// sunday music: great live versions
Okay, this one is going to be really quick – this weekend has been crazy, and so i’m pretty exhausted at present. These are clearly only a very small selection of the amazing live versions out there, but i’ll undoubtedly post another piece later this year with more of them – so let me know any of your suggestions of songs whose live version has lifted the original to a whole new level.
The first is Springsteen again, with an incredible version of Thunder Road that was recorded the year after the release of Born to Run. The crowd is totally wild, the atmosphere is obviously electric even from the grainy footage and Bruce is on fire. It’s enough to restore your faith in rock and roll, and it’s worth a look even if you’ve never been a Springsteen fan.
“Show a little faith, there’s magic in the night; | You ain’t a beauty, but hey, you’re alright…”
Pick number two tonight is, of all people, U2 – a live version of Where the Streets Have No Name from Slane Castle. The original has always been one of my favourite songs, embarrassing though it is to admit it, and this version turns it into a glorious and yearning song of worship.
Sometimes U2 can be lyrically clumsy, pious or just plain embarrassing – here, though, they are breathtaking:
Finally, pick number three comes from Jesus Culture and their new album Come Away. This is the closing track, called One Thing Remains, and it is an incredible, jaw-dropping worship experience. The sound on this video is slightly off, which is frustrating, but you still get a sense of what it would have been like to have been in the room. (There’s an audio-only version here.)
It’s immersive worship music, arguably worship the way it should be, drawing you into the singer’s awe and adoration and carrying you along with it until you too see it as they do. It is amazing:
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And that’s sunday music for this week!
Thanks for your comments over the weekend and i’ll see you next Friday…
worship music should sound like this 
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