Live albums and overdubs

[Jorge]

Hey guys, I need some examples of "live" albums that contain a lot of (or even just a few obvious) overdubs or maybe editing (like splicing together multiple performances of the same song). I understand this is much more common than the general public thinks.

For example, I've read about how the first KISS Alive! album is essentially a studio album recorded around the live drum track. I also know "Evemflow" from LO2L combines a couple different performances. Stuff like that

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

The LO2L thing is an example of "flying in" a bit from a different performance but keeping the performance from the same basic date. I think maybe only Ed's comment "let me introduce you to Mike" is the element in question. This is what was done to all of the most recent Led Zeppelin live releases. No overdubs but tons of pro-tools trickery.

Frank Zappa was a pioneer at the "editing together live perofmances and overdubbing" thing. Check out the song "Drowning Witch" from the same album. Supposedly it is 15 different sections of live tapes strung together. And it is probably one of his master-works..the instrumental portion (which is most of the song) is astonishing IMO. Another thing he would do was to fly in a guitar solo from a live tape into a studio recording. Check out the song "Outside Now" on Joe's Garage, or almost any solo on that album. His popular album "Sheik Yerbouti" is mostly live recordings too, but non-edited ones with straight studio overdubbing, presented as a regular studio album. Except the last track "Yo Mama" which is an edited monstrosity like "Drowning Witch". You should at least check out those two songs.

"Frampton Comes Alive" is supposed to be largely fake...especially the crowd reactions to the songs and the clapping along, which is entirely phony and stuido-created. Supposedly the venues weren't even half-full on the shows they recorded!

Many many examples. We could be here all day really.

[tragabigzanda]

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

If you are going to use Pearl Jam as an example, the album version of "Betterman" would be far more apt.

It is first portion of studio recording, and then edits into Atlanta live version with studio overdubs applied.

The full Atlanta performance without overdubs can of course be heard on bootlegs.

[tragabigzanda]

[makeshift]

Most of my favorites. Get yer Ya Ya's, Live and Dangerous and even Band of Gypsies have splices. That recent live box was revelatory in that regard, expert editing for the original. I had no idea. Knew about the others

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

REM's New Adventures In Hi-Fi and Radiohead's The Bends both include ample live tracks that were used as the basis for overdubs; I think that those REM tracks that were recorded live saw just minimal overdubs, while the Radiohead tracks are in the inverse (basic live stuff like drums and bass, with extensive studio overdubs). Sorry I don't know the specifics.

The REM album is half studio/half live-with-occasional-overdubbing and it's a good one.

On the Radiohead album, only "My Iron Lung" is live with overdubs, and it happens to be from the popular Astoria show which is available in full for comparison, much like "Betterman".

[tragabigzanda]

Top 10 maybe?
Hello Morning
Close Captioned
The Kill
Place/Position
Do You Like Me?
Latest Disgrace
Recap Modotti
Nightshop
Break
Life & Limb

I'd maybe bump Life & Limb for Epic Problem

[Kevin Davis]

The Grateful Dead's original Europe '72 had, I believe, most if not all of its vocals recorded in the studio. I think their 1971 self-titled live album does too, and possibly 1990's Without a Net, though I haven't compared those with the original recordings.

Also, their Anthem of the Sun album is a live/studio hybrid, but it is presented as exactly that, not as a live album with discreet studio sweetening.

[bada]

I believe Judas Priest's Unleashed In The East was heavily augmented in the studio. There is a some heavy disagreement between the members of Thin Lizzy and their producer over how many studio overdubs are on Live And Dangerous. I think the producer said 80% studio and the band members are like maybe 10% max. So who knows. Two of my favorite "live" albums. I'm surprised more bands didn't cut albums live in front of an audience to get the energy and then fix mistakes and layer in the studio. Seems like the ideal way for a hard rock band anyways.

[liebzz]

I read something about Under a Blood Red Sky has a splice to remove a cover song tag so they didn’t get sued/pay royalties.

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I believe Judas Priest's Unleashed In The East was heavily augmented in the studio. There is a some heavy disagreement between the members of Thin Lizzy and their producer over how many studio overdubs are on Live And Dangerous. I think the producer said 80% studio and the band members are like maybe 10% max. So who knows. Two of my favorite "live" albums. I'm surprised more bands didn't cut albums live in front of an audience to get the energy and then fix mistakes and layer in the studio. Seems like the ideal way for a hard rock band anyways.

Producers tend to lie for their own reasons. Often to make themselves look like geniuses.

For example...Since 1970, Paul Rothchild insisted that The Doors' live album has 100 edits in it, most of them mutiple edits within the same song...and that it was a nightmare to put together.

But The Doors have since released all of those concerts uncut and it turned out to be entirely untrue. It's no different from "Live On Two Legs"...culled from a few different concerts but nothing more than that and very non-complicated.

[verb_to_trust]

Van Halen: Live: Right Here, Right Now is basically frankensteins monster

Most of the tracks were recorded at the 1992 Fresno shows, as evidenced by both a 1992 Westwood One radio presentation and the DVD live video release. Studio fixes, however, were admittedly present on the album. Says Hagar,
"The problem was they re-recorded almost the entire live album, because Eddie was out of tune, or Al had sped up or slowed down. They fixed everything. Only now that Eddie was playing in tune, my singing's off-key. And where Al sped up in "Runaround", now I'm singing ahead of the beat. Now I had to go back in the studio and redo all my vocals. I wanted to kill those guys. They put me in a room with the video of the concert, gave me my microphone, and I stood there and sang the whole fucking concert one time through. Just like it was a live performance."

[bada]

When you listen to that album you can pretty much tell which songs Sammy is singing in the studio and which are really from the concert.

[wease]

When you listen to that album you can pretty much tell which songs Sammy is singing in the studio and which are really from the concert.

I still love it.

[wease]

You Don’t Love Me by the Allman Brothers off At Fillmore East is cut together from two performances. Both takes are available on The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings. You can easily tell where it was switched from one performance to the other.

[tragabigzanda]

[96583UP]

Van Halen: Live: Right Here, Right Now is basically frankensteins monster

Most of the tracks were recorded at the 1992 Fresno shows, as evidenced by both a 1992 Westwood One radio presentation and the DVD live video release. Studio fixes, however, were admittedly present on the album. Says Hagar,
"The problem was they re-recorded almost the entire live album, because Eddie was out of tune, or Al had sped up or slowed down. They fixed everything. Only now that Eddie was playing in tune, my singing's off-key. And where Al sped up in "Runaround", now I'm singing ahead of the beat. Now I had to go back in the studio and redo all my vocals. I wanted to kill those guys. They put me in a room with the video of the concert, gave me my microphone, and I stood there and sang the whole fucking concert one time through. Just like it was a live performance."

that's fucking hilarious

[96583UP]

i could swear on LO2L that the crowd noise clip in between every song is the same. it's crowd noise and then a single hi-hat closing sound. between every track

i think

last time i listed

like 15+ years ago

[swan]

I’ve always wondered what, if anything was added later to Stop Making Sense. Some of the guitar solos seem like they might be dubs?