Great on an album...terrible live.

[diamondwaspvenom]

It's always a shame when one of your favorite bands can never fulfill that magic found on an album with a live performance. It's even more surprising that despite being awful stage performers, these bands still bear a strong fan base.

What are your own examples of fave musical artists who although sound fantastic on a CD, never could deliver a satisfying live show?

 

[Psycho Circus]

RATT - Stephen Pearcy CANNOT sing live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB6gZFlxMdA

DOKKEN, used to be amazing live up until the mid-90s. Now they are an absolute abombination due to Don Dokken's painful lack of vocal range/clarity. Couldn't find any decent footage from this year, so I'll wind it back to a less painful performance from 2007.

Baaaad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yxSanLvX4U

Compared to 80s Dokken...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FYB__MCKkI

[FatFreddysCat]

First one that comes to mind for me is The Cult.

I saw them opening for Metallica in 1989 and Ian Astbury was obviously drunk as a skunk onstage and didn't wanna be there. He was screwing up lyrics, wandering around the stage with a glazed look on his face, and eventually gave up. He did the last two songs laying on the drum riser occasionally mumbling into the mic.

I later found out that by that point in the Metallica tour, the Cult was so tired of being hazed by the crowds that they'd just quit trying, which kinda ticked me off cuz I was actually a fan of both bands and had hoped for a kick-ass show from both of'em.

Still dig the band on album but never bothered to see them live again after that experience.

[tracy]

I was a fan of Fine Young Cannibals until I heard them perform live on an awards show...sheesh! Without lots of studio enhancements they just plain sucked!

[HappyGilmore]

Freddy:
The Cult is bad live? They're coming to town, was thinking of going...

[Psycho Circus]

Freddy:
The Cult is bad live? They're coming to town, was thinking of going...

My girlfriend's seen them a few times and said they were bad, mainly because of Ian Astbury. If it's not too pricey Happy, I'd still go. At least you can say you've seen The Cult. Although, I'm not fond of their new album and they may play quite a bit off it.

[Criswell]

With any old band there is a chance the vocalist is gonna suck now. Which is unfortunate, but sometimes the instruments make up for it some. Like Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson sounds awful live now, but he can still shred the flute pretty awesomely.

[JoeTheDestroyer]

A Perfect Circle:
I saw them open for Nine Inch Nails.  No, they didn't sound bad live.  They actually sounded like the album.  They're just very boring live, and Maynard barely even looks at the crowd.

I honestly can't think of many bands live I didn't like.  Our town did boo both No Doubt and Hole off the stage, and even people who were fans of both bands said they sucked something fierce live.

[The Burgomaster]

I wouldn't say "great on record," but I saw A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS live back in the 1980s (it was a triple concert: THE POLICE, THE FIXX, and A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS).  Anyway, A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS sounded nothing like their albums . . . they were probably a minute into I RAN before I realized what song they were signing.

[Zapranoth]

When I was in college, a coworker said that Bob Dylan was extremely terrible in concert.  Jabbering unintelligibly into the microphone in his own dialect.  ><