I'm curious to see if anyone out there has had experiences similar to mine.

When I first started getting into popular music, the first artist I started collecting was Elton John. One of the first albums of his that I bought was "Live in Australia," and I must have listened to that CD enough times to wear it out. One track in particular that I liked was the live version of "Take Me to the Pilot." For a long time, that was the only version of the song that I knew, as I did not own Elton's s/t album yet ("Take Me to the Pilot" was first on that album).

When I finally bought Elton's s/t, one of the first songs I listened to was "Take Me to the Pilot." I mean, I loved the live version, so why wouldn't I love the original? I couldn't have been more wrong. The original sounded unpolished and unprofessional. Elton's voice was on par with all those American Idol rejects. For a long time, I never listened to the original; I only listened to the version off "Live in Australia."

Fast forward to a few months ago. I finally decided to give Elton's s/t another listen, this time with (hopefully) fresh ears. "Take Me to the Pilot" still sounds like it was recorded in a closet, Elton's voice still sounds raw, and the strings are a little overbearing. But it was the damnedest thing: I actually kind of liked the song because of, not in spite of, its rawness.

Then I decided to listen to the "Live in Australia" version again, and while I still like parts of it (the outro in particular is better than the outro to any other version of "TMttP"), I don't think I prefer it anymore. Elton had undergone throat surgery about a year prior to this performance, and his voice sounds God-awful.

So how many of you have had similar experiences? And by that, I mean this: you heard a certain version of a song and loved it, then heard the original and still preferred the other version.

Here's a couple more examples from my book:
I used to be a big fan of Saturday Night Live and back in 1999, I bought two CDs of musical performances from the show. For a long time, it was the only place I'd ever heard some versions of these songs, and I still prefer these versions to the original. (Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way," Neil Young's "No More," Dr. Dre's "Been There Done That," and Pretenders' "I'll Stand by You")
I remember listening to Zero 7's album "Simple Things" and really liking it, but feeling guilty because I'd heard it were a bad knock-off of Air's "Moon Safari." I finally heard "Moon Safari" and was thoroughly underwhelmed.

I feel that way about a lot of the live Neil Young songs on "Live Rust," which was the first Neil Young LP I got.

A potential subtopic are songs you prefer the live version over the studio version. One of these for me is "A Quick One While He's Away" by The Who. The live version from the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus is killer.

Sorry to be so classic rock.

Several songs on the Special Edition version of Stop Making Sense for me are better than the original. Heaven immediatley springs to mind. Actually, if I could recommend one album as an introduction to Talking Heads, that would be the one.

The version of "Complete Control" by The Clash on their live album "From Here to Eternity: Live" is far superior to the one on their self titled LP. Just Saying...
And Beans, I totally agree about Stop Making Sense. I'd actually say that's my second favorite Talking Heads album, after Remain in Light

Wilson Pickett's Hey Jude... just.. wow....

You take the good with the bad. The Flaming Lips are known for being such a great live band, but the live album I own from them (UFOs at the Zoo) sounds terrible, mostly because Coyne's voice sounds shot. For all the praise I heard about Leonard Cohen's live album this year, I cannot listen to it because his voice sounds TERRIBLE (Never thought his voice could be more shot than it was on I'm Your Man.)

I think we all know Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah is better than the original. One thing that comes to mind for me is Ananda Shankar's cover of Jumpin' Jack Flash, even though the original is awesome.

I learned about Simon and Garfunkel from The Concert in Central Park album. Those versions always sounded better to me.

oooh, i KNOW i did post it before, but i just can't let it go..





edit: moonbeam asked me to emphasize the fact that this version is most definitely better.