Originally posted by germcevoy:I have always felt that this album sounds like 128kbps mp3. Beautiful Day in particular. I don’t rate anything on the album. Beautiful Day was the killer hit single they so dearly craved. The tour was a hit and was elevated even further post 9/11.
Originally posted by KieranU2:[..]
But that's the thing: you can't just base an album off how it sounds live. ATYCLB as a product, on record, is overproduced. Songs being played live don't rectify that. And it's irrelevant to be hypothetical about the fact that Grace and When I Look at the World - which I pretty much just highlighted to you. You're almost trying to defend ATYCLB by implying 'it's overproduced? Whatever, the songs sound great live!' That does not defeat the point it has substandard production.
And Bad does not have bad production. On what grounds?
Originally posted by deanallison:[..]
I’m not just basing it of live performances though. Im comparing it with all of U2’s studio work. There is a much bigger gap for example between the quality of streets live and the quality of streets on JT. It’s so much better live, yes it’s still great studio but not as good. WOWY is the same better live. That doesn’t mean that I think JT isn’t well produced or isn’t a good album. It’s a phenomenal album. So ATYCLB has songs on it that also sound better live but as it sounds on the album it’s still very good so I’m happy with it. When I listen to the album I’ve got no complaints but the live versions take the songs to a higher level which is the same for even my favourite u2 albums. Bad isn’t well produced at all on TUF. All you need to do is listen to any decent live version of it then the album version and it’s night and day. The tempo on the album version is too slow, there’s something missing from the intensity of the song in the studio too. Yeah Bono might be going for it but as a whole piece of music it isn’t the same as it is live. I can still enjoy it if I do decide to listen to TUF in full but I’d never chose to play the studio version in isolation or have it in a playlist it’s always live for me.
Originally posted by KieranU2:[..]
To be honest, I don't even think it should be compared to all of U2's studio work and certainly cannot be graded on how it sounds live. Just consider it as an individual product, then judge it accordingly. This 'everything is better live' mentality almost suggests that one hasn't listen to studio albums in a while and perhaps forgotten what they sound like.
Okay, 'Bad' isn't relevant to this thread, but again you're missing the point. You're saying Bad is not well produced and the only way you back that up is by saying the live version sounds better. Then you're not even referring to the production, you're basically saying the studio performance is not good. There's this thing producers and musicians do when creating an album: it's called creating a theme and/or ambience. The subject matter of Bad is bleak, it's produced to emphasise that. Watch TUF documentary and you'll see how Eno works and his discussions with the band about how the composition and production should align. It's very subtle production and it's really excellent at shining a spotlight on each individual member's prowess at different points in the song.
Personally, live and studio are two completely different kettles of fish - especially when it comes to a song like Bad. It almost has a separate identity.
Originally posted by deanallison:[..]
I’m not really interested in a theme or ambience. Maybe it’s trying to be too clever but Bad just sounds noticeably inferior to the live versions. If I’d never heard the live version I would say it’s a very good song with potential to be great. But that means they messed up the production to a significant enough degree that it bothers me. That’s quite a big deal for a band and a song I love. With ATYCLB I don’t get that same annoyance. Mainly because the only 2 songs I don’t think have great production on them, elevation and in a little while, aren’t really amongst my favourite u2 songs anyway. I think they’re quite good on the album and I think they’re better live but still just quite good. New York, stuck in a moment and walk on are my 3 favourite songs on the album and I think they sound great on the album and great live. Stuck in a moment in particular is probably as good an effort the band have done at getting a song right in the studio as any of there songs. Not saying it’s there best ever song but in terms of getting the most out of it.
Originally posted by KieranU2:[..]
Not interested in a theme or ambience but being a huge U2 fan is rather surprising, but I'm just trying to drill through the importance of studio recordings. This incessant comparison of everything is completely baffling to me, but it's clear we entirely disagree. So okay, fair enough.