Don’t think about this question, just answer immediately.
You sit down and put your earbuds in, or you flip on the Bose. You scroll through your music catalog, open Pandora, or log into Spotify. You find a listing of albums (or songs) by your favorite artist and you select an album (or song) to play.
Do you pick the studio version or the live version? Why?
I’ve asked this question to two people this week, and they both said the studio version, without hesitation. I was shocked. I was shocked that they didn’t want to hear the live version (I was also a little shocked that they didn’t agree with me).
Live versions are the best! The sometimes changed lyrics, shoutouts to the city hosting the show, songs in different keys, or hearing the crowd sing a phrase or two. No two live versions are the same. They change every time, and they have personality, are sometimes imperfect, and aren’t overproduced or on their fourth or fortieth take. They’re original, unique, and practically a living thing.
Not to knock studio versions.
I’ve seen Dave Grohl’s documentary on Sound City. I understand the importance of Abbey Road and Sun Studio. I appreciate that artists have different experiences in different recording studios, and that often the place where the record is assembled becomes an integral part of the record.
But Holiday In Spain just isn’t the same to me without Adam Duritz’s “Hey” to start off, or Tom Petty telling the folks in the second tier that he can hear them and they sound great up there, or listening to Billy Joel and audibly hearing the crowd sing every word to Piano Man, almost to the point of drowning out Billy himself. It’s like I’m there. It’s like I know them, and I’m having that experience.
For four and a half minutes, I’m not at my desk but at The Spectrum, listening to Pearl Jam, and feeling the floor and my brain vibrate with sound. That’s the ticket I want to buy.
What’s yours?