Montreux 14 July 2013

 It’s taken me longer to get to the second night of Montreux 2013 than I anticipated. I was enjoying the first night too much, and although the setlist of the second night was different, I found the sound and quality of the show to be very similar. Normally that’s not a bad thing, but in this case, I just couldn’t find a reason to play it more. But today I have bitten the bullet and sat down to give it a proper listen and write about it. 

14th July 2013, Montreux 

The show begins as the previous night with the now-familiar sound of thunder and rain. I don’t feel the excitement as much as in the first recording, I guess because I have already heard it too much. I just want to skip past the prelude and enjoy the concert itself. The crowd gives a cheer but soon settles into silence waiting for the show to begin proper. 

The first night had started with a surprising “Strays Of The World,” and there is another treat to open this night too, as the first song up is Act Of God. It’s a nice song for the horns to play, and it has a clean yet strong sound to it. I find the horns a little too brassy, but I like the song. It’s got a nice steady flow to it, and Prince and his singers sound very good together. Prince’s voice isn’t overly strong, which is a shame, but it is only the first song. Like the previous night, Prince calls on Marcus early for a solo, and it’s probably the most enjoyable part of the song. 

Again, harking back to the previous night, the song flows into the next one, “What Have You Done” for me lately. The girl singers sound much better than Prince, he seems to be a little lost in all the horns and voices. There isn’t long to digest the song before it moves quickly into “Northside.” 

I would like to write a lot about “Northside,” but it barely lasts a minute before the segue into the next song. 

Although I would never call myself a fan of these medleys, I do accept that they are part of any Prince show nowadays, and a realistic way for Prince to cover a lot of material very quickly. The medley here isn’t musically bad, it just feels like it’s too soon in the show for it. To have a barrage of songs coming at us straight out of the gate doesn’t give me a chance to enjoy or digest the music. I do like everything played here, but I feel like I am nibbling many dishes at a feast, rather than sitting down and getting into it. 

 

“Which Way Is Up” is a song that I dig. The horns and the girl’s voices do a great job of it, and for the first time in the recording, I feel myself engaging a little more with the music. It’s only a couple of minutes, but it’s more than what we have had so far. The band is playing very well but comes across as being a little too polished, and the music lacks some feeling to it. 

The medley takes on “Partyman” next, and the gig feels like it's beginning to build up more and more. The song sounds good, but if I compare it to the original I do find it lacking in something. I can’t quite put my finger on it, maybe there is a little too much, or perhaps the horns are running away with it, they certainly do seem to be playing all over it. It's fun but unfocused. I find myself wishing Prince would sing more of the song, rather than standing back and letting the horns play over it. 

We are back in nostalgic territory next as the band slips easily into “Take Me With U.” Never a favorite of mine, I find that I am enjoying it more and more as I listen to these recordings. This gig is par for the course, Prince sings well with the girls, and I can hear some nice guitar playing underneath. It’s a nice pop sound, and the simplicity of a pop song sounds quite joyous compared to the overworked songs we are hearing more of nowadays, 

Keeping with the pop motif, “Raspberry Beret” follows straight after. The pop of it sounds fresh, and Prince does play around on it, changing a line, and singing some others slightly differently. For a song that has been so overplayed I am surprised that this is an early highlight for me. It’s never been one of his longer songs, but here the two minutes it gets barely do it justice. Still, I rate it as a good moment. 

“Cool” gets a very cool introduction, and Prince acknowledges that it was popularized by The Time. The women singers carry most of the load on this one, with Prince providing a few shouts here and there. He is much more to the forefront when the verses start properly. I can’t help but sing along with this one, it’s so catchy. I love the groove underneath and Prince’s vocals are very funny. It’s played very much as we heard on the welcome 2 America tour, and I guess the performance is pretty much the same. I feel I must be completely honest at this point, when this was playing I found myself dancing, singing, and clapping my hands, so I had to go back and listen again to write this. It’s very enjoyable indeed. There is even a nice horn flourish to end it all before there is finally a proper break between songs. 

“Let’s Work” sounds different from what I have ever heard before. Like all the songs from this gig, it is soaked in horns at the beginning. It sounds smooth, and Prince makes space for some funky guitar to be heard. But to my ears, something is missing. It doesn’t seem to have that funky bass, it’s more smooth than nasty. And even the funk guitar is missing the rhythm that gets me moving. It’s played as a long groove, with plenty of dancing, but it is unrecognizable from the sweaty funky song of the eighties. 

The next song is “U Got The Look,” but it sounds like a pale imitation of the song I know from the eighties. Everything strong about it is gone, and even the horns playing on it can’t seem to inject any energy into it. It’s insipid and seems to drag on lifelessly. I don’t want to be a negative voice for a quality soundboard recording like this, but this song is a low point. I don’t need to hear a full-on rock version, but it does need to have some sort of backbone to it. 

 

“Shades of Umber” has me back on board. The horns sound very soothing and soulful on it, and it easily trumps anything else we have previously heard on this recording. I can’t quite define the sound, it’s a smooth yet up-tempo instrumental, and there are some wonderful horn solos throughout. I do know that Prince didn’t play an instrument this night, so what I am listening to here has no Prince input at all, which makes it weird for me now as I type “this is the best song of the recording” There is an excellent point mid-song when it slows down, and the guitar has a chance to solo. Nothing too full on or overwrought, the phrase “it’s all done in the best possible taste” springs to mind. The song ends with plenty of cheers from the crowd and I want to cheer too. 

I love the deep groove of “Days Of Wild,” but here some of that feels slightly undone by the brassy horns. That is by no means a slight on the song, as always I find myself bobbing alone immediately. I love the guitar line I can hear in the left speaker, and I don’t need the band to tell me to “Get freaky, let your head bob” – that’s the default position for me when I listen to this song. I find the songs they throw in the mix with this to be better than ever, “Big Fun,” “Ain’t Nobody,” and the best of them all, “Don’t Stop the Music.” The song started well, but it just gets better and better, especially as it breaks into a brilliant sax solo. I haven’t heard a solo that made me this excited for a while. It’s nothing spectacular, but it hits my groove button. The song ends with a couple of strong horn rounds, which is only fitting. I thought the start of this one was average, but by the end, they had blown the doors off -it’s great. 

“Nothing Compares To U” gets a lovely little piano intro before Prince and the band come in. I was going to say I would prefer a stripped-down version, but the band pitched it just right, and I find myself eating my words. Although not as vocally strong as I have otherwise heard, it’s still a top performance. For all her detractors, Shelby is a very talented singer, and she sounds great here. Not classically strong, but her voice is beautiful and she more than does it justice. Cassandra has a small keyboard solo, it is not as delicate as I expected, and for a moment I feel thrown off, but it is good, and the band does pull us back into the song well. The crowd does get to sing before the song ends with a nice saxophone break. 

I completely misread this recording. I was expecting a polished but boring sound-a-like of the previous night, but already I have heard many things that stand out and are more than enjoyable. I love surprises like this. 

Prince calls to take us back and then calls for “Mutiny.” Like the previous night, it’s played interspliced with “Ice Cream Castles.” This was my song back in the day, but I just can’t buy into the new version. It’s too much Vegas show tune for me, and the deep dirty groove seems to be replaced by something a lot less fun. The horns dominate here, but there is some good guitar that can be heard underneath it all. I do enjoy it much more once the sax has a solo, and the band starts their various chants. By the end, the band has once again broken me down and I am smiling and bobbing along. 

I have been looking forward to the next song ever since I read the setlist, “Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)” is a song that will always mean something to me, and I look forward to every version out there. This recording more than delivers, Prince singing against Cassandra's keys. His singing is just beautiful, although not as weak and vulnerable as I am used to, it is still very good. I can’t complain about a lack of emotion when something sounds as good as this. In a recording full of high points, this is yet another. 

“Big City” follows next, adding to the rarities and oddities heard at these shows. “Big City” is a top-notch song, and I feel it deserves a proper release. It’s got a light and groovy sound to it, and although the horns are strong on it they never dominate, it's Prince's vocals that drive this one along and that’s a definite plus. I love hearing songs like this, it’s played so well they could just put this live version out and that would be fine by me. The second half does break down into somewhat of a horn fest, but that’s fine, there’s still enough there to hold my interest. But when the horns come back to the main refrain and Prince sings again I immediately feel it again. This song needs to be played more. 

In a similar vein, “Superconductor” is played next. It’s the same sort of vibe to it as “Big City,” sort of fun and moves along nicely. It’s unfortunate that it’s truncated here and ends just after a minute. Still, you can’t have everything I guess. 

Prince takes us right back with a full version of “1999” next. This sounds great with the full horn treatment. Normally I wouldn’t say that, but listening to it this time I am feeling it. The pounding beat is there as it should be, and that’s all I need. The whole song is just an excuse to get the crowd singing along, and the verses are quickly dispensed with to get the crowd chanting. It doesn’t quite sound like a party, but it does sound fun. 

Just like the previous night “Musicology” is brought out again. It’s not as strong as the day before, but Prince’s voice seems to be better- much more into it. I rarely listen to “Musicology” on the album, but it is tailor-made for gigs like this, and it stands up very well. The band gets plenty of shout-outs, but nobody has a chance to shine, except Shelby who sings a couple of verses of “Mama Feelgood.” Again I will go on record as saying, I’m no fan of Shelby’s shouting, but I am a fan of her singing. Marcus Anderson does play yet another short and sweet sax solo, and it only makes me wish that this band had more of an opportunity to stretch out. 

The last song of the evening is “Partyup.” It’s not exactly the “Partyup” you remember and love, more a bastard child, and an excuse to let loose and jam a bit. Over a long extended beat, Prince encourages the crowd to chant “party up, got to party up” He keeps it rolling like this for a few minutes before he finally brings the band in. It takes a full four minutes before the band finally enters, but it’s not as boring as you might think. When the band does enter it’s not as the song you may expect, and there is no singing except Prince and the band chanting with the crowd. As I find myself saying on many of these recordings, it’s not bad, but it is something that you have to be there for. There is a couple of horn solos in the song, but they are very short and not particularly noteworthy. Well, that’s what I thought on the first listen, but with subsequent listens I have found them more and more enjoyable. 

I can’t help but compare this show to the previous night at Montreux. Looking at the setlists and the overshow I fully expected not to enjoy this one as much. But, as always, I have found myself going in with low expectations and then finding myself eating my words as the show more than delivers. Despite having a similar sound to the previous night, this recording has a personality of its own. I think the first night edges it, but there were more than enough great moments in this one to make it well worth listening to. A very enjoyable treat indeed.