Depends on the artist/genre, Alex. For folk, I'd much prefer a live recording, otherwise you don't get any of the feeling that comes with ppl singing along, laughing at the funny bits, etc. For rock, I'd agree it doesn't work too well, partly bcos it's very difficult to record it effectively. Having said that, one of my favourite CDs is Dire Straits' "Alchemy", so I'm not consistent on that! :-)

Graham.