NO Regret wrote:
Tim wrote: This is just it - they are a great live band, so for NORegret to say he's lost some respect for them just because they touched up the sound on a live DVD is a load of bollocks. Let me ask you this, NORegret - when you type something into this message board, do you spell and type everything correctly first time around, or do you go back and edit things? Me, I go back and make sure it's typed correctly. You can with editing software, so why not make sure something is as presentable as it can be?
With any live band, there is always the prospect of mistakes, particularly as the vast majority of performers need some kind of stimulant to be able to perform on stage in front of an audience. With me, it's a couple of pints of cider beforehand to calm any nerves. With Bernard it used to be Pernod, some people like a joint maybe, or a couple of lines. Sometimes you overdo it (Brixton Academy 83) and are incapable of performing correctly.
What has made New Order so special over the years is their unpredictability. You could see them play two nights in succession back in the 80s, and they would play 25 different songs over the two nights (Birmingham and Malvern 86 spring immediately to mind), one night could be wonderful and the next dreadful, there was no way of knowing whether you were going to get Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde. I've seen them start a gig in fantastic form (Oxford 86) but end it in a right row, pissed off with the audience and each other. As Hooky has admitted, they started doing pretty much the same set every night, or at least selecting the set from a pool of songs, in 1989 and have kept this policy ever since because they wanted to sound tighter, more professional. They've done this pretty successfully ever since. Finsbury Park was just a one-off bad day, the weather didn't help, and there was also the nerves factor, it was probably the biggest crowd that had ever paid to see them play (sure there were bigger crowds at Glastonbury and Reading, but this was an NO gig rather than a festival), and they had a habit of failing to deliver with the largest crowds.
Blimey. I didnt think I get such a response, Tim. I was only speaking as I find. I think you'll find most of my postings have bad grammer or mis-spellings.
I thought the sound of the Finsbury gig was pretty tight on the day. I didnt think there was any need to make changes for the DVD. If its only the odd tweaking for say dips in volume, etc then I dont mind but the way I read your posting it sounded like the band had gone back into the studio to re-record parts. Thats what grates on me, I cant see the point. If its live its live, mistakes and all. Like you point out Tim, thats what makes New Order stand out, that they can be brilliant and also crap live, and thats why we love them.
If Ive misread your intentions then I apologise. Maybe lost abit of respect for the band is abit strong. But an idea would have been to release the DVD with the addition of the true performance. Then fans would get both the best of both worlds.
I can understand that the band or label would want to put out the best product they can and that they might make alterations to the recording to get the best results. As long as those alterations are kept to a minimum and results dont differ to much, is all Im saying. I hope this clears up my point.
Two excellent posts. Which makes a change around here. WIFM live is still chessy as fcuk though 
