Thursday, November 7, 2019

Are You Ready To Rock?! with Sleeping In Traffic

In September, Sleeping In Traffic, a progressive rock four piece from Edmonton, Alberta released their latest EP.

You could easily check it out on BANDCAMP while you're reading this.

But don't stop there!

They've dropped three releases in the past few months.

As they're Canadian and prog rock, whom do you think they're going to talk about when it comes to live records?

I'm guessing it's Triumph.

Let's find out.

1. Every major band worth its salt has released a live album. Tell me about your favorite A list band's live record and your favorite underground live album.  

Rush's R30 was a huge introduction for me into progressive rock and into Rush's work. The live album sounds incredible. 

Just over 2 hours long of excellent prog rock, well-produced and very entertaining.

Favourite live underground band's record would be Botch's 061502. Botch's final live performance. It's raw, powerful, and just gives me goosebumps. 

Honourable mention to Between the Buried and Me's Colors Live. 

2. Kiss, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, etc, all have released several live sets. Tell me about a band who's gotten you to purchase multiple live sets and why?  

After listening to Rush's R30 on repeat, I quickly dove into their other live work such as Rush In Rio, Exit... Stage Left, Time Machine 2011. 

Their production is top-notch, performances are untouchable and they are a fun quirky band. Growing up listening to Rush definitely shaped my musical taste into what it is today. 

3. Now, it's time to take a stand. Would you rather have an album like Kiss's Alive! where the tracks were doctored into perfection or would you rather have a Jimi Hendrix Live At Berkeley set where they just mixed and mastered the tapes?

For the most part, I would probably want a live album where the production and the tracks were close to being perfect for a live band.

Especially with more technical music. Some bands don't need this kind of treatment though if Botch's 061502 was overproduced, I think it would totally ruin the vibe of the track.

It's meant to be raw and real, it makes the listener feel like they are there in the crowd, rocking out.

4. In the early 90's, Anthrax released a live album called Live: The Island  Years. Due to reasons beyond Anthrax's control, this one just never felt right to me and I soon unloaded it. Tell me about one that disappointed you when it came out?

Between the Buried and Me: Coma Ecliptic Live

Don't get me wrong, it's a good album, the music is good and the performances are great. It just never hit home with me, especially when you compare it to their previous live recording of Colors. 

I think when I first starting listening to it, I had set the bar from Colors really high that Coma Ecliptic Live could never reach it. 

It's not a bad recording, just never got into it.

5. What's the right length for a live album?  

At least an hour. Anything shorter than that is too much of a tease. 

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