Post by s7nikal on Dec 23, 2010 7:49:55 GMT -5
I was trying to make a mix album the other day of Shannon's best live performances of all different Melon songs. It's so hard to do that because he literally switched up the songs almost every show. There were certain things he did in only 1 or 2 performances that are so awesome! I sometimes think random live moments are better than the album cuts of some of these songs.
Look at "Time": the album cut compared to the live Woodstock '94 cut. IMO the live one is far superior because 1) it's twice as long and b) that middle part is AMAZING!! I know the visual is crazy, too, with the dress and all... but that "who do you think controls you?" thing is something he only did a few times live and it was a fantastic way to break it down in the middle of the song.
Another example is "Wilt" from Live At The Metro. Shannon starts screaming "LET ME GO!!" at the end of the song and to me that's an awesome way to end that song. I can't pinpoint where else he did that... that might be the only time he did it. Same with "Soak The Sin" at the Metro, he starts going crazy and yelling "Oh God!!" over the end part and it's just nuts... but so good!!
Also, look at songs you never - or almost never - heard Shannon do live. Did he ever do "Mouthful of Cavities" live? I can't find it if so. Same with "New Life". And if it weren't for that Much Music show I don't think we would've heard "Car Seat" live, and that version of that song is just fucking amazing if you ask me. I wish Shannon would've sang out / yelled out the poem on the CD like he did on that live version. That's another one I prefer more than the album cut.
And then, most of all, are the covers that Shannon did spontaneously in the midst of live shows. "After Hours", "Working Class Hero", "Dear Mr. Fantasy", "Smile a Mile Wide", etc. All great moments that were only recorded on these mostly shitty quality recordings. That's all we really have though now so thank God somebody was recording them!!
This is just all proof that Shannon was someone you can never duplicate. He gave performances that extra something that made you want to watch or hear them all. I see so many people praise these dull, boring, stand-in-one-place-and-sing-the-song-the-same-every-time singers and I don't know how people can tolerate that when Shannon was proof that performances can be unique and entertaining every time. The point is that I had to search over 16-17 different live recordings to find a CD's worth of Shannon's best live versions. No one Melon show with Shannon was the same as the one before it. R.I.P. Shannon
Look at "Time": the album cut compared to the live Woodstock '94 cut. IMO the live one is far superior because 1) it's twice as long and b) that middle part is AMAZING!! I know the visual is crazy, too, with the dress and all... but that "who do you think controls you?" thing is something he only did a few times live and it was a fantastic way to break it down in the middle of the song.
Another example is "Wilt" from Live At The Metro. Shannon starts screaming "LET ME GO!!" at the end of the song and to me that's an awesome way to end that song. I can't pinpoint where else he did that... that might be the only time he did it. Same with "Soak The Sin" at the Metro, he starts going crazy and yelling "Oh God!!" over the end part and it's just nuts... but so good!!
Also, look at songs you never - or almost never - heard Shannon do live. Did he ever do "Mouthful of Cavities" live? I can't find it if so. Same with "New Life". And if it weren't for that Much Music show I don't think we would've heard "Car Seat" live, and that version of that song is just fucking amazing if you ask me. I wish Shannon would've sang out / yelled out the poem on the CD like he did on that live version. That's another one I prefer more than the album cut.
And then, most of all, are the covers that Shannon did spontaneously in the midst of live shows. "After Hours", "Working Class Hero", "Dear Mr. Fantasy", "Smile a Mile Wide", etc. All great moments that were only recorded on these mostly shitty quality recordings. That's all we really have though now so thank God somebody was recording them!!
This is just all proof that Shannon was someone you can never duplicate. He gave performances that extra something that made you want to watch or hear them all. I see so many people praise these dull, boring, stand-in-one-place-and-sing-the-song-the-same-every-time singers and I don't know how people can tolerate that when Shannon was proof that performances can be unique and entertaining every time. The point is that I had to search over 16-17 different live recordings to find a CD's worth of Shannon's best live versions. No one Melon show with Shannon was the same as the one before it. R.I.P. Shannon