Studio vs. Live: These songs differ the most

[WalkOnTheEdge]

Some songs come to life in concert, and some seem to lose something. Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with seeing them live, of course. Basically, what I'm saying is, here are some of my choices for the most dramatic differences between a songs studio and live counterpart.

Beautiful Day - Live. You quickly realize how grossly overproduced this song is after you've heard the live version. I avoid the album version at all cost, but have the Boston DVD version in regular rotation. Fantastic song live).

Stay - Live. Other than Beautiful Day, could there be a more improved song ever from studio to live? Not even close in my opinion. **See Boston DVD.

Kite, Walk On, Elevation, Stuck In A Moment - Studio. Amazing how these just don't sound as full and awesome live. In particular, Kite is dramatically better on the record).

Out Of Control - Studio. Judging only by the Slane Castle version, I found it to be a total downgrade from the studio version.

In A Little While - Live - The Boston DVD smokes the album version.

Electric Co., Gloria, 40, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Live. My god, how do you possibly listen to the studio versions once you hear Under A Blood Red Sky?? I really don't think these songs would ever have made their way to Elite Status had it not been for UABRS. Bloody Sunday, maybe. But not the others.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Streets - Live. Ok, so this may not be as dramatic as the others, but once you see/hear this live, it's nearly impossible to go back to the JT version. **See Boston 2001 DVD. Truly epic.

Bad - Live. Again, the studio is fine, but if you have spend the next 5 years on a deserted island, which do you take? Exactly.

 

[CDFallon]

Party Girl - Live - Though the studio version(T, T, & tPG) is unbearable as is.

 

[djerdap]

Disagree...a lot.
I didn't even like Kite until I heard the live version. It sounds so unnatural and shallow to me in studio, while live it is one of the band's most emotional songs. Walk On and Elevation are also much better live to me.
Out of Control better studio? What the fuck? The Slane version is one of the best ones out there.
Where is Bullet the Blue Sky? Mysterious Ways, Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World, Love is Blindness, Dirty Day, Last Night on Earth, Please, Love and Peace or Else, One Tree Hill, Exit, Hawkmoon 269... These are songs that differ the most live in terms of quality and feel.

 

[namkcuR]

You forgot the one song that is legendary for its live leap.

Bullet The Blue Sky. Listen to JT and then listen to it on ZooTV. End of story.

And I prefer the studio version of Stay or even the ZooTV live version of Stay to the acoustic Boston version.

 

[Chizip]

i disagree with almost everything in the original post

i agree with almost everything in the following couple posts

 

[Exit thru Wire]

I agree with you partly, however not for Kite and Walk on. I think these are great on Boston DVD.

Another couple are Zooropa and Babyface - were poor live, but the album versions are amazing. zooTV Running to Stand Still = much better than album as well

 

[WalkOnTheEdge]

Wow.......tough crowd!! Lol.......

You disagree that Beautiful Day is better live? Or that nearly everything on UABRS is NOT better than the dull studio versions?? As for Out Of Control, I think Bono butchers most of the singing on Slane....the studio version has so much more energy to me.

Man oh man, I can't figure you people out?!! Lol... Amazing how we all listen to the same stuff but hear totally different things.

 

[yimou]

You forgot the one song that is legendary for its live leap.

Bullet The Blue Sky. Listen to JT and then listen to it on ZooTV. End of story.

And I prefer the studio version of Stay or even the ZooTV live version of Stay to the acoustic Boston version.

Are you reading my mind ???????,,, Please stop it

I agree completely

 

[MsMofoGone]

Or that nearly everything on UABRS is NOT better than the dull studio versions??

Although, the live version of New Year's Day is totally AWESOME !!
There is absolutely nothing dull about the studio version either !!

 

[Exit thru Wire]

I havent seen Slane, but the early versions of Out of Control are awesome. Its 20 years old by Slane, and may have lost some of its magic, but it doesnt mean it wasnt a great live song.

Beautiful Day is better live, and UABRS is better than studio versions, tho they aren't dull! Boy-October-War albums are top quality, full of raw emotion.

 

[Chizip]

Beautiful Day - Besides the ending the song sounds practically the same as on the CD. They use a backing track that doesn't leave room for any improvisation.

Stay - Accoustic version is alright but I prefer the studio version.

Kite, Walk On, Elevation, Stuck In A Moment - I think all of these are better live. Walk On is muuuuch better live than the cd.

Out Of Control - Great live song.

In A Little While - I like both versions equally.

Electric Co., Gloria, 40, Sunday Bloody Sunday - Agree these are better live

as others have pointed out there are a some much better examples of songs where the live versions differ signficantly from the studio versions

 

[yimou]

Stay - Live. Other than Beautiful Day, could there be a more improved song ever from studio to live? Not even close in my opinion. **See Boston DVD.

If you hadn´t thrown out your Zooropa CD then you wouldn´t have posted that .

 

[OnFire]

Gone: ok on Pop, fabulous live. I notice it's not on any setlists from the current tour though.

 

[WalkOnTheEdge]

Although, the live version of New Year's Day is totally AWESOME !!
There is absolutely nothing dull about the studio version either !!

I didn't list New Years Day or I Will Follow because I enjoy the studio versions almost as much. It wasn't a dramatic change in my opinion.

I shouldn't have said the studio versions were dull. On their own right, they're not. What I meant is that once you've gotten so used to UABRS they seem dull to me when I revisit them. Something just seems to be missing.

 

[WalkOnTheEdge]

Re: Re: Studio vs. Live: These songs differ the most

If you hadn´t thrown out your Zooropa CD then you wouldn´t have posted that .

Lol.......why do I get the feeling I'll be forever known as the guy that threw away Zooropa!!

I do, however, have most of the Zooropa songs on my computer thanks to Napster about 5 years ago. Hmmm....seems to me I'm wasting some good hard drive space.

 

[thrillme]

All the songs I've heard off ATYCLB live, I liked better than their studio counterparts, though some songs on ATYCLB I liked more on the album, after hearing them live. "Surrender" and "Red Light" fall into the latter category too.

After hearing Love and peace live, it's a little hard to go back to the album version. (hurry up with that DVD release lads!)

I prefer Stay live, whole band, more than the acoustic live "Stay." I liked "Stay" on the album version in the first place, so live full band version, just made me like it more.

 

[MumblingBono]

Pride is infamous for being great studio/ordinary live. It's the one U2 song that really loses something live - its really leaden, the guitar sounds deeper and clunky compared to the Slane Castle studio version.

To name all the songs that sound better live than studio is folly; to me that's about 90% of the U2 catalog.

 

[Zooropean103]

Almost ALL U2 songs are at least a bit better live, though most of them are GREAT improvements on concerts (Mysterious Ways, Bullet, Discotheque, Mofo, WTSHNN, One Tree Hill, RTSS, LAPOE, COBL... it would take me hours to mention all of them!). There are really only few songs which are worse live than on albums:

Zooropa,
Babyface,
Numb,
Silver and Gold (I prefer the studio version, but I know the majority likes R&H version more),
Staring at The Sun
Pride

hmm... I can't think up anything more!

Besides these ones IMO all U2 songs are much better live.

 

[Chizip]

WOWY is better on the album than live

 

[Exit thru Wire]

Zooropa,
Babyface,
Numb,
Silver and Gold (I prefer the studio version, but I know the majority likes R&H version more),
Staring at The Sun
Pride

hmm... I can't think up anything more!

.

Also I still havent found = better on album

 

[Zooropean103]

Chizip I must disagree. What about R&H, any Lovetown or Zoo TV version? Hell, even it is better on Slane DVD than on the album! (though it sucked in majority on Elevation tour) What about the 'we shine like stars' or 'tear us apart' extra verses?

...and Exit thru Wire: I believe Lovetown versions were a bit better, especially with the Exodus snippet.

 

[Chizip]

Chizip I must disagree. What about R&H, any Lovetown or Zoo TV version? Hell, even it is better on Slane DVD than on the album! (though it sucked in majority on Elevation tour) What about the 'we shine like stars' or 'tear us apart' extra verses?

yeah the "shine like the stars" bit is good, but there is just something about the album version, the mood and the atmosphere, that just cant be captured live

just my opinion, of course

 

[PopFly]

I've only heard one really good version of Mysterious Ways live (Irving Plaza gig in 2000), so that's one that really improves on the album version. Original Of The Species sounds ok live, but it sounds like a classic on HTDAAB.

Most of U2's songs sound better live (this is probably true of a lot of bands). As for the biggest improvement from studio to live, for me it's Please. I didn't even really like the tune on the Pop album, but in concert it sounds like the best song in the world. The transition into Streets is maybe U2's best concert moment ever; no faint praise, that.

 

[Exit thru Wire]

...and Exit thru Wire: I believe Lovetown versions were a bit better, especially with the Exodus snippet.

I do like it live, I have the Point Depot recording 1/1/90,its good from a great concert.

But like Chizip and WoWY, I just feel that ISHFWILF is captured as best as it can be on the album. The R+H version with the gospel choir kinda scarred me. Many like it, I cant stand it.

 

[Zooropean103]

to Chizip: NO, ONLY MY OPINION CAN BE THE RIGHT ONE


Btw WalkOnTheEdge: I have a feeling you know the live side of U2 only by seeing Boston/Slane DVD and listening to UTBRS. If you haven't, I advise you to watch zoo tv Sydney and popmart Mexico videos and listen to most known bootlegs (such as 31-12-89 from Point Depot, 28-08-93 from Dublin, 28-08-1997 from Leeds and more). If you already watched/listened to them that's ok.

 

[MsMofoGone]

I shouldn't have said the studio versions were dull. On their own right, they're not. What I meant is that once you've gotten so used to UABRS they seem dull to me when I revisit them. Something just seems to be missing.

Well, I don't agree !!
These are U2 CLASSIC songs ::

Gloria
I Will Follow
Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Electric Co.
New Year's Day
40

No matter how many different LIVE versions I hear, I STILL think the original studio versions of these songs are worth listening to again and again as well ... I would NEVER get tired of them, as there's clearly nothing missing from them ... The studio versions are that GREAT !!

 

[namkcuR]

Also I still havent found = better on album

I agree except that the versions of it on the popmart tour are at least equal to the studio version.

 

[XHendrix24]

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Now, that's a song that improves GREATLY live. The version on Rattle and Hum absolutely kills the album version. No contest.

 

[Ifeelnumb84]

I think just about everything from Boy, October and War sounds better live than on the albums. The most notable improvements are Electric Co. w/ The Cry, Gloria, October (on UABRS) and
Another Time Another Place and I Will Follow (live in Boston '81).
I am in the minority when I say that I really don't like any live versions of Mysterious Ways and think the studio version is unbelievable.

 

[MsMofoGone]

Now, that's a song that improves GREATLY live. The version on Rattle and Hum absolutely kills the album version. No contest.

I was discussing the album Under A Blood Red Sky before regarding Sunday Bloody Sunday... and I never said the live versions are NOT GREAT as they are!!

I just believe that the original studio version is just as GREAT ... there is nothing wrong with it !!