Is it heretical to say I usually don't like listening to live albums at home? Don't get me wrong... I love to go to live shows and listen to the artist's uncut versions of the album songs. It's especially entertaining when they throw in a little twist, something just a bit different from what you would hear in the studio. For example, I am a big fan of a Canadian Latin guitarist called Oscar Lopez. Went to see him and his Irish friend serve up a unique mashup of styles they affectionately dubbed "Celtino." 😄 It was a small, intimate theater in the artsy part of the city, and that only added to the vibe as Oscar tuned his guitar to produce wonderfully jazzy, off key renditions of his songs that raised goosebumps on my arms. He also broke a couple of guitar strings. Unfortunately, I don't get quite the same pleasure listening to most (not all) live music at home.
They used to say "you have a face for radio," which was a way of saying you sound better than you look. The advent of the music video changed all this, and put more of a focus on an artists' looks. I have noticed that the stars who became famous before the 1980s are often excellent live. They had to be. I don't think that's so much a case for today. Producers have an important job!
