We Weren't Born To Follow - Live question
 

Hey,

So your personal opinion of the song aside, can someone who is somewhat musically proficient explain to me why does this song come off so boring and lifeless when performed live?

I know the band's instruments and the vocals are tuned half step lower during live shows, but it doesn't kill most songs like it does this one. WWBTF just sounds so low and muddy and it's like Jon is half asleep singing it.

Many artists play live half step lower and it doesn't totally zap the energy out of the music. Can anyone please explain what's happening there?

Here's a simple example:

I believe it does with the amount of guitars. There's so many layers on the album version, and not so many live.

This. there's I think like 6 or 7 guitar tracks on the album version at any given time. There's also that aside from down tuning a semitone, they also play it a few beats slower than the album version. Jon's vocal delivery is also lifeless most of the time. Everyday faced a similar problem when played live.... The version from New meadowlands 2011 is I think the best they've ever played it live imo....

Someone on here pointed out it's not just done half a step down, they changed the key of the song and did half a step lower than that, making it a full step lower than the album version. I've never been able to figure out why, it doesn't seem that demanding vocally.

Interesting.
To my untrained ears it sounds like the live version is 3 semitones lower than the studio version.
So the live version will be transposed to a new key a whole step lower and then due to the Eb tuning will sound an additional semitone lower. Of course, I may be wrong on this.

That would make the studio version to be in Am instead of G#m. Now, it's been ages since I've heard the studio version but, I don't remember it like that. Or maybe I'm just used to the live version as that's the only time I listen to Bon Jovi nowadays anyway....

I'm 99% that this is false. It's just a half step down from the album tuning.

The song starts on an Abm chord, and when Richie (or Phil or Bobby or Jon) plays it live, he plays an Abm chord.

The studio version is in G#m (or B major) standard tuning, but the live version sounds lower than just one semitone, also Jon sings it live much lower.

Jon can sing it an octave lower if he wants or chooses to. It's still tuned down half a step, not a whole step (or step and a half). He often sings lower octaves live, not just on this song....

Its a boring unmemorable song anyway. Thats where the problem starts.