Detroit 7 June 1986

 

The most famous of the Detroit shows circulating is undoubtedly the 1986 birthday concert from Cobo Arena. Professionally filmed and broadcast, I feel safe in saying that it is in most people's collections. A great performance, and a fantastic recording, it is one of the most well-known concerts in circulation. Not so well known is the audience recording of this show. A typical audience recording of the mid-80s, there is nothing remarkable about it asides from the fact that it records the whole show, a show that spans two hours in comparison to the aired version that clocks in just over an hour. What is missing is significant, and hearing it in this case makes the show a more well-rounded and even experience. The quality can’t be compared, this is another rough listen, but it shines a different light on this well-known show with songs such as “Purple Rain” and “A Love Bizarre” adding some weight to the short sharp songs that make up the rest of the concert.

7th June 1986. Cobo Arena, Detroit.

Like the previous Detroit concerts I have listened to, the audience is vocal and right in our ears from the first moments. “Around The World In A Day” doesn’t make any discernible sonic statement, apart from the fact that it is here the concert has started. With an energized Detroit crowd, the song clatters and dissolves into a morass of screams and cheers for our birthday boy.

There is more to be gained from “Christopher Tracy’s Parade” as the crowd settles and the recording becomes better balanced. With its chorus soaring skyward the song bursts into the sunlight and lifts the concert from the opening hubbub. As noisy as the recording is, the music emerges with a rugged charm that keeps me listening close.

 

“New Position” is where this audience recording differs from the broadcast version. Whereas the video of  “New Position” is the briefest of hooks before a long vamp into “Raspberry Beret,” this recording reveals it to be a breezy full-length rendition that leads neatly into “I Wonder U” – a song that doesn’t appear on the broadcast at all. It’s not a great bootleg moment, the sound is too poor, but it is interesting to note how seamlessly the TV production is put together so that this moment isn’t missed at all.

With the final vamp into “Raspberry Beret,” we return to what we are familiar with from the broadcast, a crowd-pleasing bubblegum rendition of the ever joyful “Raspberry Beret.” Some of that pop and fizz is missing from the audience recording, but one can hear the Detroit crowd lapping it up and reveling in the moment.

The appearance of “Alexa De Paris” would also be a revelation for someone who has only ever experienced the broadcast. The anguished cries of the guitar are nullified by the crowd chatter, with Prince absent from stage interest is waning somewhat, but it is still likable enough, albeit a tough listen.

The arrival of “Controversy” for me is similar to the arrival of Godzilla in the movies. Everyone and everything is forgotten as this funk monster wrecks havoc across the stage for the next few minutes. Although not as visually stimulating as the DVD, there is plenty of damage inflicted by the band in this battle for the groove, and initially, it is the twin guitar attack that has me salivating. It is longer than the video would have you believe, Prince engages the crowd in the first minutes with some chanting, and you know how well a Detroit crowd responds to that.  “Mutiny” in contrast doesn’t have the crushing weight you hear on the DVD, it is somewhat frustrating knowing how much better this sounds, but there is enough funk in the song to grease my ears right through until the end.

 

After the obligatory “Happy Birthday” and a swing through 1999 with “Lady Cab Driver,” “Automatic,” and “D.M.S.R” we receive another birthday gift from Prince in the form of “The Dance Electric” – featuring Andre Cymone. The recording may be less than stellar, but the next few minutes are electrifying as the Revolution coat the song in their brand of purple funk, and with Andre Cymone in the mix, it becomes a highlight of the recording. On a better recording, I would be raving about this for days, as it is the recording can’t come close to the moment, making the song a frustrating listen with the thought “this could be so much better” bouncing around my brain. The recording only really catches the guitar solo well, the rest is what one expects from a 1980’s audience recording, just too much other noise.

Like so many other of these great songs, “Under The Cherry Moon” also failed to make it to the broadcast. A shame, as its delicate nature is preserved remarkably well on the recording. In many ways it sounds better than the preceding “Dance Electric” and Prince’s light touch across the keys is just as important as the insistent groove of the previous song.  All too short, yet just as important as anything that is heard from the evening.

We get a little extra squeezed from “Anotherloverholenyohead” with an extra piece heard after the false ending. The quality remains as per the rest of the recording, but again it is nice to hear the song as it was supposed to be heard.

“Soft And Wet” and “I Wanna Be Your Lover” glisten in nostalgia, both have a brightness to them that light up the murky recording. It is again the Detroit crowd that carries the song, making for a typical live performance with a lively response to Prince himself. Familiarity certainly helps the songs in this case, and I easily hear past any problems with the recording.

I have heard “Head” countless times, and it is still Dr. Fink’s solo that excites me. Here it is just as weird and wonderful as you might expect, but the real “ohhs” and “ahhhs” are saved for Prince’s slow-burning performance later in the song. As he smolders and smokes the music slows to a crawl, while the intensity burns brightly through the recording. The music slowly sinks into the darkness, taking Prince and the audience with it in the final minute, capping off a spectacular 10 minutes that the recording just doesn’t do justice to.

 

The extended break before “Pop Life” gives us far more time to soak in what we have just heard, rather than jumping straight in as we do on the broadcast. When “Pop Life” does arrive, the recording steals the pop from it. It’s not flat sounding, but it is close to it. For all the extras we gain from the audience recording, it can’t compare to the soundboard, and this is the perfect example. A song we know crackles and fizzes on the soundboard, instead it sounds damp and soft.

I am far more enthused for “Girls And Boys,” a song that reeks of funk from start to finish. With Eric Leeds on board, the song stretches out further sonically, and additional swirls of sound emanate from a keyboard which I daresay is Prince. It does lose its drive and energy towards the end, but by the time it has wound down, it has already delivered enough to satisfy.

This is the business end of the gig, and following on from the seven minutes of “Girls And Boys” is a five-minute rendition of “Life Can Be So Nice” that sounds much longer than it is. The pop is all loaded at the front end, and it is the back section that contains the real interest as the band transition through a series of moods and breaks. Eric’s slow drawl of a sax solo is the highlight for me, although it does make me wish for a quality recording.

There is a shaky start to “Purple Rain” as the recording briefly trembles before its majestic weight, and just as it looks like it may improve into one of the most touching moments of the recording the audience arrives with their contribution – obliterating any sense of elegance, but certainly giving it an emotional charge. Prince’s opening guitar stanza contains a restrained power, one can feel it tugging at the leash, but it is soon enough swept aside by Prince’s vocals and the shrieks of the crowd. The vocals are too much for the recording unfortunately, they do have a push it to point of distortion, and the rest of the song fares no better as it is well and truly buried until the unrestrained pleasure of the Detroit crowd.  The final release of the guitar solo does nothing to quell this passion, and we end with Prince and the crowd both in the throes of an intensely symbiotic relationship.

 

“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” is a quick fire romp before normal service resumes with “Mountains.”  “Mountains” is too ornate and busy for this recording and all the colors are lost to the tape. The rhythm stays strong with us though, and that drives the song for the minutes that it plays.

Sheila E’s appearance for “A Love Bizarre” is no doubt another highlight, and another lost opportunity as the recording doesn’t live up to the moment. There are several things in its favor however, the extended jam differs from the widely known performance from Sheila’s San Francisco concert. It is far more music-oriented and has an intensity that burns at its very core keeping the song a flame from start to finish. In this form, I prefer it to the more widely known video, but again with this recording, well, perhaps not so much.

 

We return to the video version with the performance of “Kiss.” Although it has a long run time, it’s not the same as the intensive workouts of the earlier songs and serves only as a smooth cruise to the finish. The final coda gets more attention in this case, there are no distracting visuals, and we can fully appreciate the music. It’s an easy finish to a concert that encapsulated all that was great in 1986, albeit not in perfect quality.

The Detroit birthday concert will always rate highly among the Prince fan community, the quality of the material, show, and broadcast all make for a spectacular bootleg. This audience recording rounds out that bootleg with the missing pieces, but in this quality, it doesn’t add much. We know what is missing, and hearing it on an audience recording doesn’t give the concert any more shine and sparkle. An interesting bootleg for the collectors, for those that prefer soundboards and visuals I recommend you stick to what you know and love.