I can argue the other side of this. I would rather have bands doing everything they can to put on the best show possible, rather than go back to the old days when plenty of bands showed up and played drunk and/or high, totally disrespecting their paying audience by not taking their job seriously. No era was perfect. Today has problems that just happen to be different than those of the past.

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

And your reasonings are sound Chris! It’s just to me, where does it stop? Bands who carry on with no original members but play the music perfectly to pre-recorded backing tracks to songs that were recorded before they were born because they don’t write new music???? Whew! But seriously, where DOES it stop?

@bgmchrisc

Жыл бұрын

@@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine It stops where we force it to stop. Clearly, the audience has said it isn't a deal-breaker. I agree that the main vocals and instruments should always be live, but it isn't worth getting angry about the ancillary stuff.

@ThisOldGuy3

Жыл бұрын

@@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine The only band I have no issues with carrying on playing old song with all new members is Lynyrd Skynyrd, at this point it is more about keeping that particular genre of music alive as the only "modern" true southern rock band I can think of now is Blackberry Smoke.

@davidrice3337

Жыл бұрын

you're out of your fuckin mind

@davidrice3337

Жыл бұрын

@@ThisOldGuy3 what are you talking about - there are plenty of artists out there Lynyrd Skynyrd is a fucking disgrace - Ronnie VanZant would never go for this He hated the term Southern Rock - what the fuck is southern rock anyway ? its a term some yankee came up with - I suggest you listen to Outlaw Country on XM - And you definitely need to educate yourself when it comes to music

Backing tracks have saved me thousands. I stopped going to big name shows after I realized I was paying to listen to a cd played through a big stereo. Once I also realized I didn’t care about the social aspects of big concert attendance at all, I started going to see little local and touring acts. Thanks backing tracks!

@flazjsg

Жыл бұрын

The fact that anyone pays more than $50 for a ticket blows my mind. Guys like Paul McCartney, who has 25% (if that) of the voice he once had, have the nerve to charge 10 to 30X what they used to, back when they could sing! Why would anyone pay more to get less? It's unreal. I think for a lot of people in the big cities, it's an ego thing. They tell their friends - "Would you believe I spent $3000 bucks for two tickets to the "insert here" concert." It's a subtle way to brag about how much disposable income they have. The bands use the excuse of record sales being in the gutter so they have to make up for it by touring, yet for the average price of a ticket, you could buy a band's entire catalog 3 times over. It's just greed, pure and simple.

@BillLaBrie

Жыл бұрын

@@flazjsg At this point, you go to see Paul McCartney just to say you saw him before he died. I used to do that sort of thing with other artists until I realized how depressing it was.

@BillLaBrie

Жыл бұрын

@coogan8825 he’s great. He’s almost half as great as he was 40 years ago, which was half a great as he was in the 60s.

@Heartwing37

Жыл бұрын

@@flazjsg yeah, you’re right about the ego thing. After expenses, bands don’t make money off of touring….

@theivory1

Жыл бұрын

Well then you just thought they were big names. Turns out they're nobody.

I expect a live act to be live. Period

@grandadneal8114

Жыл бұрын

I'm with you Shaun...i pay money to see live acts. Otherwise I COULD look at a picture and put the record on

@AlexRodriguez-hl1vu

Жыл бұрын

Even if they make a mistake it’s fine at least it’s live

@shauncronin3961

Жыл бұрын

@@AlexRodriguez-hl1vu hell I expect mistakes during a live show…that’s why I like live performances differences from recordings mistakes or not

I miss the good old days,band got on stage,plugged in and rock out,...

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

Yes, Kevin! I so agree! And we knew immediately whether they were really any good or not!❤

@cushionmonkey9535

Жыл бұрын

@@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine Personally I see it as fraud, plain and simple. Like yourself I’m a musician and would love to be in their position and if I was I’d be playing live at every opportunity I’d have. Due to greed and laziness however they don’t bother. They don’t care about the fans it seems, only their money, see ticket prices as a fine example. I think people are starting to get sick and tired of the whole thing and I feel it will get to the stage where they will simply stop buying. More bands are picking up traction through you-tube and other similar platforms and I think this is where we will see more and more new acts coming through. A popular new band can easily stream their music, they can even hold a live concert in their back room and stream it live for the fans. All the bands from yesteryears are only interested in how much money they can make from gullible fans for as little work possible. It’s greed. It’s not like any of them are starving to death, looking at you Vince. How many box sets of another remix do we have to endure because they can’t be bothered to put pen to paper and write something new. As far as I’m concerned seeing some of these old bands fail and be forgotten can’t happen soon enough. Rant over.

@cornstar1253

Жыл бұрын

Not many 60 and 70 year olds were playing rock music back then .

@markgray6982

Жыл бұрын

I'm 62 and saw the Best of the Best,,,,,,,i wouldnt pay anymore for most if not all bands these days,,,,,,,,nobody gets better with age. They cant play or sing like they used to,, and i hate saying that, but its true. There are no more UFO, Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, ZZ Top, Deep Purple, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchett, Pat Travers, April Wine, Ten Years After, BTO, Humble Pie, Styx,,,,,,etc etc,,,,my kind of Rock N Roll seems to have died off,,,,,,,yeah some are still doing show's,,,BUT if you saw their show's in the 70's,,,well you know what i'm saying. I would like to see Samantha Fish,,,, she is more blues Rock,, she can play that Guitar and sing,,,,i Love her slide Box Guitar sound. Other than her, i cant name one new band i've heard or like these days......Long Live Rock n Roll,,, Rainbow,, that was a kick-ass album,,, RIP Cozy and Ronnie

@leetroy3129

Жыл бұрын

Legendary bands from back in the day didn’t pull that bs. We went to concerts to hear LIVE music!

I saw Kansas in the 70s. The curtain was drawn and classical music was being played as we waited for Kansas to appear. The lights went down, the crowd cheered and the curtains opened. The classical music was being played by Kansas. The crowd went nuts.

Shinedown was mentioned. My boys and I saw them several years ago. During one of the first songs they played, I saw the drummer not hitting the crash cymbals while they were very much audible! We all looked at each other, “Did you see that??” We left shortly after that shaking our heads. Came to see the opening act anyhow.

@fgoogle5576

10 ай бұрын

Good for you, I hope those idiots watched you leave

I think a band like Rush gets it EXACTLY right! You know they're playing live everything they can, but Geddy cues up certain sounds and sequences on his keyboard. Some of Geddy's harmony vocals are recorded, too, but you know you're getting a group effort from the band that's worth the money.

@steveeckert8396

Жыл бұрын

I saw them on the Moving Pictures tour. The concert sounded just like the album. Everyone was in awe back than. They used backing tracks but noone cared

@mtp4430

Жыл бұрын

@@steveeckert8396 I first saw Rush live in 1976. Nothing was pre-recorded at all in those days. They were fantastic each and every time I saw them. Just a great band.

@roadiethegamecat4124

Жыл бұрын

@@steveeckert8396 I saw that tour, got tear gassed with a few thousand others at that show in Florida. Great show though, one of the best. Seen them a few times since.

@classicarcadeamusementpark4242

Жыл бұрын

Yes & No. I've seen them many times. I was pretty annoyed when the intro synth parts to "Camera Eye" were tracked. Why not track the bass parts? They are less dominate or even as important on that part of the song than the keyboard parts.

@flazjsg

Жыл бұрын

@@steveeckert8396 I don't think they used backing tracks on that tour. The guys played everything themselves. Having one tape with a sound effect for an intro isn't what we're talking about here. I saw that tour and I have the DVD.

Makes you really appreciate the bands of the 60's and 70's, like The Beatles, Grand Funk, etc. No auto tunes, no backing tracks.

@salbro5985

Жыл бұрын

So, young bands in their prime?

@mylifeinGA

Жыл бұрын

No shortage of people playing 100% live in today’s market.

@cg3639

Жыл бұрын

I could save money and just pop in a cd instead of paying a hundred bucks for a bad seat just to hear Karaoke

@markusaurelius777

Жыл бұрын

@@cg3639 Concert ticket prices are a joke now..PASS.

AC/DC are one off those bands that still sound like they are playing in a pub and you get a bloody great gig with no bullshit. 👍🇦🇺

@mooch514

Жыл бұрын

Brian johnson sounds like daffy duck with a cold

@michaelcorcoran8768

Жыл бұрын

Although it's interesting because their biggest hit records were mutt Lange. Very much would use dozens of guitar tracks in vocal tracks in one song

@DoktorDamage

Жыл бұрын

@@mooch514 At least it's live LOL

@mooch514

Жыл бұрын

@@DoktorDamage at this point, johnson should use tracks ! He sounds horrible !

@markusaurelius777

Жыл бұрын

@@mooch514 Cool story bro.

Michael, you totally nailed my feelings about Zeppelin live. It was all about a band playing everything LIVE, and not worrying too much about duplicating their records. A 40 minute version of Dazed and Confused, smoking hot during the '73 tour? I'm there! Lots of improvising, a bit of sloppiness due to the fact that they're JAMMING, and playing the song a different way every night. THAT is a real band, being creative and REAL. As far as backing tracks go with these bands, now days, I feel that it's mostly a cop-out unless, as you said, it's used for a sound effect. Bands that can't play completely live and sound at least competent should hang it up. It's a rip off.

@davidrice3337

Жыл бұрын

you people kill me - how do you replicate a song that has 15 guitar parts layered on top of one another like jimmy page used to do ? His sloppiness is because he didn't practice and he was blown out on heroin and liquor - In truth John Paul Jones can play every major instrument easily - technically he can match just about any guitar part - but Jimmy wrote it - thats the difference

@docsavage8640

Жыл бұрын

If I want to hear the song sound just like the record I'd be better off playing the record. If I go to a concert I want to hear real musicians perform their music and feel free to change it around or improvise as they see fit.

@vamboroolz1612

Жыл бұрын

@@davidrice3337 Jimmy either wrote it or plagiarised it, dependant on the song. Zeppelin ‘took’ a lot of their songs.

@flazjsg

Жыл бұрын

@@davidrice3337 Drugs and booze didn't negatively affect Led Zep much until 1977 - maybe a little bit in 1975, but they had years of absolutely incredible live shows that solidified them as a top concert draw worldwide by 1973. Jimmy focused his efforts on songwriting. He "practiced" 3 hours plus onstage every night. His songwriting speaks for itself. All the talk about plagiarism is ridiculous. Most of that was on the first two albums - they did what most blues artists did - took what came before them and changed around a few things. Blues was a folk tradition. I'm still waiting to hear who Jimmy "plagiarized" on Achilles, Song Remains the Same, Kashmir and most of their latter-day catalog. People pick the same tired examples off of their 1st two records. Funny thing is that more bands stole from Led Zeppelin that probably any other rock band since the Beatles.

@davidrice3337

Жыл бұрын

@@vamboroolz1612 everyone who's ever written a song has gotten an idea from other songs - it's part of the process - you can call it inspiration or whatever - it is what it is

I remember back in the mid to late '80s watching on TV a concert with James Taylor. And during the concert he had a real-to-reel tape going on automatically for harmonizing vocals. He was bold enough to put a spotlight on the tape recorder! At least he was honest!

From another POV; I'm a gigging musician and I was always hard on myself when I made a mistake playing live, figuring I disappointed the audience and my bandmates. Then I realized I wasn't having much fun, trying to play perfect. Trying to be perfect led to stress, which led to making more mistakes. My son finally told me, and still tells me as I leave for gigs, "just play!" Being more relaxed on stage leads to better entertainment for the audience. I've learned the skill of smoothing over my mistakes, to keep the flow going. When someone in the band makes a mistake, we'll look at each other and have a good laugh or make a funny face. The audience sees us having a good time, and then they have a good time also. JMHO...

@brianmungermusic1744

Жыл бұрын

I agree with you. Just play from the heart.

@danovee9580

Жыл бұрын

@@brianmungermusic1744 I can see why upcoming musicians might feel the pressure to put on the "perfect" performance. Experienced musicians/bands should know better though, unless they are covering up for deteriorating skills, laziness, etc.

@danovee9580

Жыл бұрын

Personally, I'd rather see a hard-rocking, stripped-down version of Motley Crue in some dive bar, then the "enhanced" arena "shows" they've been putting on.

@jukip1485

Жыл бұрын

I liked watching for mistakes and all the organisation behind the scenes that made a show happen and keep running if mistakes happen. I used to either stand at the sound desk and watch them work or stand right at the front on an angle. It used to surprise me how often guitars were changed etc

@theofficialandylaytonjames

Жыл бұрын

Totally agree I cock up in my solo gigs regularly I laugh n say oops fucked that up the crowd laugh along

In 2005 I saw the reformed all original Raspberries short lived reunion. They had the four original members and three additional musicians on stage. They introduced the extra musicians as their "Overdubs" to help them recreate the extra instruments they used on their original recordings. I think this the way to do it. No attempt was made to fake it or fool the audience from offstage, everyone played.

I totally agree with you Michael, on every point you made. I think that if an artist messes up during a live performance that is fine. That keeps it real and it shows we are all human and we all make mistakes and it doesn't make them any less of a great artist.

Awesome videos. Both Wasp and Queensryche have concert videos from the mid 80s where several of the songs didn't have live lead vocals, and most people still don't realize it.

@markusaurelius777

Жыл бұрын

So they re-recorded the vox in the studio? That's lame.

That was the magic of jimmy page, he knew how to combine the parts live and played it different every time. I like studio versions we know there mixed etc. I find it super impressive to hear these guys improvise . If I wanted the studio version I'd by the album

@xxxYYZxxx

Жыл бұрын

Eddie Van Halen mixed his guitar solos from multiple takes, then had to play the mashed version live, no matter how far apart the notes were on the fret board. 🤣Good thing he had quick hands.

This is what makes tool so great live. They use absolutely no backing track. Everything relies on Danny Carey Killin it.

@roadiethegamecat4124

Жыл бұрын

Tool is a great example of a band that does it right. You get an amazing set backed up by incredible effects and video that don't take away from the performance at all.

As a drummer I play live with bands and with tracks with other bands. Playing with tracks makes my life much easier but playing live is MUCH MORE SATISFYING!

@thomastucker5686

Жыл бұрын

As a drummer, I have never played with backing tracks. I can also sing lead vocals while playing, so that saves on at least one pre-recorded vocal track. I am curious how playing with tracks makes your life easier? To make one point, I have never been able to get a whole band to play to a click, one or two always suck and make it impossible. One other point. Not everyone in the band has fantastic meter. What this means is I have to stitch together all these timing errors and try to roll with them and make it sound like everyone is following me. I don't know why some players can't just stick with the drummer. I told my bandmates, they better start rehearsing with a click because I'm so sick of shitty meter.

@elitedrumlessons6174

Жыл бұрын

@@thomastucker5686 it’s easier because I’m not creating the timing, instead I’m following a click track and locking into that. When you take away the primary job of a drummer, to play in time, it makes life easier! As I mentioned in a previous post, it’s much more satisfying musically to play without a track/click. Fortunately I do both depending on different bands, I feel your pain in regards to other musicians who literally cannot play in time! When they play in a band they don’t usually lock in very well and it’s very unsettling! I understand your concept of trying to compromise somewhat so the whole band can play “together”. I think if other instrumentalists practiced with a metronome it would allow them to improve significantly. Unfortunately most non-drummers don’t take playing in time seriously enough. It’s very bad, especially guitar players!

@thomastucker5686

Жыл бұрын

@@elitedrumlessons6174 I'm also a guitar player for the same number of years as drums. I am always practicing to a metronome. I am having difficulty finding players in my class. It is weird because many of the people I work with have great skills aside of timing, including writing. Timing is just what has been driving me crazy and I'm afraid their shitty timing could effect my steadiness. At least I am aware I am stitching it together. It is only a few beats per minute here and there but lately, I'm about to blow.

@elitedrumlessons6174

Жыл бұрын

@@thomastucker5686 you know the truth of the situation so no need to lose it on everybody

Now when I saw Queen in 1977 they used a backing track on Bohemian rhapsody. For all the main Harmony Galileo ect.That I think was the only song that they did it on I understand why because of the layers of the song. On a side note, you talked about thunder in a song. I saw Whitesnake at the old exhibition stadium where the Blue Jays used to play before they built the dome. Anyway, the band was halfway done with their set, and just as they started the song Crying in the rain. There was a cloud burst and it rained and stopped exactly when the song was over and the sun came back out. The whole band was laughing after and David Coverdale says you will have to thank God for the special effects on that one.

Had a person try to shame KISS using backing tracks in the 70s, using Beth as their example. I told them that's not the same thing at all as Paul lately or Madonna since 1984. They still didn't get it.

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

And probably never will, Rowdy! Thanx! I think it’s sad. Like hearing of the death of someone you weren’t expecting!❤

I have played drums in bands for years. Sixty years in fact. Mostly rock but other genres as well. Many of the bands were doing covers with a few original songs. We always played live and covered the song as well as we could. That's what I want to hear from the big acts. For the past years I have been in a friend's studio doing original music all recorded as a band live. To me it's more enjoyable. I don't enjoy playing to a click track. Thanks for the honest information. Rock on. 👍🎶🎵

I’ve been to concerts by Jewel, Shawn Colvin, and ZZTop and there were NO backing tracks! Jewels’ concert was just the girl and her guitar. She left heavily produced numbers off her playlist or presented a novel acoustic version. THAT is a concert!

Great topic Michael this can go many ways especially from the studio when you have over dubs or harmonies. I've seen it happen with Vince when he lost his vocals. I wish you had an open call forum for this I would love to discuss this topic, it's been on my mind for some time. You are so right on the money with this topic. I just watched an interview with Jake E. Lee on not wanting to play 'waiting for darkness' live, Mick Mars wants to play live, I've seen the Pretenders with a side stage vocalist in some songs. I respect they decline keyboards to fake it. Cool video Michael I'm a new subscriber.

You totally nailed it. If the guy makes a mistake, I want to hear the mistake. If they want to freelance or ad lib., the song that’s fine with me. If I wanted to hear the exact recorded version I’d put a record on.

Backing tracks remove humanity from a performance. The raw music and improvisation make live music special.

@RowdyRodimus

Жыл бұрын

I actually like some screw ups during performances. Back in 2000 when I saw kiss, Ace completely screwed up during New York Groove and cracked up on the Mic and just started at the screw up saying, "Hey, it's Rock and Roll!". It was awesome and he got the crowd on his side in a heartbeat because it showed he was human you know?

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

I couldn’t agree more D! Backing tracks become a soundtrack! Soundtracks belong in movies, not live concerts!

Thank you Sir. We in the know appreciate this kind of very insightful commentary regards our favorite hard rock subject matters. Your hair is looking absolutely luscious. Any hair product advice for those of us not quite managing the volumetric masterwork you have going on there? (I always default to the ball cap, and/or bandana).

Queen nailed it with Bohemian Rhapsody live. No way could they reproduce the operatic section. So at that point they left the stage and left it to the lightshow and video, jumping back in for the guitar solo and the remainder of the song.

Thanks dude. Good video.

When the real Queen, with Freddie, performed live after Bohemian Rhapsody was released refused to perform with a tape on stage, so when the choral part started, they played the video and they left the stage. They had integrity.

@olafruckelshausen5911

Жыл бұрын

Love Queen but have never seen them live. They were the first band that made me think about the use of pre-recorded tracks on stage, or if they are able to create loops and overlayers on stage... or if they are completely in the hands of technicians while performing. As a comlete layman I am rather fascinated than feeling cheated in that case, for I know they are brilliant musicians and talented songwriters with a unique style and sound.

@mattrock12

Жыл бұрын

Funny enough, Ronnie Radke’s (of Falling In Reverse) “aha!” retort when he was being roasted for being unable to play their show when their laptops went missing was that Queen used backing tracks. Which we know is how you describe it here. He’s a fool, ignorant on the subject, effectively comparing apples to oranges, yet his fans all ate it up echoing the same nonsense. So much ignorance out there.

@Thomasmemoryscentral

Жыл бұрын

@@mattrock12 funny enough Matt is Ronnie Radke and Falling In Reverse only came across my eyes for the first time when their song Alone popped up on a random 2013 worst song list and the video creator noted Ronnie himself beats his wife so aside from being salty in 2022 over getting caught cheating with laptops, he already is a horrible man that needs mental help

@mattrock12

Жыл бұрын

@@Thomasmemoryscentral similar experience for me. Falling in Reverse came on my radar when Fashionably Late was roasted by some critics as the worst album release on the Epitaph Records label. With that said, I will admit I enjoyed the album and thus began my love/hate relationship with Falling in Reverse... I haven't heard about these wife beating allegations though it wouldn't surprise me. Ronnie Radke has (or at least had) an absolutely terrible attitude. While talented, he definitely has (or had) serious character and personality flaws. Hope he's grown up since (short temper aside, which he still clearly struggles with ;) . Cheers, Thomas!

@khoury2000

Жыл бұрын

I saw Queen with Freddy 4 times and when they were on stage, they were playing everything live. They admitted that they couldn't duplicate the tricky part of BoRap. This is true of the Jazz tour when Freddy's voice was strained and his performance was not up to his usual standard.

On point as always, Michael. I mentioned on my livestream that Madonna had to have had some canned music when I saw her back in the 80s. Great show with A LOT of dance moves/choreography... hard to believe she could sing and move as she did with nary a gasp or strained breathing at all. 🤷‍♀

I agree with you too. I'd rather hear an imperfect live act than a show where important elements come from tape or computer. I was also very disappointed to find that even bands like ZZ Top, which I once revered as an honest blues trio, were increasingly working with tracks, even on the lead vocals, as you can clearly hear on later live recordings .

Hi Michael, great topic. If artists can no longer sing or play their instruments and are trying to fool us into thinking they can, it's time to hang it up. Michael, join us tonight on Royce in the House for a discussion on The 10 Greatest Rock band reunions.

Once again Michael you're right I agree 100% it should be live or nothing at All .

You covered the differences between "backing tracks" and "samples" quite well. I'm actually deeply involved in this debate. I play "samples" for a tour, mostly spoken lines or vocals from "guest singers". It's kind of a unique situation. Normally you would run a section of the show with pre-recorded stuff on a time code to insure everything is lined up, however the artist I work with hates to be constrained by anything, he's a master guitar player and always wants to be able to go off on a tangent. To facilitate, I fire off all the samples manually, acting as kind of another instrument in the song. As a guitar player myself I personally, like you, prefer everything "live" and would rather see the band rework the song for a live setting rather than try to duplicate the recorded track. However, in my role as the playback guy (I play the samples and all the background video from a single media server system) I'm pretty grateful for the work, so any band that wants to keep the samples flowing, I'm there. One other thing, the audience seems to love when "guest singers" pop up on screen so I doubt this practice is going to end anytime soon. Great channel btw!

@hw2508

Жыл бұрын

I think the guest singer is a special situation. A duet from the studio could be a solo on stage or a duet with someone else singing. Or you put the recorded track honestly in front of the audience (with video). That might be okay, as long as not half of the concert is done this kind of a backing track. The artists might saves some money in contrast to hiring a couple of musicians to play/sing live. However, as a paying customer, I get the same feeling: This production tried to save money, this is not the best production. I don't expect the exact copy from a disk. I prefer a good singer to sing the part in a duet, than to get the original singer of that part from tape. Also, a tape is not interactive with the audience. I don't need to go to a concert to watch a video. It is nice, that you've got work this way (no offense). But on the other side, how many backup singers etc. don't have work because they have been replaced by a backing track?

I'm with you 100% and it goes back way before 1980. I went to see Joey Dee and the Starlighter around 1961, thinking I would see some version of what was presented on thir Doin the Twist Live " album, but all I got was Joey Dee all alone on a stage miming to a record. Belive it or not you can still see Dio, but the man on stage before you is actually a hologram !

In 1973 I went to a Todd Rundgren concert in Toronto and thought I knew what to expect, being a fan since his days in The Nazz. Todd came out with a mic and sang with just a backing track, for the entire first set. I'm sure I wasn't the only one thinking WTF? We were a generation that had never been exposed to backing tracks......just great live music. Initially I felt robbed but then I realized Todd had played all instruments on those pre-recorded tracks.....same as what he did with the album "Something/Anything". After that delayed lightbulb moment, I was ok. Second set was with Utopia. In the end it was a great little concert!

Playing with tracks has been around since the 70s. I saw 2 shows in 1974. The Who at MSG played to keyboard tracks for about half the concert because they had no keyboardist. When Moon put headphones on I knew they were playing to pre recorded keyboards. A few months later a band called Queen was the opening act in a theater in NYC again a case of drummer weather headphones with layered background voices coming out of the top speakers whe only 2 were singing. I was fine with it! They were both great concerts!

My favorite live band Halestorm doesn’t use backing tracks or back stage musicians. If they make a mistake they make a mistake. If I wanted to listen to the record, I would play the record. I go to live shows for show, it shouldn’t be perfect!

@shaun5552

Жыл бұрын

I've seen them live several times, including on consecutive days in different cities, and they certainly do look to be playing live yes. When a cymbal came off the drum kit, the stand actually fell over and landed on the ground, they kept playing but the sound changed as it should. If Lzzy misses singing a word then you hear it. They even turn and look at each other to get the timing right at the start of certain songs so it's all very analogue and looks to be a real live band playing.

I totally agree with you. I've played with duos and trios acoustic. And refuse to use tracks. I've been in sitations where one person had an emergency and couldn't make the gig. My position has always been, "do what you can with what you've got". As the only electric guitarist in many projects, I've had to cover for keyboard, horns, harmonicas, strings, and many other things. It gives the musicians and the audience a different and interesting experience that brings out creativity.

I saw Howard Jones, B52s, Ziggy Marley last summer. No backing tracks. Real musicians playing instruments and singing.

@Thomasmemoryscentral

Жыл бұрын

Is Fred from the B52S in a good enough condition to sing live?

@catherine6653

Жыл бұрын

@@Thomasmemoryscentral Yes! Fred, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson all sounded great. The B52s are really good performers live. The concert was their farewell tour. They are retiring.

@Thomasmemoryscentral

Жыл бұрын

@@catherine6653 Oh crap. They came to Vancouver Canada earlier in August 2022 and I missed them not knowing it's their farewell tour. Can only hope there is a slim chance they can have sone future smaller worldwide tours

@catherine6653

Жыл бұрын

@@Thomasmemoryscentral I live in Seattle. The second concert after Vancouver was at McCaw Hall in Seattle August 2022 on the 18th. They said they might perform locally in Georgia. Keith and Cindy live in Athens. Kate lives in upstate NY .She has a cute little house with an amazing yard. She is a master gardener and grows her own food. I believe Fred is living in NY too. I am hoping they will still do a few shows. Probably close to home or Las Vegas. You can sign up for their newsletter on the B52s website. A really cool thing about the concert was its the first concert I have been to where there were 4 generations of fans. People brought their children. I sat next to a 14 year old girl and before the show visited with a family with a 10 year old. The B52s appeal to all ages.

On the whole Jethro Tull shows were representative of the finest in the entire rock world. It was incredible what they reproduced live on stage with D Palmer on keyboards.

@mountain66diecast

Жыл бұрын

i agree man my wife and i seen tull couple yrs ago ...it was awesome

Another situation is the Who using back backing track for We Won't Get Fooled Again . I don't think it's possible to re create that sound on stage but it's such an integral part of the song.

@pauldionne2884

Жыл бұрын

That keyboard sound is available to download or recreate depending on the type of synth you have so very easy to recreate live. With the right sound the part is straight forward to learn as well. I think they just don't want to deal with an extra musician who only plays on a few songs. On the other hand, who'd want to go on the road to play one or two songs a night regardless of the perks.

I'm a musician myself. And I was one of the guys who used to use backing tracks. But never on my lead vocals, and I only did that for entertainment purposes only. Also where I'm from, good musicians were expensive, or arrogant, so using backing tracks lets them know that they can be replaced. Also, backing tracks are dependable, they don't have attitudes, and you don't have to pay them. I was a drummer and guitar player for quite some time, but now I'm a bass player and I use a drum machine (our drummer quit and moved away) and we could not afford to pay someone else at the time so we use a drum machine. But for bands, I think that they should use what they have available. And not use other musicians or backing tracks that are not necessary. But I'm just talking from a local band status. That is a really good topic. Thank you for doing it.

I agree 100%, I did a single act for years ago with a MIDI band backing me up. When I tried to get back into playing again all the rooms for live music was sitting down Acoustic guitar & vocals, no laptops. So I checked a couple of the acoustic players & got bored pretty quick & I just didn't want to go down that road just for a paycheck. I play rock n roll with lead guitar, so I brought my backing tracks down to bare bones, simple drums & bass track & I play live electric guitar & vocals. But I will not pay to go see a band if there not even singing, but I totally agree I rather hear a bare bones version of there songs than a bunch of backing tracks to try to make them selves sound like the record.

Wow, I learned something today. I had no idea this was so prevalent!

Wasp really hurt. One of my faves, I was very excited about seeing them “live” last year. Blackie sounded great, maybe too great. I also noticed that on a part of the show where the guitarist does his part of the show solo, blackie and the bass player leave the stage playing and are gone for over 5 minutes then return to the stage. It could be that they were backstage playing, but seriously doubt it. Thank you for your channel, I really am enjoying it!

I love you mentioned the Fleetwood Mac concert. I never minded that, because it also sounds amazing. I agree with all else you say. I see these 3 piece bands today, no bass player, no rhythm guitar player. Just lead guitar, singer and drummer. One band had a bass player, singer and drummer. I think its crazy. There is one "live" performance here where you can watch the drummer queue up the laptop and the band just starts playing along with it. You could actually see and hear what was recorded and performed. I thought it odd. Maybe this is what video games have given us for a new generation. Guitar hero and such.

I think a good example of this is The Beach Boys. It’s well known they competed with the Beatles, and they both got more artistic, and their arrangements got more complex. The Beatles stopped touring, but The Beach Boys weren’t as popular as the Beatles, so they couldn’t afford to be a studio-only band. In addition to the 5-man band, they were augmented by a keyboardist, a percussionist, and occasionally a horn section. They were very open about this, and sometimes even introduced them along with the actual band members at concerts.

@michaelharrington75

Жыл бұрын

The wrecking crew was the Beach Boys studio band.

Absolutely. A song stands on its own. With a log, if that’s all you have to beat on. Show us what you’ve got!

You are absolutely 100 pct CORRECT!! The band plays live or it doesn’t!! Nothing less!!

My grandpa always told me, "if you can't carry it don't bring it". Same is true with music in my opinion. I have been playing since I was 3 years old and it's always been a truly live setting. I get the experience thing since everyone is using 128+ tracks now. To each his own though.

I saw Van Halen do it. 1998 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The lights went out and they played the intro to Mean Streets completely in the dark. If you're a guitarist you know what I'm talking about. I've seen footage of eddie playing that intro a couple of times and he's in a brightly lit area of the stage paying close attention to his fingers and still misses a note or two. No way he could ever play that intro without being able to see his fingerboard it was completely black. The feedback at the end with the echoplex really gave it away for me. I wanted to believe but no. Lights came up after the main intro and Eddie was right there. Never would have expected that from Van Halen and I lost a lot of respect for them that day.

I think live shows should be almost entirely live music. It forces bands to come up with new and sometimes interesting arrangements for live material to compensate for lack of overdubs.

I remember seeing Led Zep in the 70s and being shocked at how different the songs sounded - the Physical Graffiti numbers were the exception - of course they still were fantastic

back in the late 80's, i took my son to a "the cult" concert at mtsu in murfreesboro , tn. we were originally on the floor level and decided to go up to the second level. when we got up there and got seated, i started just looking around at all the gear. they had a wall up behind the band. i looked behind the wall and noticed a huge keyboard/organ rig set up. when they started playing, there was a guy sitting at the rig playing right along with the rest of the band. when the guitar player went off on a lead, i was waiting for the sound change. it didnt happen. the keyboard guy was playing the guitar player rhythm parts. the sound didnt change at all. i have been playing guitar since the 70's. am all to well familiar about the sound drop when guitar players playing rhythm go to playing lead without a second guitar player. the sound changes dramatically. the sound for the cult stayed the same. i never forgot about that and have been more observant of bands i was paying my money to see. since then i have seen may concerts and am happy to say, not one of the bands i paid good money to see and hear ever disappointed me in that way, saw many bands before that and have always scrutinized the gear and set up of the bands. i have recently been hearing more and more about big name bands doing that in a live setting. paul stanley for kiss has been in the news alot for just this type of behavior from a very big named group. im sure there are many others out there doing it since it is becoming more and more used and accepted and excused by the bands doing it. shame on them for the deception. a friend of mine went to a boston concert many years ago and brad delp told the audience that he could not hit the high notes like before, so rather than attempt them and come up short, he just decided to have a much younger singer doing the high parts. bravo brad and boston. this was back in the 90's. alittle bit of honesty goes along way in my book.

I don't think backing tracks are a bad thing as long as if the power went out the band could pull off an acoustic set and the meat of the song is still there and listenable.

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

Many agree with you Kevin. And very succinctly said! But wow! 20 years ago, people lost their entire careers over less than what I covered in the video!

I would not want to pay tons of money to see a band that sounds exactly like the recording. Why pay hundreds of dollars to see a faux show when you can buy the album or cd for far less. The live experience is always better if its authentic to that moment. The last show I saw was the Moody Blues in 2013. It was great. I also saw them live with an orchestra in the 90s. I vote with Michael on this. Keep it real. A good artist will always give a good performance live.

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

Did you see the Moddys at Red Rocks Mona? If you did I’m jealous! Hell, no matter where you saw them, I’m jealous!❤❤❤

@Angrybogan

Жыл бұрын

I'm a Moodies tragic as well. When Graeme could no longer manage to keep rhythm he was open about it hence the second drummer was on stage. That's about it.

The Cars Heartbeat City Tour 1984 used a ton of backing tracks live. Seen a lot of concerts from mid 70's up to today. Would never now see a band if I knew they were using vocal backing tracks. Frankie Valli is the worst at it. He lip-sync's his whole shows. Rip-off.

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

Even Frankie Valli? Say it isn’t so, Neil! I mean he’s OG! Brother, what’s next? Pat Bppne & Metal??? Er, uh, never mind! ❤😉👌

Michael, here are a couple of aspects about all this that you didn't cover... 1) How about "live" recordings? They almost ALWAYS "enhance" those by actually REPLACING some of the main instruments and even the VOCALS, both lead and backup, if they make mistakes, or to simply make them sound better. In essence, the live recording becomes more of a studio album. 2) And back in the 50s and 60s many "live" performances that were going to be televised were completely or partially mimed. Sometimes the vocals MIGHT be real, but most of the time even those were faked also. Shades of Milli Vanilli!! - Another act that was busted and RUINED because of this very subject! But those "live" televised acts back then were not fooling the studio audience, just the millions of people watching at home - at a later date. So is that fair to even categorize that AS a "live" recording? Since much of the television audience believed it WAS recorded live, I think it is. But they were so obviously fake it was comical to those of us who could tell. The drummer wasn't even hitting his instruments. The guitars didn't have cords, and many times there were no amplifiers!! But I still collect many of those faked videos from the old days just because it's the original musicians back when they were in their prime. The audio may be fake (or LOUSY) but the video is real. Great topic, Michael. Thanks for opening up this discussion.

@xxxYYZxxx

Жыл бұрын

Reminds me of the Rush album "Exit, Stage Left". Alex's raw guitar feed was recorded and then re-engineered with Alex's effects back in the studio, then mixed back into the live recording. Apparently, this was the only way to get the proper sound of the guitar pedals onto the recording, as recording the live effects chain probably was fraught with artifacts and noise. The soundboard recordings appear to have been mixed with an ambient on-state recording, so some of the live guitar effects are in the mix.

I think there is a way to do it live - For me i dont mind if someone on stage is triggering the ocasional sample/loop via a midi controller... But yeah if we are talking about having full on backing tracks and/or miming parts onstage i think its sad and crazy... I mean i would much rather a trio play live as a 5-peice with a couple of session muso's to help play everything live, rather than see a trio playing with a bunch of backing tracks... And im not talking about people who hide the extra muso's though i think thats disguting - When i learned that U2 plays 'live' with an additional keayboardist and guitarist behind the stage hidden i was super dissapointed... And yeah i 100% agree - Just go full zeppelin live and play as much as you can live in a raw stripped down version if you dont wanna get an extra muso or two onstage...

I agree with all you said. I remember seeing Dan Fogelberg live and he’s better live than on the album. I’ve seen so many musicians who used backing tapes in the local scene with drum and bass tracks. I perform as a solo act with sometimes a backing band. I really upsets me when I see this happening.

Rush used sequencers for years, but in their defense it's hard for a 3 piece band to reproduce their studio sound if, like Rush, they add keyboards, multiple guitar tracks, etc. They had a rule though...the sequences actually had to be triggered by them in some way (foot pedal, etc.), they didn't want to just play along to a continuous track.

My wife and bestie of 43 years dragged me to John Mayer’s Solo tour. I didn’t know it was called the solo tour. If I had known, I probably wouldn’t have gone. I’m glad I did, it was a very good show. He did two songs with looping. One with a double neck acoustic 12 and 6 string guitar and one with a piano and 6string electric guitar and both were incredible. A looping piano part played live with an electric guitar solo played over it and then he played both at the same time, one hand on each instrument. That alone was worth the money we payed for the tickets! I also know thats a big part of Brian May’s solo’s back in the day as well as ZZ top playing synth parts and don’t care. Looping and backing tracks are ok with me as long as I’m hearing Billy G or Brian May wailing on guitar!

I saw Boston a few years back . During the solo for More than a Feeling the samara zoomed in on Tom Schotz hands and his hands stopped moving but the solo kept playing. Then he immediately realized it and got back into it and no one seemed to notice but me and my brother

@youtoo2233

Жыл бұрын

Don't forget Boston has at least two guitarists that take turns on the solo's, that might be what you were seeing

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

Burned, ROBERT! ❤❤❤

@johnnie3Chords

Жыл бұрын

Two lead guitarists trading lead , one takes their part usually playing lead while the other plays rhythm , then they switch .

Absolutely not cheating. I saw James Taylor using a 2 track tape machine playing a backing guitar part and harmony vocals back in the 70's. If you're using backing tracks to do 100% of the music and you're just miming, it's probably unethical to call this 'live music', but if you're adding a horn section that you don't want to take out on the road with you, or some keyboard pad part behind an otherwise live performance, not cheating even a little bit. I'm in a duo. I play all instruments really, but live I play guitar, keys and sing, and my partner sings and plays bass. I'm also the drummer, but I'm coming in via tracks I've prerecorded. I try to do what I can live within the constraints of the song arrangement by looping the guitar, keys and vocals to be as "legit" as possible, but what I can't get in via loops I'm constructing live, comes in via tracks because ultimately, people want to hear the songs as they remember them. Very few people complain about us using tracks, but a few do, and I really don't care even a little bit when they do. That's just, your opinion, man. I'm sure somewhere in town there's a 12 piece band playing everything live. Go see them. ;)

I was in a punk band decades ago that covered Baba O’Reily. We thought it would be funny to play to the opening keyboard sequence so we recorded it off the original and looped it right before the other instruments come in. Got a lot of mileage out of that tape.

I always expect the band to play live. No backing tracks. Especially today with ticket prices as expensive as they are today. I grew up in an era when rock band weren’t perfect live but we were always appreciative of their effort.

As a musician myself, My band and I use backing tracks but not for the reason people think in this conversation. We use backing tracks because we couldn't get other music to perform with us, It's just me and my drummer. We set up the backing tracks where he (the drummer) can control the music set. The only thing that would not be pre-recorded in our set is the drums, guitar and vocals (me). We put a lot of practice to stay tight with performance and people are amazed in how we sound. Also do to today's theatrics, everything is now automated.

In 1983 (I think) I saw Neil Young and before the show started they had disclosed that portions of the show were pre-recorded. It amounted to one song Mr. Soul. He was solo using a vocoder and had two parts to play at the same time etc. I had no issue with that. Or like Rush doing the intro to 2112 etc. That is fine. As far as orchestra stuff, I do not care for when bands tour with a live orchestra. Maybe if it was someone like......well, I can't think of anybody. I saw the Moody Blues in 1984 or so (I was ripped) and they had a lot of orchestral parts and have no idea if that was live or not. I just know the beer was good. Actually, it was a superb concert. The vocals were phenomenal.

I'm excited to see the group live and whilst I don't think I've ever seen an artist lip sync some of them simply can't cut it live vocal wise so I'd rather they lip sync because I'd enjoy the performance more.

@docsavage8640

Жыл бұрын

Why not just play the record then?

@Superbokka

Жыл бұрын

@@docsavage8640 For me it's just the fact I can say I was in the same room as said artist but yes I see your point.

@jukip1485

Жыл бұрын

Why can’t the records be more like what they can do live. What’s this fascination with perfect singing and not character to someone’s voice. Plus how can you call yourself a singer if you can’t perform live. How did you get to that point? Is it just marketing at that point. There was some really wicked bands that you couldn’t really call their singing good but it still worked. Same with dancing...but it was them and their unique way of expressing themselves

Michael, just subscribed. This is music to my ears. I don't need to pay big money to hear a recording and see some pretender lip-syncing. Cheers

Hearing the IN EAR monitors from Mick Mars that just came out is ear opening!

I'm completely fine with bands using pre-recorded segments in a multitrack if the band is playing their significant parts. Singers should always sing live. Here's a real reason why. Music is all about unity. Beyond the 4 (or however many) members of the band. Besides the absolute greats and elites. We are all just individuals that want our few chords and such to sound amazing. While we learn, while we play. It's what makes a new musician see the greater vision. Playing softly in sections in accordance with the track, instead of smacking all 6 string when playing an open 'D' chord in Standard tuning. As it stands now. I only have myself and a bassist. So, we opted for multitracks. And the idea being that if someone were to see us and semi be able to play. They can have more motivation in asking to join in for a song/gig if they've seen a vision of what it would sound like with them. That way, over time, you can eventually have the full piece band. And completely strip the multitrack. But, baby steps must be taken to get there. Despite comments of lack of musicianship. I find that the main reason musicians don't like tracks is because they can't play to a click. And that's the actual sadness of this situation. No one knows how to play together. Learning to a mutritrack, establishes a firm connection to a click. Which we know the tempo of a song is important and it's a great aid for the band to UNITE around that. NOT a particular band members skill level. Eg. Drummer's timing. A great example of what's killing music is EGO. "The Drummer should be able to keep time." That's a statement many make that drag aspiring musicians who are learning while making out their drummer is perfect. One other thought. I love multitracks and the use of production in modern music. Its just too damn cool. However!!! If we really don't like the use of it, then we really should have some sort of global authority that checks every single artist's soon to be released song against an exclusive live version the artist sends into the authority. If deemed the same. The artist can publish and release the music. Meaning, if it can't be played live like that, than it simply can not be created or released. Because if you want me getting mad! I fucking will, bruh! Why put something in a song that we get attached to and then not have it be present live? Even with what I just mentioned, you'd be thinking of a few songs that can't have their 6 guitar parts stripped of the actual released song. So exactly. I expect these motherfuckers to play to a track. I expect it to sound the same as the track and for them to look cool doing it! And they'll always be that old grumpy lad who is shitty that all elements aren't played live. Lol, I couldn't give a shit as long as it sounds amazing. Plus, they won't pull out if someone is sick or an unfortunate moment happens. All the fans still get to see the remainder instead of being let down by the band's cancellation in it's entirety. Final thought. You should almost be against recordings of all sorts. Films, radio, photos. You may as well avoid those as they aren't actually performing those in front of you either. Yet they tug your emotions live. All scripted, all deliberately technically and organically produced. It's a mix of both. When will the grumpiness ever end? The egos of capable players shitting on musicians having a go or with a different view on music. When does that end? Oh, god. These kind of people will eventually be cast to the side while the world of team players that are united by music in it's entirety replace them. Nothing worse than absolute fuck sticks thinking their the bees fucking knees, while they are actually what's killing the creativity and longevity of music. All the processed music is probably because no one can play. And no one can play because of the cringing ego of those that CAN. "You're gonna be a funny little foot note on my epic ass" - Jack Black/Dewey Finn 2003

I like backing musicians, as long as they're visible. I actually like to hear different voices (whether from other members of the band who are filling in for the lead singer's overdubbed studio vocals), and additional musicians to make sure that things aren't too thin.

I totally agree with you. I do not mind "looping" because the musician is still playing it. That's what loopers are for. I don't like backing tracks. I would rather hear the mistake, no one is perfect.

Saw Aerosmith in Philly about 8-10 years ago and they screwed up the intro to Combination (Joey was playing the beat too fast) they stopped and started the song over. I found this quite refreshing.

@FloridaCatholicGuy

Жыл бұрын

Steven used to use backing vocal tracks on some of the high notes on certain songs…I think now the keyboard player does the backing vocals.

I’m sorry, but when I go see a show, I want to see a good show. Its up to whoever puts on that show to decide how that happens. If adding tracks makes the show sound better, I’m all for it!

I'm with you on this Michael. I want a fully live show. If you need extra musicians then bring them along if you can afford it. If not I'll take a more stripped down show. If you need tracks because you're too old and can't do it anymore then maybe it's time to stop touring.

As a musician, I say you play your music....live, warts and all, or retire.... Scribed up...thanks my man...

Loved your commentary sir, as a fan, if a band can't do it live, I'm not interested.. I don't think ticket prices should be as high for bands not truly playing. As an artist, your words resonate, and I know you appreciate the fans..

@rylan.music.x

10 ай бұрын

If a band can't do it live. The track should be illegal to release or at the very least garner any profits from them. I agree with what you are saying. But, I want it sounding like the track. So, if they are going to release the song like that, I want it sounding like that live. With or without a multitrack, I don't care.

@metalpuppet5798

10 ай бұрын

The band should never ever restrict their creativity just because they dont want to use tracks. That will lead to burn out. If they want to write songs that require orchestral parts, synths etc then so be it. However they cant tour with a full orchestra etc. Thats wayy too expensive and logistically impossible. That means the only option is using tracks

@metalpuppet5798

10 ай бұрын

​​@@rylan.music.x your comment makes no sense. On one hand you say everything that isnt fully live should be illegal. On the other hand you say its good to use multitracks. Your first statement is simply bullshit. As a band you have to write the shit you want to write. If that means having all kinds of orchestral layers etc in your music then so be it. However you simply cant tour with all these extra musicians. Its financially and logistically impossible. In that case using tracks is your only option

I actually agree with you, a band should play everything live, I let Rush get away with it because of there work in the earlier days doing everting live, I played in a Rush three piece tribute band, I played bass, keyboard and vocal live on "Subdivisions" and other songs, it sounded ok, theres a vid on YT, whey aye zed "Subdivisions", have a watch, good video again

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

I’ll check it out, Neon!❤ Thanx,😉🤔

No I do not agree with bands using back tracking in "live shows". When I play live I expect to make some mistakes, how good you are a keeping going and playing shows to me is what a real professional Guitar player is. Now I have to admit that I have been hired by some rock bands to play guitar live in the background on some tours. I will not name them here because of contractual agreements, but I was still playing live and occasionally making mistakes. Great show, keep up the good work!

Agree 100% with you.

at the ten minute mark, you mention Fleetwood Mac live. I believe it was my who broke the story on Eddie Truck a few years ago that they have an entire BAND playing behind the stage. this isn't 'friend of a friend saw this and told me about it', I was there and saw it myself. Saw the on 'The Dance' tour and had lousy seats behind the stage. I (and maybe 100 other folks) saw what the crowd didn't. The entire band was doubled by another band behind them (and behind a curtain). Some interesting points about that... it was all live. No tracks needed to double the onstage sound... but instead full musicians. Also gotta point out the only person who wasn't doubled... John McVie. Props to him to carry the whole the band live by himself. this didn't hurt the show, it was amazing. and the band (the official band... up front) always made an effort to acknowledge us behind. I've been to hundreds and hundreds of nationally touring rock shows and never seen that. Scary to think it's happening WAY more than I realize. Ozzy apparently has used a vocal double for decades, but that doesn't surprise or concern me much. Of course, Ozzy can do no wrong in my eyes... and anything that disappoints me I just blame on Sharon (like the rest of the world). You also mentioned Fleetwood Mac didn't hide it. My experience was 100% otherwise. that entire secret band behind the stage was VERY much hidden and concealed. I am confident not a single person in the proper site line (I got my tickets day of, so they were holdbacks for reasons of siteline) had ANY idea there was a band behind the band.

my mom had 9 kids, i was the second youngest born in 64. we are a black family but my brother's and sisters grew up listening to all kinds of music and in turn they exposed me to all kinds of music. i listened to some artist seperatley in the early 70's that later became some of the most influencial musicians from the late 70's into the early 90's, they've played on thousands of records for other artists and formed the group toto. my ears were in training since i first heard the beatles in the late 60's. i saw crue back in 87 0r 88, when tommy lee had that drum kit that flew out over the audience and turned upside down. they were all so much younger then and it was before mick left due to his illness. i loved the entire show but mars stood out to me, i'm team mars....his money and the fact that he named the band gave him a certain clout and i've seen quite a few recent crue shows on youtube where vince can't sing and tommy not getting to his kit before the music starts. throughout all of it, i've never seen or heard anything that would make me say that mars was never playing his guitar....i wish i could say the same for all the other members of the crue. as for groups using some backing tracks in limited form....i'm okay with that, there are some sounds that are difficult to recreate, even today with all of the digital advances. my big problem is all these young kids who get so excited over seeing a group that's not quite the same group that i saw in the 80's. they now sound like a lesser version of themselves and yet the kids of today actually think they've seem something earth shattering...i pity them because i got to see the real deal with the real sound...GOD BLESS ROCK&ROLL!!!

I'm ok where it fills out the show like Iron Maiden using keyboards or Metallica with the sounds of War before One, but the example of Tommy Lee not even being at his kit when you heard the drums starting shows that they were replacing the main elements, not enhancing, just flat out replacing... Blackie's excuse is a bit lame, there are a number of effects that could be controlled at the mixing desk, layering on additional tones of the same struck guitar note...

Hats off to David Lee Roth for not substituting his vocals on the Van Halen live album ten years ago. I like the raw sound of live. Especially with the vocals. New sub, and bell rung. Long live Rock n Roll.

Well said Michael, it's sad that bands are being fake. But it's prolly a money issue. Like if you sell 60 000 tickets and the guitarist breaks a finger they're in trouble lol I actually played in a band that moved into using backing and in the end, I was chastised for my bass runs clashing with the backing! That was mainly due to the fact that the tracks were only in front house, so I couldn't hear some of them. Sorry for for not being perfect 😂 some of the coolest music has come out of mistakes. It's not whether or not they happen on stage, it's how you cover them with creativity not a freakin computer lol ✌️😊

Well I think there are exceptions like the orchestra pre-recorded tracks but also playing live with other musicians because for instance Baba O'Riley has so much keyboard in it that it would be impossible for The Who to do without it.

I agree with you 1000%! Great video and topic to discuss also! I want to see the band for what they can personally do, or even not do, live. This is one reason Led Zeppelin is my all-time favorite band also. I loved that the song never did remain the same so to speak. And they were playing 100% live and improvising as they went along making each and every show a unique show. That's a lost art in music today. And yes, they occasionally messed up but knew how to get right back on track and keep going. I was really disappointed when Journey got busted and Steve Augeri, a really nice guy, pretty much lost his job singing for the band in 2006. It wasn't his decision or fault what happened either. Here in the Dallas area in 2005, on their Generations Tour, they were doing 3-hour concerts where they were covering the whole history of the band's songs. In a professionally filmed the Dallas 9/27/2005 show how was that. It was going to be released. They were great shows. But in 2006, when they went to play in the UK, they were using a backing track for Augeri that started skipping or got stuck in a loop or something. It embarrassed them so much that they got rid of the singer, who was having a vocal problem at the time and that's why they reportedly were doing it, and made it where they never released that Dallas concert that was being filmed and I was at. They were using backing tracks from that concert so they never released it. There is no telling what they're doing nowadays. But I guarantee you back in the '70s and '80s they weren't doing this and the music was different each and every night too. Not quite as different as a Led Zeppelin show would be but different nonetheless. I can think of one example where backing tracks, or really the use of the technology in a few songs to loop the artists vocals, is okay with me. There's a female artist that I came across in 2007. Leslie Feist has such an incredible voice and she was not doing any faking it stuff. What she would do on a song like Sealion Woman was this. She had three or four microphones all mounted on a stand and she would get one vocal track going during part of the song on one microphone and then move over with a different tone and vocal range to the other microphone and so on until she was just singing in one of them but the others were looping. That was ingenious I thought. She wasn't trying to fake anything and she was just using the technology to be able to make the song sound better or mimic what she did in the studio. She would get different vocal ranges of her self, not a backing track really, and she would sing them live and then move over to the next microphone and do another until there were two or three loops going and she would be singing in the final microphone for those short parts of the song. There was absolutely no faking anything and it was her live voice that was immediately being looped for the song she was performing. And that is okay with me. There's no way she could have done it otherwise but if you haven't ever seen the song Sealion Woman you should check that out on a KZread performance where she's live. I may not be explaining it 100% accurately but you'll see what I mean. I think it was the Jools Holland TV show performance that sounds like the best version of that song to me because of the guitar solo in it also. I think the way she did it was 100% normal and natural and using that technology in that way makes good sense. It's definitely not trying to deceive anybody into thinking that what they're hearing is something she is doing live even though she really is doing it live. I probably screwed up my explanation of that but if you see any songs with her doing it live it will make better sense. With her melodic voice, and the upfront honesty of what she's doing, it definitely improves the performance and the song in your face where you can see it. I am so disheartened by so many bands taking this cheesy and deceiving route nowadays that I don't even really want to see them live. I want to see what they can do live and not what some pre-recorded version of them being injected into the show can sound like. I'm glad you touched on this topic Michael and thank you again! Keep up the great work! Brian in Fort Worth 🎶

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

Great comments here B! This is something that is not going to go away soon!❤

@Bootradr

Жыл бұрын

@@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine Yeah unfortunately I know. The modern age of what they call live concerts 🙄

@davidrice3337

Жыл бұрын

I have no idea what you wrote cause my time is worth more - I'm just glad you aren't a musician

@williamwallace2325

Жыл бұрын

Dear friend, I am not familiar with Leslie Feist, but I am familiar with the song, which actually originated and was originally recorded not far from where I sit and type this. I first heard it in the soundtrack of a movie (General's Daughter), and later I did hear someone seem to do a mash up of other instruments along with the Library of Congress recording (my guess) hteeteeps://dubyadubyadubya.kzread.info/dash/bejne/pJNt2MSCeq6egJM.html

This is a hot topic now. I've heard discussions on Sirius radio shows but rarely name bands. I'd like to see a list of bands that have been caught doing it. They need to be called out. After all we are paying to to a live show! Its very disheartening when anyone does it but metal bands? We know about WASP and Crue but I've also heard Judas Priest name mentioned, just sad.

Great video and agree a 100 pct

I saw a concert by The Police the other day here in KZread and it was totally live. A 3 piece band. Amazing show and amazing players.

What ticks me off as much as the cheating is that there are enough people buying the overpriced tickets and filling the arenas and concert halls that have no problem with it. When expectations are low then the product becomes substandard. I got bashed for saying the McCartney concerts were nothing more than a McCartney cover band with Paul McCartney trying to keep up vocally. The backing track thing goes way back. I saw KISS in 1979, I wasn't a fan, I was invited along by a room mate to go. Gene Simmons did his blood spitting thing while doing his little bass line thing, I saw him put both hands out with his "bat wings" while the bass music kept going. So he wasn't playing. And during the song Firehouse, Paul Stanley had donned a plastic fireman hat and it fell off, he reached down to retrieve it and the vocals kept going. So he definitely wasn't singing. My room mate got angry when I pointed this out. I've seen many bands where the vocals were prerecorded. Like I said, if the consumers are willing to dish out the cash and don't mind then the bands will do it. I'm not fine with it and if that makes me a dinosaur then so be it. I prefer small clubs with real garage bands doing covers, they sound more genuine than the real bands do anyway. Thanks for another great analysis!

@Thomasmemoryscentral

Жыл бұрын

If you still know your roommate from 1979, ask if his opinion changed at all given no one were able to get film phones in 1979 to record the lip syncing and he brought you to a fake performance

@sappersteel532

Жыл бұрын

I saw Kiss on their Lick It Up tour and concluded there was no way they were playing completely live with all of the running back and forth, leg kicks, this and that all for show.

@MichaelNoland-TheBottomLine

Жыл бұрын

And not to mention the vocal correction going on with Paul’s voice!😉❤

@hw2508

Жыл бұрын

The sad thing is, that people could have saved their money for a band that played actually live. Some bands just stay in the touring business with this tricks and stand in the way of other bands.

I think it's okay depending on what is live and what is on the tape (well, it's probably some digital technology but it's easier just to say tape). When I saw David Bowie in 2004, there were backing vocals clearly performed by Bowie himself while he was singing the lead vocals, so he was singing lead live and his band were playing live, but he had prerecorded his backing vocals to sound a bit more like how it sounded on the record. I'm fine with artists doing things like that. Another example is when they want the sound of full orchestra or choir, it'd be almost impossible to take something like that on the road, aside from booking new orchestras and/or choirs in each town which would get very expensive, it makes sense to have it on a tape (which is how KISS used to do "Beth" when they still had the real Catman...they probably still do it with the fake one but that's another issue), so again, that sort of thing is totally fine too. However, when it's the lead vocals and the instruments we can see being played on stage, then I think that is cheating. With some bands, such as the current version of KISS and Motley Crue, they just can't do it like they used to and so they're using the tapes to try and sound like they can still perform when they just can't hack it anymore. I think if the singer can't reach the notes anymore, just change the key to something they can sing now rather than using either prerecorded tracks or worse...autotune...or even worse...prerecorded vocals WITH autotune. Some drummers have been given crap in the past for using "triggers" in order to sound like they're still hitting as hard as they used to, but I'd rather that than for them to just be miming. At least with the triggers, they are still actually playing.

I remember back 1975 when I saw The Who, they used the instromental intro to Baba OReilly in a live show. The rest of the show was outa site! LOL oh and the ticket for the concert cost $8!!!!

So so true! I’d love to see/hear bands more of an unplugged approach to the music. I want to know these cats put in the time with their instruments/vocals. I just did a performance for an event, me, a guitar, that’s it. Bare naked. Hour and a half. Loved it, and everyone really “got” the music. It can and is very intimidating. I know. But I’ve always enjoyed leaning forward rather than being blowed away buy music. I know there’s a time and place for everything too. Motley Crue has never ever been an “unplugged” band. We would never expect that from them, but I’d really like to know they would be game to loose the slight of hand for just we the traditionalist… Ps, there have been time though, my voice is shot from overuse, I would really have loved a backing track……!

I don't want the live music to sound identical to the album. I want all the musicians on stage, backing singers, horn section. All of it. Then use that to create a great live sound. I love it when I see a band a couple of times on the same tour and the songs sound totally different.

@metalpuppet5798

10 ай бұрын

Its financially and logistically impossible to tour with a full orchestra, synth players, a choir etc. Which is what many modern bands would need. People are already complaining about ticket prices. If every second band would tour with a full orchestra etc they would be probably at least three times higher. I know you would be amongst the first ones to complain about that ;)

Remember that whole Milli Vanilli scandal from thirty some years ago? Seems like it’s completely normal now.

More Swanigan's please ! Worked as a background actor and now at an later age I'm getting back into music. And miss how the industry now works behind the scenes. And as far as the word enhancement, i spell it bull shitting.