Utrecht 24 December 1998 (am)

 The best thing about writing this blog is rediscovering recordings I had completely overlooked and underappreciated in the past. This recording from an after-show in 1998 is just such a recording. I am sure I listened to it when I first got it, but since then I don’t think I have played it at all until I was reading an online forum where people were discussing Prince predicting 9/11.  Towards the end of this show, he did sing about Bin Laden and bombs, but he far from predicts any actual events. I was very curious when I read this, so I took this one out for a listen. I was further surprised and happy to hear that Lenny Kravitz plays with Prince here, and the show itself is great. I don’t know why it is, but the Dutch always seem to get great after-show gigs. Plenty of guests and covers make this a special show. 

24 December 1998, Tivoli, Utrecht 

I have read that Lenny Kravitz plays drums on the first three tracks, my ears aren’t good enough to tell if that’s true or not, but it does have that sort of vibe to it. It is confirmed at the end of the song when Prince can be heard saying “You know who that is on the drums?” The first song of the evening is “Cissy Strut.” It is a classic start to such a show, the band builds a groove up and then Candy begins to play all over it with her sax. It doesn’t grab me by my collar and shake me around, rather it lures me in slowly. Candy plays as you might expect, and although I enjoy it my interest level jumps up several notches when I hear Prince and his guitar play. He plays in a rather high tone here, it’s got a real whine to it. Again it’s good without grabbing me at any stage. The tone is set now for the rest of the song, and Morris Hayes follows with a swirling organ solo. No surprises here, and as yet the gig has failed to ignite. There is the feeling that the band is just warming up, and the real fireworks are still to come. 

The band then begins to play “Superstition,” and it's shaping up to be funky. However after some funky keys, Prince calls “wait a minute, we didn’t write that” and the band proceeds to play another cover. 

“Chameleon” is a cover of a Herbie Hancock song, and is led by the horns, and a funky bass line. It's reasonably loose sounding, and it’s a good song to groove along to here at home. There is nothing in the way of vocals, it’s mostly the sax and I can hear the heavy keys. There is an organ running underneath, which fills the sound nicely and stops it from becoming unbalanced. I enjoy Morris Hayes organ break the most, it snakes in and out and is excellent. This is followed by some enthusiastic chanting by the crowd of ‘Go Lenny, Go Lenny” but to be honest he fails to do much. 

 

Lenny is replaced by Kirk Johnson on the drums next, and the band plays “Asswoop.” It’s again a jam, with everyone taking a turn to solo. We once again get Candy Dulfer first, before Mike Scott takes a turn to play. His guitar sounds very sharp and has a high tone to it. He only plays for a minute, and I have a whole new appreciation for him. I already appreciate Morris Hayes, and his solo that follows is an excellent one. It’s a synth solo and sounds nice and spacey to me. He gets plenty of time to play too, and it gives him a chance to warm to the task. What follows next is a nice moment as Hans Dulfer plays a break, before Prince introduces Candy Dulfer again to play. Her playing has gone up a notch since the opening couple of songs, and she is very expressive on this one. 

My interest in the recording remains high as Prince calls “Y’all want some Larry Graham?” and they begin to groove on “The Undertaker.” It’s got a great heavy groove to it with Larry and his bass, and the funk levels go up when Mike Scott plays a funky rhythm break while the crowd chants “Go Larry, go Larry” It does sound like a fun night. Mike sticks on his funky loop for the rest of the song while some interesting-sounding keyboards and effects are played over the top. With a call of “B flat,” the music changes and suddenly lightens. Then begins to play Joy and Pain and the crowd joins in effortlessly. They fall silent as again the keyboard goes all spacey, but I love it. This song is a head bobber all the way through, and it’s impossible not to feel it as well as hear it. It pauses as it may finish, but the groove picks up again, and over the same groove Prince begins to sing “I Know You Got Soul.” There is a brief pause for the piano before the organ kicks it all off again, and Prince gets the crowd clapping along. These types of songs are impossible to write about, they need to be heard and felt, and words just don’t do them justice. Prince gives Larry Graham plenty of shine as he sings “Groove On,” and follows it with some of the bass playing he is renowned for. Indescribable, how I would have loved to have been there. Prince stops the band on a dime, and they pick up straight into Hair. 

The bass is right in my face straight out of the gate. Larry plays fast and funky and with a shout of “turn his mic up!” from Prince he begins to sing “Hair.” I have heard this a few times from Prince, this one is more enjoyable in that it’s played with more conviction and enthusiasm. It has certainly sounded better and cleaner, yet I like this one for its passion. Larry is in fine voice, and Morris Hayes's organ underneath is great. There is an energy level to it that was missing earlier in the show, and for me, the show goes from good to great at this point. 

 

The show doesn’t let up as they next play Al Green’s “Love and Happiness.” Larry sings, and the song bounces along nicely. The audience gets a chance to sing along, and they are very vocal indeed. The bounce continues as the keyboards and horns play off each other. I think that is probably my favorite song played at the show, it’s got a timeless sound to it, and it’s something I will come back to again and again. It has Mike Scott playing a guitar solo encouraged by Larry Graham before a heavy groove carries us through to the end. 

I was surprised when I heard what came next, I should have expected it, yet when I heard Prince playing “Are You Gonna Go My Way” on the piano I was caught completely off guard. This is just the sort of thing I love, a well-known song played in a completely different way. The main guitar riff is played on a piano, and Lenny Kravitz joins the band again to sing his song. It sounds tight, and Lenny doesn’t sound as loose and wild as he does on the original recording. He sings in a classic rock style, but underneath the band is swinging. The guitar solo is replaced by an excellent sax solo by Candy, and it's every bit as good as the original guitar solo. The organ drives it home later in the song as an appreciative crowd claps along to the end. A great rock n roll moment in the gig. 

Prince follows this by calling to Larry to “give us The Jam”. There is a feeling of anticipation as the music builds before “The Jam” begins. It is as we have heard plenty of times over these years- Prince calling to each band member as they take their turn to solo. There is plenty of keyboard sounds all over it, but it's Mike Scott’s playing that I like the most. Larry Graham, too, is well worth the listen. At times I do feel I have heard this all before, but it’s still a lot of fun. 

After a good few minutes of cheers and clapping from the crowd the music resumes with an organ solo from Morris Hayes. It’s short and serves well as an introduction to what comes next. It’s listed as an “organ solo,” but a solo organ would be more descriptive. The notes draw out before the drums join and we start the next part of the show. 

“Mad” receives a rousing cheer from the crowd as it is played. I didn’t expect to hear this one, but I am very pleased to hear it gets an airing. The star of this for me is the guitar, it’s not right in front, but it does play some very funky riffs. The song itself isn’t quite as I remember from the recording, it’s a lot busier. Prince sings his lines in a far more relaxed manner, and the song sounds much lighter and more fun than it does in the original. I feel a little ripped off when it suddenly stops and the band segues into an instrumental of “I Want To Take You Higher.” 

“I Want To Take You Higher” is incredibly laid back, and short. It’s very much got a summer feel to it, and the crowd can be heard merrily clapping along to it. 

 

There is another quick change and the mood and tempo shift as Prince sings the “oooh oooh oh” of “Days Of Wild.” The bass builds behind him as the crowd joins him in the chant. This song is always killer, and here is no different. It opens with the chanting as the sax begins to play. The ominous sound of the bass builds, but it is undercut by a lighter sounding guitar, and when the organ joins it too has a lighter touch to it. The band sounds good, and I am left disappointed when Prince wraps it up after all that build-up and no more. 

With this band, it’s no surprise that “Days Of Wild” becomes “Thank You (falettinme be mice elf again).” You can still hear the bass and swirling organ of “Days of Wild,” but Prince enthusiastically sings Sly’s song. Prince throws in a few random lyrics, and I barely notice as I nod my head and let the music carry me. The song slows near the end as the main refrain is sung, and it ends soon after. 

“Forever In My Life?” I never saw that coming. It’s played with the full band, and like a few of the other songs here it has a good swing to it. The crowd sings along with Prince and it has a very relaxed feeling to the whole show. This is fun to hear but is far from my favorite rendition of this song. It’s only a minute and a half, and a nice lead into “Everyday People.” 

“Everyday People” is just as loved by the crowd and I can again hear them singing throughout. The first half of the song is as you might expect, with plenty of Larry, and the crowd. In the second half, the guitar can be heard strumming as the organ and horns increase in intensity. I prefer this part of the song as it becomes looser, yet the groove tightens. The horns play some nice stabs, while the guitar and piano play in and out. 

With a call of “Bring it down, just the drums” Prince begins to play some rhythm guitar which drives the groove home just right. It loops over and over and I could listen to it all night long. The organ comes on board and then pulls out again as the guitar continues on and on. The track is listed as ‘Guitar Jam’ and that is exactly what we get- it's rhythm guitar overload, and is just fabulous. Other pieces come and go, but the guitar is constant, and a joy to listen to. It was a real shame when it finally came to an end. 

There is another break next, and then after much noise from the crowd Prince returns with a proper Rock God guitar break. Playing alone he pulls a few tricks out of his guitar playing bag as he solos for a couple of minutes. Without a song or emotional center, I find it aimless and empty, there is a feeling that it’s just playing for the sake of playing. It is however to be admired and I do enjoy it for his skills. 

 

The guitar playing in the “Santana medley” that comes next is what I love the most, and is far more enjoyable. I always enjoy the Santana medley, I like how Morris Hayes gets to add his sound to the mix, as well as the fun of Princes soloing. This one, in particular, has a nice feel to it, I think being in a smaller venue adds to the enjoyment as well as the live sound of it. I can’t pinpoint what I like most in the mix for this one, to be honest, I just liked all of it, and just sat back and soaked it all in. The rumble in the second part of the song as Candy plays is a nice touch, and it’s always good to have her as a counterpoint against all the guitar work in this song. Things ease off later in the song, and it gives it just enough room to breathe. 

The steady beat and guitar line of “The Question Of U” follows, and it sounds crisp and sharp. Prince doesn’t sing, instead, his guitar does all his talking for him. The crowd obliges by clapping out the rhythm as he plays. The solo is pretty standard for “The Question Of U,” which is great, but there aren’t any surprises of twists and turns. 

The next twist comes as the squeal of “Gett Off” is heard before the guitar plays the main refrain. For a while, nothing seems to be happening as the main beat plays with occasional guitar riffs interspersed, but then the crowd begins to chant and the main lead line is played with the full band and Prince begins to sing. The crowd sings the chorus for him, and he only sings one verse and plays the guitar line again before taking a solo. 

The sound strips back again as Prince takes up the opening riff of “When You Were Mine”. It sounds like pure pop joy and is very easy to listen to. After some of the long jams, here it’s almost throw-away, and yet its well-crafted pop is more than welcome here. Instead of the final guitar break, we have Candy playing her sax again, and it’s a lot of fun to hear her on this song. 

The next song begins with Prince telling the crowd he has to go home “to America, get ready for the bomb’ before he begins to sing “Osama bin Laden getting ready to bomb”. He sings this several times, of course, he has no idea how things will play out in the future, but it is interesting to hear that he is aware of what is already happening in the world. He sings this several times for the first few minutes of the song- telling the crowd “that’s the new groove” He even sings “Osama bin Laden gettin ready to bomb, 2001”. He is of course dropping the song title “That’ll Work (2001),” rather than predicting the future. Most of the song is call-and-response with the crowd and a steady groove that has another funky guitar line. The song ends with the wail of a siren, and the show ends at this point. 

 

I really should pay more attention to some of the recordings I have. It’s a shame that I haven’t played this one more over the years, it was full of pleasant surprises. I enjoyed Lenny Kravitz far more here than I did at the Rave 2000 show, he fitted in much better with what was going on at this show. I also found Larry Graham enjoyable here and appreciated what he bought to the table. All in all a very fun show, and another one I will leave out for a while so I can give it a few more spins.