For this episode I discuss backing tracks, bands using them to add keyboards or vocals or other instruments to their live show, is it ruining the live experience?
Check out the Classic Album Review Video also discussing this topic:
https://youtu.be/0QR760ia1gA
source
I want my live rock and roll experiences to have spontaneity, and vocal and musical imperfections, here and there. That's all part of the fun of concerts for me! Of course, if a band can't sing and play well live at all , that's a major problem, and I've seen (endured) some shows in that vein. I'll take a rough, raw, honest show from a band who can sing and play, though, any day, over a supposedly more "polished" concert with backing tracks.
Bands using Backing Tracks Sucks! First of all I Hate Concerts, and all of the extra pay for parking, buying a $6 beer, the Restrooms suck, You have to deal with all of the other FANS, who are only there to see the greatest hits! etc.. Then I get to see a band not even playing LIVE, although I PAID a ticket to see them LIVE!! VIA "Back Tracking" = Total BS! I HATE Live shows, and people are So Rude at Live shows, even to fellow fans. Backing Tracks for effects and introws and support as in an album is cool, but NOT when it replaces instrumentation or a vocal lyric! Iron Maiden "Number of The Beast" is a Great exception! Using the intro from the album is Totally acceptable! But if Bruce were to insert the album voice lyrics into a LIVE show, = would be a total Rip Off to the fans! (I am not blaming him BTW, just using him as an example)..
Listening to bands Live is About Imperfection, and the way things change in a song! A different variant of a song and improv of a song! King Crimson was the masters of this thing as was RUSH & YES a little bit, who All went kinda weird and the whole Band followed it, and improved it to the fullfilment of the song, in live settings! They All sounded Awesome! KISS, Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley need to RETIRE! They have lots of $$! They Need to quit sucking the world of $$ & merchandicing! For ta Band tththat doesent even exist! When Paul can not even sing at his own concerts = Just Quit and stop ripping off the fans!
I Wrote this before watching your video BTW… We kinda think alike!!
I have seen a lot of bad shows with backing tracks, but the few that have done it right have had an amazing sound and energy. I believe a live show needs some restraint or it can easily go off the rails. A 10- 20 minute drum or guitar solo can become tedious and I am fine with improvising, but it still needs to sound like the song it is suppose to be. It is refreshing hearing different takes on a song, but I don't need to hear a 4 or 5 minute song stretch to 20 minutes.
What would RUSH Xanadu Live be without Tracks?
Maybe in the 70's there was a more of a technical/ progressive and really jazz influence in music as jamming and lose inprov is standard in Jazz.
Then many concerts get put up on YouTube these days so bands are worried they will get a bad reputation so every night becomes like top of the pops. 😅
Depends, if it enhances the performance, then I don't have a problem, but Paul Stanley miming massive amounts because he can no longer reach those notes, that's just wrong! If you can no longer cut it, stop ripping off the fans and retire.
I’m in your camp. I don’t mind some backing vocals just as long as it isn’t overdone. I’ve seen Stryper several times in the past five years or so and they use some but it is used here and there.
Bride, another band I’ve seen, used no backing vocals and they would switch up certain songs by adding different riffs and lyrics to a song that wasn’t on the album. That was cool, made it special and memorable.
I like the ZZ Top RAW because it has no backing vocals and it was just three guys jamming. Mistakes and all. That was cool.
If I wanted to hear the band play the same song the same way as they did on their album, I’ll stay home and listen to the album in my pajamas and save the money. 😉
Live is supposed to be live, different, special, memorable, and offer a different take on the songs that were recorded. They are artists giving special performances and adding different flavors to the songs we love. You sum it up very well, if you want to hear the songs as recorded, just pull out the freakin record and stay home. Why buy a ticket to a live show just for them to play you the record on stage? Idiots
Circumstances change. I'm sure there are a lot of people who would say that if they're spending the huge amounts of money it costs to go see a big-name band, they want to know they're going to enjoy the show. Paying hundreds of dollars to see the band noodling away on improv bits no one knows isn't for everyone.
I think certain songs might flow better with it but not a whole show. Example, if a band only wants one guitar player but use several tracks for guitar parts maybe use them
If you can't play it live, don't play concerts. I like when bands are forced to figure out how to translate the studio versions to the live environment. Yeah … sometimes it's weird when the guitar solo comes and the riff has to be handled by the bassist, but that's part of the fun! Also, Rush live … ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE is one of the great double live albums. When I saw them on the Clockwork Angels tour they were terrible!
I can appreciate a backing track as an intro, such as when Alice Cooper opened his shows with the Vincent Price monologue to climb into Black Widow, or any one of the many opening intros on various Saxon albums, just when they're walking up on stage. But once everyone haves a microphone or instrument in hand, I prefer live spontaneity. I will never forget seeing Blue Oyster Cult live, in 2012, and watching the guys have a conversation about who wants to sing the next song, or when they had the crowd vote on which song to play next, because they are just that versatile.
It’s funny but even though I love KISS I think they kind of started the situation. Because there shows are so choreographed for lighting and stage performance it has evolved to what you’re talking about where the shows are almost robotic as opposed to when KISS and probably even someone like Alice Cooper they pretty much redo and perform the same show on that tour. So now everyone does it when most bands really should be more spontaneous
Right on, John! Agree 100%
Tickets & T Shirts = The Business model for Today's Bands….
I think with backing tracks less is more. If its relied on too heavily it makes the whole thing feel artificial, a hybrid of studio and the real.
Any chance of you doing a video on Sleep Token, John? They went from 300, 000 Spotify monthly views to 2 million in two weeks. Not really my thing but any band that's playing support at Alexandra Palace in October then headlining Hammersmith Odeon in January is doing something right…
I don't want them to sound exactly like the the record but I also don't want them to stray too far away from the original recording. I loved Rainbow's 15-20 minute jamming because they would eventually get back to the song as we knew it. I hated when bands sped up or slowed down their popular songs live. The Police were notorious for changing the structure of just about every song in their set list. That ruined it… for me.
Seeing as how Rush is my favorite band ever, I should probably tread lightly here but I won't. I think it is a travesty and I hate it. I am somewhat of a musician, but I was dumb founded to see how much of this is going on. It makes it hard for me to watch a concert dvd because of always trying to gauge whether the singer is really singing or not. I want to be careful when I say this, but I think there is a massive dose of shallowness that has crept into our culture in the last few years where people just want a nice little package of nostalgia. It makes me sad. On a good note… I love Zep's interpretation of Ramble On on the Celebration Day show. I assume that it is one hundred percent live. Page's electric guitar sound on that song mesmerizes me. I am going to see Obituary and Immolation in a couple of months. I am assuming I will get the real deal there. It's what I payed the price of the ticket for. Nice job, John. Good to see someone not caving to the norm and saying what you feel. I feel it, too.
When you talk about the bands playing on the cruise that play exact music and even stage moves the same every set, I mean wouldnt the band themselves tire of this? I know you should have a setlist, but…
Incidental sounds, bit synth parts, intros, etc. are all fine. But when it comes to backing choruses or, most egregiously, lead vocals, it's awful – and a travesty that it's become accepted and so widespread. Interesting that you point out "power metal" bands on the cruise since I've heard tracks are far more common among European bands, particularly backing chorus vocals. Why would anyone expect to hear crystal clear multi-voiced backing vocals at a live show though? It's unnecessary. A concert doesn't have to sound exactly like the album and frankly shouldn't.
Although the Lair of the Alchemist is one of my favorite music channels on YouTube. I will have to agree to disagree on this topic. Rush will always be my favorite live band.
I think EVH had a thing or two he said about a similar topic back in the 70s when Van Halen was starting out. He was discussing VH1 in an interview, and talking about how the album is pretty much the same songs they play live. Lots of other bands, he said, would use tons of studio effects, and then when it came time to play live the band sounded totally different from on the album. Not the case on Van Halen 1.
Hey man its Sunday! Sab fanatics are waiting!
😄😄😄
Just kidding, really enjoy your stuff here!