Detroit 2 December 1982

 There is no doubt that Detroit has a lot of love for Prince, and Prince reciprocated this love over the years with many great concerts, and subsequent bootlegs to match. The most well-known of these is the 1986 birthday show, but I can point to any number of concerts where the energy levels of the Detroit crowds, and rabid fandom, lifted Prince and the band to new heights. So for the next few weeks, I will be listening to a string of bootlegs from across Prince's career all taken from his performances in Detroit. The earliest Detroit gig we have a recording of is the concert of November 30th, 1982  as the 1999 tour steamed across the country. I have covered that concert previously here, and it is an outstanding soundboard from the six concerts he played in Detroit early in the tour. Much less talked about is the bootleg from the concert a couple of days later released by African Shark. It is not a soundboard recording, but it is still a notable release as it includes both the Times set and Vanity 6. The Detroit crowd is lively, to say the least, and this recording captures the excitement and energy of a Prince live concert just as well, if not better than the clean sterile sound of a soundboard. The setlist of a 1999 show offers very little (read no) surprises, but it matters not, as the passion and love of the music burns through, and even the most familiar of material takes on a life of its own in this setting. To be honest, I have had a terrible day at work today, and I look forward to losing myself in the music for the next 60 minutes, and I can’t think of a better way to do it than with this recording. 

2nd December 1982, Masonic Temple Auditorium, Detroit. 

The recording drops us right into the midst of the action, thirty seconds into “Controversy” with the crowd at full noise, and the band already accelerating them into a funky frenzy. The sound of the recording is uneven, but the groove and heart of the song are firmly intact, the screams of the audience merely decoration upon the tower of funk the band is building. Some may fear the rawness of this audience recording, but I urge you to embrace it and let yourself become one with the inflamed Detroit crowd. 

 

“Let’s Work” takes the energy of “Controversy” and ratchets it up further with the band coming more to the fore than the previous song. The rolling waves of the synths crush all before them, while the crowd noise surfs across the front of the tidal assault. The bass gives the song further depth than the previous dry “Controversy” and the song becomes a moment to dance and celebrate rather than analyze. This may be the 1999 tour, but it is these two songs off the Controversy album that set the standard that the rest of the concert must live up to. 

The crowd noise threatens to overwhelm the opening heart-beat of “Little Red Corvette” but Prince and The Revolution punch their way out the corner with a rendition that is less emotional and far more insistent than one might expect. It comes on strong, a souped-up pop song that finds an extra edge and muscle in Detroit. I often write of the feel of this song, but in this case, it is a gut punch rather than a gentle caress, an excellent version that is worth checking out. 

 

The delicate lacework of Prince’s opening guitar of “Do Me, Baby” is well and truly lost to the crowd, they aren’t about to sit back and soak up his baroque musings, this is the Beatlesque moment when the lusty sexual cries of the female audience members smother the recording. Prince raises his performance again, he matches the strength of the audience with a steely performance that is more masculine than we have come to expect. Again, it is far from perfect sound, but I would happily take this over any number of other recordings I have heard, based purely on the wonderful way it captures the most spirited moments of a live concert. 

There is no let-up in the energy of the crowd as “D.M.S.R.” makes its appearance in the setlist. The real joy lies not in the lyrics of the song, but rather in the driving guitar lines that arrive in the middle of the song. However I feel cheated by its mere four-minute run time, there will be far more epic versions of “D.M.S.R.” in future Detroit shows, this is just a taster for what is to come. 

“Lisa’s Solo” shimmers and sparkles in a different light from these funk tunes, it carries its own inner grace and the song draws inward rather than an outward display of power. It is perfectly paced and placed, a chance to draw our breath before the Prince takes a turn at the piano. 

 

There is some piano noodling by Prince at the beginning of “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore,” and the crowd remains relativity quiet before they erupt into orgasmic pleasure at the first strains of the song itself. This audience isn’t one to hide their feelings, and they immediately embrace the man and the music with their vocal appreciation. It serves as an important moment in the show, and the bond between performer and audience is never stronger than right here. 

The jam appended to the end of “Lady Cab Driver” excites me no end, it is a thrilling way to end a song I thought I knew so well. The main song offers no surprises, but all bets are off for the final three minutes as Prince ad-libs lyrics and the band adds a lighter touch to the groove, except Dez who dirties up the music with a bold and striking guitar solo. There is the briefest of keyboard solos that match him for sound, and along with the unstoppable groove, this becomes my favorite part of the whole recording. 

 

You could never call “International Lover” a letdown, but it certainly is a comedown after some of the previous unhinged moments of the concert. Prince gives a lengthy speech mid-song, one of the longer ones I have heard, and it is here where he demonstrates just what a naughty boy he can be. We don’t have the visuals, but the response from the crowd suggests he is being just as salacious on stage as he is being on the microphone. 

“1999” is the song of the moment, and in this case, it gets Prince’s full attention with an extended nine-minute rendition. The Detroit crowd let me down at this point, they are less vocal for this song than anything else heard on the bootleg. The music lacks the intensity heard earlier in the show, and overall this feels like a flat spot on the recording. There is a lively few moments with the guitar, but it’s not enough to jump-start the performance and it remains flat. 

The crowd is back on board for the band introductions, before Prince and the band flies through a wild sounding “Delirious” It’s fast and furious and is a fitting swansong to the evening. It has more body to it than I expect and the momentum of the bass line is what holds it all together. The keyboards are normally distracting, but in this case, they are subverted by both the bass and the lead guitar. The “1999” outro comes all too soon, and before I know it I am again sitting in silence. 

Detroit will see bigger, and better, concerts from Prince in years to come, but this is a fine place to start. The soundboard recordings from the 1999 tour garner all the praise, but this concert has its own aura and energy that isn’t always heard on those more pristine recordings. This may not be one to play loudly on your top-end hi-fi system, but it works well as a concert experience, and it will certainly be one that I will revisit. I might even go so far as to say that this is my favorite of the 1999 recordings currently circulating. A brave statement, but for me it contains all the key elements of a Prince concert, and has a feeling that is unmatched throughout the tour. 

Next week I will return to another Detroit show from the tail end of the 1999 tour. Five months later, it has a different setlist and hopefully is just as compelling as this week’s recording.