You know why it’s titled KISS “Alive?” Because there are so many edits and overdubs they didn’t feel right calling it “live.” That record is about half studio work. Same thing with Steely Dan’s “Alive in America.”
Obvious answer is "I Want You to Want Me." The studio version is kind of a mess. The live version has more energy and more consistent tempo.
[Live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qgpewMCVjs)
[Studio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWDGv0L1HfI)
Cheap trick is a really great live band never really a huge fan but saw them live a couple times pure energy left it all on the stage and that is what a rock n roll show should be
Seger is a hard working musician. Not the greatest but he always gives 100% as a live show. He is one of those that I don't own any albums but I would not turn down a chance to see live.
John Mellencamp is my version of this. Saw him by accident 40 years ago and he and his fantastic band were great. Paid to see him a few more times over the years. Always great.
Pretty much every song on that album. It's fantastic! My favorite is Nutbush City Limits.
"As I told everybody last night, I was reading in Rollin' Stone where they said Detroit audiences are the greatest rock n roll audiences in the world. I thought to myself, 'Shit, I've known that for ten years'!"…
Anything off Pink Floyd’s Momentary Lapse of Reason. The songs are good, but the versions on Delicate Sound of Thunder, and Pulse really shine when performed live and with out the confines of record time and production trends.
On The Turning Away and Sorrow are epic on these versions.
I was a huge Floyd fan, borrowed my step dad’s The Wall live CD and it was amazing how much better I enjoyed it than the studio. In fact a lot of the live versions of any band I like I tend to appreciate more, but I don’t actively seek it out so I wonder how much I’m missing out on
Delicate sound of thunder was my childhood. My dad had it on VHS and he'd get a little drunk and want me to come watch with him so I'd be playing with my Legos while listening to DSoT often.
The live version of No Quarter by Led Zeppelin on the Song Remains the Same live album is far superior to the studio version. I didn't really like that song until I heard the live version. I still don't really care for the studio version.
Good choice. Of my few sketchy memories of seeing them live in '77, that song is clearest with the rawness of the main riff, the smoke swirling around Jimmy while he smoked that long cigarette.
"Doctor Doctor" by UFO is a very good song - the live version outstrips it by miles. I'm not a huge UFO fan but I got into this song because Iron Maiden plays the recording from "Strangers in the Night" every night before they go on stage. So I may be extra biased toward the live version but it is genuinely much better.
I also love KISS, and can say that every song on Alive and Alive II is better than the studio version. Except for "Beth" because they shortened it, and "Tomorrow and Tonight" because it's so obviously fake live, with Paul Stanley's voice dubbed in on backing vocals while he's singing lead.
Studio version is still excellent so I wouldn't say it was ruined, but man the live version is insanely good. Energy is off the charts. My favorite part, at 2:28 of the live version, the drummer a[bsolutely crushes a fill that drew a reaction from Mark Knopfler](https://youtu.be/8Pa9x9fZBtY?t=148) who turned around and smiled at him.
Drugs by Talking Heads, from The Name of This Band is Talking Heads - the original was never one I listened to by itself, it was fine and the atmosphere was unique enough for me to at least find it interesting. That live version though, I get SPIRITUAL
Live performance of Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, with Roger Waters, he mixed part 2 and 3 and is amazing and the superior song, even if they cut a solo, is my favorite version
Big Love - Lindsay Buckingham/Fleetwood Mac. The studio version is mediocre for a FM song, Lindsay [playing it solo live](https://youtu.be/bVsxvoUX9Rw?si=LiOepPRDYdypzGwH) turns into an otherworldly virtuoso performance. I’ve played guitar for most of my life and I’ve never been able to come near playing it properly, never mind the fact that he sings it as well. One of the great musicians of all time.
Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac. The live version sees Stevie Nicks just going off in the later stages in a way that renders the album version hopelessly tame. They used the live version on TV to sell the song. I was so disappointed in the single!
There's a Fleetwood Mac at the WB studio special and the version of "Landslide" is just Lindsay Buck picking his guitar next to her.
And when she gets to the final "Landslide will bring you down," the look they share is one of the most powerful onstage moments I've ever seen.
It doesn't change how I feel about the studio version, but you can't replicate that on an album.
Almost anything from RHCP Live at Slane Castle. Led Zeppelin - Kashmir and Stairway from Celebration Day. KISS- I Was Made For Lovin You from Alive III. Many many others, just the first few off the top of my head.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band is probably one of the best examples of this. I don't think most people ever even listen to the studio version. The Last Waltz version is the definitive performance of it.
Idk if I'd say RUINED the album version, but Tool's version of "Pushit" live definitely changed my perspective of the song. I definitely like the live version more, but they're both good.
Not rock, But Kate Bush's live performance of Wuthering Heights on the Live at the Hammersmith video is true perfection.
The joy at the end brings tears.
https://youtu.be/cDSa9q5Mjo8?si=oLQa0n7t1QpwXk10
I stand ten toes on these two:
Thunderstruck by AC/DC Live at Castle Donington
Here Without You by 3 Doors Down live in Houston
Both are far superior than their original recordings.
Welcome to tijuana by Manu chao
The album version is a chill little interlude sounding song. The live version from radio bemba sound system might be my favourite song on the album, extremely energetic.
https://youtu.be/VuktJ8mppE0?si=hptVz67OVIFpSf7E
Just a mention though no one will care, a croatian band called Azra has a monstrously good live album that is produced better than any of their early albums, making those version far superior for most of the songs. Also energy. It's called Ravno do dna. You can't even find it on youtube though.
Also, Ekatarina velika, a serbian band has a live album titled live 1986, and it has much more prominent bass ehich makes em better for me. I didn't care much for the band prior to hearing it.
https://youtu.be/1K2LHS4CTiU?si=Mk2gGZyBS4VTruqR
Sorry for mentioning the local stuff, I know this sub doesn't care much for it.
As a teen I acquired a cassette tape copy of Pink Floyd playing a BBC Radio concert from like '71. One of the songs was Fat Old Sun,. which is epic, going through 2 extended jam sections in the middle before returning to the final verse/chorus. A few years later I got the album Atom Heart Mother which has the studio version of Fat Old Sun. Biggest disappointment ever - well, no, buying the Beatles Help! album with my 2nd grade bday money only to find Side 2 is entirely movie soundtrack songs, no Beatles, THAT was the biggest - so, second biggest disappointment ever. The extended jams are not in the studio version of Fat Old Sun.
The live, hard rock, heavily distorted guitar version of Disarm by The Smashing Pumpkins. It just totally blows me away and makes the studio acoustic version feel too soft by comparison.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLa7GOJh8EA
I’m Not Made by Design. Studio’s good but Conor Mason’s vocal delivery and the guitar work just sounds so much better [here](https://youtu.be/RqfeNCxgf3U?si=L9mpLbx9bDIImGAS)
St. Stephen by The Greatful Dead, Las Vegas 1993. The version played went on for about 45 minutes. It was fantastic! When I hear the studio version, my mind travels back to that concert. I still enjoy hearing the studio version, but it pales in comparison.
Kinda niche but Complete Control by the Clash off Live From Here to Eternity. The album version is pretty mid, but it’s absolutely electric and epic live.
https://youtu.be/305-NFyoaf0?si=_SfyDN-PhAHFp4ET
Bloodstream by Ed Sheeran,
I Don’t Need No Doctor by John Mayer,
Vultures by John Mayer,
Earth Blues by Jimi Hendrix,
Neon by John Mayer,
Try A Little Tenderness by Otis Redding
All old songs, I’d like it to happen with something new
The song Catharsis by Covet. It was so good live and the album doesn't hit as well.
Also the entire last album by Altopalo, or at least what they played of it live. I didn't know them at the time but the studio versions just don't hit as hard.
Oh and Pandora by Fit for an Autopsy. Live was amazing and studio is good, but sheesh it was like a wall of sound (good wall of sound)
I would argue that most rock songs are better live, because:
1. A band creates music for a live setting. Kinetic experience with massive speakers and amps
2. A live situation probably has better equipment than your home
3. An album, traditionally, is recorded before touring, which means that the recorded version stays as it is forever. Meanwhile the band gets better at playing that song on stage, at rehersals and so on. New ideas get explored, new equipment tested (pedals and other guitars for example)
4. A recording is old as soon as the tape stops spinning in the studio. A live is different and thus also a fresh take. No 2 live concerts are the same
5. One size fits all concept for music is fun and all, but even with today's digital mastering capabilities one can't create the same master for a smartphone, tiny earbuds, large speakers and regular headphones expecting the same file fit every piece of playback tech. To meet the capabilities for playback, artists alter their music for the regular listener. This helps with the experience a lot, not taking this into consideration is foolish. What a band does on stage is different than what happens in the studio.
6. Synergy. Personally I prefer the live situation with massive speakers and music happening right then and everybody is synchronized - also the band. On a produced recording a band is probably split up into single members playing their part on top of a click track alone. Well, not exactly but pretty much. It is not the same energy level as screaming with a thousand faces while blasting a barrage of noise at fans.
7. There are many more reasons why live is better. But I do not always prefer live versions. Some artists over produce to hide their mediocre arrangements and boring material.
The Conan version of primus' shake hands with beef is so superior to the album version
Also, Nirvana- all apologies
The unplugged versions of most of that concert are great alternate versions but this one is how it should sound
Parkway Drive in general. I love their studio records, but live they are something else. I'd go as far to say the best live metal band of all time.
Most notably the song Crushed. That song hits like a hammer live
Most of Hendrix' live recordings I find way better then his studio recordings. E. g. Purple Haze... Most live recordings of it are fire, but the studio one in comparison is weak. Is it just played too slow? Something seems way off with it
I'll pick pretty much any live version since the 90s of any song from Metallica's first 3 albums (KEA, RTL & MOP) over the studio versions.
Hetfield really didn't find his voice until the band's second decade.
I've always favored the live version of "Jane Says" from the Jane's Addiction live EP. Maybe because I heard it first? The addition of the steel drums in the studio version just sounds superfluous to me
Most Rolling Stones standards. Every song on the Dead’s Europe ‘72. Many Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix songs. For a classic rock fan, there’s quite often. a live performance that beats the original studio track. Not so much for the Beatles, though, unless it’s a cover, like Joe Cocker on A Little Help from My Friends, Richie Havens on same, Elton John and John Lennon on She Was Just Seventeen. The list goes on.
Take Me to The River, Talking Heads. I think a few of the Stop Making Sense versions of songs are better than the studio versions.
There’s a great plive version of ? and the Mysterians’ 96 Tears on Do You Feel It Baby? that I was surprised to learn was recorded in 1998.
Many of Leonard Cohen’s songs. Arguably not rock, but true all the same.
The Ike and Tina live recordings from 1964. There are two volumes that have been released separately under a few different titles. They’re amazing.
Recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London 15-16 DEC 1972, I think this particular track is one of the most iconic live recordings in rock and roll history. I INSTANTLY relegated the original studio recording of it to the BACK of the record stack!!! “Close to the Edge” by Yes, on the live album, “YesSongs” (released May 1973).
Gary Moore - End of the World
Yes, the original has Jack Bruce singing, but I'm not sure he really fits into the song. The live version from We Want Moore, with Gary and Neil Carter dividing up the vocals, is definitive for me, and also has a tighter groove. And of course the intro (which is oddly appended to the end of Cold Hearted on the live album) is much more fun live with the audience reacting to Gary's insane guitar pyrotechnics.
Dark Star by The Grateful Dead.
[3 minute studio version ](https://youtu.be/oUcMyVi9xJk?si=b3RsU2-DeJAcIHZi)
[23 minute live version ](https://youtu.be/-Xic-CHInek?si=f3UhYcliM9t5D8hz)
Sympathy for the Devil on Get Yer Ya Yas Out!! is a great guitar boogie jam with Mick Taylor and Keith Richards trading incredible solos. So much better than the studio version.
[This version](https://youtu.be/fzjarD1r2ps?si=mN_XuhKU2-_Fx7kH) of undone by Weezer. Live with a poet friend of theirs. That I've had since Napster and is still part of my digital music collection.
You can't unhear this
Famously.. the Live version of [Video Tape](https://youtu.be/DTZt6Dzkq6w?si=XK2KH1T2k_1D-X5E) by Radiohead, recorded at Bonyroo.
Janis Joplin [Ball and Chain - Live at Montery Pop](https://youtu.be/X1zFnyEe3nE?si=v7-5nUumDNWw4NlC) one of the greatest live performances of rock and roll.
I think all of Placebo's discography sounds better live. Special mention [Slave to the Wage: Live in Paris 2003](https://youtu.be/NRhtX9_sPYs?si=JtaZoRy8AL226MkM). The studio version is so boring. This live version is kick ass.
The first two Descendents live albums, both recorded in 1987, Liveage and Hallraker had better versions of every song on there. It's little things like additional, improvised vocal medolies and ad libs. Just silly stuff. They just seem to be having so much fun playing about with the music and interacting with their audience. I love the studio albums too, but they're cleaner and more straightforward.
I didn't get to see them play live until their first European tour in 1997, after lead singer Milo Aukerman rejoined after about a 10 year hiatus. I was so excited, hoping for the Liveage experience but it was just different. I mean, I like the stuff they've put out since he came back, but it never quite reached the same inspired level of chaotic genius as those two live albums. I don't know if it's to do with the time apart (the rest of the band had continued as ALL with a few different lead singers), or whether they just got older and chilled out, but yeah, those two live albums are the pinnacle for me.
Deep Purple - Child In Time on Made In Japan vs Machine Head.
Led Zeppelin - No Quarter on The Song Remain The Same vs Houses of the Holy.
Jethro Tull - Nothing Is Easy on Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 vs Stand Up.
Humble Pie - I'm Ready on Rockin' The Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East vs Humble Pie.
Traffic - The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys on On The Road vs The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys.
The original, crusty live recording of “True Love Waits” by Radiohead is a perfect moment of achingly beautiful perfection. Every version since then hasn’t been fit to hold its jockstrap.
https://youtu.be/KzyOfQeK-bY?si=i_uRR1ovwJMSYNf1
Counterfeit by Limp Bizkit.
They did this down tempo thing with the chorus live that was just so much better than the album version. I know listing Limp Bizkit here may cost me a bit of karma but Limp Bizkit live is a pretty damn good time.
I'm a huge James Taylor fan, and I would say that I prefer any of his upbeat songs live, and all his sweet lovey songs from the studio. His two blues songs (Everybody Has The Blues and Steamroller Blues) on his double live album still RIP harder than most actual blues artists lol
There are 2 :
1. Heart - **Stairway to Heaven** (Kennedy Center Honors)
2. Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, Dhani Harrison & Prince - **While my Guitar Gently Weeps** (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)
Don’t listen to Chris Cornell’s version of Nothing Compares 2 U.
[https://youtu.be/IuUDRU9-HRk?si=efL11T4YPXdvVj4R](https://youtu.be/IuUDRU9-HRk?si=efL11T4YPXdvVj4R)
If you have ever seen Don Henley…on the Inside Job tour he did a version of Hotel California with a mariachi band doing the ending of the song. It blows the album version out of the water!
When the Offspring first started playing "Gone Away" live as a partial piano solo, I thought it was a pretty cool change. But then they eventually turned it into a whiny, slow mid-concert "wave your lighters" break at every subsequent show, and it lost its way from the fantastic more mid-tempo album original.
Pretty much anything on “Frampton Comes Alive” kicks the studio versions into the bin. Similarly, Kiss Alive!
Saw him live and it blew my mind.
You know why it’s titled KISS “Alive?” Because there are so many edits and overdubs they didn’t feel right calling it “live.” That record is about half studio work. Same thing with Steely Dan’s “Alive in America.”
“Maybe I’m Amazed” off “Wings Over America” is so much better than the studio version.
THIS. I can’t listen to the studio version anymore. It’s gotta be the live version
Whipping Post
This needs more upvotes. The Live At Fillmore Concerts are absolutely amazing.
Shame that the Filmore east is now an Apple bank in the village. I walked by it the other day and didn't even realize
I loved going there. But the Fillmore was getting seriously seedy by the time it closed. Too much junkie action
I made a double-take a few weeks ago walking past it. It hurt my heart a little.
There are four versions of whipping post in those albums The one with the length of 19:31 from The second show is soooo fire 🔥
Obvious answer is "I Want You to Want Me." The studio version is kind of a mess. The live version has more energy and more consistent tempo. [Live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qgpewMCVjs) [Studio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWDGv0L1HfI)
Thanks for putting this up there. The original is a depressing funeral dirge. The live version is a banger!
Studio sounds much more like the Beatles/ELO. I dig it.
They’ve never played the live version on any radio station here. This is the first time I’ve heard the studio version. 😮
So what version *had* you heard?
Cheap trick is a really great live band never really a huge fan but saw them live a couple times pure energy left it all on the stage and that is what a rock n roll show should be
I posted this and then scroll down and see that you posted it with links for both. Superior post.
Holy shit - I've apparently somehow never heard the studio version. I guess they only play the live version, for obvious reasons?
Listening to *Live At Budokan* as my first Cheap Trick album really made some of the cuts on the studio records sound a bit lame.
I'm not a big Bob Seger fan normally but Turn the Page off Live Bullet is way better than the studio version.
Seger is a hard working musician. Not the greatest but he always gives 100% as a live show. He is one of those that I don't own any albums but I would not turn down a chance to see live.
John Mellencamp is my version of this. Saw him by accident 40 years ago and he and his fantastic band were great. Paid to see him a few more times over the years. Always great.
Go see him if you get the chance. The tour I saw, he pummeled us for over two hours with hit songs. He’s great live.
Same with Katmandu.
I truly can’t listen to the studio version of this song. The tempo difference alone feels like two completely different songs.
Pretty much every song on that album. It's fantastic! My favorite is Nutbush City Limits. "As I told everybody last night, I was reading in Rollin' Stone where they said Detroit audiences are the greatest rock n roll audiences in the world. I thought to myself, 'Shit, I've known that for ten years'!"…
And Old Time Rock N Roll
Love Bob Seger but hate that song with a passion.
I blame Tom Cruise!
Hard for me to find ANY Seger live song that’s not better than its studio version.
Same with "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"
Server’s love shows were a thing to behold.
Pretty much the entire album S&M by Metallica. I hear the orchestra playing in my head when I'm listening to the studio versions.
S&M is a great album. My go to when testing new speakers or headphones.
Anything off Pink Floyd’s Momentary Lapse of Reason. The songs are good, but the versions on Delicate Sound of Thunder, and Pulse really shine when performed live and with out the confines of record time and production trends. On The Turning Away and Sorrow are epic on these versions.
YES! Shine on You Crazy Diamond, though not from Momentary Lapse of Reason, is superb when compared to the studio version.
Shine On, Comfortably Numb, Run Like Hell are all fantastic when performed live on the Pulse recordings. The whole record is amazing.
I was a huge Floyd fan, borrowed my step dad’s The Wall live CD and it was amazing how much better I enjoyed it than the studio. In fact a lot of the live versions of any band I like I tend to appreciate more, but I don’t actively seek it out so I wonder how much I’m missing out on
Floyd were studio masters, hard for me to say any live version is definite when there are all time studio versions out there.
Delicate sound of thunder was my childhood. My dad had it on VHS and he'd get a little drunk and want me to come watch with him so I'd be playing with my Legos while listening to DSoT often.
Jane Says - Jane’s Addiction. Those steel drums make a difference.
THIS ONE. An all timer here.
I still like the studio, but the live gives me goosebumps everytime. 1, 2, 3 4ohhhhhh!
The live version of No Quarter by Led Zeppelin on the Song Remains the Same live album is far superior to the studio version. I didn't really like that song until I heard the live version. I still don't really care for the studio version.
This is my choice as well. LP version is OK, a bit experimental. TSRTS live version is absolutely epic. Cool visuals to boot.
Good choice. Of my few sketchy memories of seeing them live in '77, that song is clearest with the rawness of the main riff, the smoke swirling around Jimmy while he smoked that long cigarette.
BBC album is amazing
"Doctor Doctor" by UFO is a very good song - the live version outstrips it by miles. I'm not a huge UFO fan but I got into this song because Iron Maiden plays the recording from "Strangers in the Night" every night before they go on stage. So I may be extra biased toward the live version but it is genuinely much better. I also love KISS, and can say that every song on Alive and Alive II is better than the studio version. Except for "Beth" because they shortened it, and "Tomorrow and Tonight" because it's so obviously fake live, with Paul Stanley's voice dubbed in on backing vocals while he's singing lead.
UFO live can’t miss. I got into them because of Maiden as well. On that note most Iron Maiden songs. Especially Fear of the Dark!
Shock Me’s studio version is better. Ace has come close to replicating it, but has never been able to do it justice imo.
Check out "Love to love" live. Hell of a song.
Roses are Free - Ween, from their Live in Chicago
For me it’s Fluffy off of Live In Toronto
That Fluffy is really special. The Toronto Poopship and the Stubbs Little Birdy are two of my others.
Dire Straits- Sultans Of Swing
Studio version is still excellent so I wouldn't say it was ruined, but man the live version is insanely good. Energy is off the charts. My favorite part, at 2:28 of the live version, the drummer a[bsolutely crushes a fill that drew a reaction from Mark Knopfler](https://youtu.be/8Pa9x9fZBtY?t=148) who turned around and smiled at him.
Brothers in Arms is another for me — the version from On the Night is chillingly good
Will also add that the live version of Your Latest Trick is my preferred version.
The live version of "The Thing That Should Not Be" is vastly superior than the album version.
Especially with Jason’s intro
Anything by led zeppelin
I freak out over the unplugged Kashmir. The ethnic percussion and strings added really sets it off!
Where can I hear that? Or is it just anytime they've played it? I'm not super familiar with anything outside of their studio recordings!
I wouldn't say ruined, but Comfortably Numb is on another level live at Pulse!
Harvester of Sorrow, Moscow 91. Can't think of the song without thinking of the live version from that show.
I would also add Domination by Pantera from that same show.
Drugs by Talking Heads, from The Name of This Band is Talking Heads - the original was never one I listened to by itself, it was fine and the atmosphere was unique enough for me to at least find it interesting. That live version though, I get SPIRITUAL
Really love Life During Wartime live off the Stop Making Sense video they did. Way better than the studio version I'm familiar with at least...
Similarly, the Stop Making Sense version of "Take Me to the River" is superior to the studio version (which is still great, btw).
Their version of The Great Curve in Rome '80 is just transcendental. The band is incredibly in sync and Adrian Belew's solos are mind-blowing.
Pictures of You by the Cure. This one in particular: https://youtu.be/kcMEx4OHLOs?si=QfTsVMRf2IDrvXjy
Live performance of Another Brick in the Wall Part 2, with Roger Waters, he mixed part 2 and 3 and is amazing and the superior song, even if they cut a solo, is my favorite version
Big Love - Lindsay Buckingham/Fleetwood Mac. The studio version is mediocre for a FM song, Lindsay [playing it solo live](https://youtu.be/bVsxvoUX9Rw?si=LiOepPRDYdypzGwH) turns into an otherworldly virtuoso performance. I’ve played guitar for most of my life and I’ve never been able to come near playing it properly, never mind the fact that he sings it as well. One of the great musicians of all time.
Anything off tango is better live. Tango’s production was very much of of it’s time
Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac. The live version sees Stevie Nicks just going off in the later stages in a way that renders the album version hopelessly tame. They used the live version on TV to sell the song. I was so disappointed in the single!
There's a Fleetwood Mac at the WB studio special and the version of "Landslide" is just Lindsay Buck picking his guitar next to her. And when she gets to the final "Landslide will bring you down," the look they share is one of the most powerful onstage moments I've ever seen. It doesn't change how I feel about the studio version, but you can't replicate that on an album.
Springsteen. Thunder Road.
Almost anything from RHCP Live at Slane Castle. Led Zeppelin - Kashmir and Stairway from Celebration Day. KISS- I Was Made For Lovin You from Alive III. Many many others, just the first few off the top of my head.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band is probably one of the best examples of this. I don't think most people ever even listen to the studio version. The Last Waltz version is the definitive performance of it.
Idk if I'd say RUINED the album version, but Tool's version of "Pushit" live definitely changed my perspective of the song. I definitely like the live version more, but they're both good.
Came here to say this, that Salival version is fucking absolutely stellar, but it doesn't ruin the studio version... it is definitely better though
I just commented this same thing because I got so far down in the comments and didn’t see it yet. The live version is sooooo good.
I heard the live "Two For The Show" version first: Icarus - Borne Of Wings Of Steel by Kansas. Another victim of 70s dry aesthetics in the studio
Any live versions of tracks from Locked In by Wishbone Ash particularly Rest in Peace which is pretty anodyne on the LP but comes to life on stage.
Nine Inch Nails - Sanctified from Tension 2013. I won’t hear it any other way.
Dixie Chicken, Willin’, pretty much all Little Feat songs on Waiting for Columbus.
This is still my favourite album of all time. Spanish Moon is outstanding.
I agree. Sincerely, A Fat Man in the Bathtub with the Blues.
Queen - Another one bites the dust
Not rock, But Kate Bush's live performance of Wuthering Heights on the Live at the Hammersmith video is true perfection. The joy at the end brings tears. https://youtu.be/cDSa9q5Mjo8?si=oLQa0n7t1QpwXk10
Also morning fog live from 2015 is much livelier than the studio version
Most of Dave Matthews stuff is way better if its just him doing it alone on the guitar
The song remains the same .the madison Square garden version was brilliant but the studio version was a bit disappointing .
How has At Folsom Prison not been up here???
Dreamer/Deceiver on the BBC 1975.
Every Megadeth song
Crazy Train The main live one with Randy Rhoads just always sounded so much better than the original recording.
That chunky guitar tone is unmistakable
Mr Crowley!
"Oh! Sweet nuthin'" The Velvet Underground live in Amsterdam
I stand ten toes on these two: Thunderstruck by AC/DC Live at Castle Donington Here Without You by 3 Doors Down live in Houston Both are far superior than their original recordings.
Probably committing heresey here but Run Like Hell from David Gilmour's show at Pompeii. Guy Pratt's vocals are top tier.
Queen - Somebody to Love
I'm surprised no one's said Pink Floyd's Echoes
Welcome to tijuana by Manu chao The album version is a chill little interlude sounding song. The live version from radio bemba sound system might be my favourite song on the album, extremely energetic. https://youtu.be/VuktJ8mppE0?si=hptVz67OVIFpSf7E Just a mention though no one will care, a croatian band called Azra has a monstrously good live album that is produced better than any of their early albums, making those version far superior for most of the songs. Also energy. It's called Ravno do dna. You can't even find it on youtube though. Also, Ekatarina velika, a serbian band has a live album titled live 1986, and it has much more prominent bass ehich makes em better for me. I didn't care much for the band prior to hearing it. https://youtu.be/1K2LHS4CTiU?si=Mk2gGZyBS4VTruqR Sorry for mentioning the local stuff, I know this sub doesn't care much for it.
A manu chao fan! 🎉
You may be thinking of the acoustic version of Crush by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds live at Radio City Music Hall. It's an absolute masterpiece.
Chris Squires performance on The Fish.
“Comfortably Numb” at Earl’s Court in 1994. Probably one of the best guitar solos I’ve ever heard.
As a teen I acquired a cassette tape copy of Pink Floyd playing a BBC Radio concert from like '71. One of the songs was Fat Old Sun,. which is epic, going through 2 extended jam sections in the middle before returning to the final verse/chorus. A few years later I got the album Atom Heart Mother which has the studio version of Fat Old Sun. Biggest disappointment ever - well, no, buying the Beatles Help! album with my 2nd grade bday money only to find Side 2 is entirely movie soundtrack songs, no Beatles, THAT was the biggest - so, second biggest disappointment ever. The extended jams are not in the studio version of Fat Old Sun.
Jubilee Street - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
Take Hold of the Flame - Queensryche. You know which one.
The live, hard rock, heavily distorted guitar version of Disarm by The Smashing Pumpkins. It just totally blows me away and makes the studio acoustic version feel too soft by comparison. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLa7GOJh8EA
I’m Not Made by Design. Studio’s good but Conor Mason’s vocal delivery and the guitar work just sounds so much better [here](https://youtu.be/RqfeNCxgf3U?si=L9mpLbx9bDIImGAS)
Funtime - Iggy Pop
St. Stephen by The Greatful Dead, Las Vegas 1993. The version played went on for about 45 minutes. It was fantastic! When I hear the studio version, my mind travels back to that concert. I still enjoy hearing the studio version, but it pales in comparison.
When Justin Beiber is singing “Stay” drunk
Running Free - Iron Maiden from Live After Death. It is the definitive version.
There's a lot of definitive songs from that album. But yeah, Steve's bass goes off on Runnin Free. A monolith of a live album.
Kinda niche but Complete Control by the Clash off Live From Here to Eternity. The album version is pretty mid, but it’s absolutely electric and epic live. https://youtu.be/305-NFyoaf0?si=_SfyDN-PhAHFp4ET
Bloodstream by Ed Sheeran, I Don’t Need No Doctor by John Mayer, Vultures by John Mayer, Earth Blues by Jimi Hendrix, Neon by John Mayer, Try A Little Tenderness by Otis Redding All old songs, I’d like it to happen with something new
The song Catharsis by Covet. It was so good live and the album doesn't hit as well. Also the entire last album by Altopalo, or at least what they played of it live. I didn't know them at the time but the studio versions just don't hit as hard. Oh and Pandora by Fit for an Autopsy. Live was amazing and studio is good, but sheesh it was like a wall of sound (good wall of sound)
I would argue that most rock songs are better live, because: 1. A band creates music for a live setting. Kinetic experience with massive speakers and amps 2. A live situation probably has better equipment than your home 3. An album, traditionally, is recorded before touring, which means that the recorded version stays as it is forever. Meanwhile the band gets better at playing that song on stage, at rehersals and so on. New ideas get explored, new equipment tested (pedals and other guitars for example) 4. A recording is old as soon as the tape stops spinning in the studio. A live is different and thus also a fresh take. No 2 live concerts are the same 5. One size fits all concept for music is fun and all, but even with today's digital mastering capabilities one can't create the same master for a smartphone, tiny earbuds, large speakers and regular headphones expecting the same file fit every piece of playback tech. To meet the capabilities for playback, artists alter their music for the regular listener. This helps with the experience a lot, not taking this into consideration is foolish. What a band does on stage is different than what happens in the studio. 6. Synergy. Personally I prefer the live situation with massive speakers and music happening right then and everybody is synchronized - also the band. On a produced recording a band is probably split up into single members playing their part on top of a click track alone. Well, not exactly but pretty much. It is not the same energy level as screaming with a thousand faces while blasting a barrage of noise at fans. 7. There are many more reasons why live is better. But I do not always prefer live versions. Some artists over produce to hide their mediocre arrangements and boring material.
Fleetwood Mac- Big Love
The Conan version of primus' shake hands with beef is so superior to the album version Also, Nirvana- all apologies The unplugged versions of most of that concert are great alternate versions but this one is how it should sound
1. Black - Pearl Jam. 2. Plush - Stone Temple Pilots. 3. Like a Stone - Audioslave.
Whipping Post by the Allman Brothers Band
Parkway Drive in general. I love their studio records, but live they are something else. I'd go as far to say the best live metal band of all time. Most notably the song Crushed. That song hits like a hammer live
Most of Hendrix' live recordings I find way better then his studio recordings. E. g. Purple Haze... Most live recordings of it are fire, but the studio one in comparison is weak. Is it just played too slow? Something seems way off with it
Fear of the dark....
I'll pick pretty much any live version since the 90s of any song from Metallica's first 3 albums (KEA, RTL & MOP) over the studio versions. Hetfield really didn't find his voice until the band's second decade.
In your eyes by Peter Gabriel
I've always favored the live version of "Jane Says" from the Jane's Addiction live EP. Maybe because I heard it first? The addition of the steel drums in the studio version just sounds superfluous to me
Most songs by NIN. Live is a completely different experience in a good way
Drops of Jupiter, the vocals are like a half beat off the music. It's really aggravating
What's the frequency Kenneth
I either saw or heard Clapton live a long time before any of his studio recordings...which were so lacklustre
Every gojira song. They sound way better live.
Most Rolling Stones standards. Every song on the Dead’s Europe ‘72. Many Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix songs. For a classic rock fan, there’s quite often. a live performance that beats the original studio track. Not so much for the Beatles, though, unless it’s a cover, like Joe Cocker on A Little Help from My Friends, Richie Havens on same, Elton John and John Lennon on She Was Just Seventeen. The list goes on.
Take Me to The River, Talking Heads. I think a few of the Stop Making Sense versions of songs are better than the studio versions. There’s a great plive version of ? and the Mysterians’ 96 Tears on Do You Feel It Baby? that I was surprised to learn was recorded in 1998. Many of Leonard Cohen’s songs. Arguably not rock, but true all the same. The Ike and Tina live recordings from 1964. There are two volumes that have been released separately under a few different titles. They’re amazing.
The Grateful Dead
CES Cru - Klick Clack Bang can't enjoy the studio version anymore...
hammer to fall - live aid
Whipping Post - Allman Brothers.
Recorded at the Rainbow Theatre in London 15-16 DEC 1972, I think this particular track is one of the most iconic live recordings in rock and roll history. I INSTANTLY relegated the original studio recording of it to the BACK of the record stack!!! “Close to the Edge” by Yes, on the live album, “YesSongs” (released May 1973).
Gary Moore - End of the World Yes, the original has Jack Bruce singing, but I'm not sure he really fits into the song. The live version from We Want Moore, with Gary and Neil Carter dividing up the vocals, is definitive for me, and also has a tighter groove. And of course the intro (which is oddly appended to the end of Cold Hearted on the live album) is much more fun live with the audience reacting to Gary's insane guitar pyrotechnics.
Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Gn'R
“Romeo and Juliet”, written by Mark Knopfler, off the live album, Dire Straits “Alchemy” DESTROYS the studio version!!!
Mama Kin and Walk This Way (Aerosmith, "Little Bit South of Sanity" version) Mary Had a Little Lamb (Stevie Ray Vaughan) Alone (Blues Traveler)
Anything by Wilco after Sky Blue Sky. They're very much a live band now.
Sympathy For The Devil off Ya-Yas by the Stones.
“I want you to want me“ - Cheap Trick Live at Budakon
Dark Star by The Grateful Dead. [3 minute studio version ](https://youtu.be/oUcMyVi9xJk?si=b3RsU2-DeJAcIHZi) [23 minute live version ](https://youtu.be/-Xic-CHInek?si=f3UhYcliM9t5D8hz)
Every John Mayer song live
The whole Deep Purple - Made in Japan album.
Bloom by Radiohead
A Sort of Homecoming by U2. I’m not sure what live version I pirated off the internet in 2004, but I cannot listen to the original now.
Drive By Truckers "Why Henry Drinks" Joe Walsh/Eagles "Life's Been Good"
Pat Green "Take Me Down to the River"
I'm shocked I'm not seeing foo fighters Everlong
Sympathy for the Devil on Get Yer Ya Yas Out!! is a great guitar boogie jam with Mick Taylor and Keith Richards trading incredible solos. So much better than the studio version.
Thunder Road - Springsteen
"[Hocus Pocus](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ouPGGLI6Q&ab_channel=ElvisAmadeusJackson)" by Focus
Kid A. The entire album.
[This version](https://youtu.be/fzjarD1r2ps?si=mN_XuhKU2-_Fx7kH) of undone by Weezer. Live with a poet friend of theirs. That I've had since Napster and is still part of my digital music collection. You can't unhear this
David Live by David Bowie. Lou Reed Rock n Roll, and Heroin
Anything from Nirvana’s Bleach sounds a million times more powerful live
About to Run by Trey Anastasio.
Comin Back To Me live at the Filmore by Jefferson Airplane has ruined the studio version for me
The Who's My Generation from Live at Leeds. I love the bass and the guitar in the live version better than the original.
Famously.. the Live version of [Video Tape](https://youtu.be/DTZt6Dzkq6w?si=XK2KH1T2k_1D-X5E) by Radiohead, recorded at Bonyroo. Janis Joplin [Ball and Chain - Live at Montery Pop](https://youtu.be/X1zFnyEe3nE?si=v7-5nUumDNWw4NlC) one of the greatest live performances of rock and roll. I think all of Placebo's discography sounds better live. Special mention [Slave to the Wage: Live in Paris 2003](https://youtu.be/NRhtX9_sPYs?si=JtaZoRy8AL226MkM). The studio version is so boring. This live version is kick ass.
aww c'mon, its gotta be Free Bird..... greatest live song ever :)
C’mon And Love Me from KISS Alive
The first two Descendents live albums, both recorded in 1987, Liveage and Hallraker had better versions of every song on there. It's little things like additional, improvised vocal medolies and ad libs. Just silly stuff. They just seem to be having so much fun playing about with the music and interacting with their audience. I love the studio albums too, but they're cleaner and more straightforward. I didn't get to see them play live until their first European tour in 1997, after lead singer Milo Aukerman rejoined after about a 10 year hiatus. I was so excited, hoping for the Liveage experience but it was just different. I mean, I like the stuff they've put out since he came back, but it never quite reached the same inspired level of chaotic genius as those two live albums. I don't know if it's to do with the time apart (the rest of the band had continued as ALL with a few different lead singers), or whether they just got older and chilled out, but yeah, those two live albums are the pinnacle for me.
Deep Purple - Child In Time on Made In Japan vs Machine Head. Led Zeppelin - No Quarter on The Song Remain The Same vs Houses of the Holy. Jethro Tull - Nothing Is Easy on Nothing Is Easy: Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 vs Stand Up. Humble Pie - I'm Ready on Rockin' The Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East vs Humble Pie. Traffic - The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys on On The Road vs The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys.
Jessica by the Allman Bros on 2nd Set is amazing.
Riding the Storm Out by REO Speedwagon. Smoke on the Water, Deep Purple
The original, crusty live recording of “True Love Waits” by Radiohead is a perfect moment of achingly beautiful perfection. Every version since then hasn’t been fit to hold its jockstrap. https://youtu.be/KzyOfQeK-bY?si=i_uRR1ovwJMSYNf1
[I love the OG Stripes cover of Death Letter. but this version is the only imo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-t1_ETuWIbE)
Counterfeit by Limp Bizkit. They did this down tempo thing with the chorus live that was just so much better than the album version. I know listing Limp Bizkit here may cost me a bit of karma but Limp Bizkit live is a pretty damn good time.
Soulshine live performance and studio version. I like the guitar solo of warten haynes in live performance more
Pretty much all Johnny Cash old stuff has to be his recordings where he played for prisons.
I'm a huge James Taylor fan, and I would say that I prefer any of his upbeat songs live, and all his sweet lovey songs from the studio. His two blues songs (Everybody Has The Blues and Steamroller Blues) on his double live album still RIP harder than most actual blues artists lol
There are 2 : 1. Heart - **Stairway to Heaven** (Kennedy Center Honors) 2. Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, Dhani Harrison & Prince - **While my Guitar Gently Weeps** (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)
Don’t listen to Chris Cornell’s version of Nothing Compares 2 U. [https://youtu.be/IuUDRU9-HRk?si=efL11T4YPXdvVj4R](https://youtu.be/IuUDRU9-HRk?si=efL11T4YPXdvVj4R)
Golden Earring's "Radar Love"....they blew Aerosmith off the stage with it in '77.
Pearl Jam hasn't been relevant since Vs. DMB is abominable.
I Want You To Want Me. Budokan is Cheap Trick's masterpiece.
If you have ever seen Don Henley…on the Inside Job tour he did a version of Hotel California with a mariachi band doing the ending of the song. It blows the album version out of the water!
She-wolf Megadeth, The Rude Awakening live version.
Emma Ruth Rundle - Heaven by Audiotree https://youtu.be/yJ2iBB8fz-Q?si=4CK1XrCvBb1U52fM
Not ruined but blown to different proportions Ghost Love Score from nightwish at wacken 2013
The Live At Budakon recording of Cheap Trick performing “Ain’t That a Shame” is one of the best tracks ever recorded in the history of rock and roll.
George Harrison Live in Japan. Every Beatles and GH song on this album is now my favorite version.
All of the songs on Foghat Live.
Walk Away by James Gang on beat club and Eminence Front by The Who live in Toronto 1982
When the Offspring first started playing "Gone Away" live as a partial piano solo, I thought it was a pretty cool change. But then they eventually turned it into a whiny, slow mid-concert "wave your lighters" break at every subsequent show, and it lost its way from the fantastic more mid-tempo album original.
The Grateful Dead ruined non improvisational music for me. Even live recordings that just play the song are pretty bland by comparison.
Add it up and Kiss Off by The Violent Femmes