New York 14 July 1994

 Here I was thinking I was running out of quality shows to write about when not one, but five new soundboards from 1994 dropped upon us. With these newfound jewels, I am spoilt for choice, and for this week’s blog, I am having a listen to the one that immediately appeals to me, the Palladium show. Featuring guest appearances from two of my other heroes – Vernon Reid and Lenny Kravitz, I am sure you can already see the attraction of such a line-up. Vernon and Lenny only play two songs in the show, but those two songs are guitar-heavy and my mouth is already watering in anticipation. So, enough of the words, give me the music. 

14th July 1994, The Palladium New York 

Firstly, this is a beautiful soundboard recording, it’s all I can do to refrain from writing “soundboard, soundboard, soundboard!”  The whole thing sounds great right from the first moments, and the fact that the first song is “Gold” only heightens the experience. The song shines and shimmers like its name, and although Prince's vocals do sound quiet, the rest of the song is bold and full. The guitar that plays later in the piece is easily the strongest moment, and it adds some muscle to the performance which is lacking early on – I am in no way saying that earlier in the song didn’t sound good, but the extra push that the guitar adds gives it that little bit extra that is required to take it to the next level. 

 

Prince sounds more forward as he introduces “The Jam,” but after the initial shout-out to New York, he takes a back seat as the music takes center stage. There is a guitar that slips in and around the keyboard, and this gives it a sharper sound, and as previously mentioned the recording catches every nuance of it. Asides from that, the rest of the song follows as we have heard plenty of times before with each band member adding their piece. As always Michael B’s drum solo gets the crowd briefly excited and involved with the show. I do find that as the song progresses I get a lot more out of it as it’s a soundboard, and it’s very easy to hear the quality of the band members. 

“I Believe In You” is a stable of these 1994 performances, so I register zero surprises when I hear it next. It does have more life to it than other performances I have heard, the keyboards are again strong although Prince's vocals are still quieter than everything else on stage. He does make up for it with some wailing on the guitar which is noteworthy and the final minute of the song has some interplay between the bass and keyboards which is also a pleasure to listen to. 

There is no scream at the beginning of “Endorphinmachine,” but there is the shriek of the guitar which amply compensates. Things don’t stray too far from this, it’s the guitar that is all over this that I listen to, while Prince's vocals remain low. The guitar has plenty of momentum and drive to it, and it carries the song along. The song remains fun throughout, and every time Prince touches the guitar everything lights up.  It’s never heavy, but it is energetic and lively. 

“Space” is spacey sounding and lowers the energy levels with its easy shuffle. Prince’s vocals float across the music and it propels itself along nicely. It’s hard not to like it, and Prince performs it effortlessly with a summertime groove to it. The song makes such an impression that I want to go back and listen to the original which is always a good thing. There is yet more to get excited about with some guitar work coming through for the last minute which is subtle yet fast. The song ends much too soon, and it’s the surprise of the recording so far. 

There is a sense of urgency to “Days Of Wild,” it is lacking the heavy swell of other performances, but Prince performs it as if it was the most important song in the world, you simply cannot fault his passion. He has me completely sold on the performance, and although the guitar solo is thin, Prince's vocals are the strongest they have been so far in the recording, and just in time too. The song bounces, rather than steamrollering over everything, and it has plenty of energy to it.  “Hair” is thrown in for good measure, which doesn’t excite me, before the appearance of the “777-9311” bassline has me getting my hopes up, only for Prince to dash them again with “We don’t play that shit, Prince is dead” The bassline only played for half a minute, and it is easily one of the best parts of the first half of the show. “Days Of Wild” continues its unstoppable groove, and it hammers home the heavy funk of Prince at this time. 

I am not normally a big fan of “Now,” but this version has me flip-flopping and reconsidering my opinion. It must be the quality of the recording, I am enjoying every single moment of the show. “Now” starts on the straight and narrow, before taking off into outer space with a bare beat and then a long interesting jam. Some space-age sounding keyboards lead the way and things become even funkier as Prince addresses the crowd and the keyboards become even more extreme in their sound. It’s one of the longer jams on the recording and not a minute of it is wasted. 

 

“The Most Beautiful Girl In The World” is the complete opposite, it is short and full of pop and sparkle as it plays. It shines brightly in contrast to the previous two songs, and even with Prince's vocals remaining low, it highlights his lyrics and singing. The audience becomes much more audible near the end of the song as the recording changes to an audience recording for the next four songs. It’s not a bad audience recording, but it is noticeable after listening to the clean soundboard for the first part of the show. 

I always enjoy “Billy Jack Bitch,” and here is no different as Prince delivers up an impassioned rendition, backed all the way by the audience. Prince’s vocals are stronger sounding on the audience recording, it may not be as clean, but he is certainly a lot louder. Prince gives a great performance and his blazing guitar adds to the venom of the song. Morris Hayes gives the song some depth, and along with the audience singing the show takes on a different feel. 

“Papa” is faster than on record, and sounds more disturbing than the album version. Prince sounds deeper and darker and injects something extra into the performance, and nowhere it’s an intense and interesting performance. The guitar adds fuel to the fire as the song ends on a high. One of the shorter songs at the show, it nevertheless delivers a punch. 

We slide back to the soundboard recording with “Love Sign,” which is notable for its smooth sound and the appearance of Nona Gaye. It also signals the return to Prince's vocals being quiet in the mix. The song itself is smooth as velvet and is faithful to the recorded version. If not for the moment when Prince calls “New York” I wouldn’t have noticed a difference. 

“Shhh” comes from another world, it is so glorious-sounding. Prince is in complete control as he works the song and the audience. With lyrics that positively drip in sweat and lust, he works his way up towards the searing guitar break that closes the song. It is, without doubt, the high point of the show, and the recording.  A masterful song, it takes on new life in the live setting, and hearing it on this pristine soundboard is truly a joy. Clocking in at ten minutes it is unmatched by anything else on the recording. 

 

I finally get to the moment I have been waiting for as Prince is joined on stage by Lenny Kravitz and Vernon Reid. For such a line-up of guitar heroes, it’s surprising that the first moments are all about the heaving keyboard. That wrong is soon righted as the band groove on “Mary Don’t You Weep” and Prince encourages Vernon to solo, before turning it over to Lenny. Both are recognizable in their unique styles, and Prince is correct as he sings “I don’t have to introduce my friends”. As good as the guitars are, there is plenty of space for everyone, and Prince takes the time to let the keyboards play extended solos as well. They all add layers to the music, giving it a timeless sound that will stand up to repeated listens. I am surprised by how little guitar there is for most of the song, but Vernon more than makes up for it in the final minutes as he adds his crunching guitar sound. 

“No Of Your Business” sounds sharp and crisp, with plenty more organ and keys at the beginning. Of course, the guitars enter the fray, they know their place and stay low key early on before adding more sparkle later in the song. Vernon Reid and his guitar are front and center, and the song is just a stepping-off point for plenty of funk and roll. The guitars don’t solo, but they do drive the song in their own ways, and I get a kick out of hearing Vernon Reid adding his sound to Prince. It is the party jam that you would expect at this point of the show, and it’s got a celebratory feel throughout the entire song. It is not a song full of guitar solos as I expected, but Vernon Reid’s sound is present in the whole song, and a real highlight. 

“Get Wild” is a fitting song to end the show with, and once again we have an upbeat funky jam. Morris Hayes adds his weight to the song, and with Tommy contributing, there are plenty of keyboards underpinning the song. Tommy plays almost like a horn player, and his playing gives brightness to the song. With drums coming like gunshots, and the keyboard of Tommy Barbarella adding a sharpness, the song is a funky weapon, and then a weapon of mass destruction as Prince layers some furious guitar over it. With a screech and howl amidst the feedback of the guitar, the song ends in the only way possible, and with the ringing in my ears, the recording ends. 

I am pleased to look back and see that I haven’t just written “soundboard” over and over for this blog post. Trust me, it was very tempting to do so. This is a most welcome addition to the collection, and I am most pleased to see it appear. Although the setlist was routine, the performance and guests were not. Every song was played with plenty of heart, and with the soundboard recording, there were plenty of new things to pick up on. Lenny and Vernon appearing was a definite bonus, Lenny was disappointing and quiet in the mix, while Vernon was unmistakable and his sound was all over the songs he played. With some top-notch performances of the songs of the era and the great sound, this is a great addition to the collection. Hopefully, we will get plenty more of the same in the coming months. 

Glam Slam Los Angeles 27 June 1994

 The years 1994 and 1995 are already well covered in this blog, some might go so far as to say they are over-represented. With many of the setlists being similar, one may question why these concerts get so much coverage. The same music is indeed heard again and again, but Prince and the band are discovering new sounds and textures, and with each song played as an extended version there is plenty of scope for surprising jams to be heard. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the performance on June 26th, 1994. While researching the concert I read the Databank’s assessment that the show on the 27th was even better, and one of the best bootlegs of the era circulating. This brings me to where I am today, headphones on, 4DF’s ‘Acknowledge Me’ in the player and I am all set to take a closer listen to what the Databank calls “one of the best of 1994” 

27th June 1994. Glam Slam Los Angeles 

“The Star-Spangled Banner” is the first song of the night, with its strong and forceful guitar tone Prince is making a clear signal of intent, the guitar will dominate early on. “The Ride” backs this up as it goes from its steady opening into a blazing solo that captures the listeners' imagination even 20 years after the fact. Sometimes I find “The Ride” to be a plod, here it is anything but as the band turns it into a stonking celebration of Prince and his guitar abilities. As an opening number, it slaps the faces of the audience, immediately snapping them into life. 

Likewise, “The Jam” has an extra sense of energy and thrill to it. The recording is good at this stage, and the audience noise that is heard adds to the sense of the moment rather than detracts from it. It all adds up to a version that I find I enjoy immensely, often I find I am waiting for “The Jam” to finish so we can get on to the other music, in this case, I enjoy it just as much as anything else on the bootleg. 

 

The first few songs have been good, but it is the following “Shhh” that makes this bootleg what it is. It is a sublime performance of one of Prince's most intense songs, the following minutes transport me to another world altogether. Prince's vocals are spellbinding, and the guitar break is both haunting and incessantly angry at the same time. These eight minutes are the best of the recording and enough for me to recommend it to anyone. 

I don’t think I have ever heard a bad version of “Days Of Wild”, and the performance here doesn’t break that winning streak. It is in its full head bobbing, heavy funk glory. However, it is the guitar break from Prince that has me grinning from ear to ear – it is sharp and forceful, cutting through the wild jungle of “Days Of Wild” like a flashing machete. The appendage of “Hair” is unnecessary in this performance, Prince has plenty of his own funk without having to dip his pen in someone else’s ink well. This is further highlighted when the bassline of “777-9311” suddenly appears, Prince's own funk obliterating any memory of “Hair” 

“Now” runs at a lengthy 13 minutes, turning into a long easy groove and jam. The second half is much more enjoyable, the band has a smooth way to them and the song flows easily from the speakers. It is an easy groove that could go for hours, and even though not a lot seems to be happening it is still worth the listen. Especially catching is the chant of “Clap your hands somebody, somebody clap your hands”, which will be rattling around in my head for the rest of the day. 

The next song is a live rarity. “Ripopgodazippa” was only played twice live, this performance is the second and last time. It doesn’t do anything more than is heard on the studio version, but it doesn’t have to as its seductive groove makes it another outstanding moment at this concert. Smoky and sexy, the late-night groove fits perfectly in the setlist, and I can only wish that Prince had played it more often. Again, it heightens the desirability of this bootleg and is another must-listen. 

 

Equally of the era is “Acknowledge Me”, from the opening notes it takes us directly back to 1994. The is a lively performance that stands up well to the other songs that have already appeared at the show, it doesn’t outshine anything else, but neither does it fade into the background. It’s a highly enjoyable moment that sets the baseline standard for the concert. 

The following two songs are from the “Come” album and work as a nice pairing together. “Papa” is noisier than expected, it loses some of its message, but the music is undeniably good and carries the day. “Race” is a steady performance of a steady song.  It never catches fire at the concert, or on the recording, and although these run of songs are very good, this part of the show plateaus. 

“The Most Beautiful Girl In The World” restores the crowd’s enthusiasm and Prince’s performance gets a welcome cheer. The song is faultless and injects pop into a show that is otherwise a succession of funk jams. Its appearance is bright and the recording becomes energized again. 

I would love to see the band get wild for “Get Wild”. It does sound like they are going all out, and even listening at home I can visualize what is happening on stage. The long jam keeps me interested, and the bass and guitar parts hold me enraptured between chanting and singing. My favorite moment though belongs to Tommy Barbarella who plays a fast and furious solo that bucks like a wild horse under his command. Every member makes an impression, and this is one of my favorite versions of “Get Wild” in circulation. This bootleg is rapidly approaching a 10/10. 

 

That sentiment carries over to “Santana Medley” which comes next. I thought everything else so far had been great, but Prince finds a way to take the concert through the stratosphere with an epic rendition of the “Santana Medley” This is the moment where the recording almost spontaneously bursts into flames as Prince plays a soulful, yet furious guitar break. It continues to evolve and a couple of times Prince slips back into the shadows before reemerging with another solo that could strip paint from the walls. I listen intently as it spirals and turns, the world rotating around Prince for the minutes that he plays. 

“Billy Jack Bitch” is a direct statement and one of the least veiled songs Prince has ever written. Prince takes on the media head-on in a none-too-subtle attack on those that write about him. The live performance is not as venomous as the studio recording and some of Prince’s anger is dissipated by the music, in particular the swirling keyboards that provide a depth and backdrop to Prince’s sharp lyrics. It lives up to some of the other funkier moments in the concert and the final horn stabs drive the point home with a timeless funk sound. 

The last song of the show is “Johnny”. Prince's rap is much more relaxed, perhaps due to the recording, or perhaps reflecting his mood at this concert. The lyrics may be dated and nowhere as funny as they were at the time, yet the song still stands on its own two feet – especially as Prince’s guitar emerges from the groove with a snake-charming solo that has me hanging on every note. The keyboard solo later in the song is every bit its equal and it is easy to disappear into the groove and music at this point.  It is entirely fitting that the show ends with the crowd chanting “NPG” – this is very much a band performance and this final song sees them at their very finest. 

This is a great release, in a year that is well covered by bootlegs, this one stands out. The quality of the recording is outstanding for an audience recording, but it is the show itself that garners the most praise. These songs are familiar to all Prince fans and have been heard plenty of times over the years, yet here they are infused with extra sparkle and energy. I can’t account for why that might be, all I know is that the show sounds fantastic and this is exactly the sort of bootleg that ignites my passion. 10/10 

Glam Slam Los Angeles 26 June 1994

 

I have already covered a few shows from 1994, yet I still find myself drawn to the year again and again. With Prince playing with a looseness and freshness, the concerts of this era always sound lively when listening, even if the setlists are often very similar. The concert I am listening to today comes from a recommendation from someone who was there. It was quite a night and even though the setlist doesn’t reveal anything too surprising, the performance is outstanding: there is a guest appearance by Stevie Wonder and Mavis Staples that makes the recording compulsory listening. Both add soul and link Prince back to the past, cementing his place on Mt Olympics with the other music gods. With plenty of twists and turns in the music, there is plenty to appreciate with a closer listen, but like everyone, it’s these guest appearances that are the real reason I want to hear this. 

26th June 1994, Glam Slam, Los Angeles 

I am immediately surprised by the opening “The Jam”. A song that I often find pedestrian and overly long, in this case, it is upbeat and captures my attention from the start. This is helped in large part by Morris Haynes who is the first to play and gives us a solo in his typical style. The song moves quickly, no one person plays too long, and with a Michael Bland drum solo appearing midsong I find the recording has an early momentum to it. The final Sonny T bass solo isn’t anything I haven’t heard before, but it does bring the song to a stomping finish. 

 

I have heard “I Believe In You” across a variety of concerts and the version played at this concert is one of the more memorable versions I have heard. The opening minutes don’t offer much, it is once Prince turns his guitar up that the song becomes something much more muscular and forceful. He plays with finesse rather than fury, something that demonstrates his ability far more than a flurry of notes would. Without overworking the guitar, Prince’s break elevates the song and adds a backbone to a song that was previously meandering. 

As “Interactive” begins I am transported back to 1994 and the Interactive video game in an instant. Such is the power of music to bring back memories. The version at this show doesn’t begin strongly, it is the second part of the song where all the thrills and excitement await. Prince’s guitar leads the way, with a minute of incisive and sharp playing that leaves me dizzy. It may be only a minute, but it is a thrilling ride showing Prince at his best. 

“Days Of Wild” is a 13-minute jam that encapsulates all that was good and great about Prince and the NPG in 1994. The band jams easily across the song, the insistent funk staying to the fore as they throw a variety of sounds over the top of it. The heavy squelch holds the bottom, something that I usually enjoy most, but in this case, there is so much else happening I find I hardly notice it. Prince is in fine form, joking with the band as he runs them through their paces. The bass playing late in the song is the definite highlight – firstly a light solo that has me swooning here at home, then switching to “777-9311”, at which point I almost faint in child-like excitement. The song is a 10 in my book, and by the time the guitar comes with waves of bluster and bravado I am considering scoring it an 11. 

 

As an album track, “Now” is neither here nor there. Live, however, it is another great moment, and like the preceding “Days Of Wild”, it gets a 13-minute jam. As an all-in performance the song becomes a glorious live celebration, the crowd can be heard chanting a whooping in appreciation throughout. I particularly like the breakdown midsong, as the music slows and the long groove of Morris Hayes carries the song for some minutes. The song continues as a laid-back groove for quite some time, even with Prince on the microphone and guitar it still doesn’t ignite back into a song again until well past the ten-minute mark. As Prince sings “Superstitious” the music stays low, his lone guitar signaling the end of the song. 

Prince’s guitar stays the main focus with “Mary Don’t You Weep”. He plays a sparkling opening before the lyrics begin, and then as the music changes, he returns with a further cascade of guitar. The crowd contributes their part as Prince leads them through a chorus before the keyboards come on board with a solo from Tommy that is easy on the ear. The response from Prince is great, with some mellow and melodic guitar work that displays an intricacy and emotional core. It is his guitar that carries the song to its natural conclusion, flowing easily until it dries up. 

“The Most Beautiful Girl In The World” is mature in its sound, it lacks some sparkle of the single release, yet this mustang mix is far more rewarding and holds up well on repeated listening. It is a complete performance, Prince is playing well within the band and to my ears, it is more complete and well-rounded. The song is marinated in a funky adult rhythm that hints at the growth of Prince at this time and the new directions he is pursuing. The is no doubt though that the real highlight comes in the final minutes as Prince calls for Stevie Wonder to come to the stage, preparing us for what comes next. 

 

There is some mutual love between the two as Stevie Wonder opens up on the microphone about the influence of Prince and all those that came before, thus providing context where Prince’s music fits into the big picture. The following song is anything that you might expect or wish for. There is plenty of Stevie’s singing as they play “Maybe Your Baby”, plenty of funky keyboards, and plenty of Prince’s hot guitar playing. He doesn’t mess around with a smoldering solo here, it is all furnace and fire as he puts an exclamation point on all that Stevie provides. This moment of the bootleg promised the world, and boy did it deliver. 

The high standard is maintained for the following “I’ll Take You There” with Mavis Staples leading from the front. As far as I’m concerned, this is the definitive version with Mavis’s vocals, Prince's guitar, and the bass of Sonny T playing up a storm together. Mavis stands head and shoulders above all else though, and her contribution can’t be underestimated. I thought the appearance of Stevie was mind-blowing, Mavis comes a very close second and almost upstages him. 

“Dark” comes as a smooth ride after this, it would be a letdown if it wasn’t just so easy and enjoyable to listen to.  Prince again becomes the main focus of the show as the music swirls and stabs around him, not quite concrete enough to latch onto yet the stabs provide a sharpness that gives the song some shape. It may not as monumental as some of the other performances on the recording, but I find it just as satisfying. 

The song does become an upbeat instrumental which, although four minutes long, serves as an introduction for “Get Wild”. It does flicker and flame for some time before Prince calls for Mayte and “Get Wild” kicks off in high gear. It’s not interesting musically, as is the way Prince uses most of the song to engage with the audience, encouraging them to sing the chorus and get wild themselves. It sounds like a lot of fun, but on the bootleg, it is a flat spot. 

 

The show ends with a raw “Peach”, introduced by the comment “This is a cover version of a song by someone called Prince”.  It is fast, full, and frenzied. Prince’s guitar is wonderfully dirty and leaves very little space for anything else in the song, exactly as it should be. Peach can get repetitive, but this performance is one of the better ones and it is a bright ending to what has been an excellent concert. 

This recording delivered everything it promised. As to be expected, the guest appearances were phenomenal and the rest of the show was just as spirited. There are plenty of great bootlegs from the 1994 concerts, this one would be very high on my recommendations list. I am thankful that it was recommended to me and I would happily recommend it to anyone else. 

Glam Slam 10 June 1994 (am)

 The shows throughout 1994 are an extraordinary record of Prince burrowing further into this new persona and sound he has created, and looking across the year we can see the full scope and vision of Prince as he carves out this new territory. Today I will be taking a look at the final concert from Glam Slam Miami, the third from a three-day period in June that captures Prince in the very middle of this transitional year. Each night is different, and this final concert neatly captures the spirit of the previous two in a pleasing one-hour performance (on the bootleg at least) that touches on the best of the earlier performances. It is a smoking hot show, and of these three nights, it stands head and shoulders above the other two in my opinion. 

1994-06-10 (am) Glam Slam, Miami Beach, Florida 

There is plenty of musical colors that introduce the show as the instruments power up and create the expectation that something magical is about to it occur. It does, and Prince erupts with a volcanic rendition of his beloved “Santana medley,” a rendition that in this case turns the concert from a live show to an almost religious experience. There is a tremendous rush as Prince draws all the oxygen out of the room with his opening stanza, a breathtaking thirty seconds that suggests that Prince is truly on a higher plane than any other musician on the stage, or indeed on the planet. Thankfully the music moves through shades and echoes, allowing us to catch up with the previously stratospheric Prince, and Tommy Barbarella does well to maintain the flighty sound of the music without steeping into Prince's fiery path. It is the second half of the song where Prince demonstrates that the previous minutes were merely a teaser, standing lost in his dreams and furies, his a guitar a portal that brings his visions to life, giving them earthly forms, before firing them deep into the dark of the concert where they lay burning and flickering in our memory forever more. There are no words, the boundaries and limitations of the concert evaporate leaving only music in its barest form. 

 

It is the crunch of the guitar that batters us in “319,” the spoken intro and Prince’s vocals barely making an impression as his guitar again holds court at the center of the stage. The album version of this song is all sheen and shine, this live performance a far more wild ride, a bare back bronco that kicks and twists us through the air, leaving only the heavy intoxication of Prince’s grimy guitar work. 

 

The previous night Prince took to reading handwritten lyrics on stage, and he is at it again for “Hide The Bone.” Perhaps Mayte is too much of a distraction, she is certainly at her booty-shaking best here, but what is most striking is how fresh the music is, and how invested Prince is in the performance and presenting it to his fans. The song is innately funky, and nowhere more so than later in the piece as Prince scratches deeper below the surface to reveal the dark pulsation heart of the song. With the drum providing the raw funk sound, the keyboards do just enough to lift it from the swamp and into the light. It is Prince who provides the finishing touches, his one-eyed bass adding some rubbery bottom to a song that is already buried deep in the funk of the last thirty years. The bootleg reveals some of Prince’s most exciting music, but also provides a rare opportunity to see him playing bass – something he did regularly but rarely caught on a bootleg such as this one. 

 

Hearing “Ripopgodazippa” in this context only saddens me that it didn’t make the final cut of The Gold Experience. With its sultry and sexy sound, it is perfectly in tune with the concert, and could well be the poster boy of the whole night. With this sweaty performance marking its first live appearance, it is all the more disappointing to find that its final live performance was only two weeks after this. The hot Miami night infuses the music with an extra warmth that is hardly needed as Prince and Mayte generate their own heat onstage in a performance that is intoxicating to watch as Mayte channels the music through her equally alluring dance. It is almost a relief to hear the song finishing, the humidity of the performance almost suffocating the bootleg in its thick sex-funk sound. 

 

The bass is again in the hands of Prince for “Get Wild,” a song that Prince himself introduces as their new theme song. The snap and pull of the bass is the tension that sits at the center of the song, pulling the sound in before popping it back into life, all beneath the calm fingers of Prince. Watching it is almost like watching a magic trick, one watches as close as possible to see how his hands could bring such a mystical tone into the world without some sort of incantation involved. As wild as Prince encourages the band to be, it is he that remains at the center of all that is happening, and no one is as wild as he stomps and storms his new funk into life on the stage. 

 

The video bootleg ends with “Johnny,” although several good audience recordings are circulating that contains the remainder of the show.  Bathed in red light, the concert returns to a communal experience, and as good as the music is emanating from the stage, it is the moments where the crowd and Prince come together singing that are the most satisfying. With the loping sound of the bass embracing the audience and holding it tight, there is no need for any part of the song to be hurried, and it isn’t and Prince tugs at the edges, pulling the song out longer and longer, and seemingly further away from the lyrics of the first verse until we reach an epiphany with the “NPG in the motherfunking house” chant. It is as close to nirvana as you can get at a Prince concert, and although the concert doesn’t end here, it is a fitting end to the video bootleg. 

 

I cannot stress enough how important these concerts are to understanding Prince of the 90s, nor can I find the words to tell you just how essential these bootlegs are to your collecting. Exciting music, presented in small venues to an appreciative audience who understands what Prince is doing and wants to join him on his journey, the barrier between performer and audience at this time has never been so slim, the possibilities so endlessly exciting. Watching a bootleg video is a mere facsimile of the experience, yet 25 years on it’s the best we’ve got. A great video that reminds us of these heady nights when Prince was shedding his skin, and reinventing himself right before our eyes. Pure magic. 

Glam Slam 9 June 1994 (am)

 1993 saw Prince change his name to a symbol, but it was 1994 when he seized upon this new direction and killed off the Prince of the 1980s. With a complete rejection of his former music and persona, the man we see in 1994 has completely reinvented himself,  all traces of his previous history completely erased. That makes for a thrilling ride as the bootlegs of 1994 and the next few years come from a completely revitalized artist, with fresh material, a new outlook, and a mesmerizing stage presence. The change is so striking, so dramatic, and so strong, that the most surprising aspect of this metamorphosis isn’t the fact that Prince changed, but the fact that it didn’t change everything forever after. Watching these shows, it is hard to imagine that by 2010 Prince would have reverted back to his name, back to his songs, and was presenting greatest hits shows for the masses. 1994 was a lightning strike that made this future impossible to imagine. I have covered several concerts from 1994 already because they are important in the overall arc of Prince's career. The bootlegs are exhilarating celebrations of rebirth, and although at the time it left me, and many others, scratching our heads, in the wider context and 25 years on we can see just how momentous these concerts were. This week I will be looking at the second of three nights from Miami; hot sweaty concerts that very much capture the spirit of the time. It has taken me many years to catch up with him, but this is the Prince that I enjoy most. 

1994-06-09 (am) Glam Slam, Miami Beach, Florida 

With the metallic storm of electric guitar opening the show, Prince demonstrates that although his classic rock sound has been tempered, he remains committed to his instrument, more so than ever as it barely leaves his hands even as he plays an incendiary version of “Billy Jack Bitch.” Prince pushes deeper into territories he has previously successfully mined, in this case, the funk of the song is just as strong as anything else he has produced, and the streak of steely guitar he inserts into it comes not from a rock background, nor a funk background, but rather his unique vision and immediately adds a cold steel edge that the lyrics suggest but never quite deliver. Everything you need to know about the forthcoming show is in these opening minutes, the funk dark and heavy, the guitar sharpened and brutal, and the lyrics venomous and angry, not at past lovers as we heard in the previous ten years, but at the world at large, his anger no longer looking inwards, but now aimed outwards. The song may be aimed square at CJ, but there is a much darker undercurrent that bites at the media and the deeper hurt. 

 

“The Most Beautiful Girl In The World,” neatly straddles pure pop and a ballad. It could be read as either, and there are moments in the song when it sounds so ethereal that Prince is merely the channel for the music that is emanating from the stage. A song that can be (and often is) overworked, Prince in this case chooses not to tinker with it, and that perhaps explains why it does have the feeling that it does. At six months old, it had already peaked in the charts, and already it feels like an elder statesman at this concert. 

The last album to be released under the name Prince is still two months away, so any song off Come still retains an unknown quality to this audience. “Loose,” has a modern club sound, at least for the time, and has Prince doing his best to bury his previous self, and music, under the busy sound. It’s a daring song, full of electronic noise that serves as the canvas upon which Prince and the band paint their sounds across. With a bassline hot and heavy, seemingly rising from under the floor, where it may well have been mined, the electronic whistles and drive are equally matched by this wall of thick sound.  The melodic Prince we heard earlier is gone, replaced by pure energy and rhythm, the only hint that this might be the same man coming from the galaxy-shattering guitar solo that cuts through all the excesses and brings us to a place that the music had previously promised, somewhere new, unknown, and thrilling –  a foreign planet that had been hiding behind the black hole that existed at the heart of the song all along. 

 

Prince’s choice of cover version is interesting, whereas usually we see an older song chosen, and typically by a funk artist, in this case, we have a song that is only a year old at the time, and from a hip-hop artist. His cover of Salt-n-Peppers “Shoop” is an odd affair, Prince reading lyrics to some of his own songs over the music, “Sexy MF” and “Gett Off,’ both make guest appearances, in what is a causal performance that updates some Prince material (although only a couple of years old) for his current palette. 

In his 1977 obituary for Elvis, Lester Bangs wrote “We will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis. So I won’t bother saying goodbye to his corpse. I will say goodbye to you.” In the Prince world, we may well say something similar – “We will never again agree on anything as we agreed on Purple Rain” Here Prince pushes that theory. Prince fans of various factions may share the love for “Purple Rain,” 1984, and all that it meant, but ever since Prince has pushed his music harder and further in different directions, testing how far his fans are prepared to go with him. His funk is funkier, his rock rockier and his pop poppier, as all those that follow him, the funkateers, the rockers, the pop-music fans, are pulled further and further apart from each other as he continues in this quest for new territories. The long groove that fills the second half of the song, Tommy Barbarella playing while Prince furnishes it with a bass line that barely simmers, would test a casual fan, but more than anything it makes a lie of the second part of Lester Bang’s quote “So I won’t bother saying good-bye to his corpse. I will say goodbye to you.” The new music of Prince is stretching in many directions at once, but it galvanizes the fans. They each may have their own sound that they seek from Prince, but all are held together by the uniqueness of this artist, and the sense that they are witnessing something special unfolding onstage. Never again would Prince fans have a single album or song to rally around, but now it is Prince himself who holds the fan community together, he has finally become one with music and to follow him is to follow all that he does. We are not saying goodbye to each other at all, but saying goodbye to familiarity and contentment, now committed to following Prince and wherever he may take us. 

 

“It’s Alright” is the cover version we would expect from Prince.  It isn’t a full-blooded rendition, but it is the jolt that is required to again re-energize the concert. There isn’t a lot to it, and it is the much longer “I Believe In You,” (also from Graham Central Station)  that highlights the band onstage with Prince. Sonny T and Morris Hayes make a firm impression, but it is hard for anyone to hold a candle to Prince when he has the guitar in hand, and the final minutes belong solely to him as he lifts the song to a level previously only dreamt of. 

 

Prince stands alone out in front of the music for his cover of Stevie Wonder's” Maybe Your Baby” While the band drapes their sound across the stage, Prince alone brings the soul of the song to light at the front of the stage, first with his vocal delivery, then with his shattering guitar break that can barely be contained by the room. It is jarring against the smoothness of the rest of the song but adds a sense of urgency to an otherwise laid-back sound. The song ends with a bizarre hat show by Prince, as he models an array of hats to the adoring and somewhat bewildered audience. It’s all good fun but does leave me wondering what was the point. The video bootleg of the concert ends at this point, although there is circulating an audience audio recording that contains the following “Peach” and “Glam Slam Boogie” 

 

The importance of these 1994 concerts cannot be understated. This is a man who having conquered commercial and creative heights is now seeking to push himself even further, to see just how far one can go as an artist. It may have been driven by commercial considerations and his war with Warners, but as an artist, it offered him a chance to try something that perhaps he would not have dared had he been more comfortable. If you live long enough, you see the end of what you saw the beginning of, and this is certainly true for anyone who has followed Prince’s career. 1993/1994 were the beginnings of the name change, the war with Warners, and all the new music that came with it. Prince may have sought to bury his previous popself, he certainly makes a good fist of it here, but time softened him, eventually returning to his name and the music. This era, and the bootlegs of the time, now exist in isolation, an island that sits in the middle of his career, untouched and untainted by what came before and what came after. The bootlegs give us a new, almost unrecognizable, artist and his new creative domain, another time, another place, only existing on faded recordings and videotapes. This bootleg is entirely of its time and serves as a reminder of what an adventurous artist Prince was at this moment. No hits (except for “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World”) and none of the bombastic hype that came with his pop success, this is a man presenting his new music in the simplest way possible. Every one of these shows is worth studying, and this one gives us a brief peek into the monumental changes Prince was undergoing at the time, this concert is short, but its impact remains huge. 

It's only fitting that next time I will take a listen to the next show from Miami, as Prince continues down this new road.  I’ll see you then for more of the same, but different. 

Glam Slam Miami Beach 8 June 1994 (am)

 This entry had a very long gestation period. I initially listened to the recording, and I loved it from the start. It comes from the most interesting period of Prince’s career. I then looked further and found that I also had a copy of this gig on DVD, so I decided to write as I watched it. Unfortunately, the first time I watched it I got awfully distracted by Mayte and her hot pants (I am, after all, a red-blooded male), and found that I wrote not a single word as I watched it. I watched it again, and then once more just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. 

Someone pointed out to me the other week, that at this stage of Prince’s career he was reborn, and was an entirely new artist. It really did seem as if Prince was dead. He played nothing from his back catalog, only concentrating on the music he created under the symbol name. And the music itself was fierce, the pop songs were gone (with the notable exception of The Most Beautiful Girl In The World) and the focus was on funk, with a capital F. Many people compare Michael Jackson to an alien sent to live among us but watching this I was struck by the thought, that it was this reborn Prince that was the alien. His freakish look and funk-fuelled music wiped any thoughts of the 80’s global superstar from my mind. Watching this DVD the comparison that was uppermost in my mind was Parliament-Funkadelic, with his look, sound, and style. 

This period was my wilderness years, at this stage it was hard to follow him and what he was doing. There was a huge amount of new music, but not a lot of it was available. I walked away for a few years, and only came back on board with Rainbow Children (that’s a long walk, I know) But now, I look back and think “What, I must have been crazy!” This was the most interesting part of the trip, and the music is some of the best he ever made. I must have been mad not to pay closer attention. Recordings from this era are some of my absolute favorites, and I wonder how I didn’t ‘get it’ earlier. 

This recording is another birthday gig, June 7, 1994. The one-year birthday of The Artist formally known as Prince. Played at the Glam Slam club in Miami, and live simulcast to the Glam Slam in Minneapolis and L.A, it’s ambitious and funky. Prince looks to be having a great time, and the funk is hot. Hold on to your wigs, we’re going in! 

8 June 1994, Glam Slam, Miami Beach (am)

The show opens with the roar of the guitar as Prince slays us with the opening riff of “Endorphinmachine.” A roar from the crowd, and a scream from Prince, and in a blaze of lights and lasers it's all on. Old Prince is dead, The Artist looks like he has a second lease on life and the energy of the music reflects this. The band and music are rowdy, and yet incredibly focused. Prince is playing with fire in his belly once more. With his elfin hairstyle and pale face, he tears it up right from the start. The song is lacking the annoying cowbell from the recorded version that followed later (I’m putting my line in the sand now about where I stand on the cowbell). The keyboard has a great whammy-loose sound to it and stands up well to the guitar. 

How did I not love “Space” right from the start? “Space” played here is beautiful. I hear his vocals so well here, and it’s very soothing and inviting. Tommy Barbarella plays piano all over this one, and the song itself has a space about it. With Tommy wearing a big furry hat, the keyboard draped in the US flag, and Mayte dancing, the whole thing very much has a Parliament/funkadelic feel to it. Prince comes in with some stinging guitar near the end and closes off the song nicely. Even after it’s finished I find myself singing “space, space, space” 

Prince takes the time to talk to the crowd, acknowledges that it is his birthday, and then lets them know that he is one year old, following his life changes of the last year. I thought he was going to say more about the whole drama, but he chooses to let his music speak, and they play “Interactive.” “Interactive” feels a little light and throw away, but is saved somewhat by Prince’s guitar solo. The song feels short, and I think the gig loses momentum. 

“Hold on to your wigs” and we all know what’s next. “Days of Wild” was his theme song at this time, and for me captures exactly what he was about in the name change era – all funk and attitude, especially the attitude. The attitude is in his flow and the music. The bass sounds so heavy and squashy here, there is a lot about this I love. Like most, I love it when he picks up the bass guitar and works it for a bit. The song is long and drawn out as you might expect, and the band rumble on as Mayte presents Prince with a cake mid-song – with a single candle I might add. With plenty of Prince on the bass, and Mayte shaking it, the song is as much a visual experience as an aural one. 

A brief pause and then “Now” introduces itself with Prince imploring the crowd “Jump up and down South Beach” I have a love/hate relationship with “Now,” but at the end of the day, it's a fun song. He sings it with a lot of character in his voice, and every verse comes to us with a fair dose of personality. One of the things I enjoy about Prince is not just the quality of his singing, but also the personality and character he injects into his singing. Technically he is very good, but also he has a lot of himself in it too. There is plenty of nice organ grooves to enjoy in this song, and the drummer also gets a moment and a shout-out. There is a moment of Prince humor when he asks the crowd “How many of you got babies, take care or they will turn out like me” There is also a couple of funny moments when Mayte stage dives into the crowd- not very ladylike at all!. There is some very fine squeaky guitar from Prince, seriously, and the song fades out with Prince and the crowd singing “Ain’t no party like a new power party” The song stops with “On the one, you in the house” 

A nice beat and organ chords slowly bring us into the relaxed Mustang mix of “The Most Beautiful Girl In the World.” Yeah, it’s a favorite of mine. It has more music to it than the single that hit the charts. The single was all about the melody and Prince, whereas this version has a couple of layers that I enjoy too. There’s not a huge amount more, but I prefer it. It seems strange to me that this was his big hit when at the time it wasn’t representative of where he was musically. This live version takes its time, and there is a very long fade out. The main song finishes but the music continues with Prince singing and talking. It’s well worth a listen. He sings about taking his time, and the overall vibe is very sensual rather than sexual. 

There is a pause in the music as Prince checks on the other Glam Slams in the simulcasts. It’s fine at the time, but it breaks the mood and flow for us watching at home. Plenty of live technical problems as they try to hook up to LA, a lot of “Can you hear me, can you hear me?” It was uncomfortable listening on CD, but a little better when I could see Nona Gaye on the DVD, if you know what I mean. 

There is more pointless chitchat, and Prince tells Sonny to “play something, but I don’t want it to sound like a bass” There is some playing, and then Prince begins slowly jamming on the guitar. Then things take a bluesy turn and the band plays “The Ride.” Prince asks if it’s a blues crowd, and for the lights to be turned blue. Prince sings “if you like it fast, I can’t help ya, if you like it slow, I got days” As you might imagine it is very laid back before it gets hotter with a typical Prince guitar break that gets better with repeated listens. Take it from someone who knows! The song does indeed feel like days as the last few minutes are just the slow groove as Prince toys with the crowd and has them singing “Ooooooo, ooooooo” over and over. 

As is common for this period, Prince talks of his battle with Warner brothers between songs and reminds the crowd that it’s all about the music. He doesn’t dwell on it too long here and moves on to talking about his time in the city. 

Prince tells the crowd that the next song was written by Sonny, and it’s a slow mellow song, and then as he puts his bass playing to the fore they play “Get Wild.” The bass playing is solid during the verses, but it’s between that that Prince steps back and shows us what he’s got. He certainly looks like he is having a lot of fun, it’s a shame he doesn’t play bass more often in main shows. As you might expect there is plenty of time for Mayte to do her dancing, and for most of the song it seems like there is just Mayte, Prince, and Sonny having fun together. The casual chat and fun between them are very natural and are reflected in the nice relaxed groove of the song. I get the feeling that despite his troubles, Prince was extremely happy and comfortable about now. 

The next song begins, but Prince says he’s got “more presents, I stop for more presents” The beat continues and Prince goes on to say “I got funk that’ll kill ya”, and I based on what we have heard so far, I fully believe it. “Acknowledge me” has a nice long funk intro and I enjoyed it, even more, when I watched the DVD and saw the dancers. Whoa! 

If you asked me to name my favorite Prince songs, “Acknowledge me” would never be one that springs to mind, but listening to it here it hits all my sweet spots. Maybe because he makes it all sound so effortless I don’t rate it as highly as I should. But it is a good song, and this performance does it justice. Unfortunately, the song is a little ruined for me, when the breakdown comes and the MC encourages the crowd to sing “Happy Birthday.” It’s not the gesture I dislike, it’s her whiny voice and forced delivery. Thankfully after an awkward couple of minutes, Prince comes back on the mic and things instantly pick up. Sure, he’s rapping, but anything is better than the last minute. Despite criticism of his rapping ability, I like his little rap here. Then things slip into the Parliament-Funkadelic realm with a long distorted vocal ramble by Mr. Hayes. 

The pace quickens again with “Race.” Sharing the mic with Mayte for the chorus it’s actually pretty good. Like all songs it quickly moves beyond the recorded version, we are familiar with and into a danceable groove and jam. I practically like it when Prince moves to the keyboards and with his head, shaking plays for a couple of minutes. Then with the briefest of “thanks, we out” the song ends. It feels short, but again clocks in at seven minutes. 

There is another interlude with MCs wishing Prince happy birthday (or should I say the artist). It’s something I could do without, and thanks to modern technology I can easily make it vanish and move on to the next jam, which is just that, a jam. It sounded good on CD, with every band member getting an intro and a moment to play their thing, and on DVD was the bonus of seeing Mayte shaking her thing, something I missed on the CD! Again the chemistry of the band is very apparent, and they feel like a gang. 

The pace changes again with the show closing with “Shhh.” It’s not a song I would choose to end a show with, but that in no way detracts from the song itself. It’s played smooth and sexy, and even the jarring line about “I’d rather do you after school like some homework” slips by me without too much bother. Prince serves a nice clean guitar break mid-song, but it’s his final guitar solo that gets pulses raised, the classic Prince wailing guitar. I think I prefer the earlier guitar break, but that’s just me being contrary. Hold that thought, I just watched it again, and I love the second guitar break just as much. The song finishes, and the show itself with Prince thanking the crowd and telling them they are always welcome “My house is your house”. 

It’s very difficult to condense my thoughts about this one. This stage of his career is just extraordinary by any measure. The creativity, in not just his music, but every aspect of his life rivals, and indeed in some cases, exceeds anything he did in the Eighties. This gig is an excellent snapshot of that, and although I didn’t truly appreciate it at the time, I certainly do now. I am reluctant to call anything essential in the Prince canon, but to better understand what he is all about, this is a must-listen. 

As the man himself might say -Peace and be wild

Glam Slam Minneapolis 29 May 1994

 There has been a rash of great recordings popping up in the last couple of months, and I am spoilt for choice when I want to hear something new. I was unsure which one I should listen to this week, and in the end, I chose this recording from 1994. I mostly chose it before I have been listening to quite a lot from the 1990s recently, and this seemed to fit nicely. Last week was the glamour and show of a Diamonds and Pearls show, this recording is a couple of years later, and completely different in many ways. In the two years in between a great deal has changed in Prince’s world. It’s a small early morning show from the Glam Slam club in Minneapolis and showcases the strength of Prince and the band musically. All the key elements of a great show are there, and as a nice bonus, it’s a soundboard recording. 

29th May 1994 (am) Glam Slam, Minneapolis 

Things start very well indeed with a heavy insistent riff from Prince and his guitar. The scene is well and truly set as the bass and keyboard coming it, and it has a full-blooded raw sound which I always like. This cover version of Sly Stone's “Sex Machine” is well-chosen, and for those fans of Prince's guitar work there is plenty to enjoy and admire. He warms to his work, slow and steady with plenty of groove. It certainly has that aftershow vibe about it, the guitar moves in and out as the music swirls around it. 

 

We don’t move too far from the Sly Stone sound, as next the band plays “It’s Alright” by Graham Central Station. I know this song very well now, having heard Prince play it many times over the years, what makes this version good is that it is the first time that Prince and the band played it live. There is a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the performance, and Prince sounds quite young in places. I can feel this rubbing off on me, and as I listen I feel uplifted. It is truncated, but thankfully it’s not part of a medley, the band just fades it out after a couple of minutes. 

Listening to “New Power Soul” next, I am thinking here’s a song I don’t recall hearing live before. It seems I was right, this is the only live performance of it. At first, it fails to excite me, that is until a crisp bouncy guitar appears midsong, and there is plenty of interesting things to listen to from here on in. Prince mentions “Poor Goo,” the song doesn’t eventuate, he’s just talking. Morris Hayes on the keys sounds good, I would like to have him further forward in the mix though. Asides from that it’s a nice performance, and a cool oddity to have thrown in mid-set. 

I saw “Dolphin” on the setlist and I had my hopes up. Unfortunately, we don’t get a full performance, instead, Prince sings the first verse before bringing it to a halt and telling us “sorry, we can’t do that, it’s private” Again, it’s the first public airing of a song, and although it was little more than an intro, it is another tease and clue to what’s going on in Prince’s world at the time. 

 

I always associate “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (Mustang Mix)” with this band configuration. Played this way it’s a perfect fit with their style and it works extremely well in this club setting. It has a slow-burning sound to it, and I think this is heightened by Morris Hayes's playing. Some of the glitter and sparkle are taken from the song, and we have here a darker, warmer groove. Twenty years ago I didn’t get it, but now I do and it’s a firm favorite. 

Things get funky when the band starts on a 15-minute version of “Get Wild.” It’s slow to start, then builds into a big groove. The best part is when we get to the breakdown in the middle of the song, first, there is a solo from Brian Gallagher that leaps out at me, it’s got plenty of life to it, then Prince breaks it down before the chorus and groove return with a vengeance. The horn section adds a lot to the show at this stage, there are plenty of stabs and swells as the band and crowd chant. The horns add some brightness to the groove and emphasis the main riff, giving it a real lift. 

 

I am very pleased to hear “Billy Jack Bitch” next. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I am a fan. It does sound flat in places here, energy-wise, luckily the horns and the chorus bring it right back up.  There is a pause midsong, when it comes back it is heavy with the horns and organ, and it’s this part of the song that I dig most. Prince yells “release date never” which gives some insight into where he was in his battle to release material at that stage. 

The show goes out on a high with a performance of “Days Of Wild.” The start is particularly good, with Prince singing a capella for the first minute before the power of the band comes in behind him. The lyrics are crystal clear, this soundboard recording is great for highlighting his vocals, and the lyrics are fun. There is nothing new as they groove into “Hair,” although the song does seem to lose its momentum, only to gear up again into the heavy grind of “Days Of Wild” a minute later. It is Michael B and his drumming that carries us through to the end of the song, with the crowd heard chanting “Go Michael”, a fitting end to the show. 

 

Although short, this show was well worth a listen. The fact that it was a beautiful-sounding soundboard added a lot to a show that looked somewhat short on paper. It was a very nice document of a show from the string of shows such as this that he played in 1994. I will be playing it for the next few weeks in my car, and I can’t give it a higher recommendation than that. 

Monte Carlo 4 May 1994

 

I have returned to 1994 as it is just too delicious to resist with Prince diving headlong into his new direction and new vision. I have listened to many shows from 1994, and this one ranks high among them. It does contain the usual jams and songs that we expect, but the concert comes early in the year when Prince’s rebirth was still big news and offers a thrilling sample of things we have never seen or heard before. Prince’s two shows in Monte Carlo are the first time he appeared in this new guise away from Minneapolis, and from the reception, we hear on the tape it sounds like the world is appreciating this new direction just as much as those in his home town. There will be plenty more similar concerts over the next two years, but none have the vitality and urgency of this one, which not only makes for a great bootleg but a most intriguing one.

4th May 1994, Stars ‘N’ Bars Monte Carlo

It is a Hendrixesque guitar tone that shapes the introduction guitar jam. Normally I shy away from Hendrix comparisons when it comes to Prince, but in this case, I think it is valid as Prince’s guitar draws from the sound of some of Jimi’s pure blues sound. It is carefully crafted and subtlety signposts what will follow, a swampy blues infested “The Ride”

A staple of this era, the version heard on this bootleg does not differ greatly from what is heard elsewhere, although it does have a freshness that can’t ever be captured again on those other recordings. The flame of genius burns bright as Prince lifts the song far above its initial plodding sound with his guitar work scratching every itch in its relentless phosphoric intensity. Prince paces it well, we have a long way to go, and every time it threatens to ignite the building he pulls back and eases the tension with his ever-cool vocals.

 

A melodic bassline picks up the threads of “Come” and soon after Prince spins it into the song we are now familiar with. It retains a cool atmosphere throughout, each instrument playing in its own refined way, never coming together to deliver the punches I expect and crave. It swirls and heaves with intent but still hasn’t been sharpened to a point.

“Endorphinmachine” is where the show starts good and proper and is the point where one can hear Prince firmly striding to break from the past. The music is strident and has an urgency that drives it firmly into the future, this is music that doesn’t stop and reflect, it is pitched at the future and never once lets up with this drive forward. Prince’s opening guitar riff leaps out ahead of the band before they come together in a pounding crash to chase it down. This sense of forward motion is retained through the song, even as the guitar pulls back to give the other instruments a chance to breathe. With a call of “turn me up,” Prince whips out a quicksilver guitar solo that with a surgical slice quickly amputates the past and throws the whole future wide open with the thrill of the unknown. He may not know where this ride is taking him, but we are with him every step of the way, the guitar solo both a declaration and a promise.

 

After such a rush we need some space, and this is provided by the aptly named “Space.” It is unfortunate that with such a song the limitations of the tape are revealed, and there is a distorting buzz on the right side. It matters little for a high-octane rock song such as “Endorphinmachine, but on the gentle flowing “Space,” it is all too apparent and lifts me temporarily out of the concert. “Space” itself has an organic feel that offsets Prince’s outer-worldly lyrics, and Tommy Barbarella’s keyboard solo sounds timeless and could be coming from any piano in the world. A nice counterpoint to the lyrics, it neatly balances the song as well as the concert.

My initial thrill of seeing “Interactive” on the setlist quickly subsides as Prince delivers a tepid and lukewarm version that fails to elicit any joy in me. It becomes apparent to me here that Prince did the right thing by not giving it a proper release (asides from Crystal Ball) and one can understand why by July of 1994 it had been retired from live performance. It promises a lot but delivers little, the main hook not quite enough to fully snare the listener, while its stop-start form destroys any sort of momentum that may have been building. The guitar makes an appearance, but it is a self-serving solo that does nothing to advance the song or the emotional pull of the moment, the song remaining emotionally aloof despite my best wishes.

“Day’s Of Wild” gives me everything I had craved in the previous song – it’s new, it’s got something to say, an inner urgency, and drives it all home in a forceful performance. The rhythm section grinds under it all, musically recreating the sound of two bodies moving against each other, while Prince lays down his credo and a bold statement of where he is right here and now, these are truly his days of wild as he curses and jams the song until it becomes a sweaty lather of dirty funk, every one of us rejoicing in this wild ride Prince is providing. Prince’s pointed lines at Michael Jackson stand out midsong, and coupled with his lines about Larry Graham open the door nicely into a quick “Hair.” The final sing-a-long draws the crowd into this new world Prince is shaping before their very eyes on stage, and sounds just as vital on the bootleg as I’m sure it did at the show.

 

The mood is lightened with a song played with a smile – “Now.” It has an uplifting spirit, and although light in its surrounding company its appearance is timely and brings some color to the concert. It has a freedom to it as vocally Prince is playful, while the music rolls and evolves beneath him. Tommy and Morris are the key players here, and although it is the drums of Michael B that make the first impression, it is the keyboards that build the esprit de corps that make this song a beautiful snapshot of the era. It encapsulates the period of 1994-1995, the music coming at an easy flow, continually threatening to turn into a jam as every member of the band plays with unreserved freedom.

There is a maturity to “Acknowledge Me,” the song at points touching on adult radio, while willfully pulling in the other direction with its lyrics and never settling music. It surprises me with its fierce integrity and how much input the band has. It shouldn’t be surprising given the two songs we have just heard, but I am caught unawares several times as band members come out of the mix with wild contributions. Prince’s rap is unhinged, as is the funk that shakes beneath him, and the final minutes of the song see us drifting far from shore in the back of the rolling funk.

It is an alluring “Dark” that appears next in the bootleg, the recording clean enough to capture it at its best. It has its refined smoothness fully intact and retains this glassiness until the very end. The treat, and hook for me, is the appearance of the “Eye Hate U” speech midsong. An idea Prince is toying with (the song itself wouldn’t appear live until the following year) it is fascinating to hear it pitched in here. It works well enough but has yet to find its natural home. The other moment that stands out is the lightning bolt guitar solo that shatters the final minute of the song and brings light to the dark. It may not be the greatest of solos, but against the silky smooth of “Dark,” it becomes twice as loud and twice as dramatic. Contrast is everything.

The instrumental jam that follows is pure 1994 N.P.G. With Morris Hayes and Tommy Barbarella building a sonic wall on the rock-solid foundation of Sonny T. and Michael B. there is plenty of room for Prince to direct the various directions the song will move to. It never settles on a firm hook, and as such remains unmemorable, but I enjoy it for the band and the unrelenting energy they bring to the performance.

“Race” is notable for how closely it resembles the recorded version, and for the horn samples that make an appearance. The bass stays at a low rumble, making the horn stabs all the more noticeable as they flash bright against this darkened background. It is Tommy Barbarella who is called out for his contribution, Prince deriving great satisfaction from what he is providing. I am inclined to agree, and it is the keyboards and various triggered samples that pique my interest throughout.

 

I have been listening to bootlegs for thirty years now, and I think I have reached the point where I could quite happily skip “The Jam.” A staple in Prince setlists since early 1994, the song is predictable in the direction it will go with Prince introducing each band member. Although they each briefly play their assigned part, the song offers no real meat to chew on, and at points, it does feel like it’s becoming a meander. Prince fails to whip it into anything memorable, and as much as I love each band member and their contribution, overall the song leaves me empty and unfeeling.

There is a further nod to Larry Graham with “I Believe In You,” which has me considering what was Prince’s motivation for these cover versions at the time. It was a fertile period of songwriting for Prince through 1994-1995, as testified by the projects and aborted projects of the era. One only has to listen to The Dawn bootleg that draws all these together to see what an arsenal of music Prince had to draw from, which makes his affinity for these cover versions perplexing. However, it is what it is, and while “I Believe In You,” fails to elicit any real excitement within me, it does again give the band a chance to demonstrate their chops.

“Glam Slam Boogie,” has the freshness I desire, appearing here in only its second live outing (the previous live performance the night before). It is an uptempo jam, the band playing with new life on the back of Prince’s commands. Again every member has a chance to play, but there is a looser feel to the jam, the band shedding the weight of playing someone else’s music and instead playing with freedom and investing fully in their unique sound. It is far more fulfilling than the previous two songs, and the energy in the playing carries well onto the bootleg, it sounds just as vital here at home twenty-five years after the fact. The most interesting part of the song comes when Prince challenges Eric Clapton, “Eric my boy, but I’m gonna get in that ass,” a challenge that never comes to fruition, Prince instead choosing to close the song, before finally coming good on his threat of a guitar onslaught in the final “Peach”

The song itself has very little malice or venom in it it is instead a celebration of guitar frenzy as Prince plays with unbridled abandonment and little regard for the constraints of a three-minute pop song. Although not a brilliant recording, it nevertheless is a fantastic rip-roaring version that doesn’t outstay its welcome, Prince working the song hard without overburdening it with a morass of guitar white noise. There are the much-expected guitar fireworks, a spectacle in itself, but there is enough of the bones of the song present to maintain its form through the maelstrom of guitar fury in the final minute, a minute that almost overwhelms the taper, as the bootleg stays just on the right side of listenable.

I could easily categorize every bootleg of the 1994/1995 period as essential listening as Prince metamorphoses before our eyes to harder more extreme funkateer and square-jawed rocker. This one though is a cut above the rest, not for the quality of the recording, but where it falls on the timeline. This is one of the earlier shows of 1994, and much of the material heard over the next two years is heard here in a fresher form, Prince and the band are far more enthusiastic with their new sound, as are the listeners, than what comes later. The sound quality is of its time, but the show itself overcomes any shortcomings in this department and remains as fresh today as it did back in May of 1994. This is Prince and the band taking their first steps into a brave new world, and it is a journey well worth taking with them.

Paisley Park 13 February 1994

 I have been badgered into writing today’s entry by long-time Prince fan Jony. He has long maintained that this is one of Prince's greatest recordings, and I should check it out. For the longest time, I was adamant that I didn’t actually have this one, and I hadn’t heard it. Then last week I was cleaning the spare room, and voila, there was the CD. The recording itself is from early 1994, and believe it is Prince's first performance as Symbol. Some of these songs are now firm favorites in my house, but at the time they were all new to me and quite a departure from what had come previously. A quality recording of one of his most creative eras? Yeah, I’ll give that a listen! 

13 February 1994, Paisley Park 

I love the start of this one. The first thing we hear is Prince saying “alright, let's get it started” before the sound of a computer keyboard and a voice-over telling us there are over 500 experiences to choose from, the same as we hear on the Gold Experience album. A nice scream from the back of Prince's throat brings the band and the music into focus with a fine-sounding performance of “Interactive.” This is a soundboard, but my copy sounds a little muted, it does seem to be missing some of the top end, and a little bass. Perhaps because I only have it as MP3s. A bit of tweaking and it would sound much fuller. The band pauses after a minute, while the voice-over returns, then we kick back in. The drums sound good here, with some excellent sounding tom-toms, before Prince's guitar solo brings things nicely into focus, and energizes the song again. About now I can hear the keyboards underneath, and I realize that this one will give me something more with every listen. It’s a short sharp song, and nicely sets the scene for what is coming next. 

 

And what is coming next is something extraordinary- the first-ever live performance of “Days of Wild.” Hold onto your wigs indeed! It sounds great here, I really dig the nice deep groove to it, and it’s got a slightly dark sound to it. A lot is happening with first listening, the juicy bass line, the moaning and groaning keyboard, the sharp keys dancing overtop, and to top it all off we have Prince's vocal delivery. Not just the lyrics he is singing, but also the passionate way he spits it out, it commands my attention throughout the song. The ‘hold on to your wigs’ refrain balances it nicely and gives me a chance to wave my wild sign high as I write this. Oh, by the way, he plays guitar- it's a thin-sounding guitar solo we get here, it doesn’t stand up again the dark deep grooves, but it's not bad. The song is already very strong and a stronger guitar break would have been overwhelming. I could quite happily turn off my computer now and just groove to this, but it does end and I find myself writing about the next song. 

 

“Now” has a happy sing-a-long beginning. Again it is another first performance of a new song. On a good day, I really enjoy “Now,” and on an average day, I find it a bit ho-hum. It is at a great disadvantage coming straight after “Days of Wild.” Another groove song, it doesn’t have the dark strength of “Days of Wild,” nor does it compare to Prince's vocal delivery. For all that though, it does draw me in, and by midsong, I am hanging on Prince's words, even if I do find the chorus too much. Putting down the laptop and dancing around the room would be a much better experience, but sat as I am writing about it, it’s not that great. I cannot fault Prince's passion, nor the performance of the band, it’s a solid B+. 

The bluesy “The Ride” follows next, and Prince pitches it to the over 35’s in the crowd, great – something for my demographic. It’s a good clean version we get here, I have heard it much slower and bluesier. The recording is great in that I can hear Princes singing so well, something I usually miss on live recordings of this where I mostly concentrate on the guitar work. Prince’s voice is full and he’s in complete control after the fury and fun of the first couple of songs. No sooner had I commented on Prince's vocals than the guitar work begins. It’s not long, but it is one of the better ones I have heard in this song. Very joyful to my ears, and something I will be coming back to again. It pulls back to softer guitar before Prince ends it with “If you got the time baby, I got the ride” and a call for “Vegas in E’. Now I have listened to this song plenty of times over the years, but this was the first time I realized the lewdness of the ‘the ride’. Let’s just say I was a little naive. 

“The Jam” is next, and it is very much like all the other jams we have heard from this era, with lots of Prince calling “oh he’s a funky man” as he moves around the band and gives them all a moment in the sun. Nobody gets too long to do too much, but most parts are enjoyable enough. I do like the guitar parts, it’s different from what you might expect and has a light rhythmic touch. Sonny gives us something in complete contrast with a short heavy moment, and the band begins to swing. This is reined in much too soon but is none the less is very enjoyable. 

 

“I Believe In U” is a cool little cover and plays to the strengths of this band. The keyboards in particular are very strong throughout. Asides from that there is not too much that can be said about it, it does come across as smooth and light in comparison to Prince's original material. I find myself nodding along, but at the same time looking at the setlist and looking forward to what is still to come. 

This show is also the first time that Prince played “Shhh” live and reclaimed one of his most beloved songs (in my house at least) Week after week I heap praise upon this song, and this week is no different. For a first live performance of a song, it’s outstanding. This version here is one of my favorite live versions- the fact it’s a nice soundboard, Prince's band is as sharp as ever, and Prince clearly makes a statement in the way he sings this, it is most definitely his song. He does go too over the top, and as the guitar break starts it’s very nicely restrained and sounds very tight. It’s excellent in every way. The backing singers are right into the mix, and close behind Prince's voice, adding a lot of depth and strength. There is the second drum that rolls and crashes midsong, and then Prince lets fly with his guitar. The sound here is beyond words, it’s something you have to hear. At this point I want to say thanks to Jony for pointing me towards this show, the show is great and this song is outstanding. Most excellent, although I find it is lacking a little ambiance from the crowd. 

 

“What’d I Say” had been covered by Prince for some years before this performance, so I don’t find it overly excellent in this performance. Prince does have Tattoo on stage to play some guitar, but it’s somewhat shambolic and doesn’t add anything of value to the show. It does pick up later in the song, and there is a decent solo, playing on a guitar with a very interesting tone. It doesn’t sound like his usual setup at all. I can’t decide quite how I feel about this song, I didn’t have the urge to skip it, but I could have quite happily gone without it. 

The next song in the set is very interesting. “Peak The Technique” is improvised and has all sorts of things thrown in the mix. There are plenty of samples and some very cool bass and guitar work. Prince can be heard laughing early on, and it’s obvious the band is having fun. There is not too much vocally to the song, mostly samples of Eric B and Rakim's “Don’t Sweat The Technique”. In the second portion of the song things speed up and there is some excellent bass work that is funky and gets things swinging. It’s about here that I become very interested and my ears prick up. The song ends after five minutes, but plenty was going on there, and I could have easily listened to much more of this. 

 

I sneaked a peek at the setlist and this was the song I was looking forward to hearing most. “Martial Law” is a George Clinton song that I never get tired of. The version here isn’t what I expected at all, it’s more a jam and groove, but it’s great. This band I have always thought sounded most like a Parliament/funkadelic band and their sound is very well suited to this song. That thought is further emphasized as Prince puts on a series of distorted and strange voices. The song pulls back to just a bare kick drum sound and more strange vocals from Prince have me slightly disorientated. The only parts left from the original song is where at one point we hear the backing singers singing “ow ow ow”. It’s the drum and piano sound that play all over this one, and some kinetic bass lines. The whole thing has certain strangeness to it, and I would have loved to see Prince do something like this more often. Weird but wonderful. 

A Salt and Pepper song to finish? Why not, it’s that sort of show where nothing surprises me anymore. Prince sounds very relaxed, and the piano playing also has a nice easy sound to it. It’s an instrumental for the main part, mostly piano playing over a groove, but there are a couple of DJ scratches thrown in for good measure. The organ too is well in the mix and the song sounds fat and full. There’s not much more to it than that, and it ends before I know it. A very smooth and listenable way to end the recording. 

Thanks again to Jony for recommending this recording, it was excellent. Old Prince very much was dead by this stage, and the new songs he is unveiling here sound much funkier and are coming from a different place altogether. The start of the recording was sounding uptight, but by the end, it was nice and loose, and somewhat strange. This is a keystone recording from a very important part of his career. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is still essential listening.