The seeds of an interesting discussion on southern rock are planted over on that Kings of Leon thread. A few folks seem to have a lot to say on the matter, but tend to respond to albums as opposed to seeing a band live. I'm the complete opposite when it comes to this stuff. Is it important to you all for a kickass guitar-rock band to have good albums? Do you ever go see bands if you haven't heard their records?
― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 13:23 (twenty-two years ago)
yeah I see plenty of bands without having heard their albums. and southern rock usually works better live, but works plenty well enough on record.
― James Blount (James Blount), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 13:28 (twenty-two years ago)
Definitely can work great on record -- I'm just finding myself defending bands like All Night and Alabama Thunderpussy based solely on live shows, while others dismiss based solely on albums -- it's a funny dynamic.
Plus, Chuck dissed Alabama Thunderpussy as a novelty band...confusing them with Nashville Pussy, I thought -- but maybe their album has some kind of novelty-act vibe that I didn't get in their performance.
― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 13:35 (twenty-two years ago)
Is it important to you all for a kickass guitar-rock band to have good albums?They're not mutually exclusive. Blackfoot made fair to great
southern rock albums. The recorded a live one in England
which was terrific -- "Highway Song" -- and band's label declined
to release it domestically.
However, it was also part of the definition of southern rockers
to have dynamite live shows. All the good ones came up through
playing live long before making records anyone heard.
Often live albums of southern rockers cemented their reps or
boosted them significantly. Skynyrd's first live album did.
The Outlaws live album made up for a soft catalog with only
about one or at most two good songs per studio LP.
The Allman Brothers first live album was absolutely essential to
their growth.
Point Black made the second side of "The Hard Way" live and it
killed. Their rendition of "Highway Star" was simply ferocious.
The design of the album was probably dictated by ZZ Top's
"Fandango" -- which, as far as half-live LPs goes, was poor
on the live side. It exposed limitations of the band everyone
who had gone to see them up until then had to suffer through:
not enough fill in the live power trio sound to rival the
thickness of the first three records.
Do you ever go see bands if you haven't heard their records?
Yeah. Not too many chopsy southern rock guitar bands in
LA, these days, though.
― George Smith, Wednesday, 16 July 2003 19:39 (twenty-two years ago)