Songs you love but not live

[Majestic]

Journey is definitely a great live band, and some of their live versions are even better than the recorded versions. In my opinion, there are a couple where the reverse is true.

Escape and Be Good to Yourself are great Journey songs, but I don't like them live at all. It's strange too, because I love Neal; he is my favorite guitarist, full stop. When Escape is played live, for some reason the opening guitar riff sounds muted and washed out which is a big disappointment for me because I love how heavy and in your face that riff is on the recorded version.

Be Good to Yourself, is a pretty good live song, until Neal's solo. On the recorded version, he uses lots of chirps and harmonics in the solo and it really stands out because Neal almost never uses that technique. When he comes in and plays it live its so boring compared to what he put down in the studio.

What to do think? Am I the only one who thinks Neal needs to quit slacking on these ones?

[Don]

If COH and Human Feel are any indication, this whole album will be one that comes off better as a studio recording than what it will translate to live. Where Revelation came off great on the stage, I feel Eclipse wil be more akin to TBF where the production is so steller, the only way to replicate it live will be with "enhancements". As the CD is what I plan spending my time listening to instead of live boots, that's fine with me. Once the two aforementioned songs get released tomorrow, I'll be able to come back and give a better informed opinion.

[Glenn]

LTS drives me nuts live...It seems to go on and on and on.....

[Majestic]

If COH and Human Feel are any indication, this whole album will be one that comes off better as a studio recording than what it will translate to live. Where Revelation came off great on the stage, I feel Eclipse wil be more akin to TBF where the production is so steller, the only way to replicate it live will be with "enhancements". As the CD is what I plan spending my time listening to instead of live boots, that's fine with me. Once the two aforementioned songs get released tomorrow, I'll be able to come back and either re-affirm what I have wrote or re-edit it accordingly.

I think you're right, and I especially agree with you that Revelation's tunes translate great live. Actually, some of the live versions were an improvement over the album versions on Revelation.

But do you think some of it is from Neal being lazy? The dude is a musical savant, as Herbie once said, and has an ear for a melody like nobody else. It's a shame how narrowed his style has become now. I think he is a great technical player, so I don't understand why he's put aside all the techniques he's used in the past, wa wa pedal, slide, harmonics, feed back, etc....now he just goes out and relies on his killer tone and melodies and just shreds and doesn't show much of his versatility as a player.

[Majestic]

LTS drives me nuts live...It seems to go on and on and on.....

Is that because you think it's not as good as the recorded version, or because you are just tired of the song? I think they do that one very well live.

[Don]

If COH and Human Feel are any indication, this whole album will be one that comes off better as a studio recording than what it will translate to live. Where Revelation came off great on the stage, I feel Eclipse wil be more akin to TBF where the production is so steller, the only way to replicate it live will be with "enhancements". As the CD is what I plan spending my time listening to instead of live boots, that's fine with me. Once the two aforementioned songs get released tomorrow, I'll be able to come back and either re-affirm what I have wrote or re-edit it accordingly.

I think you're right, and I especially agree with you that Revelation's tunes translate great live. Actually, some of the live versions were an improvement over the album versions on Revelation.

But do you think some of it is from Neal being lazy? The dude is a musical savant, as Herbie once said, and has an ear for a melody like nobody else. It's a shame how narrowed his style has become now. I think he is a great technical player, so I don't understand why he's put aside all the techniques he's used in the past, wa wa pedal, slide, harmonics, feed back, etc....now he just goes out and relies on his killer tone and melodies and just shreds and doesn't show much of his versatility as a player.

Maybe it's old age. Maybe it's laziness as far as making the effort to really sound like what you put your heart into on the record. For some reason he tends to shred more live instead of using the clean techniques you hear on his studio versions, sort of an instrumental equivalent to speeding up the tempo to help the singer I guess. It's like "the faster I play, the harder I'll sound" which to me doesn't work. Even when I saw him him play A Prayer For Peace at his solo show, he quickened it considerably over the studio version.

[Real rock fan]

Edge Of The Blade, love the studio version but the live version is just lacking, the opening guitar for me just isn`t so prominent and the solo`s just aren`t the same.

Of all the Journey songs I`ve ever heard live, this is by far the most disappointing, probably some of his best ever guitar playing too.

I don`t know if it`s just my ears but Neal`s tone isn`t to my liking as it used to be.

[koberry]

If COH and Human Feel are any indication, this whole album will be one that comes off better as a studio recording than what it will translate to live. Where Revelation came off great on the stage, I feel Eclipse wil be more akin to TBF where the production is so steller, the only way to replicate it live will be with "enhancements". As the CD is what I plan spending my time listening to instead of live boots, that's fine with me. Once the two aforementioned songs get released tomorrow, I'll be able to come back and either re-affirm what I have wrote or re-edit it accordingly.

I think you're right, and I especially agree with you that Revelation's tunes translate great live. Actually, some of the live versions were an improvement over the album versions on Revelation.

But do you think some of it is from Neal being lazy? The dude is a musical savant, as Herbie once said, and has an ear for a melody like nobody else. It's a shame how narrowed his style has become now. I think he is a great technical player, so I don't understand why he's put aside all the techniques he's used in the past, wa wa pedal, slide, harmonics, feed back, etc....now he just goes out and relies on his killer tone and melodies and just shreds and doesn't show much of his versatility as a player.

I've loved Neal's playing in nearly every era of the band (and own two Schon guitars, to boot). I saw him on the Neal Schon Band tour and there was so much shred-noodling-wankery that I got bored and sat down. When he plays fast, he incorporates his signature/trademark fast descending/ascending run and it gets repetitive. I'm excited about Eclipse, but the YT boots suggest there might be more of the above.

[SPORTSDEMON]

Majestic has never sounded as good live as it did on Captured. They try, but for some reason they just can't pull it off vocally.

[steveo777]

Majestic has never sounded as good live as it did on Captured. They try, but for some reason they just can't pull it off vocally.

Blame it on their sound engineer. Hopefully that changes this year.

[Glenn]

LTS drives me nuts live...It seems to go on and on and on.....

Is that because you think it's not as good as the recorded version, or because you are just tired of the song? I think they do that one very well live.

I think it's both...Nothing against the song itself, but hearing it live feels like someone holding me down with their boot on my throat.


I also don't dig on the whole raising of the hands and swaying back and forth.....

But that's just me.

[SPORTSDEMON]

Majestic has never sounded as good live as it did on Captured. They try, but for some reason they just can't pull it off vocally.

Blame it on their sound engineer. Hopefully that changes this year.

The engineer or his abilities?