Tame Impala: "Live Versions" differences

Tame Impala, the neo-psychedelic Australian band led by Kevin Parker, released a full-length live LP titled Live Versions on Record Store Day in 2014. The LP was limited to 5,000 copies, 500 of which were pressed in translucent green vinyl. Its nine tracks were selected from a 2013 Chicago concert. Most of the songs are drawn from the band's first two full-length studio albums Innerspeaker (2010) and Lonerism (2012). The music of Tame Impala loses none of its dreaminess in the live setting. Listening to Live Versions gives one a feeling of floating in outer space.

Tame Impala's sound is at once cosmic and melodic, almost hiding a melancholy pop sense behind an otherworldly wall of psychedelic sound. Tame Impala's studio recordings are usually made by Kevin Parker alone; when the full band plays live, they often add new dimensions to the original songs, augmenting them with extended jams and other effects. The tracks on Live Versions were selected because they feature noticeable differences from their studio originals. For each of the album’s tracks listed below, I've attempted to point out these differences.


Tame Impala - Live Versions


Tame Impala “Live Versions” (Modular MODVL184) 2014

Track Listing:

1. Endors Toi (4:36) – The band plays around more with effects here than on the studio version.

2. Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind? (4:10) – This version uses repetitive effects that you might expect to hear on a dance remix.

3. Sestri Levante (1:42) – A short but satisfying instrumental not found on either studio album

4. Mind Mischief (3:51) – A largely instrumental version with different synth passages

5. Desire Be, Desire Go (5:17) – The added passage at the two-thirds mark sounds like part of an entirely different song.

6. Half Full Glass Of Wine (7:36) – This song resembles a modern mutation of Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love”, even more so in this setting than on the studio version (which appeared on the self-titled 2008 debut EP). This live version adds a long instrumental midsection.

7. Be Above It (7:15) – Features an extended instrumental portion which adds layers of ambient sounds over the hypnotic drumming pattern

8. Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (2:41) – A creamy, melodic delight. This song has an even more spacey atmosphere in this setting, with a fuller keyboard sound.

9. Apocalypse Dreams (7:11) – A one-minute instrumental coda is appended to the end of the song -- and, in turn, the end of the album.

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