Montreux 15 July 2013

 Today I am listening to the third and final show of the Montreux 2013 series. This one differs from the two I have previously written about, as the first part of the show is rock-based, with Prince playing with his band 3rdeyegirl. The horns and NPG do join later in the show, but the evening is dominated by Prince and his guitar. I am not convinced that this is the best of the three nights, although the consensus is otherwise. But I am very happy that on this recording Prince is playing an instrument again, rather than limiting himself to singing only as per the previous nights. Ok, Prince, put away the horns and pick up your guitar, we are about to go in! 

15 July 2013, Montreux 

The show seems to start much faster than the previous nights. Sure, there is the sound of thunder as expected, but it is not drawn out, and Prince quickly cuts through it with “Say hello to Hannah on the drums.” I am not sure if it’s the recording itself or my setup here, but already it is sounding much heavier than previous nights. The thunder has a deep crashing sound to it. 

Prince introduces the band briefly “Say what’s up to Ida on the bass, Donna on guitar, my name is Prince” before hitting us with the slowed-down riff of “Let's Go Crazy.” It’s a simple, yet effective opening. “Let's Go Crazy” is played slow, and heavy. My opinion on it is somewhat divided. Sometimes I enjoy this arrangement, and sometimes I feel it sounds leaden and dull. On this recording, it is good but not great. I wasn’t feeling it at the start, but there is more energy near the end, and the audience’s response does add a little flavor. Ida plays a distorted solo, which doesn’t quite flow, but I still enjoy it. Prince ends the song with his well-known solo, and things are just about to get cooking. 

Whatever ambivalent feelings I might have had about “Let's Go Crazy” are all but forgotten as the opening riff of “Endorphinmachine” is played. I don’t know what it is about this song, but it is one that I love to hear live. The band races through it pretty fast, faster than I have heard before. Prince sings quickly to keep up and does a good job of it. With a quick “watch me” he starts a couple of knock-out solos. Much as we heard back in the slave days, it gets my pulse racing. Prince interjects the solos with “Do you like rock n roll? Me too, one difference though, I like rock n roll funky” before lurching into another guitar break. I don’t always like Prince’s modern guitar playing, but here it is sounding pretty sweet. A little bit fast, a little bit high, it is ear candy. 

There is no let-up as they run headlong into “Screwdriver.” A more recent song, it seems to make much more sense hearing it in a live setting. Again it’s faster than on record, but it’s all very tight. This is the song I associate most with 3rdeyegirl, and they own this on the recording. Donna's solo isn’t flashy but still good before Prince takes a short solo and stretches it more. It’s all very short, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. 

We go back to Prince’s history next as the familiar riff of “She’s Always In My Hair” begins. I have written before that this is a key Prince song for me, so I am pleased to see it on the setlist. It doesn’t start too well, the first part of the song sounds labored and heavy. It’s frustrating, because I have heard this band play it much better, but the first couple of minutes on this recording are fairly lifeless. However, Prince and the band pick it up, and just after the music quickens and Prince yells “let’s go” everyone seems to find their groove and the song just sings. Prince plays an excellent solo, one of the better ones I have heard on this song recently, and the breakdown engages not only the band but the crowd also. The band extends this portion of this song right out, and Prince gets the crowd clapping on the offbeat and engaging in some call and response. Donna stops playing and we get a moment to enjoy just Ida’s bass. It’s an excellent groove and soon we are back to singing with the crowd, and Prince serves up some great shrieks. The song closes at about the 9-minute mark and I have the eat my words from the first portion of the song. 

“The Love We Make” is a forgotten gem from the Emancipation set. I couldn’t imagine it played by Prince and the band in this configuration, but it’s a brilliant match, and Donna in particular sounds very good and confident on it. Prince plays the keyboard on this one, but Donna stands out with her guitar playing. Sure, the song is written with these breaks in it, but it gives her a well-deserved chance to show some more of her playing, and it’s more nuanced than I have heard before, full credit to her. The song draws to a close with some classy vocal stylings from Prince. This song is surrounded by some outstanding stuff, but it more than measures up, and offers some nice variation from the overworked heavier rock songs. 

“I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” also gets the slowed downed guitar-heavy treatment. There is some menace in the guitar playing early on and it does have an edge to it. Prince singings mournfully, but the guitars and more threatening than mournful. As you might expect the guitar breaks are excellent, but not practically memorable. I do enjoy the song, but I think they could have done more with it, especially if they had gone down the same path as “She Always in My Hair” with it. 

The tempo is upped with “Guitar.” A fairly simple song, it sounds like the sort of thing Prince could knock out in his sleep. But it’s a lot of fun live, and again it gives Donna and Prince a chance to show off their skills on the fretboard. I prefer Prince’s guitar playing when it's part of the story, or expressing emotion. In “Guitar” it only sounds like people playing for the sake of playing. But the whole thing is played joyously, and it’s pretty hard to criticize it for that. 

The girls display their classic rock roots with “Plectrumelectrum.” It does sound derivative of the rock music I grew up listening to on the radio, and this wouldn’t be the first song I would choose if I wanted to hear that sound. But I can’t fault the playing, and the gig doesn’t lose any momentum from its inclusion. I do enjoy it, but to be honest, it is my least favorite part of this recording. 

“Fixurlifeup” taps the same vein, but Prince’s voice adds a whole other dimension to it. The last couple of songs seemed to miss passion or feeling, but that changes here. Prince sings energetically and the band feeds off this. I could write more about it, but it does only last a couple of minutes. Still, it does get us back on track. 

I would have guessed that “Bambi” would be played sometime tonight, and it does finally make its appearance here. The bass is prominent and moves the song along well. I was wondering how Prince’s guitar playing would be on this one, it has been uneven on this recording so far, but I needn’t have worried, his breaks on this song are at his usual high standards. There is a nice little breakdown mid-song and some very crisp guitar playing. I hadn’t heard it like this before, and it added a new dimension to the song. 

I didn’t expect to hear “Sometimes It Snows In April,” I didn’t read the setlist before I listened to this gig, but it is a well-placed change in pace. It’s a different sound than I am used to it, the drum is quite loud, and it has a more conventional sound. But Prince’s voice rarely lets him down, and it more than carries the song. I can tune out the drum and just concentrate on his vocals, but I did find it distracting. Donna plays a solo on it, and it catches me off guard, not by its appearance, but by the quality of it. Again it adds another dimension, and the whole song is a surprise. It’s not what I would predict and I love it even more for that. 

I had heard “The Max” a few times recently so I wasn’t as surprised to hear it here, but again it was a very welcome addition to the recording. It’s missing something, it doesn’t have the jump that it did back in the day, but it gets much better when Prince is on the keyboard. I am listening to it trying to work out what’s missing, I think maybe the rhythm section is missing the bounce and pop. But that is in no way a criticism of the song itself, I am very pleased to have it here, and it is one I would like to hear more of. I especially like Prince on the keyboard, I could have done with hearing more of that. 

“Cause And Effect” has a rocking guitar introduction, but I find the rest of the song somewhat disappointing. A lot of the new songs sound great, that is until they are played next to some of his back catalog classics. I like “Cause and Effect,” and the recording of this night is fresh and energetic, but by the end, I find myself tired of it. This one has nothing to do with Prince, just my tired jaded view. Still, it sounds good and fits well with the night overall. 

There is a brief break after this and some declarations of love from the crowd as the band do some tuning. Then another great surprise on the recording “When We Are Dancing Close And Slow.” It's moments like this that make being a Prince fan so great, he could play anything at any time, and usually does! It has popped up a few times on the Live Out Loud tour, but that doesn’t diminish its appearance on this recording for me. It’s played delicate and sweet, and although I don’t have the words to adequately describe it, I will say that it is the highlight of the gig for me. I must make special mention of the heavenly guitar break in it, it’s so lovely I feel myself melting as I listen to it. 

To be honest, I gave an inward groan when I heard the beginning of “Play That Funky Music (White Boy).” Prince has any number of his own funk classics he could play, and it’s beyond me why he would choose to so frequently cover this song. There is a couple of enjoyable guitar breaks on this performance, so I do soften my stance on it a little, but I still can’t quite excuse it. I want to skip this one, but I persevere, just in case something special happens. It doesn’t. 

“Dreamer” perks my ears back up. It’s noisy but gets me interested again. There is plenty of Princes singing, so despite the guitars putting up a hell of a racket they never completely dominate. The solos, although good, are not spectacular- at least not to my ears. If anything, it sounds like the song is overplayed, and there is not quite enough room for anyone to shine. It’s almost too heavy for itself. 

The next song is another highlight for me. The light and ethereal introduction of “Breakdown” hits all the emotional hotspots for me. Prince’s voice sounds suitably weary to me, and it’s well-matched with the lyrical content. And when I hear this I can’t help thinking of The Great Gatsby. I often think of Prince’s life in terms of this book, and I would love to see him cast in the role of Jay Gatsby in a film adaptation. But I digress, the song is emotional and Prince certainly sounds sincere as he sings it. There are very few songs of recent times that I feel I connect with, but this is certainly one of them. It’s an excellent recording of a fine song. 

I almost choked on my tongue when I heard the buzzed-out guitar intro of “Doves Cry,” until I caught myself and realized it was another sampler set. The opening keyboard riffs play over and over as Prince calls for lights off (as is his way) and for people to start dancing. He plays with it a little as he sings, dropping out here and there for the crowd to sing. They oblige, and all in all, it sounds alright, apart from finishing up after the first chorus to drop into the next song. 

“Nasty Girl” is played as an instrumental. It’s barely half a minute, but it’s just a taste of what’s to come. 

“Alphabet St” fares a little better, and doesn’t even get 20 seconds, before we move on to something much better. 

The bass and drum of “Sign Of The Times” carry us along for a good while, before Prince starts the verses. Now the full NPG band is back on board and it gives the crowd plenty of time to sing. When Prince does sing he lacks the intensity that the song's subject matter demands, but it’s still a pleasure to hear it live. It has a sax solo midsong, which adds to it, and is most welcome. I enjoy the variation and it’s followed up with a brief and unusual guitar break. Again, it gets me interested in an older song that I have played to death. Prince sings most of the verses and chorus, and then there is another sax break. WOW, I was pleased to hear this one, and even more so with the saxophone on it. This will be one I will come back to. 

Off the same album, “Hot Thing” also gets an outing at this gig. It’s another interesting version, with a sampling moment when Prince sings a couple of lines of Ton Locs “Wild Thing” before a trombone solo. Seriously, I couldn’t make this up, it sounds fantastic, and soon returns to the main keyboard refrain. Prince also throws in a lyric change, substituting “Hot Thing’ for ‘Montreux” in the last verse. Sure, he’s playing to the crowd, but it’s a nice touch. 

“Love Bizarre” is a head bobber right from the gate. The bass is nice and rubbery, and Prince plays with the melody a little as he sings his verses. He sings much louder and stronger than normal and pushes the lines out. There is plenty of time for some nice long horn breaks, the first sax break is my favorite of them all, but all of them add flavor and color. There’s not much singing after the first verse, it’s all the extended horn section, and after waiting all gig for their moment, they take advantage. 

The next song is “Love,” add it to the list of songs that I didn’t expect to hear at this gig. It’s not so much a song, more a long groove, and a chance for the bass to get some shine. I like it, but it may not be to everyone’s taste. Again the horns play a couple of tasty solos over the second half of it. The song is all about the bass, and Larry Graham in particular can be heard all over this. There is no denying that when it comes to the bass, he is the MAN. 

The sampler shuffles and skips for half a minute before Prince finally unleashes “Housequake.” It’s not as bad as I have heard on other sampler sets, having the band backing it makes it much stronger and funkier than the original. That aside, it does mix it up a lot. There are a couple of lead breaks, and Prince doesn’t do much singing after the first couple of minutes. He calls Donna to play a solo, and she plays an interesting solo that contrasts nicely against the funky beat. Even Prince acknowledges that she feels sharp tonight. Then it's Ida's turn and she too engages in a nice solo on her bass. It’s not fantastic, but it’s good to see her take her time and show us what she can do. It all ends in typical Prince fashion with an “on the one” call. 

A few people had commented to me before I heard this, that this was the best of the three nights at Montreux. Listening to the show, I can’t agree. The novelty value of 3rdeyegirl raised a lot of expectations, and it was the first chance Europe had to see the band in this configuration. But asides from that, I don’t think it stacks up musically with the previous nights. Yes, there were some real high points here, and things I love, but also several flat parts, and things I can’t overlook. Overall the highs outweigh the lows, and I certainly enjoyed the latter part of the show. A nice recording, it’s a fine addition to the collection, but I wouldn’t believe all the hype about this one.