Which songs do you think do you think dont cut it live? Hooky doesnt think Run or Guilty partner 'works'.
Most of the NO versions of JD songs dont work for obvious reasons and BM was always a pig to get right technically.
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Songs that dont work live
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Never heard a very good version of Angel Dust live.
Also, agree with Hooky about Run, but then I never really liked it all that much as a studio track anyway. He's utterly wrong about GP, I think it worked very well on the boot I have of it, once the machines played ball anyway. Thimk he needs to listen back to that, it may just have been awful for him playing it or something.
Bizarre Love Triangle sometimes disappoints me because it is my favorite song, but the BBC Radio 1 version is quite good.
I think a lot of the songs that are in a 'studio register' for bernard work less well than the early (created live) material. for my taste, most of technique doesn't translate as well live.
likewise, 1963, turn and all of republic (bar regret obv!) musically this material can be a little static live but I've always thought that these songs suffered most because of bernard's singing style being suited to the studio for a large percentage of the stuff made after the first four albums.
I wonder how the setlist process worked and whether these sort of things influenced the more limited sets of later years. or if the time constraints weighed more heavily than the politics of songchoice and personal preferences.
I never thought We All Stand,Loveless or Mr.Disco worked well live at all,& Love Vigilantes was always a bit of a let down too,but probably because it's my favourite.BM took an age to get right,as someone pointed out,& apart from Regret,the Republic ones don't work either.But that's maybe because they're so fookin' poor. :\ohwell:
On the other hand,Movement & Brotherhood are all better live IMO 
Good post too 
there are a lot of songs that Hook must hate live, in particular the ones that were very studio and do not have a relevant Hooky bass line in them... often using synthesized bass lines... (most of Republic, Mr. Disco, Fine Time, Angel Dust type stuff...)
Not sure why he isn't into Run live. It has what seems to be a fun bassline to play live. Maybe they have to pay Denver's niece royalties or something.
Animadversion wrote: i would've liked to hear barney sing the lead on dreams never end, instead of hooky.
Absolutely not.A song becomes what it is,because of what it is.In this case,an absolute 29 year old jewel in N.O's history.Anything else just wouldn't be right.
Not sure everybody is on the same page here... "work" as in actually fun to listen to? or "work" as in sound like the studio recording? When I hear live tracks from the 80s I like the more improvised sound of many tracks, much more interesting than more recent stuff in which they often sound like they are playing to a backing tape.
It was Barney that admitted Run didnt work live......
Lots of songs banded about on this thread, the likes of Angel Dust were pretty damn good in their day. Special is the one that really bombed live, Guilty Partner didn't work, not did Brutal. Or Turn My Way.
michael preda wrote: Jetstream, and State of the nation live are horrid.
State was fucking great at the time, but it has aged really badly unlike most NO stuff.
Tim wrote:
michael preda wrote: Jetstream, and State of the nation live are horrid.
State was fucking great at the time, but it has aged really badly unlike most NO stuff.
Fair enough, i'll change state to the slowed down 05/06 rendition of ceremony. I prefer when the songs we're faster live, they really showed the band in top form.
It's understandable some of the studio type songs won't work well live and quite the shame since songs like Ruined in a day, 1963 and here to stay would be amazing if they could pull it off.
I actually like 1963 live - it sounds wrong - a bit off kilter - but still works live (not like on the DVD), and that's what we're actually talking about here.
I've always thought Vanishing Point sounded a but crap live - the kick drum didn't kick enough, and those 80s style snares were just too much.
The current live version of BLT doesn't do it for me either - it sounds like it's going to go right off like a big spunky firework, and then just doesn't. A banging 4/4 beat right the way through the track would work.
See also Round & Round - Barney's guitar work always sounds too random.
Tim wrote:
kel wrote: I never thought We All Stand,
You have to be kidding?
No,but maybe it's because I'm not that keen on the song.
Is it a coincidence that most of the songs that work live,were all worked out & played live before they were actually recorded,ie.almost everything upto Technique,& the songs that don't work,were mostly completed in the studio before being attempted? There's going to be exceptions,maybe just luck or the fact that they were simple to translate live such as guitar based tracks 
kel wrote:
Tim wrote:
kel wrote: I never thought We All Stand,
You have to be kidding?
Is it a coincidence that most of the songs that work live,were all worked out & played live before they were actually recorded,ie.almost everything upto Technique,& the songs that don't work,were mostly completed in the studio before being attempted? There's going to be exceptions,maybe just luck or the fact that they were simple to translate live such as guitar based tracks
Very good point.
Tim wrote: It was Barney that admitted Run didnt work live......
Lots of songs banded about on this thread, the likes of Angel Dust were pretty damn good in their day. Special is the one that really bombed live, Guilty Partner didn't work, not did Brutal. Or Turn My Way.
Run was great live, just check out some of the '89 tour mixers or Big Word Cafe versions. Bernard doesnt know his arse from his elbow as to what sounds good live as he's never really enjoyed it anyway. Since 89 they haven't really gelled as a live band in my opinion, too clean and processed sounding.
Apparently that's the reason it was wasn't played live much: the layers were hard to keep separate. For what it's worth, I always thought Love Vigilantes worked well live but the way they played Love Will Tear Us Apart towards the end of live action didn't really do it any favours: it was like the thing was stripped of its vulnerability and restraint and became a boozy sing-along.
