointless... - which makes the argument that they're a useless memento, or an inferior document, of what makes the band, or at least their shows, special... I suspect that, for a sizeable percentage, that's pretty true. I don't listen to many concert albums (I do like watching concert DVDs though, but I think that's a different thing), even some of those considered 'classics' like Kiss 'Alive' & Alive II' - with too much audience screaming, hammy banter & bum notes, the Rolling Stones 'Get Your Ya Yas Out' - which is a muddy mess sounding like it was recorded from somewhere in the middle of a stoned crowd, or 'The Who Live At Leeds' - for all its supposed energy, listening to it just sounds like an overdriven mess with Roger Daltrey shouting over it
On the other hand, I love listening to 'The Allman Brothers Live At Fillmore East' - minimal crowd noise, clear recording & fantastic playing all round... as well as being sufficiently different to their studio recordings as to be worth repeated listening. Ditto for Yes 'Yessongs' for much the same reasons & the Band 'The Last Waltz', though I sometimes prefer to watch the movie instead...
I may be tempted to go even further than the article though & wonder why some artists/bands play live at all?? I've certainly seen some concerts that made me wonder why I was there & not at home listening to the CD instead... The Aphex Twin leaps to mind, as do Justin Timberlake & Lady GaGa - whose shows were more about synchronised dancing & backing tracks than the music itself... & Bob Dylan - not just for his bloody awful Sydney show in 1989, but for any of his live performances since he grew beyond the New York folk cafés - tuneless mumbling & rambling over shambolic, mostly sub-standard country & blues that wouldn't get a gig in Nashville on a Tuesday night, let alone a run at the Ryman... In fact, 2 of the worst live albums I own are his (you'd think I would have learned after the 1st one!?) - 'Before The Flood' & 'Hard Rain', appropriate titles for such a shower of drab, drizzling dreck...
Live Albums Are Pointless... - which makes the argument that they're a useless memento, or an inferior document, of what makes the band, or at least their shows, special... I suspect that, for a sizeable percentage, that's pretty true. I don't listen to many concert albums (I do like watching concert DVDs though, but I think that's a different thing), even some of those considered 'classics' like Kiss 'Alive' & Alive II' - with too much audience screaming, hammy banter & bum notes, the Rolling Stones 'Get Your Ya Yas Out' - which is a muddy mess sounding like it was recorded from somewhere in the middle of a stoned crowd, or 'The Who Live At Leeds' - for all its supposed energy, listening to it just sounds like an overdriven mess with Roger Daltrey shouting over it
On the other hand, I love listening to 'The Allman Brothers Live At Fillmore East' - minimal crowd noise, clear recording & fantastic playing all round... as well as being sufficiently different to their studio recordings as to be worth repeated listening. Ditto for Yes 'Yessongs' for much the same reasons & the Band 'The Last Waltz', though I sometimes prefer to watch the movie instead...
I may be tempted to go even further than the article though & wonder why some artists/bands play live at all?? I've certainly seen some concerts that made me wonder why I was there & not at home listening to the CD instead... The Aphex Twin leaps to mind, as do Justin Timberlake & Lady GaGa - whose shows were more about synchronised dancing & backing tracks than the music itself... & Bob Dylan - not just for his bloody awful Sydney show in 1989, but for any of his live performances since he grew beyond the New York folk cafés - tuneless mumbling & rambling over shambolic, mostly sub-standard country & blues that wouldn't get a gig in Nashville on a Tuesday night, let alone a run at the Ryman... In fact, 2 of the worst live albums I own are his (you'd think I would have learned after the 1st one!?) - 'Before The Flood' & 'Hard Rain', appropriate titles for such a shower of drab, drizzling dreck...
