Quote:
Originally Posted by Micodin
yo that writer was on some hater shit. i agree that Tougher than Leather was received as a step down from Raising Hell (sonically i think it’s a brilliant album with a couple wack songs) but they were still killing live shows in 88.
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I think that writer made some pretty good arguments about why people were tuned in at the time. In hindsight these type shows were precursors to festivals where you grabbed the top artists, gave them a certain amount of time, and then turned them loose. Each one of them got 20 or 30 minutes to run their best routines. Run-DMC stuck to that formula as a top draw, and the Beasties did too until they went into left field with Paul's Boutique. Whatever any of our thoughts are about what broke the rap festival mode, and pushed individual artists to stop playing 5-8 songs and work on their game as a headliner, some took the next step. Innovation in live shows was rapid. Compare '87 to '92. This writer kinda pointed that out. That's all.
This is a key insight... "In fact, the structure of rap shows--short sets by several acts, rather than the practice of longer stints by two bands on arena rock shows--gives the evening a naturally competitive flair. Watching the parade of talent, it’s hard not to rate one against another. Because the acts rely on recorded music (mixed live by a disc jockey) rather than live musicians, the changeover time between acts is far less than at a rock show".