Las Vegas 1 February 2004 (am)

 The House of Blues show from early 2004 is an average recording of a great show. The sound may not be the best, but as compensation, we have a show packed with interesting moments, one of the highlights being the opening ten minutes of “Sign O The Times.” The rest of the show lives up to the opening salvo, which makes it all the more disappointing that it is recorded in bad quality. As always I am a devoted fan, and I am prepared to listen to any quality to hear Prince doing this type of show. It is recorded just six weeks before the Musicology tour, and you can hear that Prince is ready to go with the band well prepared, and enjoying a couple of one-off shows before the tour begins. 

1st February 2004 (am), House Of Blues, Las Vegas 

There are no surprises with this recording, right from the start you know what you are in for, with a scratchy distorted sound from the first moment. The band is playing “Sign O The Times,” somewhere behind the noise of the recording I can hear the band is sounding good, but it is hard work to listen to, and even at this early stage I am questioning my dedication to the cause, this will be one tough listen. “Sign O The Times” is played mostly as an instrumental, the beats and rhythms play for a good five minutes before any singing is heard. The sax attack of Candy Dulfer and Maceo Parker are in the house, they help break the cold electronic sound of the song early on before Prince starts singing. It’s impossible to comment too much on Prince’s singing, the recording breaks up badly, but things become more settled as the crowd begins to chant and Prince sings the later verses. The best sounding part of the song is the keyboard near the end, the recording doesn’t distort so much and as Renato Neto plays the piano it finally becomes more listenable. 

 

Although “The Question Of U” suffers the same problems I stick with it for Prince's guitar playing, and we are rewarded with a solo that has plenty of vitality to it, and lifts the recording.  The second half of the guitar break is where the real treasures lie, as the music eases back further so does Prince's playing and he segues into “The One” as his guitar cries. It’s always a song I look for, I find the lyrics and guitar playing to be an emotional match, and as per usual Prince plays an emotive rendition. He closes out the song with the as-expected wail on the guitar, and it’s a great way to bring it to an end. 

I am very happy to hear “Let’s Work” next, even if it is accompanied by more distortion in the recording. This is one for hardcore fans, even I am struggling with the quality. Prince sounds bright on “Let’s Work,” there is an extra bounce in his vocal, and he does add some liveliness to the show. 

“U Got The Look” has the bonus of the horns playing, and when Prince does begin to play his guitar it’s in a brighter sharper way that fits nicely with the horns. The riff is heavily distorted, so I find myself listening between the riff, and what can be heard is Prince and the band playing a funky version of a song that shines in this new rendition. 

 

The horns stay the center of attention as “Life O’ The Party” begins. The song lives up to its title and the party can be heard starting, led by Prince on stage. He injects a lot of himself into the song, and the overall effect is uplifting. Likewise, Greg Boyers solo on the trombone is full of life, it is hard not to smile as I listen to him play, he makes it seem like such fun. The song heats up at this point, and the rest of the song goes by in a blur, even here at home I feel I am part of the party. 

We do get a couple of minutes of “Soul Man” next, which is crowd-pleasing, but not heavy on Prince. Chance Howard takes the lead vocals, he sounds fine and is a good match for the song. As much I enjoy him, he’s no Prince, and I am happier when the song finishes and the opening of “Kiss” sounds out. 

This is one funky version of “Kiss,” and for the first time, the recording becomes almost listenable.  The guitars are sharp, the horns dazzling, and the keyboard is doing all it can to rival them, it’s great to digest all of it, and Prince himself gives a vocal performance to match. This is easily the best moment of the show so far. 

It’s hard to dislike “Take Me With U,” and Prince plays it with some sincerity. The audience responds well, they can be heard making noise all through it, the only negative being again the reappearance of distortion on the recording. Prince is frisky and good-natured in his delivery, and there is a lot of joy in the song. 

We get a long funk workout with the “Everlasting Now,” there is plenty of time for everyone to contribute and give it some sparkle. Prince's guitar solo leads the way, and against a backdrop of horn swells he plays economically before Candy comes to the party with a hot solo of her own. The song continues in this vein, Prince calls for Renato to solo, then the rest of the band, before getting the crowd involved too. 

 

“Shake Everything You’ve Got” sees Maceo become the focal point. He is worth listening to, with all the years of experience you know he’s not going to let you down. The other horns all get a part to play too, it’s hard to single any one of them out, they all sound good to my ear. There is plenty of time to lose yourself in the music, they play for ten minutes, with all the horns having a part to play, along with Renato Neto. Although Prince isn’t to the fore, this is still worth the time to listen to, and the band is well in the groove. 

Maceo is still the main attraction as “Down By The Riverside” begins. His playing is quick and lively, and I can hear him working hard on the recording. The rest of the band is in the background as he leads from the front with yet another excellent break. 

Prince ends with a “Thank you -goodnight” but soon enough he returns for another show-stopper, a luscious sounding “The Beautiful Ones.” The intro has an ethereal synth sound, as a piano plays for some time. The recording is certainly bad, yet the beauty of this performance still shines through. Asides from the keyboards, we also have a sax playing early on, adding its shine to the song. Prince doesn’t actually sing until well past the four-minute mark, and by that time the scene is truly set, the music has laid out an exquisite carpet for him to sing over. He sounds quiet, yet his voice is note-perfect, and on any other recording, I would be gushing about this version. However, it is what it is, even with a perfect performance the recording drags it down, his final howls lost in a wave of distortion and buzz. 

Prince continues to tug at the heartstrings with a warm rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” The crowd sings the chorus appreciatively, although it’s Candy Dulfer that steals the limelight, and the show, with a blistering sax solo that has me nodding my head in acknowledgment. It’s hard to follow such a performance and after a quick chorus Prince wraps it up, but not before I am once again reminded of how good Candy is. 

 

Seeing “America” listed on the setlist was another reason that I chose this recording, and I’m not disappointed in the slightest as Prince begins the chant as the band hit the deep groove. It’s hard to make out the sound, being a heavier song the distortion again raises its ugly head, but I do catch Maceo setting the stage on fire with his playing, and there is definitely some funk in the house as they play. The bulk of the song is a long-drawn-out groove that is not served well by the recording, for long periods it is very hard to work out what is happening as the beat continues. 

“Purple Rain” sounds better, being quieter there is less distortion, and the balance of the instruments is again restored. There is an intro played on guitar that is achingly beautiful before Prince sings his opening lines, and for me, the highlight of the song is right here. Most of the vocals are lost in the grubbiness of the recording, although thankfully it briefly improves during the guitar solo. It’s hard to say the recording is going out on a high when you can hardly make out most of the song, and I actually feel relieved as it finishes. 

I made a big mistake choosing to listen to this show. I never wanted this to be a blog complaining about recordings, I wanted to celebrate the music and performances of Prince, however, this recording was so bad it completely detracted from the show I was listening to. I let myself be fooled by an inviting-looking track list and venue and forgot the most important thing, it’s all about the listening experience, not just what was played but how it sounds. Being hard-headed, even once I realized my mistake, I continued with the blog post – it’s a lesson learned the hard way. This isn’t even a show for the hardcore fan, be content to read the set list on the vault, and know that it was probably a good show if you were there.