Monday, July 11, 2022

Paris 12 July 1992

 For the last two weeks, I have listened to shows that most people would call great, and many consider classics. The show I will be listening to this week won’t be falling into those categories, it’s a rough audience recording of an aftershow from 1992. What makes it interesting for me is the fact that it is from 1992, a year in which there were very few after-shows, and the show itself opens with three songs from the Goldnigga album and indeed is the debut of two of these songs, "Goldnigga" and "Black M.F. In The House." That makes me curious to hear it, especially as these songs set the tone and vibe for the next few years, even if at the time we didn’t realize it. Sometimes these odd little shows can be just as enjoyable as some of the more well-known shows, and I expect to find at least a couple of interesting things about them, although I must admit I am no fan of Tony M. 

12th July 1992, Les Bain Douches, Paris 

Things start low and slow with a laid-back bass that just sounds like summer right from the start. The crowd is the first singing we hear, with a chorus of “Get up, stand up” and soon after Tony M is on the mic encouraging the crowd and chanting “Sexy M.F”, and although I don’t like him, he fails to dampen my mood with the music behind him. Things evolve to the point where I begin to recognize “Goldnigga,” a song and album I rarely listen to when with others, but a guilty pleasure when I am in the car.  This is very ‘bootleg’ sounding, with lots of audience noise and talking, it is still very enjoyable as it starts, and I can see myself playing this at a BBQ as people chat and talk over it. It’s a gentle laid back groove that runs, and Tony M stays relatively restrained on the mic while the guitar and keyboard weave in and out. It’s very much a guilty pleasure for me as I listen, and I think there is a lot of extra crowd chat as they don’t recognize the song, and it's Tony M doing all the rapping. Nobody would ever call this great, but I enjoy it as a show opener. Wait a minute – did he just say “mackadocious’?!! 

“Black M.F. In The House” also makes its live debut at this show, and it is a lot of fun, both for the band playing and me listening. Prince sounds like he is having a great old time doing the voices and lines in this song, and I smile along with him as he sings “What the hell?” at the beginning of the song. Tony M does try a little too hard, and I find his flow doesn’t come easy, he often sounds forced. His words come fast and loud, and it’s not easy to catch what he is singing about.  The guitar lines I find far more enjoyable, I love the funky guitar, while there is some lead guitar work too for those who like it loud. I feel a little guilty as I sing along (what would the neighbors think if they heard me singing “No black M.F’s in the house”?), and I imagine Prince is laughing at my expense. It is all played with a wink, and I like it as Prince calls “are you gonna play the piano or just bang on it son?” as the piano solo begins. A very fun and enjoyable song, there is a lot to like about it. 

 

We are all more familiar with “Call The Law,” and apart from Tony M it also has a couple of nice guitar breaks from Prince. There isn’t too much to the song and although I like the flow of the music, I don’t like the flow of Tony M. I find myself tuning him out, and waiting for the music and moments between his raps.  I want to like the song more, but there’s not enough to it for me, and as Tony M chants us through to the end I find myself sneaking a peek to see what the next song will be. 

It’s “Skin Tight,” although the opening is very heavy on audience noise and talk. It’s lazy sounding and lacks the tension of other versions I have heard. The music is laid back, and the lyrics are very relaxed sounding. It never grabs my attention and forces me to listen to it, instead, it bubbles away without ever breaking into something. I love a long groove, but this one doesn’t excite me, and although I like the guitar in the second part of the song the sound quality is too poor for me to properly enjoy it. 

I feel a little ripped off by “Thank You For Talkin’ To Me Africa,” it’s very short and ends with the recording picking up some audience members talking about how lucky they are to see Prince play, and how they might not get to see him again. 

“Gett Off (Housestyle)” gets things moving along very well, and it’s great to hear the audience singing along rather than talking. The guitar work is crisp and fast, and I like that it breaks down a couple of times so I can appreciate the playing. There is an ill-advised scat, but I happily listen to the music while this is going on. The keyboard runs later in the song are also notable, although like everything suffers from the quality of the recording. 

 

I am very happy when I hear “Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine,” for a start it sounds much better than anything else on the recording, and secondly, it adds a heavy dose of funk to the show.  There are some nice vocals from Prince, and some funky breaks for the guitar before the highlight for me- the organ solo. The band isn’t heavy on the groove like The J.B.’s, and they have their strengths which they play to. We get an interesting bass solo, and then Prince stops to music to do some crowd control. First, he has the crowd move back and then points up that they (the audience)  “didn’t get all dressed up to get messed up” Michael B picks the beat back up, and the band rejoins seamlessly- a testament to the quality of all Princes bands. 

Prince tackles another classic next as the band change direction with a smoky late-night sounding “Villanova Junction.” I have heard the original plenty of times, and here Prince very much plays it in his unique way. The band slips into the background as Prince and his guitar lead from the front. He plays in a couple of different ways, first with a louder sharper sounding guitar tone, and then later with a lighter and higher-sounding guitar. The guitar sounds overlap so I presume that it is Levi playing the second solo which I am enjoying. Prince plays a third break which ends the song, it’s shorter and is a nice full stop. 

And so that brings us to “Jughead.” What can I say? If I could skip this one I would. There are plenty of songs that I rarely listen to, but this is the one song that I NEVER listen to, and one I actively avoid. It sounds almost enjoyable at this show. It’s not enjoyable sitting here at home listening, but I can see that being at the show it would get the crowd moving and inject some energy. The crowd can be heard participating and there is a party vibe to proceedings. 

The last song of the show is “Step 2 The Stage.” I find there is very little for me to enjoy, the guitar loop is nice, but Tony M is the main attraction of the song, and by this stage, I am tired of his sound. On the positive side, the groove is easily enjoyable, and as well as the guitar there is also an organ groove that I always enjoy. As the winds down with Tony M singing “Goldnigga in the house” I begin to collect my final thoughts on the show. 

Despite my negativity about Tony M and the poor quality of the recording, I found that I did enjoy the show. In particular, I liked the first two-thirds of the show, and although I didn’t enjoy Tony M so much, I did really like the rest of the band. The core of members of the NPG here will be with Prince for the next few years, and already I can see how they will all play their parts. I like Michael B on the drums, and I always enjoy Tommy Barbarella along with Sonny T and Levi Seacer Jr. The core of one of my favorite NPG configurations is right there. On a better recording, I would play this more often, as it is it will always remain a curio that I pull out only on rare occasions. It was interesting enough, but I don’t feel I have to listen to it again for a good long while. 


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