Sunday, June 5, 2022

Yokohama 9 September 1986

 This week I am listening to one of the most important Prince bootlegs in circulation, the final show of the Parade tour that serves as the final performance of Prince and The Revolution. For historical significance alone it is a stand-out, and the moment is well served with a performance and recording to match. People often deride audience recordings, but when done well they are a joy to listen to as in this case. The recording is surprisingly good for an audience recording, and the concert, although at Yokohama Stadium, has a small and warm sound – perfect for a moment like this. The recording has plenty to recommend it, and when we factor in the historical context, well then it becomes essential.

9th September 1986, Yokohama Japan

A couple of minutes of audience noise beforehand is a nice touch in my book, it adds to that sense of anticipation and expectation. There is some chat, a couple of cheers and if you close your eyes you can just about picture yourself there. With the benefit of hindsight, it’s difficult not to read too much into what is happening, and when the announcer introduces the band I hear some melancholy in his voice, or like I say I am projecting my sense of history onto the moment. Once again “Around The World In A Day” is a great introduction for the band, with the horns making themselves heard early on, along with the fantastic Brown Mark bumping and buzzing along the bottom. He has a beautiful fat sound to his playing and I am very happy to say it comes over well on the recording.

 

I can hear Prince and the band well as “Christopher Tracey’s Parade” begins, although at first the girls’ voices aren’t heard well, they do however come further forward as the song goes, and it’s one of those “moments” when you can hear them singing with Prince. Prince does call “Tokyo!”, which has me scratching my head- I am prepared to give him a pass though, Yokohama is closer to Tokyo than Narita airport, and is only 40 minutes from Tokyo center. And it is the end of the tour, so we can forgive technicalities.

“New Position” sounds unbelievably smooth and easy, and is a testament to how tight the band was at this stage, there are a lot of new sounds and instruments in the mix, and somehow they weld it all together and make it work. The horns are what you hear most, but for me, there is just enough rhythm guitar in there to get my blood flowing.

There is a particularly psychedelic and alluring sound to “I Wonder U,” the flute giving it a floating quality that is offset by Wendy’s guitar. The band knit it together wonderfully, and as I said at the Paris show a few weeks ago it doesn’t matter that Prince isn’t there, this band and this music are strong enough to stand on its own without his powerful stage presence.

The next few songs come in a flurry of sound and excitement. “Raspberry Beret” is first out of the gate, as always it’s a crowd-pleasing singalong, although to be fair on this occasion the crowd is fairly muted. On a more positive note, I find Brown Marks bass again firmly in my ears and that is never a bad thing. The energy levels are kept high as it only runs for a couple of minutes before an equally quick run through “Delirious,” complete with a 1,2,3 count off in Japanese. It comes and goes in a blink of an eye before we get a quick snippet of the “oww wee oww” that segues into “Controversy.”

 

“Controversy” is just fine, my only complaint being the briefness of it, but that is amply compensated when the count of “A, B, A, B, C” comes and Prince is joined on stage by Shelia E.

This is the first of those magical concert moments that I look for, and as Prince and Shelia's vocals playfully dance around each other I am in fanboy heaven. Shelia sounds cool, Wendy and Brown Mark sound even better, and for a long time I just sit back and listen to them respectively. The breakdown with the vocals is sublime, and the recording is good enough that I can pick out each person’s voice and identify them. Eric Leeds sprinkles his magic dust over the performance with a solo that lives up to the high standards he sets show after show. The funk just gets stronger from here on in, firstly in Wendy’s playing, then in Prince and the band's scat and a capella performance. When the music comes back it’s with all the intensity you might expect and wave after wave of horn blasts and calls of “Ice Cream!” carry me to unexpected heights.

Even though I am in funk heaven at this stage, I am more than happy as the sultry sound of “Do Me, Baby” begins. The bass has a great pop to it as the horns add a touch of sass to the intro. All this becomes irrelevant however as Prince sings and I find listening to the lyrics and his delivery becomes an experience in itself. As the music rocks back and forth Prince croons and emotes as he has never emoted and crooned before, and I am sold on it. Maybe I feel like this for every live performance of this song, but tonight it smacks me right between the eyes and I am dangerously close to switching off the computer, going into the other room, and sweeping my girl off her feet. And at the end of the day, there is no higher recommendation of a slow jam song than that, it’s sublime through and through.

 

Next up is the trifecta of “How Much Is That Doggie In The Window,” “Automatic” and “D.M.S.R.” I would have liked to hear more of them, asides from How Much Is That Doggie, and it’s a giant tease from Prince to have two killer tracks from 1999 to be relegated to a two-minute medley like this. As you know I like to look on the positive side of things, so I give thanks that they are on the setlist at all.

The ship rights itself as “When Doves Cry” plays, and the opening keyboard riff still gives me chills even after all these years. It has a clinical delivery as it should, and over the cool electronic music, Prince sings dispassionately which only heightens the sense of loneliness I feel when I listen to this song. It’s a cold world indeed, and it’s only in the Prince's singing of the chorus do we feel the humanity and hurt. I have covered a few different shows from 1986 now, and I always speak highly of Wendy’s solo during this song. Today is no different, and even though the recording neuters her sound a little I still get a thrill from her playing.

 

“Little Red Corvette” has Prince alone at the piano, and is an emotional highlight. I want to write that it tugs at the heartstrings, but I know the following few songs are going to top it in the emotional stakes, so I enjoy it for what it is, a nice soft rendition of one of his classic songs.

The band joins in for “Do U Lie,” and it has a swing and sway to it, it’s got a lovely lilt and sounds like it has come from a completely different concert. I don’t have too long to wallow in it as Prince moves on, but it is another cool moment.

“The Ladder” is one of the songs I have been waiting to hear, and Prince doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. “The Ladder” has the obligatory piano, but also a lot more. One of the things that strike me most is the backing singers and the way that the horns lift the song to the heavens. For a stadium show, it is wonderful how Prince makes it feel like he’s singing in the living room, there’s a lively intimacy in the recording and a classy touch by Prince at the end thanking the audience in Japanese.

Prince is alone again for “Condition Of The Heart,” and at this point, it becomes very difficult for me to write objectively as this song has a special place in my heart. Prince delivers a performance that does the song credit and although short it gives me everything I could ever want.

 

“Under The Cherry Moon” is breath-taking, and has some wonderful flourishes on the piano that gives it that little bit extra. As much as I like Prince’s vocals, I find I tune out as I instead concentrate on the music. The music has a magical quality that is rarely heard, and as Prince plays piano I sit mesmerized here at home, this is a show for the ages.

The band and the funk return with “Anotherloverholenyohead.” This show has been phenomenal thus far, and “Anotherloverholenyohead” maintains this high standard. It returns us to the heavier sound of the band, and the darker sound as Prince starts his “Another lover” talk midsong. The piano and the horns via for my attention, and for me it’s the piano that nails it, I don’t write about Lisa enough in this blog, but she is a treasure. She sounds magnificent as she plays her piece, and it is distinctly- and uniquely her. And even better, she gets a good few minutes to play so there is plenty of time for me to lean back and swim in the music flowing from her fingers.

“♥ Or $,” now I didn’t expect that. Eric puts his mark on this one, but it’s again a complete band performance and I can’t single anyone out for praise, they all sound great singly and as a group.  From here on in the show becomes much more intense and focused, all medleys are dispensed with and we get some proper, heavy funk. Keeping with this direction the band funks up “♥ Or $” before turning their sights on “Head.”

I have always liked the slippery guitar sound in “Head,” in this case, it has a sharper sound but nonetheless is still funky as all hell. There is some fun as Prince toys with the crowd, but the whole time it’s that guitar I am listening to, at least until Matt Fink sets things on fire with his synth solo. “Electric Man” gets an outing, with Prince surprisingly throwing some lyrics from “Hot Thing,” recorded barely a month previous. As Prince squeals and squirms I wish I could be there to see a performance that sounds electrifying. The guitar sounds ominous as the music rises near the end, and I find myself enjoying this just as much as Prince's vocal performance.

 

“Pop Life” banishes the darkness of “Head” in the opening moments as, after a twinkling opening, it bursts out of the speakers at me. For all the melody of it, I find it's Brown Mark I listen to most, his bass adds an infectious bounce to the proceedings. Again Eric Leeds's flute lends a different sound to the concert and with some beautiful backing vocals, the song stands up to repeated listens.

Prince sings “Do you want to dance with me” as “Girls And Boys” begins, much to the delight of the audience. Eric has traded his flute for the sax and adds the deep honk that I adore so much. Prince seems to get a second burst of energy around this point and I swear you can hear him singing and performing harder. He gives way to Eric and his solo and it’s about now that I sit up and take notice of Wendy and Lisa’s singing- soft yet beautiful.

The first minute of “Life Can Be So Nice” seems to come fast, and it’s at the chorus that I catch up and begin to get into it. It’s a game as Prince and the band plays the crowded versus before pulling back for the chorus. Bobby Z does his thing, and he sounds great against the rhythm guitar. There seems to be a lot going on in my ears, and I have to listen closely to make sure I don’t miss a thing. The final fade-out is my favorite part, not because of its ending, but the way the band peels out and I can hear each of them.

 

I am feeling jaded as “1999” plays, the song sounds fine, but is already dated against the colorful parade of music that Prince has played this evening. I do hear the crowd enjoying it, and there is some singing, so the song certainly has its place in the setlist despite my own personal tastes. It goes out with a bang as the horns and the rest of the band tear through the last minute, and the main show ends on a high.

There is an underwater sound as “America” starts, and I am my expectations are sky-high in anticipation as there is the dual guitar attack of Wendy and Miko getting all funky for the first few minutes. Prince joins the fray with his vocals and there is a fire to the performance that I feel the recording doesn’t quite capture. Eric is great, and Atlanta is even better as his trumpet scorches through the song as he plays. A lead guitar appears and the song is smoking hot by this stage. It’s almost unfair that Prince has Wendy, Miko, and Eric on his team funking up the stage, as the solid bass of Brown Mark keeps us firmly on the dance floor. I was hoping for 20 minutes of this, but realistically the seven minutes we do get is amble, as I am sure those in the building had danced themselves into a frenzy in that time.

“Kiss” is nicely balanced, and I like that it has a stripped-back sound with Prince and Wendy’s guitar taking the lead roles, nothing else bolted on or tampered with.  The lyrics sound a shade downbeat, I kind of like it that way, and the crowd comes to the party with their boisterous “Kiss!” The ending is nice, with Prince thanking the crowd and a bare guitar playing for the last few moments that wraps it up in a bow before the next encore.

What comes next is, for me, the emotional and musical highlight of the show, a gut-wrenching rendition of “Sometimes It Snows In April.” The opening with Wendy and Lisa playing is simply stunning, the delicate guitar sound and piano dancing a beautiful dance together, this is a special moment worth listening to again and again. As Prince sings things become even more emotional and his voice has a melancholy tone to it, and I think it is real rather than the performance. The three voices come together for the final lines and it’s hard to not think about the times these three had together. Prince ends the song thanking Wendy and Lisa, and thirty years on it sounds like a full stop.

 

“Purple Rain” rises and falls as does the lump in my throat as I listen to it. Its plays as it does every time I hear it, a beautiful song that sounds so big and threatens to overwhelm all that has come before it. The guitars are warm, the piano clean, and Prince's vocals heavy with emotion. The guitar solo starts with a quiver and a shake before it becomes the howl we know so well. Having seen the video, I know how hard Prince was playing, and you can feel that on the recordings, he is pouring everything into the guitar with a long sustained howl that ends with him throwing it to the floor before strapping on another guitar and giving us more of the same before that too is thrown to the floor. As the crowd sings their part we do have half a minute of Prince playing the organ, and that is a real treat, it’s not high in the mix, but you can clearly hear it and it gives the song a final push before Prince thanks the crowd and leaves the stage, leaving the keyboards to play us out for the final minute.

As I have said throughout, it is impossible to divorce this recording from the context surrounding it, as great as the show and recording are, the historical significance of the moment looms large over it. I have heard people say that they cry listening to this, and I thought I was too far removed to have such feelings, but I must admit the last 15 minutes of listening tonight I did have a tear in my eye. Having heard a fair number of fantastic recordings of The Revolution over the last few years I found myself 30 years on listening to this thinking “why?”, they were beyond compare and seemed to still have more to give.
Many words spring to mind when considering this recording – essential, historical, and emotional are at the front of the list. There are no two ways about it, this recording demands you listen to it. A fitting send-off for The Revolution, this bootleg delivers on all counts and is an essential keystone of any collection.

Thanks for reading, I urge you to dig this one out and take a listen, celebrate The Revolution 30 years on, they were every bit as good as you remember.

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