Thanks to the widespread flow of media on the internet we've been able to view and be critical of bands in a way that was never possible before. We can see phone captured footage of gigs across the world, not just the ones that bands record and release officially. We can get a gist of the overall sound of a band during a particular era and, this may sound strange to some, we can often tell when something stands out as being a bit... too perfect.
What am I talking about ? Well, I'm talking about official live performances that sound a lot (and I mean a LOT) different to how a band sounds these days.
Yes, I know, it's professionally recorded and mixed etc but c'mon, we're not THAT stupid. That excuse doesn't wash for those who are attentive enough to know how a band really sounds and how it doesn't. There are certain recent live DVD releases that sound so polished, the guitars are never out of time or key and the vocals are strangely always in tune and always near perfect. In fact you'd almost say it was like a flawless representation, their dream performance. It is exactly that - a dream performance. It's not what really went down that night.
Before you say "You can't compare a professionally released performance with phone footage" I'll stop you there and say that you can even compare some of these polished concerts with some of their own pro releases from the 80's, 90's or 2000's. Even in their heydays, most of these bands weren't cooking as hot as they sound on their new live releases.
So we're talking overdubbing and studio magic. Yeah, it happens. I'm sure it's nothing new but it does seem very prevalent on nearly every official live release I've heard lately. I'm talking specifically about metal bands because that's what I'm exposed to but you may know some other examples in other genres.
Yes, some bands get better as they age.. I can think of a few. But generally a lot of the bands I have followed have changed as they've got older and the fire and intensity of their youth has diminished due to natural age. There's nothing wrong with that. But most of us with a brain know how our favourite vocalists sound these days, what they can do and can't do any more, so we know when there's something not quite right. But it's not just the vocalists that are in on the action, the guitarists seem to be overdubbing solos that they weren't happy with.
I'm sure that overdubbing live performances started as a way to fix small issues but has been used / abused a bit too much to the point where it's not really live any more.
As I said before, I'm sure it's not new. Overdubbing live performances has been going on for donkey's years but it does seem to have increased. And what's more, it seems SO obvious to us fans.
What would be the reason's for overdubbing a live performance ?
-To cover up mistakes / unsatisfactory sounding bits
-To cover up some technical shortcoming... maybe something didn't record quite as well as hoped
-This is really the same as the first but; accidents. Strings breaking, someone falling over and missing a crucial line
I'm sure most of us can understand it for the occasional occurrence of any of the above but if it's a case of re-recording all vocals or all solos then it's a bit.............. well, I'll let you say what you think it is.
What do you think about the over dubbing of live performances ?
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Ben Higgins How Live Are Live Albums ? Jan 10 2015, 11:49 AM
