Hoodoo Gurus - Bittersweet Live in Dublin

[edgydc]

I'm all about disregarding any advocacy for pre-recorded backup vocals also. Ugh.

[howieizme]

Why.............why does this band continue to have their guitar and bass player sing backups that are sung on the albums by the lead vocalist? Note to the Hoodoo Gurus..(Record and sync all back up vocals with the singer). Handing the job over to your band is killing....and I mean KILLING your sound.

P.S.

Thanks for years of great music.

[Bent4life]

howieizme, I think you'll find that the recorded version of Bittersweet was done in the same format - i.e. backups sung by Brad and, at the time it was recorded, Clive. If you've got a problem with their vocals, however, that's another issue. Superb live band, and still doing it well. I think if you had been at this gig, you would have been blown away. I first saw them at The Tote (then Le Tote) in Melbourne, supported by The Scientists in 1983.

[howieizme]

That may very well be true. However as a novice recording engineer I know that the studio and the stage are two very different places. You can take a bad vocalist and make them sound fantastic in a high end studio with professional sound engineers. The fact remains that the bands vocal prowis is sub par at best. The Gurus live sound is hindered greatly IMHO by having the band back up live. At least send the band in and record the backups to play in sync live.

[Bent4life]

No disagreement about studio recordings. I'm not claiming that their vocals are great. Back in the day they generally sounded fair to middling in terms of the whole mix. But for guys who are now in the business end of their fifties they're doing a decent job live. They were always outstanding live and I'm happy to see that they can still get a crowd moving. Pre-recorded vocals would absolutely kill this band's live integrity, which is why they don't do it.

[achn2b]

@howieizme Christ, that's what a live show is all about.

Stay home and listen to the cd if it bugs you so much.

[futurenow71]

If you've seen the Gurus as many times as I, you'll know that in fact these guys usually sing pretty well. From the evidence on this posting, it sounds like they're having a bad night, but I'd be more inclined to putt that down to something technical like poor monitoring before dismissing them outright.

[PlasticJaysus23]

I have to point out that my fairly dodgy recording isn't doing such a great band justice, but it depresses me that a recording engineer (even a novice one) thinks that using pre-recorded backing vocals is appropriate - this is the Hoodoo Gurus, not the X-Factor!

On the night it didn't sound like there was a note out of place, and if the singing was actually a bit off some consideration should be given to the fact that they were just off a plane from Australia. I'd only been waiting 23 years!

[edgydc]

@howieizme Down with the very notion of pre-recorded backup vocals.

[GForceRush]

great song, but the harmonies here are for shit. Don't know if it's the voices or the mixing, but they sound horrible.

[garrett5]

what a gig it was!

dudes

[angelfielder]

Classic. Great film and sound quality. Cheers! The Gurus rule - got any more from this gig?