Songs permanently ruined...

Its my Life and Blaze of Glory. Two songs I love but don't cary the power of the studio versions.

In these arms - Yeh I know It doesnt sound great on recent bootlegs but its is a crowd fave - id wanna hear it just for the "Babbbbbbbbby" bit which the whole crowd sings for him anyway.

I was glad they didn't play that one in Madrid in 2003. I don't care either for the studio version or live version. So if on top of that you say it's ruined... ugh!

All 6 of the songs featured on the TLFR DVD from Hyde Park are pretty poor to be brutally honest...

I've never been to any concerts, but from what i've seen and what I've heard, all of the songs they have tried from THESE DAYS was pretty bad on live... Hey god, Something for the pain, These days, Lie to me, Damned, My guitar lies.... all of them are terrible and weak live.

next one is Bed of roses, i think this is one of the songs that can never be played live, even in the 92 tour, they played it very bad and very slow.

What shows are you listening to?? Most of the ones I have they do these songs justice and put their back into it. Are you sure you just don't expect literal studio versions? It's the rawness and emotion of the live performances that make them work. I'll grant you if you are referring to attempts made since 2000.

well....i've never seen them live so...I suppose I really wouldn't know

well, im mostly referring to Yokohama 96 gig. also Hey god from Live from london.

I wouldn't call ANY of the These Days songs performances at Yokohama 96 weak at all especially considering it's raw as/is, no fixing or editing (the original broadcast, not the edited STBI on One Wild Night Live.) Hey God at Wembley 95 I agree with more because I didn't like how Jon was performing it with a big old grin on his face. It just threw it off.

It isn't about literal studio interpretations. One thing that they've always done since the 80s, particularly Jon with his vocal approach...is he may not always do what he did on the album vocally, he might hold back in certain parts, but he would let loose where you didn't expect it. So it evens out while also offering up a refreshing take that makes the live version stand on it's own. For example. These Days at Yokahama. He may not do the last high note at the very end. But I love the trick he pulls during "..rather die..than f - faaaaaaaadde aaawwwaaaaay" which is something he just walks through on the album.

Yokohama 96 was one of their last great performances as a band.

Another great example is Blaze of Glory at Wembly 1995, which as far as I'm concerned is the best performance of the song. In some ways he's holding back and that may put some people off. But then he'll go and do something like what he does with "call me young gun" just before the solo. Not to mention the ending. I don't even get into the studio version anymore because that performance outdid it.

I know we have a rep for picking what the band does apart..but there are times when we also need to recognize their shining moments, not overlook them.

well, thats your idea and i respect it. but im not talking about jon's vocals, i think the whole band's performance was weak in playing These days songs, and only these days songs, i think they were great in other songs, but i think they can't play These days's songs strong, maybe its because they only have one guitarist and the songs need more than one to fill them. so somehow the songs feel shallow.

This I understand and was my other guess. I personally love hearing it stripped down and they do great with what they have. For me it's alternate take on the songs with their own strengths to offer.