Sometimes, the live version is better!

A lot of times, live albums are good for the excitement, but not much else.  Usually, the studio versions of the songs are better.  But there are some songs where the live versions actually sound better than the studio.  PLUS they’re fun to listen to.

Here’s a list of some of the songs where I prefer the live versions.  And in some cases, the record-buying public agrees!

  • “Do You Feel Like We Do?”.  Not many people knew of this song before it showed up as the big finale to Frampton Comes Alive.  The original from Frampton’s Camel is 7 or 8 minutes long, but it’s nothing compared to the 15 minute live jam!
  • “Maybe I’m Amazed”.  Another one where the live version was the hit, and it really is better than the studio version.
  • “Free Bird”.  I know I may be alone on this one.  I was just a kid when the live version charted and I had never heard the classic studio cut.  But I do like the piano intro over the organ and the concert ending over the fade-out.
  • “Smoke on the Water”.  Again, I was a kid who had never heard the studio classic when the live one came out.  But I still think the live one has more meat.
  • Al Stewart’s “Roads to Moscow”.  I’ll finish with one that no-one’s ever heard of.  It’s a 7 minute song from the Modern Times album — mostly acoustic guitar and a little boring.  But the live version from Indian Summer added a bunch of instruments and even threw in a little bit of another song into the middle, turning it from a mediocre song to a great one.  Fellow Al Stewart fans might know what I’m talking about.