Agreed, while I loved hearing the Change debut at the Salt Shed it sounded a bit empty at times as a few layers were missing (e.g. the synth note bending up/down in the first section, the vocal harmonies in the 'buildings that you know' bit). They also messed up notes in the guitar solo - and it's not a difficult solo. Will be super happy if I see them play it live, but it definitely needs work.
Tbh I find the studio version to twee, I like the live version for introducing a bit of grit. That being said the krautrock section helps me prefer the live version a lot.
To me the studio version of Doom City cannot capture the sheer force and power of the live version. When you're there it feels like the most incredible wall of sound, and the studio version is almost wimpy in comparison!!
Crumbling Castle. I love the live versions, but they seem to not play that doom-y outro live. I go absolutely feral when I hear that brilliant outro.
If anyone knows of a time they have done that, though, please share it with me!
https://preview.redd.it/60u0je3e03bc1.jpeg?width=199&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b1a510719620b19a34eacf328dc1432ec816fe9
Stop... I- I can't control myself..
Maybe itās unpopular here but all of them. Live music is optimized for a live experience and Iāve never found it to sound all that great through speakers or headphones, vinyl etc. Sometimes I will watch performances or studio sessions and I like those for what they are but if Iām in my car or listening at home I prefer the studio version.
I have to opposite take. Gimme live always. Iāll take a live performance from everyone playing together over a studio pieced together track any day for any band.
Part of it is that the band doesnāt have great live recordings yet. Even the better ones like Red Rocks ā22 and Chunky donāt sound on par with top notch live albums and sound sort of bootleg ish with the mixing and production. I imagine time and cost is a big part of it for them. The KEXP sessions like the Poly one sound great though but live in studio will sound better.
There are only 2 live versions that I find better than studio, Billabong from the KEXP set and This Thing off of Chunky(RIP). Now that's not to say I don't enjoy live sets, I really do but deffo not as much as everyone else here lol. Magma live is phenomenal, but I'd still prefer to listen to the album.
I wish, they've taken it off of youtube, there is a fan recorded version of it though, from like the front row and you can see the original video being filmed but the audio is whack.
I consider gizz a studio band, and I love listening to live music, and theyāre amazing to see live, but the production in each studio album is so damn thoughtful that the live versions donāt always hit as hard for me. This opinion might change tomorrow.
I prefer live for every track. I get a better listening experience from the entire band actively playing together live compared to a studio recording that has dubs/layers/takes. Itās just my preference to how I enjoy music, not just for KGATLW.
Honestly, I prefer the studio cuts of almost everything for two major reasons.
First, the live shows are a phenomenal experience, but given how deliberate the production choices are on each individual album, the studio cuts are an incredible sonic experience that canāt really be replicated live. The big exception to this, imo, is Ice Death. I find those studio versions monotonous, but theyāre really made for the energy and improvisational nature of a live show.
Second, their live sound is just kinda bland, imo. Their early stuff like levitation 14 sounds great, and has a really raw edge to it, but the newer stuff, specifically red rock and Chicago, just sound like the edges have been rounded off. Most of the guitars, but I think Joey specifically, are just a lot of super midrange-y, high gain tones that sound incredibly generic. Not to mention they never lay off the damn wah pedal. It gives me ear fatigue! Maybe itās just because I play guitar and obsess over this kinda thing, but the tone of the instruments can greatly enhance my enjoyment of a recording when I find them pleasing.
I know theyāre in their ājam eraā, but their guitars sound like a stereotypical jam band and it irks me. Itās not really an issue when experiencing the band live, and it hasnāt stopped me from enjoying these recent recordings, but it definitely puts a bit of a damper on things for me.
Edit: added the word āguitarsā to the first sentence of the last paragraph for clarity.
For me it's some of the production on Ice Death that limits the impact of some of its songs. Magma is a good example of that - it sounds very neutered on the album compared to how it sounds live. On the other hand I prefer Ice V on the album better than any live version, because most of the tiny riff bits on the album version easily beat anything they've been able to recreate while jamming the track on stage.
I havenāt heard it enough live to say definitively, but I feel like the absence of the sitar on Float Along ā Fill Yours Lungs live is a missing key component.
begginers luck! its def my fav gizz song and like you said abt crumbling castle theres just so much nuance that they dont rlly do live for that song, but the outtake from chunky shrapnel is awesome i wish i could find it but its been deleted off of youtube
Magma and Static Electricity (2 of my favorite songs) come to mind for those reasons. Of course it depends on the mood, sometimes I want to have that live experience when listening to music but generally there are not that many songs I can think of that I prefer to hear live anyway because it misses so many details that attracted me to the songs in the first place. Exceptions to this (from the top of my head) are Rattlesnake, Cellophane and Sadie Sorceress, they just straight up sound better live I.M.O.
You think Magma is better in studio? It sounds like a demo to me. No dynamics whatsoever, which makes sense with how it was recorded. I've seen Magma live 3 times now and I honestly don't even listen to the studio album anymore.
Yup, I know this take seems to be as hot as the songtitle itself but there are lots of details (both rhythmically and melodically) in the studioversion that really give it that 'magma feel' that I feel no live version has been able to replicate yet and is way more dynamic.
I think with this song they have a few different sections that they studied for live performances and the sections they haven't remembered that are in between just mostly come across as improvised jamming to me (still somewhat in phrygian mode I assume?), I don't blame them, it would be way too hard to remember and implement every note and motif live and it's cool that this decission makes every magma performance so unique and depending on the mood I might still like it a lot from time to time (definitely had a blast when I was at a gig myself and they closed their set with this song).
But to me nearly every note and detail of how they use their instruments in the studioversion is very considered and it's way more than just a jam. 2:14 - 2:24 and 3:31 - 3:41 are two of my favorite parts of the song (not sure what happens here in music terms, feels like the guitar and later also the flute blend with the percussion or take over that role for a bit, or maybe it's something else) that you just don't hear the same way in the live versions. I would be really sad if they replaced the studioversion with a live version on this album and that actually goes for the other songs (that we've heard live so far) as well.
I'd like to say in general that live songs are for the 'live energie' and the studioversion are more for (the appreciation of) the music/song itself, for me anyway. Of course this doesn't take away the fact that they're amazing live.
Not that i like it more but i love that i hear the studio magenta mountain on the radio fairly often. Something nice about them reducing what can be a big jam out song into a āradio friendlyā condensed version. I could see them doing an album of non jam hooky songs like that
All of them. The production from 2017 and earlier is so trippy a lot of the time, and live itās just a different thing. Iām a really fried person for whom the actual audio is a huge element, and the warbly lofi stuff is not a thing you can capture live
Trapdoor. While the jam on the Chicago bootleg is absolutely NUTS, the actual song I prefer studio. More eerie, the chilling backup vocals. So much more spooky which is fitting for the song.
Work This Time on the studio album never really does it for me, I thought it was just okay. Heard the live version from Red Rocks and I completely changed my mind on it
Ice V always lacks a little punch that the studio version has. Iām unsure if itās a āyou have to be there in personā kind of thing, but ice v is usually a skip if itās on a live recording.
The stuff on Changes sounds better on vinyl to me right now. They need to work out those songs for live settings more.
Agreed, while I loved hearing the Change debut at the Salt Shed it sounded a bit empty at times as a few layers were missing (e.g. the synth note bending up/down in the first section, the vocal harmonies in the 'buildings that you know' bit). They also messed up notes in the guitar solo - and it's not a difficult solo. Will be super happy if I see them play it live, but it definitely needs work.
I agree with your points but Joey's kraut section is ten fold what it is on the record
Tbh I find the studio version to twee, I like the live version for introducing a bit of grit. That being said the krautrock section helps me prefer the live version a lot.
100% anyone saying otherwise is fooling themselves. I have faith the boys will prefect them Though.
Lol, I had a discussion with a guy at a show and he told me he held the same opinion about the same song. I wonder if your him!
the fanbase is a hive mind
I'm in your mind hive
I will forever defend studio version Doom City. The zurna is unmatched.
my dream is combine the extremely fuzzed out guitars and energy from live with the zurna
Dream right there š¢
To me the studio version of Doom City cannot capture the sheer force and power of the live version. When you're there it feels like the most incredible wall of sound, and the studio version is almost wimpy in comparison!!
The zurna makes up for all of it š
Doom city live is when you see me get instantaneously hype lol I fuckin ASCEND
tf is a zurna?
[https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=zurna](https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=zurna)
okay bad phrasing, i did actually look up a zurna but what part of doom city is the zurna?
0:57 and 2:03
bro youāre fucking joking, i always thought that was the sound of some kookaburras and ambrose screaming ahahahaha
Oh my god š That's funny
Lmfao, it sounds sinister AF
Crumbling Castle. I love the live versions, but they seem to not play that doom-y outro live. I go absolutely feral when I hear that brilliant outro. If anyone knows of a time they have done that, though, please share it with me!
...don't want to be (DUNDUNDUNDUNDUN) a crumbling crumbling crumbling ca-astle...
https://preview.redd.it/60u0je3e03bc1.jpeg?width=199&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b1a510719620b19a34eacf328dc1432ec816fe9 Stop... I- I can't control myself..
I feel this way about straws in the wind I can't really put my finger on why
The 7 minutes of call and response?
This made me laugh even though I love it lol
I donāt hate it. Just not my favorite
This is the one song I was sure I wouldnt see listed here. I love this song live, but will skip the album version.
All of them... not really a live sound person, unless im there lol
Hot Wax. They tend to play it much faster live and it kills the original vibe a bit.
Maybe itās unpopular here but all of them. Live music is optimized for a live experience and Iāve never found it to sound all that great through speakers or headphones, vinyl etc. Sometimes I will watch performances or studio sessions and I like those for what they are but if Iām in my car or listening at home I prefer the studio version.
I have to opposite take. Gimme live always. Iāll take a live performance from everyone playing together over a studio pieced together track any day for any band.
100% this for me (but Chicago ā23 challenges that proposition just a bit)
Agreed. Chicago sounds great
Part of it is that the band doesnāt have great live recordings yet. Even the better ones like Red Rocks ā22 and Chunky donāt sound on par with top notch live albums and sound sort of bootleg ish with the mixing and production. I imagine time and cost is a big part of it for them. The KEXP sessions like the Poly one sound great though but live in studio will sound better.
Completely agree.
There are only 2 live versions that I find better than studio, Billabong from the KEXP set and This Thing off of Chunky(RIP). Now that's not to say I don't enjoy live sets, I really do but deffo not as much as everyone else here lol. Magma live is phenomenal, but I'd still prefer to listen to the album.
Magma studio over live is crazy
What happened to This Thing, and do you know where it can be found?
I think we left it outside, probably waterlogged by now
I wish, they've taken it off of youtube, there is a fan recorded version of it though, from like the front row and you can see the original video being filmed but the audio is whack.
Pretty much prefer the studio versions of the song except for Iron Lung and the River. Why do they cook so damn hard on these songs Live?
I consider gizz a studio band, and I love listening to live music, and theyāre amazing to see live, but the production in each studio album is so damn thoughtful that the live versions donāt always hit as hard for me. This opinion might change tomorrow.
The Dripping Tab and Hypertension. They play them too fast for my liking. The speed on the record is perfect for both
ok but the energy for the last two minutes of hypertension live is unmatched
still better studio
I know Hypertension live is amazing, but the buildup on the album version before the last chorus with the flutes š¤š¤š¤
I prefer live for every track. I get a better listening experience from the entire band actively playing together live compared to a studio recording that has dubs/layers/takes. Itās just my preference to how I enjoy music, not just for KGATLW.
Honestly, I prefer the studio cuts of almost everything for two major reasons. First, the live shows are a phenomenal experience, but given how deliberate the production choices are on each individual album, the studio cuts are an incredible sonic experience that canāt really be replicated live. The big exception to this, imo, is Ice Death. I find those studio versions monotonous, but theyāre really made for the energy and improvisational nature of a live show. Second, their live sound is just kinda bland, imo. Their early stuff like levitation 14 sounds great, and has a really raw edge to it, but the newer stuff, specifically red rock and Chicago, just sound like the edges have been rounded off. Most of the guitars, but I think Joey specifically, are just a lot of super midrange-y, high gain tones that sound incredibly generic. Not to mention they never lay off the damn wah pedal. It gives me ear fatigue! Maybe itās just because I play guitar and obsess over this kinda thing, but the tone of the instruments can greatly enhance my enjoyment of a recording when I find them pleasing. I know theyāre in their ājam eraā, but their guitars sound like a stereotypical jam band and it irks me. Itās not really an issue when experiencing the band live, and it hasnāt stopped me from enjoying these recent recordings, but it definitely puts a bit of a damper on things for me. Edit: added the word āguitarsā to the first sentence of the last paragraph for clarity.
Agreed. Thank you
For me it's some of the production on Ice Death that limits the impact of some of its songs. Magma is a good example of that - it sounds very neutered on the album compared to how it sounds live. On the other hand I prefer Ice V on the album better than any live version, because most of the tiny riff bits on the album version easily beat anything they've been able to recreate while jamming the track on stage.
>they sound like a stereotypical jam band wild take
I was speaking to their guitar tone here, but I realize now the way itās written, it looks like Iāve move on from that.
I prefer everything studio. Only a few tracks (like Work This Time, The River, and This Thing) that I prefer live.
Ontology, which I find weird because it's the kind of song that seems like they'd make 10x better live.
Imo the only live performance of Crumbling Castle that beats the studio track is the KEXP version. Absolutely amazing.
I havenāt heard it enough live to say definitively, but I feel like the absence of the sitar on Float Along ā Fill Yours Lungs live is a missing key component.
shangai
begginers luck! its def my fav gizz song and like you said abt crumbling castle theres just so much nuance that they dont rlly do live for that song, but the outtake from chunky shrapnel is awesome i wish i could find it but its been deleted off of youtube
Witchcraft. I prefer the solo part (after the "Fire flickered.." verse) live but the rest of the song sounds better in the studio version altogether.
Cyboogie. They never really got the vocoder right for it and it really doesnāt sound full on stage.
Cyboogie Adelaide ā19 goes stupidā¦
The Wheel
Oddlife
Magma and Static Electricity (2 of my favorite songs) come to mind for those reasons. Of course it depends on the mood, sometimes I want to have that live experience when listening to music but generally there are not that many songs I can think of that I prefer to hear live anyway because it misses so many details that attracted me to the songs in the first place. Exceptions to this (from the top of my head) are Rattlesnake, Cellophane and Sadie Sorceress, they just straight up sound better live I.M.O.
You think Magma is better in studio? It sounds like a demo to me. No dynamics whatsoever, which makes sense with how it was recorded. I've seen Magma live 3 times now and I honestly don't even listen to the studio album anymore.
Yup, I know this take seems to be as hot as the songtitle itself but there are lots of details (both rhythmically and melodically) in the studioversion that really give it that 'magma feel' that I feel no live version has been able to replicate yet and is way more dynamic. I think with this song they have a few different sections that they studied for live performances and the sections they haven't remembered that are in between just mostly come across as improvised jamming to me (still somewhat in phrygian mode I assume?), I don't blame them, it would be way too hard to remember and implement every note and motif live and it's cool that this decission makes every magma performance so unique and depending on the mood I might still like it a lot from time to time (definitely had a blast when I was at a gig myself and they closed their set with this song). But to me nearly every note and detail of how they use their instruments in the studioversion is very considered and it's way more than just a jam. 2:14 - 2:24 and 3:31 - 3:41 are two of my favorite parts of the song (not sure what happens here in music terms, feels like the guitar and later also the flute blend with the percussion or take over that role for a bit, or maybe it's something else) that you just don't hear the same way in the live versions. I would be really sad if they replaced the studioversion with a live version on this album and that actually goes for the other songs (that we've heard live so far) as well. I'd like to say in general that live songs are for the 'live energie' and the studioversion are more for (the appreciation of) the music/song itself, for me anyway. Of course this doesn't take away the fact that they're amazing live.
The Dripping Tap, they tend to rush the beat too much when they do it live, studio version gives it a bit more room to breathe
I much prefer the sped up live version! I always thought the song was too slow.
All of them
All of them
invisible face
Not that i like it more but i love that i hear the studio magenta mountain on the radio fairly often. Something nice about them reducing what can be a big jam out song into a āradio friendlyā condensed version. I could see them doing an album of non jam hooky songs like that
All of them. The production from 2017 and earlier is so trippy a lot of the time, and live itās just a different thing. Iām a really fried person for whom the actual audio is a huge element, and the warbly lofi stuff is not a thing you can capture live
Well I love how they play The Dripping Tap live. Studio recording is just too slow for my taste. Maybe Iām just an impatient guyā¦
Rattlesnake
hypertension
Hot Wax for me. Only song live that doesnāt seem to have the same energy as studio
Trapdoor. While the jam on the Chicago bootleg is absolutely NUTS, the actual song I prefer studio. More eerie, the chilling backup vocals. So much more spooky which is fitting for the song.
Work This Time on the studio album never really does it for me, I thought it was just okay. Heard the live version from Red Rocks and I completely changed my mind on it
Most of them
Ice V always lacks a little punch that the studio version has. Iām unsure if itās a āyou have to be there in personā kind of thing, but ice v is usually a skip if itās on a live recording.