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A Live Performance that Transcends Death
Plethora live album challenge
The Plethora of Pop Live Album Challenge is a bit of problem for me. I’m really a studio guy — not a big fan of live albums. My two favorite are actually double album hybrids of studio and live: “Everybody’s in Show Biz” by The Kinks, and “Six” by Soft Machine. Each contrasts the spontaneity of a live performance with the precision and reflection of a studio recording. Check them out if you’re inclined.
But there’s a live performance (not an album or formal recording) that brings me to tears almost every time I hear it (#5 below). It’s full of history, and the performer’s honesty not only captures the space between the original and the late performance, but provides listeners with a window into the timeless.
John Stewart’s song “Daydream Believer (written while he was a member of the Kingston Trio, and first recorded by the Monkees) suggests that we can both live in the moment and transcend the transitory. Here are several takes that as an ensemble show the song’s timelessness:
- The original “hit” official video by the Monkees (1968). When this song came on the radio in my teen years, it captured everything I felt about love and hope and despair. Whimsy and nostalgia simultaneously. Nothing like it before or afterwards.
- An older John Stewart talks about the genesis and history of his song.
- Stewart’s song from his album “The Lonesome Picker Rides Again (1971).” An…
