Los Angeles 11 October 1981

 Some recordings are considered more important than others. Some capture a band in peak form playing on those magical nights when you can almost feel the intensity and the sweat running down the walls. Others are crystal clear quality, every element caught in near perfection for us to enjoy. And then there are other recordings, capturing not just a performance, but a moment in time when something significant happens. A part of history. 

This recording, though not perfect, is one of these moments. 

October 11th, 1981 – Prince opening for the Rolling Stones. 

 

Like Michael Jordan being cut from his high school team, and then rising to complete domination of the NBA, the story of Prince being booed off opening for the Stones has now passed into part of his mythos, part of his struggle, and his legend. Would his ascent to the throne atop of pop music in the ’80s be quite as spectacular without adversary and this misstep from 1981? 

Much has been written about the two gigs when Prince opened for the Rolling Stones. I am sure it has been well covered, how Prince was roundly booed on both occasions and pelted with trash. Whether or not he was booed off the stage on October 11th is debatable, he certainly left mid-set. But the band does seem to finish their set, although it is brief and not without incident. 

It is not very often I listen to this recording, although of historical interest, it is not something I would choose to put on and listen to. But as it is significant I thought I would give a brief review. 

 

Prince wasn’t the only opening act that day. All three acts are recorded, J. Geils Band and George Thorogood both have three songs each on the recording I have. I don’t know if those are their complete sets, but it does help to put Princes’ five songs in perspective. 

 

Okay, enough of this talk, I’m here for the music, let's take a listen! 

Like any audience recording, it takes a few seconds to adjust to the grubby sound. At first, it's just noise, then sure enough the opening riff to “Bambi” can be made out. The first thing that struck me is how muscular and strong it sounds. Prince and Dez's guitars sound like they are cranked, and their playing is dead on. Bambi has always been a strong rock song, but here it sounds like they are pushing it. The other thing that stands out in the playing of this song for me is how well Brown Mark is playing. It’s one of his first gigs with them and in front of 94,000 people. I had read him saying how nervous he felt and scared when the stuff started flying, but in this song, his playing sounds very confident. 

When Prince starts singing it is not in his usual falsetto. And I’m surprised, but the song sounds better for it. Maybe it’s my rock background, but when he sings in his lower register on “Bambi” it hits me in the gut. This is how a great rock song should sound – not that I’m not a fan of it on record! The crowd doesn’t sound too hostile at this stage, they sound like any other crowd that is waiting in the hot sun for the support band to finish so they can see the main event- that is disinterested and slightly restless. 

Next up is one of my favorites from the early days “When You Were Mine.” Dez addresses the audience (I think it's Dez) during the intro, acknowledging that they are waiting for the Stones. At this point in the recording, a couple of the audience can be heard chatting. One guy says something like “one more song and then..” the rest of his sentence is lost. I always wonder what he was about to say. “one more song and then they’re off” or “One more song and then I’ll get a beer”? Another guy says (and again it is not clear so I’m guessing) “better in a small club”. The song kicks off, and for the first time, we hear the keyboards. They are not real prominent like the album, again the guitars are cranked to 11 for the rock crowd. I like the guitar sound in this version, they have a real buzz to them. Not the clean, new wave sound, but a more buzzing grunge sound. Again it appeals to my rock roots. The audience seems pretty boisterous throughout, and there is a bit of a cheer when the song ends (Is it an ironic cheer?) 

The band goes straight into “Jack U Off” without pause. It is during this song that it becomes apparent on the recording that they are playing to a hostile audience. Midway through the song an audience member comments “Look at all that trash”. I don’t know how much trash was thrown at them in the first couple of songs (Hey, I’m only listening on my stereo, not watching it!), but now it seems like the missiles are coming at them. The song ends with a loud and prolonged “boooooooo” 

 

“Uptown” next, and it is notable for the conspicuous absence of Prince himself. After whatever has gone down in the first few songs, he’s cut his losses and left the stage. And here I have to give credit to the band. They stay on, in front of 94,000 Rolling Stones fans, and play on without Prince. Best of all, they still sound good, a testament to how well-rehearsed and professional they were. Surprisingly the song itself doesn’t suffer too much from a lack of vocals. I kind of like this way. There is more room for the instruments to play, and Dez is sounding great on this one. I would like to hear more songs played like this. Normally “Uptown” is a bit overwhelmed by the lyrics and the message, but here the music itself comes out. I would love to hear this song in particular in better quality. 

Prince is back on board for the final song, “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?” (Is he singing it for the crowd?) Again he is singing lower, especially in the chorus. I enjoy it this way, but maybe it's because I am so used to how he normally sings it. The crowd noise isn’t so prominent in this song, maybe they have settled down about after his departure from the stage. Unfortunately, the taper announces halfway through the song that he’s had enough and stops the tape, so I guess I will never know how it ends. It's a shame, because normally the second half of “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad” really takes off, would love to know how it went over with the Stones fans. I don’t know how the audience reacted when he finished, but I guess they went back to their beers and continued. 

 

So it ends, one of Prince’s most famous gigs, but for all the wrong reasons. What is my verdict? While the recording isn’t great, it’s a fascinating look at one of the significant moments in Prince’s career. The songs are played with the white Stones audience in mind, and it’s refreshing to hear them played this way. I have plenty of early recordings where Dez and Prince have their guitars right out front, but none more so than this. The recording has several shortcomings, but I am very grateful to the taper who recorded this moment for us all to enjoy. It’s a nice little addition to the collection. Not a must-have, but an interesting curio.