How "live" were their live albums?

[Sound of Free]

I'm sure this must have been discussed before, but why was Dennis snubbed on "In Concert," except for the cover photo?

[Matt H]

I don't get that either, especially since they were doing a decent amount of his songs at some shows.  They could have at least used his lead on Help Me Rhonda.

I'm sure this must have been discussed before, but why was Dennis snubbed on "In Concert," except for the cover photo?

[Sheriff John Stone]

I don't get that either, especially since they were doing a decent amount of his songs at some shows.  They could have at least used his lead on Help Me Rhonda.

I'm sure this must have been discussed before, but why was Dennis snubbed on "In Concert," except for the cover photo?

Which songs by Dennis were they consistently performing in 1973, and which ones would've you included on the In Concert album?

[TdHabib]

I don't get that either, especially since they were doing a decent amount of his songs at some shows.  They could have at least used his lead on Help Me Rhonda.

I'm sure this must have been discussed before, but why was Dennis snubbed on "In Concert," except for the cover photo?

Which songs by Dennis were they consistently performing in 1973, and which ones would've you included on the In Concert album?

We don’t have the setlists for most of the gigs that were recorded for the album, but as far as it goes we can make some conclusions: “Help Me Rhonda” was done with Dennis on lead throughout 1973 as far as I know. On many occasions, including the August 18th gig that was recorded and that we have the set for, “River Song” with Blondie wailing was done. I know he did “Forever” many times that year. Of the 72 gigs I can’t really say, but for God’s sake he did “Cuddle Up” with them in August with the Boston Commons Orchestra…and if the audience recording I have is anything to go by…it was fantastic, beautful. Like MBE said awhile back, he should've had his own side to the album.

[Aegir]

I think I remember reading an interview or something that they had to rerecord all the piano tracks on In Concert.

[Dave in KC]

Dennis was doing YASB at every show during that period. Always a special moment.

[Dove Nested Towers]

I don't get that either, especially since they were doing a decent amount of his songs at some shows.  They could have at least used his lead on Help Me Rhonda.

I'm sure this must have been discussed before, but why was Dennis snubbed on "In Concert," except for the cover photo?

Which songs by Dennis were they consistently performing in 1973, and which ones would've you included on the In Concert album?

We don’t have the setlists for most of the gigs that were recorded for the album, but as far as it goes we can make some conclusions: “Help Me Rhonda” was done with Dennis on lead throughout 1973 as far as I know. On many occasions, including the August 18th gig that was recorded and that we have the set for, “River Song” with Blondie wailing was done. I know he did “Forever” many times that year. Of the 72 gigs I can’t really say, but for God’s sake he did “Cuddle Up” with them in August with the Boston Commons Orchestra…and if the audience recording I have is anything to go by…it was fantastic, beautful. Like MBE said awhile back, he should've had his own side to the album.

Wow, Cuddle Up, River Song and Forever would've really made that album incredible. Never knew that the 1st two were done live.

[TonyW]

Of the 17 shows AGD listed earlier in this thread which were recorded during 72 and 73 only three of the shows are on Eric's (wonderful) set list archive - a quick bit of cross referencing shows that "rarities" performed and recorded during this period but still to see the light of day in an official release are:

California Saga: California
California Saga: Big Sur
Surf's Up
It's About Time
River Song
Wild Honey
Jumpin Jack Flash

... who knows (?? - oh to be that man) what else from these shows is sitting in the Brother tape library ... this whole live band era is just screaming out for a good box set treatment - it was an era when the live Beach Boys were the benchmark for other bands performing live and these were the performances which revitalised the bands career .. come on BRI, come on Capital, we don't want another compilation with Barbara Freakin' Ann or God Only Knows, we want Surf's Up live!!!

[Smilin Ed H]

"Dennis was doing YASB at every show during that period. Always a special moment." Doubtless sung better than in the late 70s too!

[shelter]

If you look at the shows & sessions list on AGD's site, there are dozens and dozens of shows that were recorded throughout the years for 'possible live albums'... So it shouldn't be too hard to compile a kick-ass live box set...

[The Heartical Don]

Don't want to interrupt the flow of the thread, but -

I really, really wish that 'Knebworth' would have been 'doctored' a bit, only a few seconds edited out: the end of 'Lady Lynda', where mr. Love totally ruins the beautiful coda by yelling out loud: AAALLL JAAARR-DIIINNNE!!!

I am quite sure that Johann Sebastian Bach is still turning in his grave to this day.

[phirnis]

Never found yourself wanting to shout Al Jardine's name atop a timeless Bach melody?

[The Heartical Don]

Never found yourself wanting to shout Al Jardine's name atop a timeless Bach melody?

  ...priceless...

[Smilin Ed H]

Yelling would be okay, but he whined!

[Foster's Freeze]

Never found yourself wanting to shout Al Jardine's name atop a timeless Bach melody?

LOL! 

[Jon Stebbins]

Dennis was doing YASB at every show during that period. Always a special moment.

He didn't start singing YASB in the live set until early to mid-1975.

[Ed Roach]

Of the 72 gigs I can’t really say, but for God’s sake he did “Cuddle Up” with them in August with the Boston Commons Orchestra…and if the audience recording I have is anything to go by…it was fantastic, beautful. Like MBE said awhile back, he should've had his own side to the album.

Good God, I'd love to hear a recording of that show!  I'm sure that I knew he was going to do "Cuddle Up", and that I positioned myself to really be able to listen, but I'd completely forgotten that he did it that night with the orchestra.  I was sort of trapped right in with the orchestra, and as far as I can remember, I only have photos that are closeups of members of The Philharmonic  - it was them, wasn't it?  I remember being out front for some of the rehearsal, and really looking forward to that set, as the band themselves were, but for some reason, once the set began, I couldn't leave the spot where I was positioned. 
Whew, another long-ago memory,  and one that's going to send me digging into the archives once again!

He didn't start singing YASB in the live set until early to mid-1975.

Thank you, Jon; I knew that didn't sound right!

[Sound of Free]

"Cuddle Up"  was definitely one I was thinking of. It also would have been great to hear  "I've Got a Friend." Even if they weren't in the regular setlist at the time, I would have figured someone would have thought, "Hey, we're  recording a live album, let's get a song or at least a lead vocal from Dennis."

[TdHabib]

Of the 72 gigs I can’t really say, but for God’s sake he did “Cuddle Up” with them in August with the Boston Commons Orchestra…and if the audience recording I have is anything to go by…it was fantastic, beautful. Like MBE said awhile back, he should've had his own side to the album.

Good God, I'd love to hear a recording of that show!  I'm sure that I knew he was going to do "Cuddle Up", and that I positioned myself to really be able to listen, but I'd completely forgotten that he did it that night with the orchestra.  I was sort of trapped right in with the orchestra, and as far as I can remember, I only have photos that are closeups of members of The Philharmonic  - it was them, wasn't it?  I remember being out front for some of the rehearsal, and really looking forward to that set, as the band themselves were, but for some reason, once the set began, I couldn't leave the spot where I was positioned. 
Whew, another long-ago memory,  and one that's going to send me digging into the archives once again!

Good news Ed, it's online:

Go to the sounds section of this website and you'll find it: http://www.danaddington.com/denny/

[Jay]

We all know that 'Concert' and 'Live At Knebworth' were heavily doctored and that 'Lei'd In Hawaii' was even going to be entirely re-recorded in the studio, but how about 'Live In London', 'In Concert' and 'Songs From Here & Back'? Are those recordings all "pure"?

I read somewhere that the Knebworth concert wasn't much overdubbed, just with some backing vocals and a guitar or something.

When I spoke with him some five years after the show, Steve Desper told me the tapes of the show were extensively overdubbed as the original intention was for the gig to be released as a video album for the 20th anniversary.

I think Steve may be confusing the shows he worked on in that period. When I mixed the project we found that aside from a single track of group bg vocals that were overdubbed and some scattered xtra guitar tracks the show was not overdubbed. The lead vocals are all live..... Hope that helps...... Mark

Mark,about  the DVD release of the Knebworth concert... was that autotune used on Mike's vocals?

It sure is. I have two dvd players in my room. One I use for watching dvd's, and the other I use for my "stereo". One day I decided to compare the Knebworth dvd and cd. I put in the dvd in the player I use for my stereo, and played the audio as I would a regular cd. The autotune used on Mike's vocals is very obvious. especially on Be True To Your School. It's actually quite painful if you listen to it loud enough. It's actually pretty embarrassing, with how painfully evident it is. It doesn't sound very "professional". In other words, whoever was in charge didn't do a very good job.

[MBE]

I don't get that either, especially since they were doing a decent amount of his songs at some shows.  They could have at least used his lead on Help Me Rhonda.

I'm sure this must have been discussed before, but why was Dennis snubbed on "In Concert," except for the cover photo?

Which songs by Dennis were they consistently performing in 1973, and which ones would've you included on the In Concert album?

We don’t have the setlists for most of the gigs that were recorded for the album, but as far as it goes we can make some conclusions: “Help Me Rhonda” was done with Dennis on lead throughout 1973 as far as I know. On many occasions, including the August 18th gig that was recorded and that we have the set for, “River Song” with Blondie wailing was done. I know he did “Forever” many times that year. Of the 72 gigs I can’t really say, but for God’s sake he did “Cuddle Up” with them in August with the Boston Commons Orchestra…and if the audience recording I have is anything to go by…it was fantastic, beautful. Like MBE said awhile back, he should've had his own side to the album.

Wow you remembered! I really can't love that album because I know what Dennis was doing at the time. What's there is mostly good but man Dennis was at his peak and it was wasted.

[Ed Roach]

Good news Ed, it's online:

Go to the sounds section of this website and you'll find it: http://www.danaddington.com/denny/

I actually had listened to that there, quite awhile ago, and don't think I realized that it was from that particular show.  Thank you!

Wow you remembered! I really can't love that album because I know what Dennis was doing at the time. What's there is mostly good but man Dennis was at his peak and it was wasted.

I know; I remember thinking at the time how bizarre that was, and yet, not untypical of how they tried to belittle Dennis and his talent.  And it was often at their own expense, too!

[MBE]

The funny thing is Ed if you listen to the Cuddle Up intro Mike goes out of his way to tell the crowd to shut up and listen. I also have a tape of him introducing I've Got A Friend as one of his favorite songs.

[Awesoman]

The BBs in Concert (73)
Painstakingly edited together and overdubbed in the studio.

If this album had been over-dubbed in the studio, I would wonder exactly *what* they did with it.  The harmonies on this one always sounded kind of ragged; but maybe that's what they were shooting for.  :-)

[shelter]

not untypical of how they tried to belittle Dennis and his talent.[/b]

Did they really? At least until that time? Let's take a look at all the singles that the group released in the five years after Dennis started to emerge as a songwriter... I underlined the songs Dennis wrote or co-wrote:

Friends/Little Bird
Do It Again/Wake The World
Bluebirds Over The Mountains/Never Learn Not To Love
I Can Hear Music/All I Want To Do
Break Away/Celebrate The News
Add Some Music/Susie Cincinnati
Cotton Fields/Nearest Faraway Place
Slip On Through/This Whole World
Tears In The Morning/It's About Time
Cool Cool Water/Forever
Long Promised Road/Deirdre *
Long Promised Road/Til I Die *
Surf's Up/Don't Go Near The Water *
You Need A Mess Of Help/Cuddle Up
Marcella/Hold On Dear Brother
Sail On Sailor/Only With You

* = singles from Surf's Up album, Dennis withdrew his songs from that one.

It could be argued that they should've given him some more A-sides (especially Forever should've been an A-side, obviously), but it's hard to say they completely ignored his efforts...