O-10, still not playing, but since it is the decent to do I will try and answer your question. For the record, the reason that I said “I am not playing” is that you questioned my motivation for making the comment about live/studio and, as in the past, that signaled to me that yet another silly argument was around the corner. Not a very nice thing to do and I hope my concern is unfounded. I will answer your question, but if there cannot be civility and respect, this will be my last comment on the matter. If there is, I would be glad to expound and answer any additional questions. So, why did I make the comment about “studio/live”?
Simple, because it is absolutely true. It is absolutely true that a live performance is not always better than a studio performance; especially when we are talking about a singer that we both agree does not have a stellar instrument. A singer without a great instrument is much more prone to have vocal problems. In a studio, a singer (or instrumentalist) can do multiple takes of a performance and choose the best one for the record. In a live setting, as I tell my wife all the time, “you can’t go back and White (it) Out” (a mistake or flaw). Additionally, you would be amazed at what a tiny bit of added reverb in the studio mix can do to enhance the sound of a singer’s voice, or even mask intonation problems. Those are facts.
Now, it is also true that ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL (singer’s voice being in equally good shape, band being equally up to snuff, etc.) the live performance is usually better. It is also true that for a given listener a live performance may always be “better” due to being present to witness a favorite artist perform, the charm of being in a club with like minded fans, etc. Those things don’t have anything to do with the quality of the performance in objective terms. I suppose that it is also possible that you have been very lucky and have never attended an inferior live performance. Good for you. I have been to many live performances that were not as good as some of the recorded work of the same material by the same artist.
Another interesting thing to consider is that many artists (or bands) make a point of not recording new repertoire before they “take it on the road”; IOW, preform it live (essentially, rehearse it in front of an audience) before putting it down on tape. This is the opposite of what was done with the Blakey “Coolin’ It” material and why the release was held back (not “lost“, to be “discovered” later) and why, in this case, the live versions of the same material sound better than the studio versions. For the studio versions (“Coolin’ It”) the band had not seen the material before. When they recorded the material weeks later they had had a chance to play it several times before committing it to tape.
Anyway, I would prefer to focus on the fact that we agree on Abbey Lincoln as an artist.
