Songs bland on CD Great Live

[mdmack]

I really don't care too much for Stuck on CD, but when they did it live, I actually dug it .

Anyone have any other similar songs?

 

[corianderstem]

All Because Of You. It falls short of what the band seems to think it is on the album, but it's a hell of a lot of fun live.

 

[ultravioletluvv]

Great thread!

i completely agree with Stuck... i never cared for it until i heard it for the first time on the Elevation Tour... it blew me away... the emotion, the passion...

just recently in Vegas, i realized how amazing Miss Sarajevo was... when Bono sings the Pavarotti part... it TOTALLY blew me away! i've been listening to it all day, every day since!

 

[Liesje]

I'm sick of the album versions of Pride, SBS, and Bullet, but I really get into them live! I also like the live Bono version of Miss Sarajevo better than any recorded or previously performed live version.

 

[Kristie]

UTEOTW is the only one I think really fits the "bland on cd, great live" criteria, IMO

I can name a lot of songs that are great on cd and super duper mega great live (streets, bullet, SBS).

 

[Lemonfix]

All Because of You, Elevation, Staring at the Sun, Stuck, and most of all, Bad. I never found the album version to be anything that great

 

[LuvandPeace1980]

UTEOTW is the only one I think really fits the "bland on cd, great live" criteria, IMO

I can name a lot of songs that are great on cd and super duper mega great live (streets, bullet, SBS).

I disagree! It's better live I but not bland..
I always thought Please was kind of Bland, then I heard it live and it's unbelievable..

 

[TripThroughWire]

Maybe MOFO ?
I never stopped on that one from the CD, but after seing some video from PopMart, it sounded (and looked) really great.
I would add that after hearing/seeing a song played live, I listen to it differently from the album and enjoy it more.
That's something great from Interference: rediscovering some song because they are mentioned in the forum.

 

[babyman]

For U2, live versions are in the majority of times better than the studio versions. They have truely great abilities to make the songs 3-4 steps higher than the ground by performing them live.
It´s not a thing that many bands can.................actually

 

[the edges plec]

Well said babyman,considering that on the albums the guitar parts are double tracked etc u2 make the songs even more powerful live quite often with just the edge playing.....what a band

 

[catlhere]

Acrobat. Oh wait.

I really think all the live versions of Bad are just X100
While the album version is just X10

Also Please, as someone else has mentioned.
Love and Peace or Else is amazing on the CD, but even better Live

 

[jon_lemire]

Very good thread.

Again, it must be pointed out the almost all U2 songs sound better live. That said, Until the End of the World may the song that improves the most in a live setting. Elevation is another big one -- after seeing it in concert so often, it's almost surprising how underwhelming it is on the album.

Other candidates would be Yahweh, Bad, Please, and New York. (this, by the way, doesn't include songs that are great on CD but that get even better -- because they are arranged differently -- in concert, like Mysterious Ways)

 

[catlhere]

Forgot to mention one. With or Without You.

The album version is OMG pure awesomeness. But when they add a little Shine Like Stars snippet, the song goes into godlike status.

 

[The Disciple]

Love and Peace or Else

 

[Palace_Hero]

Alot of the suggestions in here I disagree with. For example Stuck, I don't like the album or live (Elevation) arrangements, however there is a moment in the falsetto section on the album where Edge's playing is just perfect, a wonderful piece of music. To that end I love my acoustic/electric mix of Stuck, because it has the superior acoustic version as the body of the song and then the heavenly album ending. I also think, whilst I dislike ABOY anyway, the live version is just as poor. Very empty and bland.

UTEOTW is fantastic live, but I also love the studio track. Same goes for Bad, I think the album version is superb.

Hmmm, trying to think of a song where the live version is clearly superior.. I think Gone is a candidate with the great solo at the end. ZooTV Bullet is also a lock. Other than that I stuggle to think of anything, except for of course Love is Blindness. Good on album, but live it is one of the best tracks ever played by the boys.

 

[corianderstem]

Other than that I stuggle to think of anything, except for of course Love is Blindness. Good on album, but live it is one of the best tracks ever played by the boys.

I have to agree with that. The live version has a subtlety the album version lacks, as it has that thudding bass. The arpeggiated notes played by Edge work much better as an intro to the song. It just shimmered live on the Zoo TV show.

 

[Bluer White]

Last Night On Earth seems a little flat on the album, but live it's a top ten song for me.

 

[rock888nwo]

For U2, live versions are in the majority of times better than the studio versions. They have truely great abilities to make the songs 3-4 steps higher than the ground by performing them live.
It´s not a thing that many bands can.................actually

right on

 

[Marmoset]

Staring At The Sun. I find the album version to be just okay, but in concert it always seems to be great - maybe it's the fact that the ones I've heard are acoustic versions. Whatever it is, I think it's a big difference.

 

[Jimhb]

Miami... excellent live
A Sort of Homecoming
I Still Haven't Found

 

[LMP]

If You Wear That Velvet Dress (meh...live )
Mysterious Ways (good on album, excellent live)
Vertigo (I get sick of the album version easily, but the live versions blow me away)

 

[Shade]

I tend to like the studio versions better, except on the last two albums. ATYCLB and HTDAAB are so slick and digital and over-polished that the energy is taken out of them. Seeing the Vertigo Tour turned me around on some songs from the last two albums.

I think the reason I prefer album tracks to live (for the most part) is that the live versions must often remove a lot of the little details that make me love certain songs in the first place. Whether it's an irregular or unusual backing vocal, or the simple "blip blip" of a keyboard in the right channel, all those little details add up.

The production is an element that makes a big difference with U2, as well. "Surrender" is a great live song, but it possesses little of the epic richness of the album version. The same goes for everything off The Unforgettable Fire. You just can't recreate the atmosphere of that album live. And, I think that's a good thing. It gives the album a sense of place and magic. It is its own kingdom.

A huge example is "A Sort of Homecoming". You just can't take the album version and play it live. The treatment that Eno and Lanois created for Edge's guitars are studio-only. If you tried to play it that way live, it would be a mess. Some people say that that's what it sounds like on the album, but I think it creates one of the most beautiful and engaging soundscapes that anyone has ever put on record.

Another example from that album: "Pride". The live version is great if you're at the show and singing along, but the album version floors it. Edge's guitar hits make up the true rhythm of the entire song, using a fat, heavy delay sound that is completely different from the thin, nebulous sound he uses live. The change in tone costs the song quite a bit, in my opinion.

And, "Bad", which has become a live monster, was absolutely brilliant on the album. It's the perfect example of Eno's approach to music - the idea of layering as many sounds as you can think of, and then stripping them away here and there to create different landscapes. I always go nuts when they play it live, but here's an example of what I miss from the album: the distorted power chords that erupt in the last chorus. It's a master stroke that you don't hear in the arena.

A (somewhat) more recent example is "The Fly". This song is fantastic live, but part of what made the album version so brilliant was the phasing effect obtained by placing two mixes of the song side-by-side and playing them at the same time. The effect adds so much to the song, yet you can never hear that live.

But, some songs can become better. As someone mentioned, "Mofo" really came to life on the POPmart Tour, I think largely because of Adam's bassline. That single addition took it someplace else entirely. And, I say that as a huge proponent of the production on the POP album, which I personally find otherwise perfect (not a popular opinion).

So, when it came to the Vertigo Tour, I was pleased to find out that I actually really DO like "Vertigo" and "All Because Of You", both of which disappointed me on the album. They were very antiseptic there. But, at MSG, they exploded onstage. I found myself looking forward to those two songs more than any of the other new ones. I was stunned.

 

[CTU2fan]

Wow, I've got a bunch of these...

Exit
Bullet
A Sort of Homecoming
Zoo Station (didn't even like it until I saw it live)
Please
Walk On
Yahweh

I generally like live versions better, by most bands I like. In fact I can't think of a U2 song that I prefer the studio version of...

 

[corianderstem]

If You Wear That Velvet Dress (meh...live )

Really? I think it loses a lot in the live version. It loses all the sexiness that comes from Bono singing in his lower register. Him singing the whole thing in his normal register makes it a really dull song.

Great transition from Discotheque, though.