Flugplatz Lüneburg 3 September 1993

 

I rarely listen to an Act II show. Not that there is anything wrong with them, or that I strongly dislike them. But they do fall between his 1980s golden period, and his fascinating symbol era. Today’s show from Germany 1993 is a great show, and, unfortunately, I overlook it. The setlist is a hotchpotch of songs and styles, but it’s all of a high standard, and a couple of songs in the setlist have my mouth watering. And best of all, because I listen to this so little, it is always fresh sounding to me.

3 September, 1993 Flugplatz Lüneburg, Germany

A very rock-n-roll introduction from the announcer on this one. It is clichéd but exciting as he says “And now…..without further ado…please welcome Prince and the New Power Generation!!” Prince goes on to say “there are no kings on this earth, only Princes” and a very funky “My Name is Prince” is played by the band. The bass, drums, and rhythm guitar lock in very tightly, and the guitar especially catches my ear- it’s minimal but funky. There is a sample of “I Wanna Be Your Lover” which seems to be an odd choice but utterly works. Prince's rapping is good here, he doesn’t try too hard as he does on other recordings, and in this case, it serves him better. He raps in his deeper voice but resists the temptation to yell as in some of his rap songs. The power of Michael B comes across very well on this recording, and it’s a joy to listen to him pounding the drums.

The silky guitar line of “Sexy MF” gets the next song off to a good start, and Prince intones easily over it. I don’t love the singing, but the music is brilliant. The sound of that guitar, and then the nice horny chorus. Tommy Barbarella plays his part well and adds an organic sound to the smooth shiny funk. Levis solo is distracted by Prince speaking to the crowd at the start of it, but he plays out long enough that there is plenty for me to enjoy. The second part of the song after this isn’t as enjoyable for me, Prince's rap sounds corny to my ears, but there is a horn solo which I get right into and leaves me with an overall positive impression of the song.

 

I didn’t see “The Beautiful Ones” coming, but there is no complaint from me as it begins. The keyboard swells sound just as divine as they always have, and the sound of live horns updates its feel. Prince's vocals aren’t as good as they are on the album, but really- could anything match that performance? He does sound great here, but the spoken ‘perfect picture’ sounds too contrived and loud on this recording for my taste. He makes amends with some screams, and closes the song in the style which I know and love, along with a nice little horn flourish.

“Let's Go Crazy’s” organ intro is the next thing we hear on the recording, and it is nice and full-sounding. Prince gives us “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to get through this thing called life” before the pounding beat and the band come onboard. Although an excellent recording, the mix here is a little off, and mostly we hear Prince and the beat while the other instruments are somewhere lost in the mix. That changes when Prince begins the guitar solo, and that comes at us front and center. The solo disappears into a funky rhythm and some encouragement to the audience before the rhythm of Kiss begins.

 

“Kiss” begins with the trademark funky guitar, but it’s backed with some heavy sounding bass, and plenty of horns. It’s far from delicate sounding, and it’s the bass gets me shaking. With the horns, there is a Vegas sound to it, and they give it a lot of push and fullness. Prince's vocals are stronger than I expect on this song, and his vocals have been very strong so far in the show. This is quite a likable version of “Kiss,” I can’t say it’s particularly faithful to the original, but it’s a lot of fun. For all the sounds and going on, it's still the horns that I come back to, they are that good. The song ends with plenty of calls and responses from the crowd.

There is a segue into “Irresistible Bitch,” which I can’t speak highly enough of. Like the previous song, this one is heavy on the horns, but still lacks a little of the heaviness that I have heard on other tours. But it's still one of his funkiest and its inclusion is a definite highlight. It’s with great regret that it only lasts a couple of minutes, but all is forgiven when the next song starts.

The familiar riff of “Always In My Hair” has me out of my seat. These are two gems right next to each other and are another stand out for me. Prince’s guitar is crisp and clean, and I am much relieved when he strikes up the first solo. It's anything you could want or imagine, and I’m pleased to see a show so heavy on dance and props still have time for a classic Prince guitar moment. He doesn’t stretch the solo or the song out too long, and the song moves naturally enough to him jamming solo on his guitar. And this is where things go up a notch. The playing is playful, sometimes light, sometimes heavy but always it sounds like a lot of fun. It gets faster and faster and ends with me shaking my head. Brilliant.

 

Things take a pop turn next when the band strikes up “Raspberry Beret.” A feel-good song, if ever there was one, this one lives up to its reputation. Without being able to see the ActII stage and costumes, this sounds like it's straight out of 1985. Prince ends it after a single verse and chorus, but once again I am not too disappointed when I hear what is next.

“The Cross” has a nice raw sound here, especially Prince's vocals which have a fantastic live sound- as you would fully expect. In the first couple of verses, I listen carefully to Prince's voice, but once his guitar takes over it's unstoppable. It’s got a great garage sound to it, but no garage band has played a solo as good as the one Prince plays on this track. His vocals become very impassioned as the song goes on, and in the last verse, he is singing halfway between a sing and a scream. It’s not as long as I want, but I add it to my list of highlights from the show so far.

“Sign O The Times” also gets added to that list, as its unmistakable beat begins. Prince's vocals have a great sound to them again, it’s strong and raw. The guitar is something I haven’t heard before, the solo is cleaner than I expect and goes in a couple of different directions. Prince then throws in an adlib with “Let's get married, have a baby, we can call him Michael B, if he’s a boy” and Michael B obliges with some great rolls before Prince gives us more excellent guitar work. This whole section of the show has been fantastic, and it doesn’t let up as the band begins to play “Purple Rain.”

“Purple Rain” begins with plenty of keyboards and a nice firm drum- just the way I like it. There is a nice organ swelling, and the piano is in the mix as well. Prince adds a heavenly guitar line, and I am salivating where I sit. We are only a minute in and already this is a great one. The heavier crunching guitar plays, and again it is just right. It doesn’t overwhelm and slowly adds to the feeling. Prince takes a break from the guitar and we get a classic “owww” from the man. He then sings the verses and his voice and this recording are both top-shelf. He is loud, clean, and crisp, and so is the recording. I usually tire of “Purple Rain” but this one has me listening all the way through. Prince begins his guitar break midway through his last few lines, and as it begins proper he calls “Live for Love”. Maybe I avoid live main shows too much to concentrate on after shows, but this is one show that has my full attention, and I can’t speak highly enough of this “Purple Rain.” I don’t quite get to the point of singing along, but a dare say after a few drinks I certainly would have. The last notes fade, and I sit back pretty satisfied.

 

There is the sound of thunder next and I immediately know what’s coming next- or so I thought! Prince intones the opening lines of “Thunder,” but the song never materializes, instead we get a cool little rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” It’s an instrumental, but in every way I love it. It’s a nice change in pace and a nice reminder of what else Prince has in his bag of classic songs. It only goes for half a minute, but that’s just perfect.

I am knocked sideways next as the band begins to play “And God Created Woman,” not because of its inclusion in the setlist, but the fact it sounds so good. I had forgotten about this song, and that’s a great shame, as in this show it sounds brilliant. Again, it’s another shortened instrumental, but just the taste of it leaves me dying to hear more. The horns play all over it and sound great. I would have loved to hear Prince on it, but just hearing this small piece has me thinking I should pull the album version out next. There is then just a snatch of “Diamonds and Pearls” played instrumentally before we return to the main show properly.

The recording resumes with Prince playing the piano. Always a favorite part of the show for me, this one begins with the beautiful “Venus De Milo.” Of course, it is part of a longer medley so we only get another small taste, but it’s a nice start to the piano set.

Next Prince begins to play “I Love U In Me.” Despite the corny lyrics it still manages to sound very good here, mostly due to its stripped-back sound and some nice piano work from Prince. He also personalizes the lyrics at one stage, which is always a nice touch. His vocals are deep and smooth and it’s a good match to his piano playing.

The band joins in for the next song as we move on to “Strollin.” Its nice easy feel is enhanced with the horn section adding a bit of sunshine to it. The drums are too much for my taste, but that in no way detracts from the song. Just on the chorus, they are a touch loud for me. The rest of the song glides by very easily.

“Scandalous” is another highlight. Prince’s voice leads the whole song, and the rest of the band sounds well in the background. It’s a good performance, and more enjoyable after the run of shorter songs we have just heard. The horns play another excellent break, and it’s clear how much they added to his sound at this time. Hard to believe in another couple of years they would be gone from his sound. The song is either Prince’s voice, or the horns at this stage, and both play hard to outdo each other. It’s not as smooth as you might think but it’s still another great part of what is proving to be a classic show

 

Prince introduces the next song with a couple of lines from “Girls and Boys” before he says the old cliché “I’m gonna stay over here until you make up your mind”. Sure it’s old and corny, but it still gets a cheer from the crowd. “Girls and Boys” starts again, and it’s slightly slower, and heavy on horns. It lacks some of the sassiness of the original but still has a funky feel. Prince sings with plenty of passion in his voice, and this helps inject some energy into it. It does become one for the crowd, as the horns play over Prince encourages the crowd with some call and response and ‘clap your hands. After this, it’s the horns all the way until the finish line.

The next thing we hear is the intro music to “Around The World In A Day,” which has me slightly confused at first, but it quickly gives way to some drumming from Michael B before the first chords of 7 are played on a guitar. “7” sounds fresh, and the crowd is strangely quiet as it begins. The first minute of it has very much an Arabic feel to it and it's not recognizable, which might account for the lack of audience response. Things change when Prince sings the first few lines and the music then begins as we know on the album. The song is played as heard on record, although Prince does call to the crowd from time to time. It’s a come-down after some of the songs we have heard in the last 40 minutes, but the crowd seems to like it well enough. In the last minute of the song, Prince reminds us that there are no Kings on earth only Princes as the band plays out the last section.

The encore starts with Prince yelling “What's up y’all?” He then presents Mayte who addresses the crowd in German – sorry no translation available! There is then a helter-skelter rendition of “1999.” The drums are a monster, and this one sounds like a train, it comes so fast and powerful. The band flies through it, Prince sings the first verse and chorus before the party continues with the last part and the crowd singing ‘party’. It’s a disservice to a classic song, but at the same time, it is a party moment. And by this stage, there is very much the feeling that we are accelerating toward the finish line.

 

This is enhanced as the band without pause play “Baby I’m A Star.” To be honest, I didn’t expect to like it, but I did despite myself. Especially I found the horns quite vibrant, but I didn’t get too long to enjoy it as it's part of a longer medley.

The next song in the medley was rather surprising “America.” It’s not played the way I remember it to be back in the day, but it’s so good to hear it in the setlist. It's not as tight as the original, the band is a little loose and it does have a bit more swing. The horn in this is usually a highlight, but sadly it very much misses having Eric Leeds on it. A good concert moment, but we aren’t back in 1986, and that band casts a long shadow over this song.

“DMSR” gets thrown into the mix next. As with the last song, it’s not as tight as I am used to. It doesn’t get played long enough for me to complain about it, and the medley keeps moving quickly along.

“Gett Off” is the song I know and love in name only. It’s stuffed full of horns here, and a funky keyboard. Prince sings the lyrics, but without the screams, classic beat, and lead line it’s just a pasty imitation. But to be fair I do like it as part of this feel-good party medley. Prince does scat near the midsection, with the crowd failing to keep up with him. I would like to see this part of the show, as it does sound like a lot of fun. Just the songs flash by a tad fast for me to enjoy. Prince displays his humor when he tells the crowd he can’t sing anymore, maybe he should lip-sync. He quickly banishes that idea with a “fuck that shit!”

As a long-time fan of “Pope,” I am very happy to hear a live performance of it. It’s slowed down, which gives us more of a chance to listen to Prince's rap. His delivery is uneven, but as with most things on this recording, it doesn’t diminish the enjoyment at all. After a couple of verses and chorus, the band takes over with some very funky instrumental work. Some funky guitar and piano have the whole thing moving along nicely before the horns enter and play ” It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night.” I wasn’t sure how much we were going to get, but it's an instrumental jam section of “Beautiful Night,” and Prince has some brief interplay with the audience. It very much reminds me of what we hear on the new year's gig from 1987, this time without Miles Davis of course. After a couple of minutes, Prince ends the song with a simple “What’s my name……confusion!”

After a minute's break, the heavy crunch of the guitar brings the audience back to life. Prince speaks the opening few lines of “Peach,” and then after that, it’s all on as the guitar comes to the fore and the band joins the fun. I love the guitar sound on this recording, unfortunately, I feel Prince is trying too hard with his vocals to match it. They do sound somewhat forced and a little ragged. All is forgiven however when he steps back and lets his guitar do his talking. The momentum is lost when he engages in call and response with the audience, and then some vocal adlibs. But the guitar is the thing and Prince soon returns to the solo before the song winds up. Of course, it’s a false ending and there are several more minutes of heavy guitar action following this. It all sounds great, but nothing strikes me as spectacular or noteworthy.

A very well-balanced recording, this one was well worth listening to. Some people have commented that it is their favorite, and I can understand why. Although not my favorite period, there was plenty here for me to enjoy, and I am confident it would stand up to repeated listening. Not a top 10, but an excellent recording nevertheless.