Worst live albums

candlemass wrote:

I don't get some of you people, the live show is what rock and metal is all about, so much of the music can be sterile in the studio, live is where it comes alive!

Yea, but seriously, how often can you say that the feeling of a live performance is accurately captured on tape?? It's just not the same as actually BEING there. As I said earlier in this thread, I don't buy a lotta live albums... most of the time I don't go out of my way for'em unless I've actually seen the band in question live. If I've never seen them it feels more like "See what you missed?"

I think that in the 70s and early 80s, a live album was more of an "EVENT" (i.e. Kiss' ALIVE!), whereas nowadays they're an afterthought... something a band throws out there to fulfill a record contract with minimum effort, i.e. "OK, we owe you guys one more album, here's a tape of one of our shows, you can put that out, see ya"

Mike G. (former editor of Metal Maniacs) summed it up best for me about live albums: "The last thing I want to hear in my headphones while I groove is f**king crowd noise.")

it's very rare that you get a realistic live sound on tape. it seems like these days, you have 2 choices...

you either get bootleg quality, hastily recorded in the back, with crummy sound & drunken performance. or you get the over polished, 75% studio created "live" album. either way, i'll pass.

don't go by me though. i don't even go to shows anymore either. i prefer listening to music at home. where the sound is better, the beer is better, & no one hits on my wife but me.

scottmitchell74 wrote:

In person, sure....but I want the perfect, clean, tight sound of studio music on CD....

That's not rock or metal, rock & metal is played in the trenches with the mud, blood and the beer baby!

I don't agree that the RECON and HELSTAR live albums are bad. They're basically live untouched recordings and that's pretty much what most metal bands sound like live.

I'm highly suspicious of super-polished live recordings (like TESTAMENT's "Live at the Fillmore", JUDAS PRIEST's "Unleashed in the East", or OVERKILL's "Wrecking your Neck Live") about how live it really is.

The studio is about microscopic perfection, to me live performances/recordings are about the energy of it all and keeping the excitement up for the duration of the set.

a real live dead one by iron maiden. the band sound smurf poo despite good sound quality

Temple of Blood wrote:

I'm highly suspicious of super-polished live recordings (like TESTAMENT's "Live at the Fillmore", JUDAS PRIEST's "Unleashed in the East", or OVERKILL's "Wrecking your Neck Live") about how live it really is.

It's been well known for many years that Priest's UNLEASHED IN THE EAST is more of a studio creation than a live album. I've even read somewhere that the guy who produced it refers to it as "UNLEASHED IN THE STUDIO"

Still a damn fine lp!

candlemass wrote:

Still a damn fine lp!

Yeah it is!

Unleashed in the East is what got me into Priest. Excellent album.

Well, my opinion is a little biased because I despise live ablums, but
all of those gosh awful Intense releases were horrible. I got the
Deliverance one and one other I can't think of (maybe Tourniquet) years
back.....terrible. I just can't stand my favorite bands live. I also
thought the Metallica in Mexico was horrible as well!

I never cared for Aerosmith's "Classics Live I & II". It's been years since I listened to them, so I may be confusing them with an old vinyl bootleg I had, but I seem to remember Steven Tyler slurring and messing up the lyrics to some of the songs, particularly Walk This Way. Granted, these were released at the height of their drug-use, but I thought they were pretty poor. I also remember hearing rumors that guitarist Adam Bomb (anyone remember him?) was brought in to do overdubs and studio touch-ups. Oddly enough, I prefer the Live!! Bootleg album when it comes to classic 'smith recordings.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I never cared for Aerosmith's "Classics Live I & II". It's been years since I listened to them, so I may be confusing them with an old vinyl bootleg I had, but I seem to remember Steven Tyler slurring and messing up the lyrics to some of the songs, particularly Walk This Way. Granted, these were released at the height of their drug-use, but I thought they were pretty poor. I also remember hearing rumors that guitarist Adam Bomb (anyone remember him?) was brought in to do overdubs and studio touch-ups. Oddly enough, I prefer the Live!! Bootleg album when it comes to classic 'smith recordings.

Actually, it was Jimmy Crespo, who was in Aerosmith at the time most of the songs from Classics Live was recorded to do some touch up work. Crespo went on to play in Adam Bomb, which may be where the confusion comes in.

Personally, I love Classic Live I & II, as well as the Live Bootleg. I really dig Aerosmith Live in the 70's and early 80's, despite how wasted they were half the time.

ult

ult

I can't believe I forgot Helloween - High Live. Absolute crap!

I know many people claim KISS Alive II is one of their favorite live albums. But this is in fact such an altered recording, it is hardly live any longer....

ultmetal wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I never cared for Aerosmith's "Classics Live I & II". It's been years since I listened to them, so I may be confusing them with an old vinyl bootleg I had, but I seem to remember Steven Tyler slurring and messing up the lyrics to some of the songs, particularly Walk This Way. Granted, these were released at the height of their drug-use, but I thought they were pretty poor. I also remember hearing rumors that guitarist Adam Bomb (anyone remember him?) was brought in to do overdubs and studio touch-ups. Oddly enough, I prefer the Live!! Bootleg album when it comes to classic 'smith recordings.

Actually, it was Jimmy Crespo, who was in Aerosmith at the time most of the songs from Classics Live was recorded to do some touch up work. Crespo went on to play in Adam Bomb, which may be where the confusion comes in.

Personally, I love Classic Live I & II, as well as the Live Bootleg. I really dig Aerosmith Live in the 70's and early 80's, despite how wasted they were half the time.

ult

ult

I'll have to dig them out and give 'em a listen again. Like I said, it's been years since I've listened to either one back when I owned them on cassette. When I purchased Aerosmith's Box of Fire, I never even took the cellophane off of those 2 discs.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I never cared for Aerosmith's "Classics Live I & II". It's been years since I listened to them, so I may be confusing them with an old vinyl bootleg I had, but I seem to remember Steven Tyler slurring and messing up the lyrics to some of the songs, particularly Walk This Way. Granted, these were released at the height of their drug-use, but I thought they were pretty poor. I also remember hearing rumors that guitarist Adam Bomb (anyone remember him?) was brought in to do overdubs and studio touch-ups. Oddly enough, I prefer the Live!! Bootleg album when it comes to classic 'smith recordings.

Actually, it was Jimmy Crespo, who was in Aerosmith at the time most of the songs from Classics Live was recorded to do some touch up work. Crespo went on to play in Adam Bomb, which may be where the confusion comes in.

Personally, I love Classic Live I & II, as well as the Live Bootleg. I really dig Aerosmith Live in the 70's and early 80's, despite how wasted they were half the time.

ult

ult

I'll have to dig them out and give 'em a listen again. Like I said, it's been years since I've listened to either one back when I owned them on cassette. When I purchased Aerosmith's Box of Fire, I never even took the cellophane off of those 2 discs.

I have the Aerosmith - Classic Live Complete disc that I listen to regularly. It's both live albums on one CD.

Forgot about this one till it was mentioned in another thread -- W.A.S.P.'s LIVE...IN THE RAW. The sound on that album is awful...sooooooo hollow and echo-ey... if it weren't for the fact that it has one studio track ("Scream Until You Like It") and two live tracks that were never recorded for a studio album ("Harder Faster" and "Manimal") on it, I would've ditched that piece of poo in favor of the (far superior) DOUBLE LIVE ASSASSINS disc years ago...

Quote :

Any of those Extended Versions collections.

I disagree....I think there are some good Extended Versions collections. Foreigner's, for example, is a very good representation of how the new band sounds.



Arttie

arttieTHE1manparty wrote:

Quote :

Any of those Extended Versions collections.

I disagree....I think there are some good Extended Versions collections. Foreigner's, for example, is a very good representation of how the new band sounds.

Arttie

I like some of the Extended Versions CDs as well. Molly Hatchet's came to mind. At the time it was all unreleased material, so it was cool. The Stryper one is cool. It has a song not on their official live album.

Temple of Blood wrote:

I don't agree that the RECON and HELSTAR live albums are bad. They're basically live untouched recordings and that's pretty much what most metal bands sound like live.

I'm highly suspicious of super-polished live recordings (like TESTAMENT's "Live at the Fillmore", JUDAS PRIEST's "Unleashed in the East", or OVERKILL's "Wrecking your Neck Live") about how live it really is.

The studio is about microscopic perfection, to me live performances/recordings are about the energy of it all and keeping the excitement up for the duration of the set.

Sorry but the HELSTAR live album is not the way the band sounded live, EVER!!! Its just a very very bad recording and because that its hard to listen to it. Many of my bootlegs sound better then that oficial release.