Song of the Moment: Getaway

[Strat]

no, thats horrible. I love it on the album but that is kind of grating and I cant pinpoint why. The guitar is kind of obnoxious....

[evenslow]

i thought it was much better than the the version posted in the Live section.

comparing it to the album version is a non-starter.

[---]

i still listen to this song

[nomorecrackpipes]

This is a much better youtubez version:

WAIT

An Ed penned song that he doesn't play guitar on since Porch (91-03)? That's probably why it hadn't been played yet: Ed wanted to play guitar on it, but it wasn't working out live.

[dprival78]

not as bad as I first thought after listening to a shittier recording earlier, but pretty lifeless compared to the studio version.

thickening up the guitars might help.

[mastaflatch]

there's a reason why a song works and the key it's in is a major part of it. i'd rather pretend that this tuned-down version doesn't exist and enjoy the shit out of the definitive studio track.

[breakerfall66]

Down-tuning is unacceptable with any band; over the last 6 years we have been seeing and hearing a number of live PJ tunes in which they have incorporated this, and now Getaway.

I feel if the band can't play songs in their normal key, then they should omit them from the set lists, because it makes the arrangements sound "funny."

Lots of bands do it, but I do not care to see Pearl Jam doing it however.

[stip]

I don't think Ed's the problem here. The guitars have no bite. Does the downturning affect that?

[mastaflatch]

I don't think Ed's the problem here. The guitars have no bite. Does the downturning affect that?

yes. the strings are looser.

[Jorge]

Yeah, the whole song is tuned lower, so it becomes a slog. The guitars are supposed to sound sharp and peppy; instead, they sound like molasses. The bass is muddier, the melody is all flattened out. Mastaflatch is right that the choice to write a song in a certain key is paramount to the overall feel of the song, and altering that will change its impact-- sometimes drastically, sometimes less so. In this case, the whole thing feels like all the air has escaped from it.

I agree that the studio track is most important, and I generally don't think rearranging songs to fit a live performance is a bad thing (like LMS said, they're different mediums), but from these Youtube vids it doesn't sound like this works very well.

[Birds in Hell]

I'd very much rather have the band play the song in the recorded key and have Ed find a way around the more challenging vocal parts by adapting the melody.

[stip]

I'd very much rather have the band play the song in the recorded key and have Ed find a way around the more challenging vocal parts by adapting the melody.

I didn't realize downtuning fucked up the music. I agree the finished product here isn't that memorable. Maybe they'll play around with other options.

I actually like the key the live version is in more than the studio version, I think. It's less glassy

[breakerfall66]

The mix that PJ has incorporated the last 5 to 6 years is not really favorable to the other instruments (guitars in general) because Eddie's vocals are so in front now. Back in the day, say back in 1991-2006, the guitars and other instruments along with Eddie's vocals were way more balanced in the mix.

I am not a sound engineer, but it's not difficult to notice the difference in the mixes over the years with the Pearl Jam live sound, if you go to the concerts and/or listen to the boots. And when the down-tuning started back in 2007.

[mastaflatch]

I actually like the key the live version is in more than the studio version, I think. It's less glassy

[stip]

getaway is a good song but it's not even close to my favorite song on L-bolt.

[Strat]

I rather have ed strain and miss a few notes with the band absolutely on fire behind him than down tuning to suit eds vocals. At least on that track.


I dont need perfection as long as passion is at the forefront.

[evenslow]

I dont need perfection as long as passion is at the forefront.

[Strat]

Saywatanayo

[Release_Me]

I rather have ed strain and miss a few notes with the band absolutely on fire behind him than down tuning to suit eds vocals. At least on that track.


I dont need perfection as long as passion is at the forefront.

Has nothing to do with missing notes. He might not miss any if he sung it in the original key but it's the toll that singing it day in and day out on tour has on his voice which is why they downtuned it. If they were to do a one off, there would be no reason to downtune it.

[Release_Me]

as long as it sounds good on the record

although I am happy to concede that writing good songs in a more comfortable register might be the ideal option. It's not like getaway's vocal performance is so unique or intense that it just HAD to be documented that way

Oh, I think it most definitely is. Written the way it was done live, I wouldn't care much for it. Bands should be writing songs the way that makes them sound the best. Getaway is my favourite rocker since forever. And it's mainly due to Ed's performance.