Paisley Park January 2016 (show 1)

 When I first heard that Prince was going to do these shows I thought to myself “oh, that’s an interesting concept, it would be interesting to hear”. I enjoy his piano sections in concerts and thought an evening of his piano playing and singing would be something worth hearing. Then after the show reports started coming thick and fast about had brilliant it had been, and how intimate and personal. When I read about Prince speaking of his father and running through his history of song on the piano it went from an interesting idea to something I must hear. With a recording surfacing in the last few days, my prayers have been answered. I am unsure if I should be blogging about such an important show after only listening once. I have blogged other shows on a single listen, but never one that carries the hype of this one. I have decided to write about it on my second listen, as I don’t have any history attached to it yet, and I am writing on what I hear. I am sure that in the future I will digest this more fully, but right now I can’t wait to give it a listen. 

21st January 2016 (show 1) Paisley Park 

A cheer, the sound of a piano, and another cheer open the show. The recording is clear, and already I am feeling good about this show. Over some piano sounds Prince sings in an echo, it sounds ethereal, but with the echo, it is hard to make out what he is saying. The crowd is amazingly quiet, they do cheer, but while Prince sings there is absolute silence. There is a respectful and somewhat anticipatory hush. “I wish I could play piano,” says Prince and he whispers about being three years old. “Maybe I will just watch TV instead” draws a loud cheer from the crowd before Prince talks about his father and not being allowed to touch the piano. It’s an insight into his childhood, I have heard Prince speak of his youth before, but not in a direct manner like this and tied to his music. He then talks of being seven years old and addresses the legend of the first song he learned with a funky-sounding rendition of The Batman TV theme. It’s glorious to hear, he bangs it out before picking it apart later in the piece. This is something I have always dreamed of hearing, and these few minutes are a brilliant opening to the show. It’s intimate and crowd-pleasing and sets the scene for the rest of the show. In the second half of the song Prince plays with a jazzier feel, he keeps it short but it shows his development. 

 

The singing comes next with a short and sweet “I Second That Emotion” and “Who’s Loving You.” Together they are both less than a minute and give Prince a chance to warm up his vocal cords. He holds the notes, quivers, and inflects, and gives us a brief glimpse of some of the vocals that have always served him so well. The songs are nice, and I know it’s about to get even better. 

And even better it does get as Prince says “I need to write some songs” before singing “Baby” from his first album. This is another WOW moment for me, Prince playing it live for the first time, and he delivers in the best way possible. The lyrics are vulnerable and youthful, I feel like a teenager again as I hear him sing. The song is beautiful and after hearing it in this setting I will be going back to the For You album to hear it a few more times. Prince lets the piano do the talking for the last part of the song and it ends on a high. 

“I Wanna Be Your Lover” I have heard plenty of times on the piano, so I am not expecting any surprises. Prince does take the time to get the crowd clapping along, I think they probably would have anyway. The song sparkles and shines as always, I have always found the piano to be uplifting, and here is no different. Prince and the audience trade lines for the chorus but the best is yet to come. The coda is played by Prince on the piano, and he generates a great-sounding rhythm while picking out the melody. It’s quite a noise he manages to generate from the piano and I am cheering at the end. 

The first 15 minutes of this show have been phenomenal, and it doesn’t let up as Prince next plays “Dirty Mind.” I always associate “Dirty Mind” with the heavy pulsating keyboard, in this case, the piano is lighter and it gives the song a different and more colorful feel. “Dirty Mind” is one of the songs I play most, and I enjoy the different feel this version has. It still has a lot of energy and isn’t as muscular, I am sure I will be revisiting this one also. 

I would have thought that “Do Me, Baby” was tailor-made for a show like this. Indeed it’s a great rendition that highlights Prince's vocals, and of course, his piano playing. It loses none of its power in this situation, the song to me has always been about Prince’s voice and the piano and in this arrangement, there is nothing else to distract me from those key elements. Over those wonderful chords, Prince delivers some soft-spoken word that is very much toned down from what he would have sung in his younger years. It is still on the same topic, just not so direct. 

In recent years we have heard a lot of “Something In The Water (Does Not Compute),” so it’s no great surprise to hear it here. Again I am struck by how quiet the audience is through the song, and it gives it that lonely sound that initially drew me to it all those years ago. Prince pulls the song back and quietens it, it’s not so angry sounding as the last couple of years, and for me, this gives it new life. I do enjoy his piano flourishes as well as his vocal performance, if I hadn’t heard it so much of late I would rate it more highly. 

“Free” is lighter sounding after the last two songs, I think maybe because it’s another song I have already heard a lot in this form. The real surprise comes as he interrupts the song to offer his thoughts on David Bowie. I hadn’t expected him to acknowledge his passing, but as I am a huge Bowie fan I was glad to hear Prince speak of his kindness. As a little aside here, I have always thought a dream collaboration would have been between 1999 Prince and Let’s Dance David Bowie. Prince and his creative use of synthesizers on the 1999 album remind me of Bowie and his Low album, while Bowie working on Let’s Dance with Nile Rodgers would have had the funk to work with Prince. Of course, Prince is not one for collaboration, so it’s always been just a fantasy. 

The next moment that leaves me floored is the cover of “A Case Of U.” The lyrics to this song mean a great deal to me, and to hear Prince sing it is amazing. I forget the piano and listen to just his exquisite vocals. The song is beautifully balanced between vocals and piano, with Prince playing piano break before returning to the lyrics later in the song. No words can properly describe how good this song sounds to me, it might just be the highlight of the recording. 

I have heard “(Sometimes I Feel Like A) Motherless Child” from Prince before, but never like this. Prince plays low and slow, using the space between the notes. His vocals aren’t too strong, he sings and plays as one, and neither the piano nor vocals take precedence. As the crowd snaps their fingers the music quietens before fading to nothing. It’s another lovely performance of a great song. 

I have been enjoying the show so much that I haven’t been thinking about what might be coming next, which is usually a good sign that I am in the moment. “The Beautiful Ones” I should have expected, and Prince plays it just as you might expect. With only the piano the song is delivered with just the essentials, and I like that he doesn’t push his vocals too hard on it. I listen carefully and soak up every note and word, and even a nice vocal adlib that he throws in. He doesn’t attempt the shrieks and screams near the end, and I think it’s great that he feels that he doesn’t need them to deliver the song. There are plenty of cheers at the end of what is a crowd favorite. 

“U’re Gonna C Me” is a nice break from the more well-known songs we have heard so far. It lacks the intensity and serves as a good break mid-show to catch our breath. Prince’s playing is light and his vocals are nice, asides from that I don’t get too much more out of it. 

The segue into “How Come You Don’t Call Me” is clever, and I think Prince does the right thing as he chooses not to play the song in full. He gives us the opening on the piano before stopping and taking in a completely different direction. We have all heard this plenty of times on the piano, and playing it again doesn’t add anything new or unique to the show. 

My heart almost stops as he plays “Condition Of The Heart.” I know I am not alone in my love for this song. Prince plays it better than I could have ever imagined, his vocals are brilliant, sometimes quietening to a whisper, and he rounds the song off with some runs on the piano that leave an impression on me, I will be hearing this song in my head as I fall asleep tonight. 

I had forgotten about “Venus De Milo,” of course he would play it on a show like this. I sometimes think of Prince as being a Jay Gatsby-type figure, in his expensive house and clothes sitting alone playing this song to himself. They say familiarity breeds contempt, but not so with this song. I know it so well, yet every time I hear it it’s as if it’s the first time. A heavenly song and the performance of it at this show is note-perfect. 

Another personal moment from Prince next as he speaks of Wendy and Lisa and the first time they met. He talks as he plays “Raspberry Beret” underneath before he changes tack and becomes thoughtful and does his best to imitate Lisa’s playing. It’s a thoughtful moment and adds to the intimacy of the gig. Raspberry Beret returns proper, but he doesn’t belt it out as is sometimes heard, instead, we get a laidback-sounding rendition with minimal fanfare. The crowd is subdued and only comes on board with some prodding by Prince. 

The loudest cheer of the show is when Prince next plays “Paisley Park.” It’s a rare treat to hear it live, and I have never heard a piano rendition, so there are smiles all around at my place as this comes out of the speakers. There is a lot of rhythm coming from Prince’s piano, and this drives the song along as the crowd claps. It’s hard not to move my head as he plays, and I may be guilty of singing along loudly. What an excellent surprise, it had a great groove to it. 

Surrounded by so many other stripped-back songs “Sometimes It Snows In April” doesn’t carry the same weight. The piano is good, but it’s the vocals that I like the most. Prince’s performance is very mature, he doesn’t do too much with the vocals, just gives it to us nice and straight. In the beginning, it sounded like the other piano ballads in the set, but I was won over by the end, and happily clap along with the crowd on the recording. 

Prince begins “The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker,” then kills me as he stops and teases us with “You don’t know that song” before picking up with “Eye Love You, But I Don’t Trust U Anymore.” This is another song that means a great deal to me, and I am sure that if it had been on a better album it would reach a much wider audience. The song isn’t too long, or overworked, and I am very happy with what I have heard when Prince brings it to an end. It’s a classy rendition of a beautiful song. 

“The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker” does get played next, and it’s worth the tease. The only thing missing for me is the downbeat muteness that I associate with it. It’s not too much of a problem, this is another excellent addition to the setlist, and Prince calls out for appreciation for Joni Mitchell mid-song which is a nice touch. I do like the rhythm he produces with the piano, and this show has been an eye opener for me in that respect. 

The cover of Ray Charles’s “Unchain My Heart” is entirely appropriate in this circumstance. I know he has covered it before, but I don’t recall hearing it. It’s a great cover and as is usually the way, my only complaint is that it is too short. 

I was never a fan of “Baltimore” until I heard it here. It seems to take on a more serious tone solo on the piano. Prince does address the crowd, so the song only gets just over a minute. It’s a shame that he plays an abridged version, this one could have been much more if he had played it longer. 

We get another song from modern times next as he plays “Rocknroll Loveaffair.” I prefer this version to what was released. It’s got an easy groove in the rhythm Prince plays and has a swing to it. I like that it hasn’t had the life squeezed out of it by production or a full band, what we have instead is the heart and soul of the song. It has a freshness to it and like many other songs on this recording, I will be revisiting it a few more times. 

I guess “Starfish and Coffee” would be obligatory for a show such as this, so there’s no great surprise as I hear it next. The song is kept short, almost as if Prince knows there is nothing new here for us. It’s just right, enough for me to start to enjoy, but then stopping before it reached the point where I think I’ve heard it too many times before. 

I could have guessed at “Starfish and Coffee,” but I could not have predicted the next song would be “The Breakdown.” I am dumbstruck as it begins, this song for me was the highlight of Art Official Age, and to hear it on this recording is a real treat. Prince sings it extraordinary well and injects extra emotion with a couple of well-placed shrieks near the end. For most of the song I can only sit and listen, it is that good. 

There is one more surprise and the whoops of the crowd echo my own as Prince plays the opening notes of “Anna Stesia.” His playing for the song is powerful and I am amazed to hear this song again, especially in this setting. Like so many other songs played tonight I can only sit and wonder at the beauty of it all. The song gets softer as Prince sings quietly and it’s an entirely appropriate way to close the show. Prince singing ‘God is love” softly as the song draws to a close is almost a spiritual experience. 

I have two thoughts as the recording comes to an end. Firstly, musically and performance wise this is one of the best. The setlist is great, the arrangements are beautiful and Prince is note-perfect. Combine that with the personal spin Prince puts on it with his talk and this show is close to perfect. To hear Prince speak intimately and personally as he plays was a real treat, and that alone makes this recording extra special. And that brings me to my second thought about the show. When it finished I felt almost embarrassed and guilty I had heard it. The show was something personal and played for the people in that room at that time. I don’t know why, it’s never something I have felt before, but on this one occasion I felt pangs of guilt that I have heard this show. It’s an absolutely beautiful show, and now firmly a favorite, so I am very grateful indeed that we are lucky enough to hear it. All the same, I can’t help but think how much more this show would be if it hadn’t been recorded, it would have taken on mythical status.