Barcelona 23 August 1993 (am)

 

Recently I have become very interested in the evolution of Prince and in particular the missing link between the Act I/Act II concerts, and the shows that we would see in 1994/1995. When I look at the recordings on hand, I can see that the clues for the sounds and songs that are to come are there in the aftershow concerts. The frequency of these after shows increase markedly in 1993, and Prince sustains this rate for a good few years afterward.  Several songs from Come and The Gold Experience can be first heard in these 1993 after shows, even though it is a couple of years before they have an official release, and there are also the Goldnigga songs in the mix too. Add in the Undertaker project and songs from the time, and 1993 begins to look like a very fertile creative period indeed. Today I am listening to an aftershow from later in the year. It wasn’t my first choice to listen to, but due to computer problems, it’s the one I have to run with.

23 August, 1993 Estàndard, Barcelona

“The Sacrifice Of Victor” didn’t get played regularly on tour, so hearing it here is a nice treat. The horns have a swagger to them as the song begins, and it’s a nice way in. A simple riff repeated over and over, it sounds too easy and it always works. Having a horn section gives it a more mature sound, and it’s much more laid back than it sounds on the record. I find that even though the recording is an audience recording, I much prefer this arrangement of the song to that on the record. The band has a swing to them, and Prince sounds very relaxed and happy as he commands the band. What is great about it is that he isn’t sounding like he is pushing them too hard, rather he is just guiding them in direction. As the song progresses I feel some regret that it wasn’t released in this form, like a fine wine it has matured at this point, and now is ready for me to digest.

Prince doesn’t mince his words as he introduces the next song “Black mother fuckers in the house!” “Black M.F In The House” from the Goldnigga album is a bit of an oddity. It’s one of the few Goldnigga album songs that I like, and this is due for the most part to the guitar line that runs through it. Here again, it's the guitar line that holds my attention. The horns are again in fine form, but it's a slippery guitar sound that I love so much. There are better live versions of this song out there, this one is good – although not the first one I would choose to listen to.

 

The lyrical meaning of “Race” is highlighted next as Prince speaks the lyrics before the song begins. It’s still a year away from this being released on the Come album, and much like the other songs here, it’s got a much more laid-back sound at this stage. Prince seems to come up with these laid-back sounding songs, then amps them up and adds extra hooks, and tightens them up for release. It’s interesting to hear it like this, and it is lacking some of the intensity in the chorus, and with the horn section playing more relaxed all over it, it has a different vibe. The slippery guitar sound is present and is giving it that same groovy sound as the horns. It takes on a different feel with the lead guitar playing a break, however, the break is only short and we soon return to a great funky sound. The last minute has a cool-sounding guitar refrain that is a great way to finish it.

Another new song next, with “The Ride.” Its public debut was only three weeks before this, so it still fresh to the audience, and I guess to the band too. It’s a little faster than what is heard in the following years, the beat is just a shade quicker. Prince doesn’t slow it right back, and this makes it more interesting for me to listen to. The recording is pretty good, and I like the sound of Prince’s guitar break, it’s nice and crisp sounding in the speakers. Sometimes I get bored of this song, here I don’t, and I find myself listening intently all the way through, the guitar has some different sounding breaks and Prince solos, and he doesn’t repeat himself, nor does he make it scream. It’s tight and well worth the attention.

The crunching guitar sounds out the beginning of “Honky Tonk Woman.” I was surprised all those years ago when I first heard him play it, but now I see it’s a good fit for this band and this sound. The guitar isn’t as in my face as I’d like, at the show, I’m sure it was plenty loud, it’s just not picked up on the recording. Prince takes a solo early on, and the song is sounding a lot more like Keith Richards than Mick Jagger. Vocals are secondary to the guitar sound, and the only negative thing about the song is that it ends much too soon.

We go back further in time with a performance of “Jailhouse Rock.” As with “Honky Tonk Woman,” one gets the feeling that Prince isn’t particularly interested in singing it, rather he’d be playing his guitar. It’s a tease of a song and ends after a couple of minutes, but not before Prince has played a couple of solos and called “Vegas!” to finish it.

“Come” is another of the songs from this time that was around for quite a while before Prince finally released it on the Come album. It’s got a jam quality to it, and the audience is very quick to pick up the “come” chant. It sounds loose and easy to listen to here, and I prefer this to the released version. I wonder if it was stale by the time Prince released it, and perhaps he has worked the life out of it in the year and a half it took to release it. Here it’s fresh, and very enjoyable to listen to.

 

The guitar introduction to “Endorphin Machine” is excellent, and not in a way you might expect. It’s not a full-sounding guitar riff at the start of the song, rather it’s a thin-sounding guitar playing the riff. I like that it’s not a full-out assault, instead, it creeps upon you, and it’s only at Prince's scream does it take off. It’s still a whole two years away from its official release, and yet all the parts are in place, and it is sounding complete. Tommy plays his solo well, and it’s a nice mix as Prince comes over the top with his guitar break. It’s a shame we had to wait so long to get the official version, but it was worth it.

With the crowd calling Mayte, Prince plays a song about her, “Peach.” There is nothing new in the guitar in it, instead, it's Prince singing in a raspy throaty voice that gives it a real rock sound here. The audience does get a chance to sing along before Prince takes over with his guitar and drives us right through to the end of the song. The song is a little light for my tastes, but I can’t deny that it sounds like a lot of fun, and I always get a buzz from hearing Prince shredding on the guitar. He gives it plenty and throws in a couple of false endings that tease me at the end.

Next, we get the first public performance of “The Undertaker.” I am very used to hearing it from The Undertaker release, this one is different, but every bit as good. The horns add a different dimension to it and Prince's guitar break is more intricate, and it’s got a fine tone to it that I like. This one is a must-listen, and in a lot of ways is the most interesting song of the show. The band gets to showcase their talents, there is a bass solo as well as the guitar solo, and the horns add just enough brassiness to make it shine. There is also a strange-sounding solo later in the song that I want to come back to and listen to again. Actually, make that two solos, this is better than I imagined.

“Sing A Simple Song” is a song we have heard many times now, but this recording is the first time it was played by Prince at a gig. It’s very much a band performance, and no one person stands out, even Prince himself is well in the mix. He is singing, but the song doesn’t seem to highlight his singing or his guitar playing, instead, it’s the song that is the thing here, and the entire band plays tightly on it as the crowd sings. Prince also sings some lines of “You Can Make It If You Try,” but it’s not worth mentioning as the song finishes at this point.

 

“Get Your House In Order” sounds good, but it seems to be a much better fit for Mavis Staples rather than Prince. However the horns sound great on this track, and the band is very sharp through it all, even if Prince's vocals don’t seem quite right. The song turns into a groove and a jam. At this point I enjoy it much more, and so does the audience from the sound of it, as they again get to sing along, as the various band members get a chance to play. Even here at home, I find myself nodding along and chanting, usually a good sign when I am listening to one of these shows. The horns shine a little brighter as the song continues and overall it’s a good representation of the whole show.

Prince leads us in “Johnny” with a “J..O..H..N..N..Y”. Like he has done a couple of other times in this show, the song is more laid back. I seem to remember it’s a little more lively on other performances, this one is only a little more laid back and I like it too. It's a casual way to finish the gig, and Prince and the audience sound very at ease as they sing and chant their way through the song. Levi has plenty of time to play before the sax break comes in, and his part is my favorite part of the song, understated yet very good. There is a hint of a Prince guitar break, I’m sure I can hear his guitar for a few seconds before he has the crowd chanting “NPG in the mother fucking house” which is the last thing we hear as the band stop and the crowd continues chanting.

The importance of these 1993 aftershows shouldn’t be underestimated. A lot of what will come in the next couple of years is laid out in these shows, and I could have picked any aftershow from this year and been well satisfied with it. Prince and the NPG are laying down the blueprint of the sound that they will follow for the next couple of years, and some of the songs that will define that period have already been written and performed regularly at these after shows. I will spend some time revisiting shows from this period, so expect plenty more blog posts relating to this period from me in the future. This show was very good, perhaps not my favorite aftershow from 1993, but it’s a fine place to start. Anyone with an interest in Prince's evolution as an artist should pay close attention to these shows.