Saturday Night Live: 25 Years Of Musical Performances, Vol. 1 [Live]

Amazon.com
Volume One of the Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances is a lot like the show itself--some bits work, some don't. What works is Elvis Costello's infamous performance of "Radio Radio," a direct middle finger to those at his record label who insisted he perform the less controversial "Less Than Zero." Paul Simon's "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" is a faithful but even more delightful reading of his finest post-Garfunkel hour. The Grateful Dead's performance is noteworthy simply for the fact that it's the Dead. Other than that, Volume One is sorely dependent on showcasing rote readings of really famous pop songs. That's passable for newer artists like Jewel or the Dave Matthews Band, but even Eric Clapton sticks to playing the tired and sappy "Wonderful Tonight" in a performance some dozen-odd years after the song was a bona fide hit. --Jason Josephes

Saturday Night Live: 25 Years Of Musical Performances, Vol. 1,Various Artists,One Way Records Inc,Adult Alternative Pop/Rock,Adult Contemporary,Album Rock,Alternative Pop/Rock,Folk-Rock,Hard Rock,Heartland Rock,Pop,Pop/Rock,Rock,Singer/Songwriter,Soft Rock

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Saturday Night Live: 25 Years Of Musical Performances, Vol. 1 [Live]

Average customer rating: OK, OK......it's not the compilation of your favorite SNL's.......... Lame Where is DEVO? B-52's? DVD showing Bowie/Nomi etc?! Cheap! Zzzz... Let the people choose...

Saturday Night Live: 25 Years Of Musical Performances, Vol. 1 Various Artists Manufacturer: One Way Records Inc ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Contemporary Folk | Folk | Styles | Music General | Pop | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Soft Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music General | Adult Contemporary | Pop | Styles | Music Adult Alternative | Pop | Styles | Music Folk Rock | Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music General | Compilations | Rock | Styles | Music General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Pop General | Pop | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Rock General | Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Rock General | Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Alternative General | Alternative Rock | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music Similar Items: Saturday Night Live: 25 Years of Musical Performances, Vol. 2 Live On Letterman : Music From The Late Show Tibetan Freedom Concert; New York City, June 1997 Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live From 6A : Late Night With Conan O'Brien ASIN: B00001QGNN Release Date: 2001-10-15

Tracks:

1. Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes - Paul Simon
2. If I Ever Lose My Faith In You - Sting
3. Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
4. Round Here - Counting Crows
5. Why - Annie Lennox
6. Secret O' Life - James Taylor
7. Who Will Save Your Soul - Jewel
8. Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
9. Honey Bee - Tom Petty
10. Casey Jones - Grateful Dead
11. What Would You Say - Dave Matthews Band
12. Only The Good Die Young - Billy Joel
13. Radio, Radio - Elvis Costello
14. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) - David Bowie
15. I Love L.A. - Randy Newman

Amazon.com

Volume One of the Saturday Night Live: The Musical Performances is a lot like the show itself--some bits work, some don't. What works is Elvis Costello's infamous performance of "Radio Radio," a direct middle finger to those at his record label who insisted he perform the less controversial "Less Than Zero." Paul Simon's "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" is a faithful but even more delightful reading of his finest post-Garfunkel hour. The Grateful Dead's performance is noteworthy simply for the fact that it's the Dead. Other than that, Volume One is sorely dependent on showcasing rote readings of really famous pop songs. That's passable for newer artists like Jewel or the Dave Matthews Band, but even Eric Clapton sticks to playing the tired and sappy "Wonderful Tonight" in a performance some dozen-odd years after the song was a bona fide hit. --Jason Josephes

Customer Reviews:

OK, OK......it's not the compilation of your favorite SNL's.................2007-01-22

...........but this is fantanstic live material with crystal perfect sound. Matthews, Lennox, Jewel and Sting are absolutely outstanding in their performances' and the rest is good too. And you're getting it at a nice price.

Lame.......2006-07-18

Where`s FEAR? Oh yeah, the only thing SNL is afraid of showing. Not-so-commercial hardcore punk with a drunk bunch of skinhead fans destroying the place. Not only does FEAR kick some serious a**, their (not quite) 15 minutes of fame was the best thing ever to come out of SNL, thanks to Belushi. Wait, that makes it 2. Oh well.

The Costello performance is great though.

Where is DEVO? B-52's? DVD showing Bowie/Nomi etc?! Cheap!.......2005-04-23

This is such a waste. Back in the day, before cable and DVD and the Internet - you'd stay up late to catch the latest hip rockers on SNL - at that time, the ONLY place to see those up and coming bands play live - so what do we get here on this supposed "Best of" CD? The SAFEST, SOFTEST, LAMEST choices imaginable! Save for BOWIE's amazing take on SCARY MONSTERS, this sucks big time - and even Bowie is robbed of the stunning VISUAL performance he gave - who can forget him and the late great KLAUS NOMI in their mannequin-like cases singing immobile? Also, where is DEVO circa JOCKO HOMO?! Where are the B-52's doing their seminal ROCK LOBSTER? THE CLASH doing Straight to Hell?! etc. I could go on and on...They should have divided it up by GENRE - one for punk/new wave, one for old fogies, one for rap/soul, etc. Instead, this CD serves no one. A real missed opportunity! Where is the DVD of all the LIVE performances? SNL (Broadway Video) OWNS these clips, so there is NO reason except...GREED?!

Zzzz..........2004-02-18

Aimed for the baby boomer segment of SNL's audience such as myself (Volume 2 is aimed more toward Gen Xers), this may allow listeners to hear some of their favorite artists on the car CD player without having a multidisc changer, but that's about all it's got going for it. Ranging from the pleasant (Paul Simon's "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," with a terrific arrangement and vocal backup) to the awful (who decided Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" would do anything but put us to sleep?), most of these live versions stick closely to the original arrangements, but sound cheesier because of the inherent limitations of setting up the band on stage (Randy Newman's "I Love L.A."). Sting, Annie Lennox, Tom Petty, David Bowie, Billy Joel -- it's like a reunion of rich classic rock stars.

The one exception is Elvis Costello's driving "Radio, Radio," which, of course, had the fake-out open (the first 15 seconds from "Less Than Zero," before he abruptly switched gears, making him part of SNL legend). Note to Lorne Michaels: that ain't "Alison" he was playing, contrary to your recollection in the liner notes.

Speaking of which, considering these performances from a TV show, what dork in Dreamworks' design department decided not to use a single image from the shows in question for the CD booklet? No wonder this puppy headed straight for the cutout rack.

Let the people choose..........2003-10-26

There are so many great performances not included on Volumes 1 and 2 that I don't even know where to begin but here's a short list just off the top of my head: Jackson Browne (1977, Running on Empty, The Pretender); The Band (playing a three song set!); Nirvana (killer version of Smells Like Teen Spirit); Suzanne Vega (Luka); 10,000 Maniacs (first appearance in 1987); Neil Young (Rocking In The Free World); Pearl Jam (Alive); Keith Richards (1987 solo album). I could go on for an hour...

I agree with another reviewer that these performances should also be put out on DVD. However here's another idea: put EVERY SNL musical performance out on one of the new online music services like iTunes and let the fans buy the performances they want! I'd pay to construct my perfect SNL musical guests CD. Think about it.

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