Studio Versions vs. Live Versions

I've always been a big fan of live recordings. Many artists take advantage of concerts to reinterpret a song, or often a song isn't fully realized by the band until it's performed in a live setting. Sometimes on a live album I'll hear a song that really jumps out at me, and I'll discover that I already have a studio version of that song, but that version never really caught my attention. Often times it's a solo or instrumental section that will hook me, or maybe an acoustic song performed electric. This will be the first in a series of posts comparing live versions with their original studio counterparts. Today I offer two selections, one recent and one not so recent.

One of my favourite albums from 2005 was the Calexico / Iron & Wine collaboration In The Reins. For me, there wasn't a bad song on the album. While I missed their Toronto performance, I was excited to see that NPR in the States had posted their Washington show as part of their Live Concert Series. The song that really stood out in the show was Burn That Broken Bed, it was a good song on the album, but it's a great song live.

Download:
Calexico/Iron & Wine - Burn That Broken Bed
Calexico/Iron & Wine - Burn That Broken Bed ( live in Washington, November 2005)

The not so recent selection is from Sarah McLachlan. Her breakout album in Canada was 1991's Solace. While there were many great songs on that album, Black was not one that initially stood out for me. It wasn't until her first live album was released in 1992 that I noticed the song, and that recording really illustrates how much Sarah can really rock, if she wants to.

Download:
Sarah McLachlan - Black
Sarah McLachlan - Black (live at Harbourfront, Toronto, September 1992)