Rehearsal May/June 1984

 

I am rare to listen to rehearsals. I admit that they are great, and show off another side of Prince and his talent. But they don’t have the same intensity as a live show, and that’s what I enjoy most. However, without that intensity we do get some very cool arrangements of the songs, often being drawn out and just letting the band do what they do best -play! Today’s rehearsal is from May/June before the birthday show of 1984. There are a few rehearsals from this period, and I think this one exists in several variations, but this is my favorite and the one I play most.

 

Noon Rendezvous Rehearsal May/June 1984

As I mentioned above, there is a couple of variations of this rehearsal circulating, the major difference is the sequence of tracks. I am listening to the FBG release, which opens with “I’ve Gotta Shake This Feeling Baby (Purple Rain),” and I have to say that right from the start it grabs me and any reservations I have about listening to a rehearsal are immediately laid to rest.  Over the familiar beat of “Purple Rain,” Prince lays down some very raw, yet beautiful guitar work. There is very little in the way of lyrics, just Prince singing “I’ve gotta shake this feeling baby” over the top of the Purple Rain music we know so well. He does ask for a longer echo at the start, but I can’t hear where it is applied. The rest of the band is a solid base on which Prince lays his guitar work. Some of the phrases and melodies he plays are familiar, and some are new to me. The best parts are for me when he reins in the guitar and plays it tightly in the song. The quality of the recording is very good, and all the other instruments can be heard clearly, especially the piano, which I enjoy. I can’t stress enough how much I enjoy this, and what a complete surprise it is to me. I was planning to sit down one evening to write this blog post, but truth be told I played this several days in a row, dumbstruck, jaw on the floor before I finally was able to find the words. It’s a great listen, imagine the second half of the Purple Rain song doubled in length, and that's pretty much what we have here.

The treats keep coming as without pause the band plays an electrifying version of “Noon Rendezvous.” Although the music does have a gentle sound to it, what is attention-grabbing is once again the raw guitar sound of Prince in the mix. The lead guitar isn’t overpowering, but it does give it a rock edge. The guitar does pull out and Prince's singing is light and ethereal and blends in well with the overall feeling of the song. It is an intoxicating song, and before I know it Prince's guitar sound is back in the mix as we get a brilliant lead break. For the longest time, I couldn’t understand the fuss over this song, but in recent years it has grown on me. I always loved the version on the 1984 birthday show, but I can’t quite decide if that one or this is my favorite. On any given day it may well be the one I am listening to here. As the song continues and Prince is “sitting in this cafe, waiting for my baby” I am in heaven. And even better, this goes on and on, there is no audience, no time constraints and it feels the band is playing on and just enjoying the gentle groove. It’s just brilliant, and oh, did I mention it goes for almost 20 minutes?!

 

There is then what I more associate with rehearsals, checking to get the sound right, some tinkling and crashing of instruments and the like, before a steady beat is taken up, the piano plays and then we settle into “Free.” “Free” consists of just a drum beat, a piano, and Prince and the girls singing. I find the drum a little plodding, but I do like Prince's vocal performance on this one. He sings around the melody and plays with it. And the girls sound excellent, and once again it only highlights how great Prince, Wendy, and Lisa sounded together. The song doesn’t get played on as much as the previous two songs, and it remains reasonably faithful to what is on record, sans the big finish.

Things take a serious turn next as we hear the strong drum pattern of “Erotic City,” and some equally erotic sounding guitar from Prince. I wonder what kind of heavy arrangement he is going to play, the vocals begin and it reverts to its familiar sound. I rate this song just as highly as the first two songs on the recording, it’s fantastic. After sticking with the song for the first couple of verses, Prince then unleashes his guitar, as well as a line from “All The Critic Love U In New York.” The guitar has a howling whining tone at this point, and it gives the song a harder, darker edge. The guitar becomes more intense as the song progresses, and Prince is working on it in the latter part of the song. As brilliant as it is, it’s almost a relief when it finishes, it was so intense. Yet another highlight in a recording full of highlights.

 

I am used to hearing guitar-heavy arrangements of “Something In The Water” of late, but this one offers another dimension. Sure, it’s full of the guitar as he has recently played it, but here he is backed by the Revolution, and they give it a cold remote feeling behind Prince's guitar playing. Prince’s voice is in fine form, and although he doesn’t scream, he does at one point give a nice long howl. As the song gets to the refrain of ‘must be something in the water you drink’ the guitar again comes to the fore. I know Prince is a good guitarist, but even after being a fan for 30 years I still find myself shaking my head as I listen to some of these recordings. He plays so much, it’s everywhere, and he plays on and on. Even today I still think of him as a song and dance man and listening to his guitar playing is always a head buster. I didn’t think this rehearsal could get any better but as the song moves past the 12-minute mark I realize that I underestimated this recording a long way.

“When Doves Cry” begins very faithfully with what we know so well. After the main hook is played a couple of times, Prince is straight into singing the verses and chorus. Even though it is played as per record, it does have a harder sound to it. Obviously, it’s not as polished, but I do love the sound of it here, it is a much stronger band sound. Later in the song, we do hear Wendy’s rhythm guitar, which I always enjoy immensely. And my smile becomes even broader as Wendy launches into her guitar solo, it’s impossible not to enjoy her and her playing. After Dr. Fink plays his equally cool solo, and Prince gives a fairly impassioned scream, he’s not holding anything back for this rehearsal. The rest of the song is pure groove, and for a few minutes, I forget to write as I sit enraptured by the music.

 

A couple of James Brownesque grunts and ‘huh’ and the band plays the equally James-inspired “Irresistible Bitch.” For the first time on the recording, I find it lacking the intensity of earlier. This is a great song live, but here it’s missing that sharpness and quickness. There is a Dr. Fink solo, which has all the qualities you would expect from such a thing, and it’s at this point that I find my interest in the song reinvigorated somewhat. I am very impressed at how well-drilled the band is, and how well they respond to Prince's call. But I’m not surprised as I know how much Prince rehearses his bands, and the Revolution is one of the greatest bands he has put together. I thought that this song would have been ripe for the long jam, but it’s played very straight, and Prince ends it sharply after a few stops and starts with the band.

As far as rehearsals go, this one has forced me to reassess my feelings about listening to them. This is far from a rock rehearsal, yet there is plenty of Prince's guitar on all the tracks. If anything, it only served to highlight what a well-balanced and versatile band The Revolution was. They have plenty of funk, but rock when they have to. As I said in the beginning, I am rare to listen to rehearsals, but if I was going to take a listen this would be one of my first choices.