Do you prefer live or studio versions of a song?

[sai 868]

For once a rather simple question: do you prefer live or studio versions of a song, and why?

 

Does the audio version of a live song remind you of the concert/live DVD and the great visual (and audio!) performance of that song? Or do you prefer the studio version, because the artist can't quite perform the song live as nice as it sounds on record (due too unreachable notes for the vocalist, etc.) or if it just doesn't hit you live, for example?

 

So, what do YOU think?

[Guest Magatsu]

Well some bands just suck live so then you prefer to listen to them on CD.

 

and sometimes bands are great on CD but also damn great live~

sometimes bands have songs who are not that great for to listen on CD but the songs are so damn great LIVE!

 

 

And to feel a band live you should have been to a concert not DVD only.

 

LOUDNESS [Live and on CD <3]

Calmanodo Qual [2001~2009 on CD great and single from 2013 OK is on CD, 2009-2012 good LIVE only]

ADAMS [Live and on CD <3]

THE VELVET (live only) [on CD not that great]

TOKAMI (live only) [on CD not that great]

BAAL (live only) [on CD not that great]

 

are still the 6 best I ever saw live.

 

 

all other bands I saw I prefer them on CD.

somehow they don't suck that much but I can't remember anything of those gigs.

[Champ213 1858]

Normally the studio versions, especially for stuff I haven't heard before. I do like to hear live versions of my favourite songs though. There are also a few cases where the live versions sound better than the studio versions. I could swear that Atsushi Sakurai sometimes sounds even more impressive live than on CD.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEJUReKHkpE

 

[TheBistroButcher666 228]

I normally prefer studio versions but the song Duren from Svarga I really like the acoustic live version of this song. I generally prefer their folky acoustic music over their normal metal releases, mostly because the vocalist has a pretty weak and thin voice and his death vocals are bad. Acoustic stuff is a lot more melo and suits his singing better (no bad death vocals!!). I was disappointed that they never did an acoustic studio version of Duren but when they released the acoustic live album, I was happy to see it was included. The audience singing along to it is great.

 

Notable mention is a live version of Valhalla from Blind Guardian and Fear of the Dark from Iron Maiden. The audience singing to Fear of the Dark is so epic!!

 

[Bear 1817]

I prefer the one that's best. Usually it's the studio recoding, but I can mention a handful og songs that's way better live.

[rebelstrik 111]

usualy listen to studio version, but when i am on a good mood (drunk) and have a good audio equipment nearby that i can play loud, i totaly enjoy lives.

 

one of the songs that makes me feel like i am in a concert is aoki haru from mucc

 

other kick ass live is kurenai from x japan

[hiroki 5521]

Unfortunately, a lot of bands in vk sound terrible live, so I usually prefer studio versions. For a few bands like SID and vistlip, I occasionally watch their live performances either on youtube or DVD, but I rarely download the live versions because it just feels weird to have a handful of "live" versions in a entire playlist of studio recordings, lol.

 

Very infrequently there are those artists whose voice are too huge for the studio and sound way better live. Adele is one obvious example for me, as well as most operatic performances etc.

[hyura 465]

Live.

Almost every band I like is really a live band and has lots of songs that simply don't make much sense to listen to on cd!

However. Most of them have no live albums and listening to terekos is pretty unsatisfying so I listen to the studio versions... or make audio rips of dvds/vhs (if there are any) whenever It's impossible to just go and see the band in concert. (which is most of the time)

[riotstar 0]

It depends so much of a song and band. Like the GazettE's Kantou dogeza is so much better in live than studio and so is Wakaremichi. 

But Dir en gery's Fukai is much better in studio than live. 

[digi 192]

A lot of bands I prefer to listen to on studio versions, simply because of better quality etc.

 

Some bands in particular though, I feel like I can only thoroughly enjoy when listening in live version. For example, BUCK-TICK. Their definitely a prime example of a band that needs to be listened to live. Much more..emotion, I might say, of course. And much more impressive.

 

I guess I can say the same for a lot of industrial/punk bands like einstürzende neubauten or Swans. Most definitely better to hear live versions over studio. Atmosphere is incredible too.

[Peace Heavy mk II 7200]

I like a lot of bands that are terrible on both CD and live, so I guess it's a toss up. 

 

 

Some songs I really like live the first time I hear them because of the live energy. For example, Marina & The Diamonds 'Radioactive' was great live, but I didn't like it as much in the studio version because it didn't have the same feel. Sleighbells sound pretty much the same live, just with the energy of the crowd added to it. I strongly dislike loud noises and am sensitive to them, so that kind of put me off from enjoying a lot of the concert as much as I should have (I found putting in ear buds helped though!). From what I've seen, Malice Mizer's Bara no Seidou album was fantastic live as well as on CD. 

[DogManX 179]

Depends heavily on the band and how they manage to play live. I love listening to bands like Rammstein or Nightmare live, bc they just nail it. Cannibal Corpse or Ensiferum are not bad either.

[JohnNT 4]

It depends on the band's approach to recording. It's common now for bands with only 4-5 members to use 150 layers of guitars and effects on their records. Those bands tend to sound weak live because the songs aren't arranged to sound good live, and if you've listened to the record a lot you feel like you're missing out on a bunch of stuff.

On the other hand, a band that is 4 people and only record one part for each member (1 guitar, 1 bass, one drum kit and vocals), those bands tend to sound even better live because of the extra energy.

I think it's pretty rare these days to see really good new live bands, because musicians are getting so used to just keep adding stuff in the studio to make their songs sound powerful, so they never learn to sound powerful on their own.