London 29 August 2007 (am)

 Prince has flirted with playing in a trio several times over the years, especially after the positive fan response to the Undertaker project with Michael B and Sonny T. With Sonny T and Michael B it was very much a power trio, today’s show with Josh and Cora doesn’t exude the same power, yet I think we can still safely describe it as a power trio.  I remember at the time of this show, an after-show during his 21-night run in London in 2007, there was a lot of comment online about it, and many people had been wanting to see a show like this for several years. The concept is certainly mouth-watering, and what I want to know is does the show, and this recording, live up to the expectation. There is only one way to find out, I will press play on it now. 

29th August (am) 2007, Indigo O2   London 

The recording eases us into it nicely with some audience noise before the trio of Prince, Cora, and Josh start a slow groove. I enjoy it right from the start with Prince’s guitar having a nice raw organic sound. It’s not at all loud, it’s very laid back and the groove moves along gently. Having only three instruments playing “Thank You For Talkin To Me Africa” means that the sound isn’t at all crowded and Prince's guitar playing is very clear in the mix. There is some strumming before later he switches up into a couple of cool-sounding lead breaks. Each gets a hearty cheer from the crowd, and a thumbs up from me here at home. As an instrumental, it serves as a good introduction to the show. 

 

“Anotherloverholenyohead” actually works very well in this context. It rocks out well, and the crowd is feeling it with plenty of singing. I get a buzz out of hearing Prince's vocals and guitar playing in this setting and the song sounds fierce in its stripped-back form. It’s not well served by the recording, I can hear it fine and clear, but it doesn’t have the jump and pop I want to hear, it is missing some crispness in the recording. The segue into “Rock Lobster” is familiar to me and doesn’t come as any real surprise. It allows Prince to crank up the intensity of his guitar playing and the break comes as a flurry of playing. I thought the whole song would be like this, but he pulls back in the last couple of minutes as Cora plays a drum break which is warmly received by the crowd. 

I often associate “Calhoun Square” with the Michael B and Sonny T era, so I feel it’s a good fit here as soon as it begins. Initially, the music sits in the background as Prince opens the singing, but soon enough his guitar is turned up and we get another round of guitar work. It must be good because I find myself turning it up louder as the song progresses. The crowd is heard through the song chanting and cheering, and I know I am not alone in my enjoyment of this performance. Prince’s guitar playing becomes fierier in the last minutes of the song, at this point I find I am doing little else but listening to him playing. 

“Chaos and Disorder” are perfect for this trio and they become faster and tighter as they go. The drums aren’t as pounding and strong as you would get with a Michael B, and without that strength, I find the song lacks some punch. Cora plays well enough, but she doesn’t have the power of Michael B. I can’t fault the enthusiasm of the trio, and Prince's guitar is the main attraction and what holds it all together, as well as holding my attention. 

I enjoy “I Like It There” which follows, but again it doesn’t have the power of the drums. There is plenty of noise on the cymbals and Prince sings more passionately which fills out the sound. The guitar is sounding very crisp and clean and I find I am enjoying the show much more than I anticipated. Their trio isn’t a ‘power trio’ in the powerful sense, but they are nice and tight and do generate a good sound together. The song works best in the last minutes when Prince lets the guitar do all the work, and I think this is what most people want out of the show. 

 

There is a long introduction next, with plenty of guitar grooves and some lead before Prince begins to sing. I can’t work out what it is, and it’s only once he begins singing that it becomes apparent that it is “All Shook Up.” I have heard this song plenty of times from Prince, but never like this before and I am surprised at how well it works for this trio. Prince sings over some choppy guitar, and during the chorus plays some lead that has a similar tone to the two previous songs. It’s far removed from the original and it is more band centered rather than focused on the singer. There is some more soloing from Prince, it’s cleaner sounding than the previous solos, and he is sounding tighter and focused, rather than fiery and passionate. 

“Empty Room” is phenomenal, for me, it’s the best part of the gig. Sure, Prince's vocals aren’t recorded as well as some of the earlier songs, but the guitar is the thing, and here is powerful and passionate sounding. The crowd goes silent during this performance, and I honestly think some of them are awestruck. It feels a lot louder than the other songs, and I think it’s mostly because I am listening so closely. Prince gets an interesting sounding tone on his guitar that shimmers, I am not a great fan of it, but when his stronger tone returns I am very happy. The song dies with a whimper, which is surprising given how strong it was early on, but that’s OK, for me it’s the pick of the show. 

I can’t get used to “Spirituality,” I still want to call it “Sexuality,” as that is what it always will be to me. If “Empty Room” was the highlight for me, then this would be a very close second. The drums don’t sound strong, it’s the guitar that drives this alone, Prince plays all sorts of fills compensating for the lack of keyboards that normally fill the sound. His guitar has a slightly jagged raw edge, just enough to make this a gritty must-listen. I don’t get behind the lyric change, the rest of the song though is outstanding, and my only complaint is that it’s only a couple of minutes before he moves smoothly into the next song, I would have died to hear him play this one much longer. 

“Johnny B Goode” is predictable and although the guitar sounds good and the mood is high, it leaves me disappointed. There isn’t much to it, a couple of verses and then some frantic guitar work by Prince. It’s not at all bad, it’s just lacking soul, and I am more than happy with the couple of minutes we get. 

 

I was surprised to see “Elephants And Flowers” in the set, and I praise it for its novelty value. It’s less flowery than the album cut (excuse the pun) and much more straightforward sounding. It’s another chance for Prince to play some lead guitar, which he injects a lot of spirit into. The song moves by quickly, I think after the verses and chorus Prince's guitar changes time and space in the universe because it seems like only a minute long when in reality it is a good five minutes. 

“When Will We B Paid” is another outstanding performance. Opening with a couple of minutes of gentle lead guitar, this is the type of Prince playing that I love to hear. Nothing too fierce, just some beautiful runs on his guitar and plenty of soul. It has a timeless quality to it, and I like that the recording gets the vocals nice and clear so we get the lyrics and their meaning. The guitar solo after the verses stays in this gentle way and keeps within the tone of the song. I would be quite happy if it stayed this way, however, it picks up considerably near the end, and to my surprise, I like it just as much as the rest of the song. This was another highlight of the show for me, there is much more to this show than I initially thought. 

There’s the whine of the guitar that leads into the next song, and I am happy when I hear I heavy riff begin. Shelby is onboard here to sing “Baby Love,” and she does a great job, she sings full-voiced over Prince's guitar riff, and the song has a great push to it. It’s much more out front and in my face, and I like it all the more for it. Unfortunately about halfway through Shelby begins her “Put your hands up, put your hands up” chants which throws me momentarily, although it’s only for a minute and the song is soon enough back on track. There is some juicy-sounding guitar work from Prince after Shelby steps back and the song gets a whole lot better from here on. Prince’s guitar sounds great to my ears, and when Shelby starts to sing again she is very strong and machine guns the final chorus in brilliant style. 

“Alphabet St” gets a verse, then a fast guitar solo that kicks it off. The lightness returns for another verse before Prince takes us deep into his guitar solo again. He repeats this, the light verse and then hammering guitar break, and although a little jarring at first, there is no denying that it all sounds so good. I preferred the guitar breaks to the singing, the singing was filler compared to the killer guitar licks he had. 

The final song of the show and the recording is rather fittingly “Guitar.” This song neatly encapsulates everything I like and dislike about the show. The singing is light and throw-away, while the guitar breaks are excellent and the main reason to be here. The drums lack any real presence and everything defers to Prince and his guitar sound. I am happy with that, as I like Prince and his guitar, but I wonder how much better this could have sounded with other players. The best moments are when Prince shreds his guitar and fills the recording with his guitar sound. He plays quick and the song speeds by at a very fast rate, and before I know it the song is over. 

I found this recording to be very good, but in the back of my mind is the thought that it could have been a lot better too. The performance was good, and the guitar breaks were great, what was missing was that little extra to give it more power. My first thought would be a different drummer, somebody who could bash the drums and create a big sound for Prince to play against. Asides from that quibble I found that the recording was immensely enjoyable, and the fact that it was only an hour worked in its favor, much more and there would have been the feeling of repetition and sameness. I can understand why people like to see Prince play in a stripped-back band like this, hopefully, it’s something he will dabble with again in the future.