Detroit 30 October 1988

 

Continuing my rumble through Prince bootlegs emanating out of Detroit, this week we reach 1988 and the first of two nights at the Joe Louis Arena. One might imagine that excitement was high for this one, with the Sign O The Times tour never making it to US soil, this is the first chance for Detroit to see Prince since 1986. As with the other recordings, the Detroit crowd takes Prince to their heart, and they are just as much a part of the show as Prince is. The recording is again a poor audience recording, but it is better than the recording from the 1986 show that I listened to last week. However, it's one to be listened to quietly alone, rather than blasted out of the stereo or car at maximum volume. The other negative is that it is heavily incomplete, running out at barely half the length of a normal show. Large chunks are gutted out of the heart of the performance, so it will be interesting to see how the natural flow of the concert sounds in this form.

30th October 1988. Joe Louis Arena, Detroit.

The crowd is passionately loud, but the music is louder for the “Erotic City” opening number. With his arsenal consisting of heavy artillery in the form of the bass, and highly maneuverable cavalry made of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss and their gleaming brass instruments, Prince’s opening salvo hits the mark, pushing the music far into the motor-city audience. I too am swept up by this charge, the blitzkrieg of this funk attack is only rebuffed by the quality of the recording, if not for the patchy sound it would be an unswerving opening to the show.

 

There is no time to linger on “Erotic City,” Prince sweeps it aside with an equally combative “Housequake.” He is staking out his place in the world of funk early on, and even on an audience recording one can hear his conviction and vibrant performance pitched squarely at the Detroit audience. Although the sound quality renders it a performance sounding one step removed, it is nevertheless a song that gives life to the recording,

At this point we reach the first of several cuts, resuming the concert at “Do Me, Baby.” It still has its sweeping luxurious sound, this time enhanced by the passionate Detroit audience and their delirious anticipation of every dripping line. The recording is steady enough, and although it would never be rated very good, it is good enough for us to wallow in Prince’s seduction patter against a veil of sumptuous music.

The steady flow of the concert and recording is restored by a timely injection of pop in the form of the effervescent “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” It is the most spontaneous sounding moment of the concert thus far, for the first time we hear Prince unbridled and singing in a voice that speaks of pure joy. It is a thrilling few minutes and one that draws a line back to the Prince of the early days.

 

“Head” brings a dark, heavy velvet curtain down on this uplifting sound, its salacious lyrical content matched by the dark intent of the music. If “I Wanna Be Your Lover” was all about bright melody, then “Head” is all about its dark groove. It slides on its belly throughout, the bass only raising its head in the final minutes as the horns briefly lift the song into “A Love Bizarre”

Prince has time to play with the band throughout “A Love Bizarre,” something that seems to give Detroit a great kick. The moment through belongs to Eric Leeds as he blows up a multitude of storms on his saxophone. From the opening eddy to the final tempestuous hurricane of music, he is a man in complete control. This is a Prince concert, no doubt, but all is forgotten in the minutes Eric plays.

We have further nostalgia shoehorned into the show as Prince sets his sights on “When You Were Mine.”  I must admit, I am caught up in the moment and find myself absentmindedly yelling “hey hey” with the crowd, but that’s no bad thing and usually a sign that the bootleg isn’t all that bad.

 

The is a definite swagger to “Blues In C (If I Had A Harem)” and the music itself steps firmly into the spotlight in the first minutes as Prince plays rather than sings. That changes with his vocals, and this immediately brings the Detroit crowd back into the recording. It’s not quite as enjoyable as the previous few minutes, although Prince’s talking to the crowd is always worth hearing, especially when he is as loose as he is at this concert.

Sadly we are missing “Little Red Corvette” and instead the recording jumps to a storming version of “Controversy.” The start is slightly muddied, but the quality of the recording can temporarily be forgotten as Prince and the band tears their way through the rest of the song. With “U Got The Look” and “Superfunkycalifragisexy” both sandwiched in the middle, it becomes a song that briefly is dipped in rock before being smothered in the funk that Prince was peddling at the time. It’s not the best-sounding recording, but it’s good enough for me to appreciate the performance that is happening on stage.

The recording is equally stable for “Bob George,” and with its cold stripped-back sound it is one of the better sounding parts of the recording. We can’t see what is unfolding onstage, but it is obvious that the Detroit crowd is embracing everything that is happening, with plenty of cheers and laughter to be heard through the song.

 

Prince’s speech that ends part one is very explicit in laying out his vision and is a great introduction to Lovesexy and its themes. Again, judging from the crowd noise, the Detroit audience is ready for anything Prince gives them.

I have heard more powerful versions of “Anna Stesia” in circulation, in this case, the song hits all the usual emotional sweet spots, but it lacks the clarity and spiritual force that I have come to associate with it, and again, sad to say, this is mostly down to the audience recording more than Prince himself.

“Eye Know” also greatly suffers from this problem and sounds paper-thin on this recording, far removed from the exquisitely crafted and exotic song that is heard on record. In a song that is normally so busy in sound, here it sounds flat and washed out. A great song that is cruelly undone by the bootleg.

As the recording continues I sigh in frustration as “Lovesexy” goes the same way as “Eye Know.” These complex and sophisticated songs aren’t matched by the recording, and it is hard to give an even assessment of them. Even the crowd seems to have disappeared from the recording at this stage, and I know it must be poor if I can’t hear the Detroit audience.

 

The bold strokes that come later in “Glam Slam” bring some strength back to the show, but these are the only parts of that song that stand out, and for the rest of the performance, it is business as usual.

Another cut sees us missing “The Cross,” instead we resume with “I Wish U Heaven.” It’s slight, and the boisterous audience participation I expect never materializes. Instead, it is Prince’s guitar that provides some fleeting excitement in the final minute, but it is only fleeting. The recording then fades out as the song moves towards its extended coda, a coda that no doubt holds the real riches of the song.

“Kiss” is only two years old at this point, but it sounds as if it’s from another time altogether, such is the speed at which Prince covers new ground. The horns update the sound nicely, and they aren’t overbearing at all, leaving the song closely resembling the rendition we are most familiar with. The recording remains heavily incomplete, and again the song fades just as it segues in “Dance On.”

The power of “Let’s Go Crazy” is diluted in this case, and like so many of these songs, it is just a pale facsimile of what we would normally expect at a concert such as this. The final audience participation and volcanic eruption of guitar from Prince does save things a little and makes the previous few minutes almost worthwhile.

 

I am surprised by how quickly “When Doves Cry” passes by. There is very little of it, merely the opening hook, verse, and chorus before Prince calls thank you and indulges Motorcity in some chanting. I don’t feel cheated, it’s a sharp rendition that gives the audience just enough without spoon-feeding them all the way. In this form, the attention remains firmly on the full-length Lovesexy songs that appeared earlier, and the story Prince is trying to tell.

The concert ends in the traditional “Purple Rain,” which in this case is little more than a guitar solo with a single verse and chorus tacked on to the front end. For me it is lacking, there is no building up to this final release, and shorn of this emotional release it is merely self-satisfying rather than delivering anything with real heart. It cuts abruptly into “1999,” and unfortunately my ears aren’t good enough to say if this is how it was at the concert, or if it’s another cut in the tape. The Lovesexy band is a good match for “1999” and one can hear the contributions they all bring to the music. Although crowd-pleasing, it does feel like an unsatisfying end to the concert, the music already sounding dated against the hugely creative Lovesexy material.

Okay, so obviously the recording isn’t great. But as is so often the case, the performance lies at the heart of the matter, and once again Prince delivers to the Detroit crowd. My biggest problem isn’t with the recording however, it is the cuts. Incomplete as it is we lose the continuity of Prince’s carefully crafted set-list, and without that continuity we have a collection of songs rather than the vision that Prince had. I enjoyed the music, but hard to recommend this to anyone based on the quality, and incomplete recording. An interesting diversion for a Saturday afternoon, I am unlikely to revisit this one anytime soon.