Live hits

It occurs to me that while there are a lot of things about today's music that makes it easy for folks my age to pine for the stuff we grew up to in the 1970s, there is definitely one aspect of that older music that is lost on today's music scene.

Live versions of songs that became hits as opposed to the original studio versions of those songs.

For example, Peter Frampton, while he did have a bit of a following before his massive hit live album, it was nothing compared to what was about to happen with Frampton Come Alive. This double live album shot through the stratosphere thanks to both its timing and the pure joy that is a Frampton concert. When you listen to the studio versions of hits like Show me the way, Baby I love your way and of course the audience favourite Do you feel like we do, there's just something vital missing from those versions.

The same goes for Cheap Trick, whose Live At Budokan album exploded with the twin hits Ain't that a shame and I want you to want me. Go listen to the studio versions. They are almost comical.

Other examples:

Kiss - Rock and roll all nite from 1975's "Alive!"

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free bird from 1976's "One More From The Road". I don't include this one necessarily because the live version was famous first, but this live performance became so famous, so endearing to concertgoers, that they yell out the title to ANY performing band to play on stage.

Fleetwood Mac - Landslide from 1997's The Dance. People knew of this song, although it was not the power hit that would become of half of Rumours, but this live version breathed more life into the song than the studio version could.

Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band - Turn The Page from 1976's ‘Live’ Bullet

Bob Marley - No Woman, No Cry from 1975's Live!

Jackson Browne - The Load-Out / Stay from 1977's Running on Empty. Not from a live album, but recorded live and placed on a studio album.

Deep Purple - Smoke on the water from 1972's Made in Japan. I mean, come on! P.S.: Spotify has the 2014 remastered version.