Songs that sound better live

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Heartbreak Hotel
Another Part Of Me
Working Day And Night
Wanna Be Startin Somethin
Smooth Criminal
Blood On The Dance Floor
Things I Do For You
Rock With You
Man In The Mirror

What songs do you think sounds better live?
 
Can it be Jackson 5 and Jacksons songs since Michael's solo ones were mostly mentioned?
Jackson 5
Who's Loving You
Never Can Say Goodbye
I Wanna Be Where You Are (I think it's a solo Motown track but I don't remember)
Get It Together (performed as an adult with the Jacksons)

The Jacksons
Keep On Dancing
Shake Your Body
Lovely One
Things I Do For You
 
"Gone too Soon" at President Clinton's Inaugural Gala January 1992






 
Human Nature, She's Out Of My Life and The Love You Save (performed as an adult).
 
Definitely not Wanna Be Starting (90s), Billie Jean and Beat It. They all sounded terrible live.

To answer the question, Another Part Of Me easily.
 
Heartbreak Hotel
Thriller
Bad
Smooth Criminal
Black or White
Scream
Blood on the Dance Floor
 
Human Nature, Heartbreak Hotel and Another Part of Me.
 
Definitely not Wanna Be Starting (90s), Billie Jean and Beat It. They all sounded terrible live.
I think Beat It sounded good. Yokohama version is great. Billie Jean didn't sound very good on Dangerous Tour but Bad Tour version is awesome.
 
1) Another Part Of Me- I find the album version a bit boring. It's slow whereas the live version is faster and seem to have a lot more energy.
2) Jam.
3) Black or White
4) Man in the Mirror- The album version kind of fizzes out during the last two minutes. The live version is so much superior.
5) Bad- 1987 only.
6) Lovely One.
7) Dangerous.
8) Ben- Triumph tour only.
9) They Don't Care About Us.
10) Human Nature- Victory Tour and 1987 Bad tour.
 
Billie Jean - especially Bucharest. Those ad-libs are killer.
Human Nature
J5 Medley
Jam - Wembley or Bucharest. So much energy.
Man in the Mirror - live ad-libs take it to the next level.
Lovely One sounds better in Yokohama.
 
Another Part Of Me. I think the live version is in a minor-key which makes the song so much better!
 
Threatened! That bit from This Is It... that had an amazing sound. I liked it a lot more than the version on Invincible.
 
1.Thriller (Bad tour First leg)
2.Bille Jean (Bad tour)
3.Human Nature (Victory & Bad tour First leg)
4.WBSS (Victory & Bad tour)
5.Off the wall (Victory & Bad tour)
6.Beat it (Victory & Bad tour)
7.Heartbreak Hotel (Victory & Bad tour)
8.Things I do for you (Victory & bad tour)
9.Another part of me
10.Shake your body (down to the ground)
 
I really don't think any of MJ's songs sound better live than they do on the record. You really can't get that fidelity with live recordings.
 
I reckon ''they dont care bout us'' was good live
 
I reckon ''they dont care bout us'' was good live

Was it ever sung live????

I can't recall a time it was sung live. the question is about songs that SOUND better live. If it's a pre-recorded track then it'll ALWAYS sound better on your home system.
 
SmoothGangsta;4234574 said:
I really don't think any of MJ's songs sound better live than they do on the record. You really can't get that fidelity with live recordings.

I think the original question does not mean that type of comparison.

It does not compare the sonic quality (fidelity) of the song between studio & on stage (live recordings), but how a certain song sounds better on stage because of the implementation of different musical elements.

Such musical elements can refer to a slightly different instrumentation, or a slightly different key, for the on stage performance of the song.

For example, there are many fans who prefer the funkier, on stage version of the ‘Blood On The Dance Floor’ song to its studio version.
 
perfection is usually achieved in the studio, and although I sometimes enjoy alternative versions of my favourite songs (courtesy of pre-recorded backing tracks), I don't like them altered to the point where they're beyond recognition, or not as good as the original.

that being said, to answer the question, there are a few of Michael's songs that I feel sound better live vocally:


'ease on down the road' in '81 - Michael and diana play off of each other in a way that they didn't in the studio. the energy is contagious! it now sounds like an equal duet rather than Michael dominating. they sound flexible and smooth (even though diana misses her timing, ha) great dancing too for what it's worth. one of my favourite performances in general :)


'who's loving you' ed Sullivan show & 'never can say goodbye' flip Wilson show '71 - Michael's voice is clearer and more developed. he holds onto the notes longer. shortly after, his voice would change, and he'd have to avoid certain notes before dropping it a few keys altogether. sometimes it would work, other times it wouldn't (I prefer songs sung in their original key in general).. I also like the musical arrangements for both performances.

I prefer the acoustics (reverb?) for the Motown 25 performance of 'billie jean'. that, along with the audience clapping, make it sound a bit more 'sparkly', thus 'magical' if that makes sense..
 
mj_frenzy;4234590 said:
I think the original question does not mean that type of comparison.

It does not compare the sonic quality (fidelity) of the song between studio & on stage (live recordings), but how a certain song sounds better on stage because of the implementation of different musical elements.

Such musical elements can refer to a slightly different instrumentation, or a slightly different key, for the on stage performance of the song.

For example, there are many fans who prefer the funkier, on stage version of the ‘Blood On The Dance Floor’ song to its studio version.

Even with the question phrased that way I still don't think they sound better haha. Most of MJ's live perfoences just sound like worse versions of the album track to me. Mostly because he wanted it sound as close to the album as possible and it always just ended up sounding worse. The This Is It band were going to sound very good live though.
 
Given that Michael played almost zero of his post 1987 singles live I feel I couldn't answer this question really.
 
Its hard for me to answer this cuz sometimes I like how the song is ser up better for the 'hits' for dancing/performance reasons but vocally not as great..

I'd say though the ad libs in man in the mirror and I just cant stop loving you is usually better
 
I always hated that it was thrown in as part of a melody. That song deserved to be performed in full

Yes totally agree


Was it ever sung live????

I can't recall a time it was sung live. the question is about songs that SOUND better live. If it's a pre-recorded track then it'll ALWAYS sound better on your home system.

it sounded live to me
 
MJTruth;4234587 said:
Was it ever sung live????

I can't recall a time it was sung live. the question is about songs that SOUND better live. If it's a pre-recorded track then it'll ALWAYS sound better on your home system.

Yes. One concert Michael sang the first few lines live. Steve posted it in 2000 Watts recently. But still, the beat is thumping on the Munich version. The single version and Olodum edits will always be my favourite They Don’t Care About Us versions personally.
 
dam2040;4234632 said:
Yes. One concert Michael sang the first few lines live. Steve posted it in 2000 Watts recently. But still, the beat is thumping on the Munich version. The single version and Olodum edits will always be my favourite They Don’t Care About Us versions personally.
I dont recall it ever being live. What concert are you referring to?
 
Sorry guys this is will be a long post but I will say

Off The Wall - from the bad tour
Heartbreak Hotel- bad tour
Wanna be startin somethin - this is it rehearsal
Blood on the dance floor- history tour
Stranger in Moscow - history tour (mainly because of how the backing singers sounded while singing with Michael during the history tour)
Human nature- bad tour and this is it version (that was a hard one lol)
The way you make me feel- 30th anniversary version (without Britney Spears)and this is it version (I’ve always loved the slow intro that Michael added for that song during the Grammy awards 1988 and the this is it and 30th anniversary performances)
Dangerous - 1993 American music awards performance
Billie Jean - dangerous tour Bucharest (I would of shortened the performance a little bit though, it did go on for a while lol. Think the whole performance is 8 mins or something like that as much as I liked Michael’s beat boxing, it still went a bit too long , please don’t hate me)
Man in the mirror- Grammy awards 1988 and dangerous tour
Black or white- dangerous tour Bucharest
Earth song- world music awards (especially the ad-libs that he did during the concert in brunei) and the history tour in Munich
Heal the world - Dangerous tour Bucharest
Jam- Bucharest dangerous tour
I just can’t stop loving you- bad tour with sheryl crow and Brunei concert with Marva hicks (I think that’s her name lol)

Songs I would of wished that Michael performed live
1. Who is it
2. Liberian Girl
3. Baby Be Mine
4. You Are My Life
5. Break of dawn
6. Don’t walk away
7. Give into me
8. The lost children
9. Remember the time (wish he included it in his tours, I know he performed it live at the soul train awards in 1993)
10. Keep the faith

I also wish that Michael changed some of his setlist he did for his tours. I just wish he included more different songs because I felt that it got a little repetitive after a while with him the using the same setlist in all 3 tours, ore even revamped some of them and make them sound a lil different like he did with the slow intro of the way you make me feel.I think he could of replaced some songs that he had sung before. i know it’s hard to choose songs because of the public and the fans cause they have their favourites but still I just feel that he could of changed it up a lil bit, if not all of it, a lil bit. So it could be a surprise for some fans and people, I love Michael and I’m a huge fan just like everyone else is here❤️☺️ so bummed that I never got to see him live.😔😔my mum did tho twice. During the bad and dangerous tour🙈☺️
 
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