Tribute Bands: Can the Copy Be Better Than the Original?

Leonid & Friends

Some months ago, I found a new band, Leonid & Friends, on YouTube. They’re composed of Ukrainian and Russian musicians, which in these times is cool in itself. What I love is that they perform the songs of the great horn bands. A ton of Chicago, Steely Dan, Tower of Power, the Ides of March, the Brecker Brothers, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Blood, Sweat & Tears, all done well. You’ll also hear them play high-energy R&B and pop from such groups as Chaka Khan, Deep Purple, and Stevie Wonder.

Recently, surely due to discovering Leonid & Friends, I’ve been missing playing in a group like this myself. But in a perfect moment of synchronicity, I found out that my local big band, the Fairfield Jazz Band, suddenly added Chicago’s “Make Me Smile” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September” to our portfolio of songs!

When I came upon Leonid, I literally cried for the joy of it. All of the songs were performed note perfect, with players and singers who sound like the real thing. Over the years I’ve heard many tribute bands, but usually live. Leonid & Friends offers something else that I love; almost all of their videos have soundtracks that exceed the quality of the original recordings of the original bands!

This is important for an audio guy. I can enjoy these recordings through a worthy stereo without having to listen around the mediocre recording quality. Thanks to YouTube and Tidal, I’m developing a bigger love for music videos in general. They also add to the feeling of being there.

When you splurge a little to get your AV system to give you that kind of “being there” experience, you give yourself permission to listen (and watch) more often. Before long, you gain a deeper appreciation of music based upon what a great system can reveal to you. I’ve seen hard rockers get into Beethoven because they finally heard the power of the bass and the shimmer of the strings of the real orchestra in their own living room. I’m sure I wouldn’t be so excited about creating my own horn group if I’d only listened to music through the little boombox in our kitchen.

Just a few days ago, my neighbor played a front-row recording he made of a Led Zeppelin tribute band named “Get the LED Out,” who were recently here at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. They played note-perfect solos, had excellent sound, and showed a very accurate understanding of the group. If you’d never heard the original band live, the tribute group gives you the opportunity to hear your favorite music in a real concert venue, often through the same quality of instruments and amps that the original group used. These guys will do anything to sound authentic; they love the band that they are emulating!

I only give you one caution: bring ear plugs that can protect your hearing without altering the sound quality. There is absolutely nothing macho about listening to music that’s too loud! If you find that you are playing your home system too loud for the music to have enough kick, you need to get speakers that have tons of kick at safe volumes. Save those ears!

I often joke that the only playbill that I ever saved was from my first supergroup concert ever: Cream at a big livestock arena in Chicago in 1968. Their opening act was Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. After that concert, all of my other playbills were ripped up to fill my ears with protection.

So far I haven’t addressed whether a copy of a piece of recorded music can sound better than the original.

If a recording was originally compressed, where the distance between the loudest and softest passages were electronically squished closer together to fit onto the LP or tape more easily, putting it through a “dynamic range expander” can give it kick closer to the original music, if the expander isn’t overutilized. Too much and all the music might pulsate with the bass drum kick, or you’ll hear the background hiss get louder and softer with each beat. Going back to a well-recorded original master tape and re-recording the music onto a medium that can handle the original kick can yield great results. Most remastered recordings sound better than the original release.

The best thing about getting a better audio system is that it will even make bad recordings sound much better. The exact blend of ingredients that’s right for you is yet to be determined, but a system that does all things well makes everything sound better. You’ll know when the recording isn’t a great recording, but you’ll also enjoy your worst recordings more than ever before. You may notice that recordings that you haven’t listened to for years have found their way back onto your playlist.

Remember, it’s always all about the music.

Paul owns Golden Ears Inc. in Fairfield.