Live vs. recorded

The Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live Anthology box set (4 CD's) proves that live can sound just as good as a studio production.

I suspect that many pop/rock bands simply cannot deliver the carefully crafted, dubbed and over-dubbed polished performances that you get on their overproduced studio productions.

I also suspect there is some essence that is lost when stuff is overdubbed or people play in separate sound booths. Perhaps it is only me - but I hear something better when people are actually playing live.

For example, the overproduced Steely Dan stuff just leaves me stone cold - don't get me wrong - it is still great stuff and sounds ever so slick - but it feels lifeless to me.

I am not sure why but something different occurs when people play live together - either it is in the acoustics or the way musicians play off each other - little mistakes perhaps - is this is why Sheffield Direct to Disc were so good?

Probably for the same reason, I hate drum machines.

Anyway, I can't put my finger on it but I definitely hear something and I wish that more live music was better recorded.

The thing I can't stand with live recordings is the clapping between tracks. It always seeems to be much louder than the track itself. Get rid of it!!! Mind you, I also don't like the sound of tea being poured. Okay, I'm a weirdo!

Weirdo! How can you not like the sound of tea?

Shadorne, Steely Dan is a perfect example of a band trying as hard as possible to play and record straight " on the beat". Jazz ( real jazz anyway) and blues players play a little off or behind the beat which creates a swing or a sense of soul in the music. Some of the current New Orleans folks play "in the cracks" between straight and swing. Playing live lets musicians stray a little bit without some idiot in the control room " correcting" the variances. Also, it may be less likely they will pitch correct the vocals which lets you hear all the nooks and crannies of a real human voice in a real world setting. JMHO - Jim

Many studio recordings are over polished. All the humanity has been scrubbed off them.

Some of them never had any life, they were recorded in different studios at different times by studio musicians who have never met just doing a job.

Some are computer generated.

I have to go on a case by case basis for both live and studio recordings.