Musical performances?
For many, it is hearing live the song that they have heard a thousand times already.
For some it is the show, the theatrical nature of a presentation.
For some it is the joy of live music.
For some it is just the loud noise in a crowded hall.
Rarely is a live performance spontaneous in rock and roll.
There are a few precious recordings of truly live music in the anals of rock and roll. Music that is alive, not just performed.
That would be a good question to ask, eh surf? The best live albums of all time (no, Frampton comes alive is not among them).
I remember listening to a Joni Mitchell Live album many years ago, and on the album she was wanting to perform some new music, never before heard by the audience. The audience was screaming: "My Old Man" "Big Yellow Taxi" "Woodstock" and the like. The audience just wanted to reproduce the feelings of the past, to hear the old standards, not to experience a real artist at work.
She stopped performing, and said,
"One thing that is great about painting" (for those who don't know, Joni is a very accomplished painter as well as a composer, musician, and performer)
She continued, "Van Gogh never had to hear 'Paint "A Starry Night" again, man."
Joni then proceeded to sing her new material with the soul of an artist, not a performer.
There is a big difference between listening to a musical performance, listening to an artist at work, and listening to a composer perform their own work with deep feeling.
For those who don't know the difference, I am sorry for you.
For many, it is hearing live the song that they have heard a thousand times already.
For some it is the show, the theatrical nature of a presentation.
For some it is the joy of live music.
For some it is just the loud noise in a crowded hall.
Rarely is a live performance spontaneous in rock and roll.
There are a few precious recordings of truly live music in the anals of rock and roll. Music that is alive, not just performed.
That would be a good question to ask, eh surf? The best live albums of all time (no, Frampton comes alive is not among them).
I remember listening to a Joni Mitchell Live album many years ago, and on the album she was wanting to perform some new music, never before heard by the audience. The audience was screaming: "My Old Man" "Big Yellow Taxi" "Woodstock" and the like. The audience just wanted to reproduce the feelings of the past, to hear the old standards, not to experience a real artist at work.
She stopped performing, and said,
"One thing that is great about painting" (for those who don't know, Joni is a very accomplished painter as well as a composer, musician, and performer)
She continued, "Van Gogh never had to hear 'Paint "A Starry Night" again, man."
Joni then proceeded to sing her new material with the soul of an artist, not a performer.
There is a big difference between listening to a musical performance, listening to an artist at work, and listening to a composer perform their own work with deep feeling.
For those who don't know the difference, I am sorry for you.
