Agree with all of this... the Tusk versions were best. It's somehow warmer and more heartfelt. The Mirage stuff to me sounds more"synthesized" and cold. As was noted, some songs benefitted from this, like Sisters, but Sara does not. Angel has never sounded as good as the Tusk tour and even that wasn't as good as the album for me.
Interesting point about how the sound changed as they added more supporting musicians. Even though they're playing the same notes, they just don't come through other people's fingers the same unique way they do from Chris or Lindsey's. It changes the whole vibe and makes it more like sterile, studio musician sounding.
