After my last post, my good friend Viv suggested that rather than choosing a random gig from the collection, I should select something that I recommend or one that is special to me. Great idea Viv, I have just the very thing. Today’s gig more than covers both of those options. This recording is special to me in many ways and is the most played in my collection. It was the first bootleg I ever bought and is still played regularly at my house.
February 28TH 1982, New Orleans.
WOW! This is it for me, ground zero. It is the point where I went from being a fan to a fanatic. This gig blew my mind when I first heard it, and I am not exaggerating when I say it changed my life (my music listening at least). I had been a fan of Prince since I first heard 1999, but I had never bothered to go back through his back catalog. One day when I was 16 I skipped school for the day and went into town to visit my favorite record store (I hope my mother doesn’t read this). It would have been 1989. I was looking through the Prince CDs, not expecting anything new, just from habit. And there, with all the regular albums I knew so well, was another CD, with a strange cover I had never seen before. I had heard of bootlegs, but I had never seen one before. I was a little shocked by the price, it was twice as much as the regular CDs, but the song-list was full of early songs which I had never heard before. I went home and got all my money together, and the next day after school I rushed into town and bought it. Because I had never heard a bootleg before I was unaware that they vary in quality, but I got lucky with this one, an excellent soundboard recording of an excellent gig.
We used to have one stereo in the house, it was in the lounge. I wasn’t allowed to play Prince, my parents thought I shouldn’t be listening to this sort of thing, so I had to wait until later that night when everyone was asleep, then put it on quietly and listen in the dark. The sound that came out of the speakers that night was so energetic, so real, so raw, I couldn’t help but be transported away by it. I felt a million miles from small-town New Zealand.
25 years on and I still love to play this one. I listened to it three times while writing this, and will probably listen to it another couple of times before I finish.
The recording begins with a long drum roll. You cannot imagine the excitement that fills me every time I hear this. Prince hits us with a few good “Awwws” then BANG the guitars and keyboards jump into “Uptown.” The music is instantly lively and accessible. Looking at the Controversy tour schedule, Prince and the band were playing almost every single night. This gig falls near the end of the tour, but they don’t sound the least bit tired or jaded. The music just leaps out of the speakers at me. The guitars and keyboard propel the song forward, as with most of the songs on this recording the music has a real feeling of moving forward. Prince himself seems caught up in it all and yells out “What’s up New Orleans”. It adds an urgency when he yells out between his singing, I especially like when he sings “are you gay?” then a couple of lines later yells “NO, is yo mamma!” It’s so raw compared to the recorded version. I have to give a special mention to the drums, they have a great electronic crash to them, it livens every song when Bobby Z comes in with his crash.
Prince yells “Are you all ready!” and we are into “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad.” Again we have the crash drum from Bobby Z and grinding guitar. The riff repeats a few times, and it’s very uplifting. The guitars and keyboard pull back for the verses and give Prince room to sing. It seems so quiet after the first five minutes we have heard. Prince speaks rather than sings the line “Ain’t that enough” and you can hear that it’s a real person singing the song, it adds just enough touch of emotion to it. It was songs like this that made me choose Prince over other music that was available in the 1980s. Prince sings like he means every single word. This is another song I would like to hear make a comeback on his setlists. I think it would still work well today. The guitar solos begin at the three-minute mark, and at four minutes there is a very nice piece where one phrase is repeated over and over then the second guitar joins in. My ears love this sort of thing. There is a brief bridge, a bit of a drum roll then Prince screams “that’s right, I’m crazy”, “Why you wanna treat me so bad -bitch!” and lurches into another guitar solo, this time a litter lower, and less frenetic. The song ends with Prince singing a capella “If I really did it to you good, if I really did it to you good, why you wanna treat me so bad” before all the band jump in for squealing guitars and drum finish.
The next song starts simply with a basic beat and Prince implores the crowd with “Hey” “New Orleans” “Hey”, then the classic new wave guitar and keyboard sound take over, and “When You Were Mine” begins. I have always been a fan of these lyrics, I think here Prince nailed the perfect pop song. There is a very nice contrast between this song and the previous two. There is a lot more keyboard in this song, and it feels like a nice rest. In fact, there is more keyboard here than in the modern version. which is strange, because nowadays this is played as one of his more guitar-driven songs. The guitars and keyboard play in sync a lot during this song, and indeed through the whole gig. It gives a nice strong sound and is one of the distinctive sounds of his songs at this period. and for the record- I love it! It’s very hard for me to write anything about these songs, I keep putting my pen down and just sit listening to the music. The song winds down with Prince quietly singing with just his guitar “All I ever wanted to do”……pause…..”Now I spend my time”…pause….” Following him where ever he goes” then the band joins in while he yelps ” When you were my babe, my babe, my babe”. I feel his pain.
The next song begins with a long synthesizer twinkle, spacey type sound. Prince dedicates this one to all the ladies – “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” The keyboard hook comes in, and it’s just too damn catchy, it’s going to be rattling around my head for the rest of the day. The backing singers chime in on the chorus with “Lover” and it just sounds so joyful and uplifting. I can’t even imagine being in a bad mood listening to this song. The crowd sings a few lines from the versus and Prince gives them space to sing the chorus with the backing singers. Lisa plays a very nice synth solo, it has got an electric feel to it as well as an electric sound. The song transitions here, and feels a little darker and slower, it begins to slip into a nice groove with more bass and some funky guitar playing. A sudden synth stab and we enter new territory with “Head.”
I knew the reputation of the song head before I actually heard it. Hearing it here on this recording was the first time for me, and it's one of my ‘moments’ when growing up! The beat of this song is sublime, and the synth is deliciously sharp and electric. This song is F U N K Y! The keyboard is everywhere, over and under the music, and the funky guitar is prominent. The whole song just reeks of dirtiness, griminess, and filth, it's so dark and slinky. Just everything locks into the overall sound of it. The guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums all sound just as dirty as the lyrical content. Dr. Finks's work on this song is legendary, and rightly so. Nobody plays the solo quite like that, and it’s one of the distinctive sounds of this song. Here, as always, he is brilliant and frantic. Prince encourages the crowd to chant “Head” and it sounds like they don’t need much encouragement to join along. There is some amazing funky guitar, I just find myself shaking my head and saying “wow”. Now, that wouldn’t be much of a review, would it!
There is an filthy guitar break, it's just so dirty. And then another great stabbing solo. In the background the cymbals keep ringing along, it all contributes to the atmosphere of the song. This song is the centerpiece of the gig. It runs for 12 minutes, and for me, it is everything I love about Prince, the funkiness, the guitar playing, and the naughtiness. The song cuts back to just bass and cymbals, then some more solo Prince work on the guitar. There is squealing and grinding guitar noise, and I guess at this point he is simulating masturbation with his guitar, The song ends with a long prolonged guitar howl.
With a steady sound of cymbals and synths, “Annie Christian” takes half a minute before Dez and his chugging guitar are heard. Cymbals are very prominent in the whole gig, and no more so than here. I always associate Prince with the sharp snare drum, but in this period, especially live, the cymbals are right at the front. The guitar is very raw, and rock sounding, however it doesn’t overwhelm the song, the mix is just the right balance. With a yell of “Turn it up!” there are the obligatory guitar solos. They seem to play back and forth between the two of them before it comes to an end of keyboard and guitar noise.
Catch your breath, there is a second's silence before the drumbeat starts and the keyboard hits the pulsating groove that is “Dirty Mind.” Again the guitar plays along with the keyboard lines. It pushes it forward through the whole song and gives it all a fantastic energy. The rhythm guitar on every track here is outstanding. Several times Prince strips the song back to just the beat for a few bars, then back into it. Each time it builds the song up and takes us back to the chorus. The chorus itself is great, with the female voices backing Prince well. Again it’s all sung with a lot of energy.
When I was a teenager, Prince singing “I don’t want to hurt you, baby, I only want to lay you down” really spoke to me. I still find myself singing this at inappropriate moments 25 years on! There is a quick rhythm guitar break, then that is matched by an equally impressive keyboard freak out. Five minutes and all the guitars drop out. The first five minutes passed by so quickly, that it doesn’t feel like a long song at all, and I put that down to the sheer energy of it all. With just the keyboards and beat underneath Prince goes into a long spoken/quasi sung section. It is typical of one of the seduction scenes that frequently appear in his songs. He begins by singing “New Orleans, do you feel alright” a couple of times, before he changes to a more smutty theme. He asks if she is wearing any underwear, and then comes back with “neither am I”
I said that “Head” was the centerpiece of this gig, but I take that all back. This is the centerpiece of it all, and the standout highlight for me. Prince continues his seduction, telling us he has” a big ole bed, just me and you, tell you what I wanna do” But the best part of it all for me is when he says ” Excuse me, baby, do you believe in love at first sight?’ “Excuse me, baby, do you believe in making love on the first night?”, the at a call of “Turn it up!” all the guitars reenter the song, the keyboard returns to the main riff, and the song is again driven forward. Unfortunately, the song fades here, so I don’t know where they take it next. But it was sounding pretty hot about the time the fade came.
“Controversy” begins with Dez calling “party in here tonight, everyone on your feet.” It is played faster than on the album but is still very funky. There are some very fast and funky guitars and keyboards battling it out during the song. There is a breakdown with calls for people to raise their hands, and it turns into a call and response sing-along along the lines of “New Orleans, we know how to party” The guitar playing is very sharp here, it gets me moving. There is a great scream by Prince after his “people call me rude” lines. The song itself lasts for seven minutes, but it seemed to go by in a flash. A great song, and it feels a little lighter after the extended dramas of the previous couple of songs. The song closes with another long synthesizer-led crescendo.
A quick “Thank you and Good night” ends the set.
The band returns with “Let’s Work.” You know right away this is going to be a long dance workout, and it delivers. Dez affirms this when he calls out “It's officially party time, I want you to get up and party!” There is very little guitar in this one, it is all bass and keyboard as you might expect. It's a long groove of a song, with plenty of time to dance to it. Several times Prince chants “Work it, alright, work it, all night” and I get the feeling that this is exactly what the crowd is doing.
Prince introduces the next song with “You know you can’t leave until I Jack U off”, a quick count of 1,2,3,4, and then a frenetic burst of the guitar. I am not a fan of this on record, and only like it slightly more live. It does highlight some very fine and fast guitar work, but beyond that, there is not much more. It’s fast and furious and does sound like fun. The song has a false ending, then Prince asks “If you anyone asks you, who you belong to? Who?” then another burst of sound and it ends.
Phew, there it is. My most favorite live recording, although I do of course reserve the right to change my mind on any given day. I am not sure how I can best explain why I enjoy this one above all others. Maybe because the music on this one hasn’t been overplayed in a million different ways, like a “Purple Rain” or “Raspberry Beret.” Or maybe it's because the whole thing is played with energy and a feeling and belief in the music. When I listen to this one I do not doubt that Prince means every word he sings, every note he plays. Or maybe, and perhaps most realistically, I enjoy this one the most because it takes me back to when I was young and this whole journey of Prince fandom began.
This is one gig that shows off all the aspects of Prince I love so much- his guitar playing, his funkiness, some dirty songs, some throw-away songs, all played with maximum power and pleasure. The only thing missing is one of his slower songs, but I think this is not the whole gig we have here- I find it hard to believe that Do Me baby wasn’t played at this time. That said, this recording is a MUST HAVE for any Prince fan
I have a few other favorites that I will be covering in the next few weeks, so I hope you find a thing or two you enjoy. As always I am open to ideas of what I should listen to.
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