Paisley Park 9 September 1995

 The final show I want to cover from 1995 is the second show from September 9th at Paisley Park. After playing an early morning concert, Prince returned in the evening to play a completely different set and one that closely resembles what is heard during the Japan tour just a few months later in early 1996. This is a concert that presents the bulk of the Gold album, only a couple of Come songs make the setlist along with two NPG songs. Serving as a nice run-through of what will be a main concert setlist, this is Prince and the band playing a much more structured show than the previous two I have written of and is a good introduction to what we will hear in Japan in 1996. 

9th September 1995, Paisley Park 

I have never been completely sold on “Purple Medley,” but as an opening, it does give us a good feel of the quality of this audience recording. The recording is full-blooded, with the bass coming through solid without ever overwhelming everything else or distorting. Despite any reservations I have about the medley, I do find it does move along quickly and it is a simple gift to those that have followed Prince throughout his career. 

With the shout of “Prince is dead, long live the New Power Generation,” the concert is awash in guitar grind and bathed in the sound of the Gold album as “Endorphinmachine” cleanses the bootleg of any nostalgic mists. The song is heavily abridged, after being battered by the guitar, and phasing keyboard, the song collapses under its own furious weight, leaving the blitzkreiging guitar of Prince as the abiding memory. 

The fire and fury quickly vanish, but Prince gives us something every bit as titanic and intense with a poisonous version of “Shhh.” Laced with the most venomous guitar break, it too quickly dies but not before leaving an indelible mark on the concert and this listener. 

 

The show settles with “Now,” a six-minute funk battering that only suffers from a small microphone glitch from Prince early in the number. It’s easy to get caught up on the lyrics, the singing along, and jumping, but for me, the most enjoyable parts of the song belong to the NPG themselves, Michael B.’s powerhouse drumming, the twin keyboard attack, and the rubber-ball bounce of Sonny T. on bass. I often consider “Now” to be lightweight in more esteemed company, but in this case, there is plenty to admire and respect, the only disappointing aspect is that I can’t see Mayte shake her money maker. 

Morris Hayes owns “Funky Stuff.” Prince may call for various other band members to play throughout the song, but Morris Hayes's contribution is outstanding, both in his electric wonder solo piece and later in the song where his keyboard is the glue that holds it all together. The song follows a similar line to the previous “Now,” becoming an extended workout where once again I miss seeing Mayte shake her thing. The song runs out of steam later in the piece, becoming just a groove, and I find I do begin to lose interest by the end of it. 

“The Most Beautiful Girl In The World,” becomes all the more interesting as Prince breaks it down from the beginning, turning the song into an elongated speech about what they were playing and his struggles with Warner Bros. and the system. His speech about the Gold Experience is revealing and for me strikes at the crux of his problems with record labels. It is a fascinating insight and essential listening. 

 

Something is missing in “Days Of Wild,” it doesn’t have the fierceness that I have come to expect from it. The recording doesn’t sound thin, so perhaps in this case it is the performance that is lacking. I shrug it off as the pulsating bass solo unfurls, improving the moment substantially and setting off a chain reaction through the rest of the song. The bass becomes an exhilarating ride that snakes in and out of the music, giving the song a slipperiness that was previously missing, an empathetic punch of funk that elevates these few minutes above all else. 

I have heard better versions of “Pussy Control” in circulation. Princes’ vocals have the slightest distortion on them, and for me, it detracts from the song. However, the other key players are all in the place and the music hurtles forward without ever gaining any sense of intensity. There is no magic here, just a romp through a joyous celebration of feminism, albeit with a wink. 

“Letitgo” is a far gentler ride, the music is set to cruise control from the start, and with Prince’s suede vocals the song reeks of unfulfilled luxury. It is a gentle ride from start to finish, only Prince’s exclamations to the crowd break this downhill flow. The song itself is the best moment, the band rarely sticks their heads above the parapet, and the performance is faceless as the song glides by in its own way. 

 

The soft and luxurious sound is retained for the creamy “Pink Cashmere” that follows, a song that sounds far better live than on record, especially as the band dust it with the slightest sprinkling of jazz making it a far more demanding beast than the recorded version. With the soft duvet of keyboards wrapping the song up it becomes a moment of warm comfort, and is one of the least challenging moments of the concert, especially in comparison to the raw funk of Prince’s more current material. 

“Return Of The Bump Squad” emphasizes this point, although it takes a minute or two to show its true colors, Prince spends the first minutes talking with the crowd while the band, and audience, wait in anticipation. When it does kick-off, it comes as a punch to the face, the music strident and turbulent from the start with a collision of sound and funk all making for an explosive mix. The bass strikes blows throughout, while the rest of the band batter the song into submission with a relentless barrage of funky grooves and rhythms. Prince’s bass can’t be denied though, he is the star attraction throughout, and the final minute sees him giving us a brief burst of both “Hair” and “777-9311,” something that has my inner fanboy weeping with joy. 

I don’t expect too much from “Get Wild,” and I am pleasantly surprised when Prince gives a performance that keeps me engaged from start to finish. I feel a warm flush with Tommy Barbarella’s first solo that mimics the sound of a saxophone, while the long break down mid-song is kept interesting with Prince’s comments to Lenny Kravitz about rock being dead, before giving us several minutes of chanting and singing “Rock ‘n’ Roll is alive and lives in Minneapolis”  This is the first live appearance of the song, and although it nothing more than a chant, it does point to the future when the song will soon appear as a b-side to “Gold” This alone makes “Get Wild” one of the stand-out tracks of the evening, and with the NPG evolving the song through a series of wild improvisations it makes for a fascinating listen. 

 

Equally unhinged is “Race,” swinging from a long funky intro into a sample laden finale, with the Prince era “Girls And Boys” making an unscheduled appearance halfway. Again, I hadn’t expected too much from this song but found myself enjoying it just as much as anything else heard at the show. It may not but a definite full-stop on the show, but it offers a rich finish to a show that gives far more than first appearances might suggest. 

This may be the most straightforward of the Paisley Park concerts of 1995, but it offers several insights into Prince’s position at the time, and some of his best jams. Although I have heard these songs many times before, in this case, they were played with vitality and enthusiasm that remains undiminished. The audience recording is very good, and all in all, this makes for yet another great listening experience. This is another gem that not everyone is familiar with, but like all shows of the 1995 era, it is an essential part of the Prince bootleg canon.