Detroit 11 November 1984

 The Purple Rain tour opened with seven sold-out concerts in Detroit. This week I will be listening to a bootleg of the sixth show in that run. The recording hasn’t aged well (I know the feeling) but it is serviceable enough and gives us a good idea of the mania surrounding the Purple Rain tour. As always, Detroit greets Prince with open arms, and although this is the most basic of Purple Rain setlists (the concert is short, there is no “Take Me With U,” “Let’s Pretend We’re Married,” or  “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore?”) it is still an engaging performance, at least what we can hear of it. I prefer the concert on November 5th, but that too is very incomplete, and this is the only full concert we have from this Detroit run. 

11th November 1984. Joe Louis Arena, Detroit 

The potent fury of “Let’s Go Crazy” is mostly lost in the quality of the recording. Prince’s vocals can be heard, but the mainstay of the song, the guitar, and the keyboard, is lost in the background. Even the constant audience noise is muddled, and although I enjoy what I can hear, I just can’t hear enough. Already this is shaping up to be one for the completists. 

“Delirious” fares a little better, in fact, mid-song it becomes very thin and almost everything fades from view. From what I can hear, I do appreciate the imitable style of Dr. Fink, and we can hear the mic being dropped several times, suggesting Prince is putting on a show to match. 

 

The first song that I connect to on the recording is “1999.” For the first time, the band emerges from the fog of the recording, and although it would be a stretch to say they sparkle, at least we finally get a sense of the spectacle that is unfolding. The body of the song is kept short, and Prince heads straight to the good stuff- the finale, which encompasses all the screaming, audience participation, and dry funk guitar that you could wish for. Prince’s thrilling race to the finish is completed with one last flurry of guitar that surpasses the limitations of the recording. 

The songs off 1999 continue to tent pole the concert, the following “Little Red Corvette” holds the attention just as much as the previous “1999” and in particular Prince’s vocal performance holds special interest as he plays with the lyrics, giving them a different weight and feel to what is normally hear. I dig it all the way, and this is the song that reminds me why I have to hear everything, despite the quality. 

 

Meanwhile, the interlude drags, and here even more so as the recording barely captures the music while the screams of the audience become more of an irritant than a spontaneous live moment. The wait for “Free” to begin feels longer than it is, and when “Free” does appear it fails to gain any traction with the listener, the recording is just too poor to do right by its delicate nature. On the plus side though, Prince's vocals sound at their strongest at this point, he is right in my ears, and this is the loudest part of the performance. 

Musically, “Father’s Song” is the best part of the last fifteen minutes as Prince threads his way carefully through the spidery opening section. It is all too brief, however, and the concert again stalls as he pauses before picking up the opening strands of “God” 

“God” isn’t big enough to fill the concert hall, and as much as Prince emotes and pores over the lyrics the crowd noise increases, not in warm appreciation, but rather one senses due to a lack of interest in the music. It’s a shame, as either the recording is getting better, or I have adjusted to its quality. 

 

Wendy and Lisa’s spoken introduction to “Computer Blue” roots it firmly in the Purple Rain era, as does the large chunk of Prince weirdness that comes immediately before. Of course, I lap it all up, this is my Prince. “Computer Blue” carries its ominous and threatening tone, despite some of this being undone by the recording, and in this case, it is the bass of Brown Mark that carries the day, its driving bottom end anchoring the song against Prince’s burst of fury on the guitar. On a better recording I have no doubt that this would be outstanding, and even hearing it in this form there is still enough to recognize it for what it is – one of the best. 

I can’t compare “Darling Nikki” to “Computer Blue,” the contrast only highlighting what a magician Prince was in bringing different textures and sounds to his records and live performances. It's one of the lightest moments on the recording, yet perfectly enjoyable as Prince and the Revolution play a song that in this case sounds more good-natured than dangerously sexy. 

We are on firmer ground with “The Beautiful Ones,” the band breathing new life into the concert as the song blooms. The air thickens, and the recording becomes enveloped in the sensual warmth of Prince’s performance. It may not be the best-recorded concert in history, but it captures the drama of the moment and Prince’s masterful performance. On the downside, there is a jump mid-recording, and the sound thins near the end of the song, but Prince’s throaty screams have me putting this aside and just enjoying the moment for what it is. If only Wendy’s guitar solo had sounded just as strong I would be a happy man. 

The song of the moment is “When Doves Cry,” and early on the overwhelming sound is that of the crowd screaming. There is a lot to enjoy in the performance, but only if you overlook the quality of the sound. The instrument that stands out above all is Prince’s vocals, especially the screams he lets out, and it is a shame the rest of the song doesn’t sound as good as these moments. 

 

“I Would Die 4 U” is all shimmering and light, which fares a lot better than a lot of other songs on the recording. The song has a delightful coda, threatening to burst into something close to the 12-inch version – no doubt this was a song that got the full treatment at The Revolution’s legendary rehearsals, but instead it pulls back into an easy glide into “Baby I’m A Star.” What follows isn’t an epic ‘one for the ages’ performance, it’s too early in the tour for that, and although the band does jam on the song it’s nothing like the marathon extravaganzas that will follow later in the tour. The two key moments are the bass work early on, followed by some keyboard that stands up reasonably well on the recording. The song is enjoyable enough in its way, but I would still prefer to hear the performances a couple of months later. 

There is no epic quality to “Purple Rain” either. True enough, it does have the brooding extended opening that promises so much, but after this, it is a rather standard run-through of this beloved song, and it offers not much more than what we hear on the Purple Rain album itself.  The introduction features some guitar work by Prince that sounds like rain falling, but asides from this the overwhelming sound is that of the audience, and who could blame them at the height of Purple Rain mania. It is a disappointing ending, but fitting for a concert that has been kept short and sweet, and a recording that leaves much to be desired. 

 

This isn’t the worst concert recording in the world, but it does fall on the low end of the scale for audience recordings. As is my way, I still try and stay positive and find some good in every recording, and in this case, it is the Detroit crowd and the songs themselves. The crowd adds a lot of vitality to the show (some might say too much) and with the songs at their very peak, this is certainly an exciting moment in history. Of the Detroit concerts that have been bootlegged up to this point, and the ones to follow, this would be perhaps the weakest in terms of quality. However, a Purple Rain show is a Purple Rain show, and I would take that almost any day. Not an essential part of the collection, but it is another piece of the Purple Rain legend. One for the completists rather than a casual fan.