The Live Version of the Song is ALWAYS Superior to the Original (Pt. 1)

Tony Krash/Badu World

Can you believe this draft has been sitting since 2022?  I was vibing the other week and had a light bulb reminder.  I never published it!  What better time than now?  Half of the U.S. is snowed in today.   

Live versions are unique.  Typically filled with vivaciousness and exclusivity to that specific performance in all aspects.   It takes a special kind of everything to put a live song in the category of being considered better than the original/studio version.  That special thing where you prefer to hear the live version instead.  The common denominator is simply this.  It contains soul that the original just does not acquire.  

For instance... 

Marvin Gaye - Distant Lover

Could be the screams.. could be the horns... could be the yearning.  It's. just. there.

Time Warp... 1977 : Cloudy | Average White Band

Circa 1977.

This specific version right here... my dad (as an AWB fan) played on every single road trip when I was a child. We traveled down south A LOT so i heard this song (and that album) over and over; him beating all over the dashboard as if he was playing the drums and hitting the high notes like he was on stage lol. However, the song rocked then even when I was too young to understand the feeling of the lyrics. As an adult, I am able to appreciate it more. It's incredible. This specific version def. falls in my "brown liquor music" hall of fame. What's even better about the one below is it is the FULL version... Not just the 3:27 of live greatness they put on that album.
Music...