London 7 September 1993

 

The final concert of the Act II tour is significant, it is the last time that Prince performed his Prince material in a large concert before he retired his Prince persona and music. By November of 1993, the songs played on this night were banished, and he was presenting after shows of entirely new material. Unfortunately, the video bootleg of this concert doesn’t stand up next to the historical moment it is recording, it is filmed well enough, but the camera is positioned such that we often cannot see Prince’s head. When he takes the side stage or piano the camera work is excellent and we have a great view of Prince, regrettably more of the concert isn’t like that.
Last week I took a look at another Act II video, from Madrid just a month previous. This concert is similar to the setlist, only the piano set is longer, which plays well to our camera’s vantage point. So like most bootlegs, it has both good and bad points. It’s a concert of historical significance, and parts of the video are great to watch, especially Prince at the piano. However, it is far from perfect, and there are large portions of the show where Prince isn’t quite as prominent as we would like.

7th September 1993, Wembley Arena

The start of the concert doesn’t initially excite, as the camera struggles to catch up with the action, before returning to complete darkness for a minute. From here though things improve rapidly as Mayte, dressed as Prince, takes to standing on the piano right in front of the camera. One feeling I can’t shake watching these ACT II concerts is the DIY aesthetic of the concert presentation. The balloons inside the piano seem almost quaint by modern concert standards, and even in the 1990s coming off the back of the 1980s, and that era's obsession with pyrotechnics, it seems homely. The music through remains forward-looking as Prince immerses himself in rap for “My Name Is Prince,” and with the music daringly bold and right out front, it is easy enough to see Prince’s dabbling with rap as merely a secondary indulgence behind the forceful music he is creating at the time.

 

Prince and his funk are revealed for “Sexy M.F.” As always, it is Levi who shares the spotlight with Prince, the two of them steering the funk from the front of the stage. Again, they are well-positioned for the camera, and this is a fine record of the style of funk that the NPG was building at the time.

The viewing experience of “The Beautiful Ones” can’t come close as Prince is obscured for most of the song. With Mayte onstage as a foil, all is not lost, and the camera does spend some time on her as she slides and sways to the music. There is no denying that the song sounds great, and on an audio bootleg I would perhaps appreciate it much more, but sadly in this case I can’t get past the fact that I can’t see Prince.

The cloud guitar makes an appearance for a strangely empty-sounding “Let’s Go Crazy.” The visuals of the song suggest that is a fire and brimstone performance, but the audio sounds murky and at times hollow. Wembley Arena can be a sonic black hole with its boxy sound, so I am not too surprised to hear at least a couple of songs suffer from poor sound.

 

“Kiss” sounds better, although the sound isn’t completely clean. The horns bolster the song and propel it with an inner power of sinewy muscle. It does leave Prince’s vocals secondary, but it matters little as he dances and struts for most of the song, to the obvious delight of the crowd.

The horns and funk of “Irresistible Bitch” are a lot closer to the hard funk sound of James Brown that Prince will continue to draw from in the next twelve months. With the horns pulling each lineup with a curl, the song is pockmarked with holes for the funk to seep through.  The most surprising aspect of this song and style is that Prince doesn’t pull it out for longer, in retrospect this is the path he will be pursuing in the next year, yet here it is a truncated version that leaves no hint to the crowd that in the next year Prince is going to be a whole lot funkier and darker.

 

There is actual pyrotechnics at the opening of “She’s Always In My Hair,” but they are small and I stand by my earlier comments. The real fireworks are on stage, as Prince has his guitar ablaze with a scolding solo that obliterates the song beneath a raw nerved guitar sound that rips to the soul.

It is hard to believe that “Raspberry Beret” could come from the same performer, and after the dark swirling guitar shriek, Prince lets the light into the room with a brief, sprightly version of one of the poppiest songs. It is well placed, and the following “Sometimes It Snows In April” draws the crowd back into the concert after being mere spectators for the opening twenty minutes. Prince has the guitar lightly dancing in his hands for the final moments of “Sometimes It Snows In April,” lifting the song into the light for one final reprise of the chorus.

 

Feeding off this moment comes a powerful version of “The Cross.” It’s not without its faults, again the room steals some of the darker undercurrents that give the song its earthy drive, but Prince’s vocals are ample compensation as he delivers the song with a throaty rasp that scratches beneath the surface of the song to reveal the soul that lies beneath its rock n roll skin.

“Sign O The Times” comes from the same territory, and although sonically different, is the perfect bookend to the previous “The Cross.” With his guitar set to moanful howl, Prince lifts the song far beyond its skeletal funk and headline-inspired lyrics, to a song that revolves around the drive and energy that burst forth from Prince's guitar. It never becomes a rock song, the guitar adding anger and fear without taking to the song into cliche-driven padding.

 

The Prince playing at this concert is very much the Prince of the moment, his look and sound rapidly evolving, yet as the first strains of “Purple Rain” are heard  all that drops away as a veil of nostalgia descends on the concert while Prince plays his signature song, none of us knowing at this moment that this would be the last time we would hear it live until 18 February 1996, and even then it was performed with the “Purple Medley.” This doesn’t make the song any better or worse in this concert, but it does put in context the changes that Prince was about to go through in the coming years.

The instrumental interlude has some sound problems, on the bootleg at least, and as this band blows easily through “Thunder,” “When Doves Cry,” “Nothing Compares 2 U,” “And God Created Woman,” and “Diamonds And Pearls” there is very little to hold your attention, asides from Mayte pirouetting and swaying across the stage.

The bootleg is at its very best as Prince settles in at the piano for his set, right in front of the camera clear and unobstructed. Only a small tape glitch at the beginning of “I Love U In Me” can be faulted, and it is so minor that it’s barely worth mentioning. “I Love U In Me” marinates easily in the atmosphere of the darkened arena, the song thicker, and more steamer than heard on record.

 

Prince teases with a similar opening of “Condition Of The Heart,” but it is a swinging and rambunctious “Delirious” that steals my heart before Prince breaks it with a melancholy  “Little Red Corvette” It could have been a moment seared into the memory, but Prince keeps it all too short, leaving no time for the pain and burn to settle.

The swing and pure feel of the band sweep us all up again for “Strollin,” Levi taking his moment in the spotlight on top of Prince’s piano. It is another song that has some inconsistencies in the sound quality, but Levis’s guitar rings clear, and the horns behind the first half of the song have their own busy and thick sound.

 

Prince is back at the front of the stage, playing the crowd, for a sultry rendition of “Scandalous.” The first half is every bit as sexy as you could want, but it is over the top, and the second part of the song wanes beneath the added weight of Prince’s over-the-top showmanship. The saxophone rises out to add its own brand of sex to the song, it is a great solo, but too much for the weak bones of the song, and there is a point where the senses are overwhelmed and it just becomes overload.

The smooth and classy sound of “Girls And Boys,” is torn away by this horn-infused riot of a performance. It is overloaded with sounds and ideas, but unlike the previous “Scandalous,” there is much more meat on the bones of “Girls And Boys” for Prince to hang it all off, the song turning into a party rather than a muddled mess. The horn section is particularly impressive, and on this song more than any other they shine and sparkle more than the players around them.

 

“7” rises slowly out of the Arabic intro and Mayte's sword dance, gradually revealing itself in the hands of Levi and the band.  It is the spoken intro that ushers the song in proper, the darkness turning to light with the opening lines. No favors are afforded by the bootleg, Prince at the front of the stage with Hohner in hand appears with no head, in this case, it is unfortunate that the camera is obscured by part of the rig above the stage. The performance sounds good though, and one senses that the concert is building to some sort of conclusion.

Prince’s solo drum performance at this show is shorter than the one I previously watched from Madrid, but also a lot faster, he seems to cram just as much in here in a minute than he did over several minutes in Madrid. One wonders what the point is, it doesn’t contribute to any song and seems merely a reminder that Prince could play many instruments. “1999” that follows is far more rewarding, and paired with “Baby I’m A Star” makes for a frantic rush towards the end of the concert.

 

This is the point of the concert where all the boundaries dissolve, leaving us with a monster party jam. “Baby, I’m a Star” suddenly switches to “America” as Prince continues to accelerate the concert beyond comprehension towards its conclusion. “America” has the funk required for Prince’s purposes, and he uses the song to continue to hammer the audience with horn riffs, greasy guitar, and plenty of unrestrained dancing from himself and Mayte. “D.M.S.R’ is nothing more than oil to grease this funk jam, and it continues to power Prince’s funk machine deep into the arena. This is Prince at his loosest, he plays with easy freedom, throwing off the restraint of being tied to his hits and standard arrangements, instead indulging in a freewheeling jam that gives him plenty of time to dance and engage the audience on a more personal level.

The performance of “The Sacrifice Of Victor,” is all the more interesting for Prince’s opening speech as he reminds the audience that his name is not Prince, he doesn’t need a name.  Unfortunately, a lot of this speech is incomprehensible, sadly lost to distortion and crowd noise. But it is laying down where Prince thinks he is at that time regarding his name and the events that will continue to unfold throughout 1994. The sound improves for the song itself, although not enough to catch all the nuance and finesse of the songwriting. The performance can’t match the previous maelstrom of sound of the last encore, and the song itself falls slightly flat.

 

  

The show-closing rendition of “Peach” rights this wrong, and provides a furious exclamation mark on a show that has touched many genres, but none with the same dogged savagery as the guitar-driven rock of “Peach.” It rips at the previous smooth funk, shredding the previous hour and a half into a blistering four-minute package that shatters any impression that Prince has lost his inner fire. A few hours later he would end his aftershow party at Bagley’s Warehouse (a performance later released on VHS) with the same song, and although playing to a larger arena this rendition is every bit as good as the later well-known version. There is only one way for Prince to finish this performance, and the image of him throwing his guitar high at the end of the performance is an iconic ending to a fascinating tour.

And so ends the Act II tour, and the first half of Prince’s career before the slave era fully takes hold. The next two years would see an array of new music and looks, and this concert is very much a final goodbye to the Prince music that he had built his career on. This is not a perfect bootleg, the sound is never quite right, and Prince is obscured from the camera at times but it is good enough to record one of the most important stages of his career. On a musical level it’s good, but what makes this bootleg great is the historical value. It may have been previously overlooked, but all fans should see this at least once and acknowledge just how bold a visionary Prince was.

Flugplatz Lüneburg 3 September 1993

 

I rarely listen to an Act II show. Not that there is anything wrong with them, or that I strongly dislike them. But they do fall between his 1980s golden period, and his fascinating symbol era. Today’s show from Germany 1993 is a great show, and, unfortunately, I overlook it. The setlist is a hotchpotch of songs and styles, but it’s all of a high standard, and a couple of songs in the setlist have my mouth watering. And best of all, because I listen to this so little, it is always fresh sounding to me.

3 September, 1993 Flugplatz Lüneburg, Germany

A very rock-n-roll introduction from the announcer on this one. It is clichéd but exciting as he says “And now…..without further ado…please welcome Prince and the New Power Generation!!” Prince goes on to say “there are no kings on this earth, only Princes” and a very funky “My Name is Prince” is played by the band. The bass, drums, and rhythm guitar lock in very tightly, and the guitar especially catches my ear- it’s minimal but funky. There is a sample of “I Wanna Be Your Lover” which seems to be an odd choice but utterly works. Prince's rapping is good here, he doesn’t try too hard as he does on other recordings, and in this case, it serves him better. He raps in his deeper voice but resists the temptation to yell as in some of his rap songs. The power of Michael B comes across very well on this recording, and it’s a joy to listen to him pounding the drums.

The silky guitar line of “Sexy MF” gets the next song off to a good start, and Prince intones easily over it. I don’t love the singing, but the music is brilliant. The sound of that guitar, and then the nice horny chorus. Tommy Barbarella plays his part well and adds an organic sound to the smooth shiny funk. Levis solo is distracted by Prince speaking to the crowd at the start of it, but he plays out long enough that there is plenty for me to enjoy. The second part of the song after this isn’t as enjoyable for me, Prince's rap sounds corny to my ears, but there is a horn solo which I get right into and leaves me with an overall positive impression of the song.

 

I didn’t see “The Beautiful Ones” coming, but there is no complaint from me as it begins. The keyboard swells sound just as divine as they always have, and the sound of live horns updates its feel. Prince's vocals aren’t as good as they are on the album, but really- could anything match that performance? He does sound great here, but the spoken ‘perfect picture’ sounds too contrived and loud on this recording for my taste. He makes amends with some screams, and closes the song in the style which I know and love, along with a nice little horn flourish.

“Let's Go Crazy’s” organ intro is the next thing we hear on the recording, and it is nice and full-sounding. Prince gives us “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to get through this thing called life” before the pounding beat and the band come onboard. Although an excellent recording, the mix here is a little off, and mostly we hear Prince and the beat while the other instruments are somewhere lost in the mix. That changes when Prince begins the guitar solo, and that comes at us front and center. The solo disappears into a funky rhythm and some encouragement to the audience before the rhythm of Kiss begins.

 

“Kiss” begins with the trademark funky guitar, but it’s backed with some heavy sounding bass, and plenty of horns. It’s far from delicate sounding, and it’s the bass gets me shaking. With the horns, there is a Vegas sound to it, and they give it a lot of push and fullness. Prince's vocals are stronger than I expect on this song, and his vocals have been very strong so far in the show. This is quite a likable version of “Kiss,” I can’t say it’s particularly faithful to the original, but it’s a lot of fun. For all the sounds and going on, it's still the horns that I come back to, they are that good. The song ends with plenty of calls and responses from the crowd.

There is a segue into “Irresistible Bitch,” which I can’t speak highly enough of. Like the previous song, this one is heavy on the horns, but still lacks a little of the heaviness that I have heard on other tours. But it's still one of his funkiest and its inclusion is a definite highlight. It’s with great regret that it only lasts a couple of minutes, but all is forgiven when the next song starts.

The familiar riff of “Always In My Hair” has me out of my seat. These are two gems right next to each other and are another stand out for me. Prince’s guitar is crisp and clean, and I am much relieved when he strikes up the first solo. It's anything you could want or imagine, and I’m pleased to see a show so heavy on dance and props still have time for a classic Prince guitar moment. He doesn’t stretch the solo or the song out too long, and the song moves naturally enough to him jamming solo on his guitar. And this is where things go up a notch. The playing is playful, sometimes light, sometimes heavy but always it sounds like a lot of fun. It gets faster and faster and ends with me shaking my head. Brilliant.

 

Things take a pop turn next when the band strikes up “Raspberry Beret.” A feel-good song, if ever there was one, this one lives up to its reputation. Without being able to see the ActII stage and costumes, this sounds like it's straight out of 1985. Prince ends it after a single verse and chorus, but once again I am not too disappointed when I hear what is next.

“The Cross” has a nice raw sound here, especially Prince's vocals which have a fantastic live sound- as you would fully expect. In the first couple of verses, I listen carefully to Prince's voice, but once his guitar takes over it's unstoppable. It’s got a great garage sound to it, but no garage band has played a solo as good as the one Prince plays on this track. His vocals become very impassioned as the song goes on, and in the last verse, he is singing halfway between a sing and a scream. It’s not as long as I want, but I add it to my list of highlights from the show so far.

“Sign O The Times” also gets added to that list, as its unmistakable beat begins. Prince's vocals have a great sound to them again, it’s strong and raw. The guitar is something I haven’t heard before, the solo is cleaner than I expect and goes in a couple of different directions. Prince then throws in an adlib with “Let's get married, have a baby, we can call him Michael B, if he’s a boy” and Michael B obliges with some great rolls before Prince gives us more excellent guitar work. This whole section of the show has been fantastic, and it doesn’t let up as the band begins to play “Purple Rain.”

“Purple Rain” begins with plenty of keyboards and a nice firm drum- just the way I like it. There is a nice organ swelling, and the piano is in the mix as well. Prince adds a heavenly guitar line, and I am salivating where I sit. We are only a minute in and already this is a great one. The heavier crunching guitar plays, and again it is just right. It doesn’t overwhelm and slowly adds to the feeling. Prince takes a break from the guitar and we get a classic “owww” from the man. He then sings the verses and his voice and this recording are both top-shelf. He is loud, clean, and crisp, and so is the recording. I usually tire of “Purple Rain” but this one has me listening all the way through. Prince begins his guitar break midway through his last few lines, and as it begins proper he calls “Live for Love”. Maybe I avoid live main shows too much to concentrate on after shows, but this is one show that has my full attention, and I can’t speak highly enough of this “Purple Rain.” I don’t quite get to the point of singing along, but a dare say after a few drinks I certainly would have. The last notes fade, and I sit back pretty satisfied.

 

There is the sound of thunder next and I immediately know what’s coming next- or so I thought! Prince intones the opening lines of “Thunder,” but the song never materializes, instead we get a cool little rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” It’s an instrumental, but in every way I love it. It’s a nice change in pace and a nice reminder of what else Prince has in his bag of classic songs. It only goes for half a minute, but that’s just perfect.

I am knocked sideways next as the band begins to play “And God Created Woman,” not because of its inclusion in the setlist, but the fact it sounds so good. I had forgotten about this song, and that’s a great shame, as in this show it sounds brilliant. Again, it’s another shortened instrumental, but just the taste of it leaves me dying to hear more. The horns play all over it and sound great. I would have loved to hear Prince on it, but just hearing this small piece has me thinking I should pull the album version out next. There is then just a snatch of “Diamonds and Pearls” played instrumentally before we return to the main show properly.

The recording resumes with Prince playing the piano. Always a favorite part of the show for me, this one begins with the beautiful “Venus De Milo.” Of course, it is part of a longer medley so we only get another small taste, but it’s a nice start to the piano set.

Next Prince begins to play “I Love U In Me.” Despite the corny lyrics it still manages to sound very good here, mostly due to its stripped-back sound and some nice piano work from Prince. He also personalizes the lyrics at one stage, which is always a nice touch. His vocals are deep and smooth and it’s a good match to his piano playing.

The band joins in for the next song as we move on to “Strollin.” Its nice easy feel is enhanced with the horn section adding a bit of sunshine to it. The drums are too much for my taste, but that in no way detracts from the song. Just on the chorus, they are a touch loud for me. The rest of the song glides by very easily.

“Scandalous” is another highlight. Prince’s voice leads the whole song, and the rest of the band sounds well in the background. It’s a good performance, and more enjoyable after the run of shorter songs we have just heard. The horns play another excellent break, and it’s clear how much they added to his sound at this time. Hard to believe in another couple of years they would be gone from his sound. The song is either Prince’s voice, or the horns at this stage, and both play hard to outdo each other. It’s not as smooth as you might think but it’s still another great part of what is proving to be a classic show

 

Prince introduces the next song with a couple of lines from “Girls and Boys” before he says the old cliché “I’m gonna stay over here until you make up your mind”. Sure it’s old and corny, but it still gets a cheer from the crowd. “Girls and Boys” starts again, and it’s slightly slower, and heavy on horns. It lacks some of the sassiness of the original but still has a funky feel. Prince sings with plenty of passion in his voice, and this helps inject some energy into it. It does become one for the crowd, as the horns play over Prince encourages the crowd with some call and response and ‘clap your hands. After this, it’s the horns all the way until the finish line.

The next thing we hear is the intro music to “Around The World In A Day,” which has me slightly confused at first, but it quickly gives way to some drumming from Michael B before the first chords of 7 are played on a guitar. “7” sounds fresh, and the crowd is strangely quiet as it begins. The first minute of it has very much an Arabic feel to it and it's not recognizable, which might account for the lack of audience response. Things change when Prince sings the first few lines and the music then begins as we know on the album. The song is played as heard on record, although Prince does call to the crowd from time to time. It’s a come-down after some of the songs we have heard in the last 40 minutes, but the crowd seems to like it well enough. In the last minute of the song, Prince reminds us that there are no Kings on earth only Princes as the band plays out the last section.

The encore starts with Prince yelling “What's up y’all?” He then presents Mayte who addresses the crowd in German – sorry no translation available! There is then a helter-skelter rendition of “1999.” The drums are a monster, and this one sounds like a train, it comes so fast and powerful. The band flies through it, Prince sings the first verse and chorus before the party continues with the last part and the crowd singing ‘party’. It’s a disservice to a classic song, but at the same time, it is a party moment. And by this stage, there is very much the feeling that we are accelerating toward the finish line.

 

This is enhanced as the band without pause play “Baby I’m A Star.” To be honest, I didn’t expect to like it, but I did despite myself. Especially I found the horns quite vibrant, but I didn’t get too long to enjoy it as it's part of a longer medley.

The next song in the medley was rather surprising “America.” It’s not played the way I remember it to be back in the day, but it’s so good to hear it in the setlist. It's not as tight as the original, the band is a little loose and it does have a bit more swing. The horn in this is usually a highlight, but sadly it very much misses having Eric Leeds on it. A good concert moment, but we aren’t back in 1986, and that band casts a long shadow over this song.

“DMSR” gets thrown into the mix next. As with the last song, it’s not as tight as I am used to. It doesn’t get played long enough for me to complain about it, and the medley keeps moving quickly along.

“Gett Off” is the song I know and love in name only. It’s stuffed full of horns here, and a funky keyboard. Prince sings the lyrics, but without the screams, classic beat, and lead line it’s just a pasty imitation. But to be fair I do like it as part of this feel-good party medley. Prince does scat near the midsection, with the crowd failing to keep up with him. I would like to see this part of the show, as it does sound like a lot of fun. Just the songs flash by a tad fast for me to enjoy. Prince displays his humor when he tells the crowd he can’t sing anymore, maybe he should lip-sync. He quickly banishes that idea with a “fuck that shit!”

As a long-time fan of “Pope,” I am very happy to hear a live performance of it. It’s slowed down, which gives us more of a chance to listen to Prince's rap. His delivery is uneven, but as with most things on this recording, it doesn’t diminish the enjoyment at all. After a couple of verses and chorus, the band takes over with some very funky instrumental work. Some funky guitar and piano have the whole thing moving along nicely before the horns enter and play ” It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night.” I wasn’t sure how much we were going to get, but it's an instrumental jam section of “Beautiful Night,” and Prince has some brief interplay with the audience. It very much reminds me of what we hear on the new year's gig from 1987, this time without Miles Davis of course. After a couple of minutes, Prince ends the song with a simple “What’s my name……confusion!”

After a minute's break, the heavy crunch of the guitar brings the audience back to life. Prince speaks the opening few lines of “Peach,” and then after that, it’s all on as the guitar comes to the fore and the band joins the fun. I love the guitar sound on this recording, unfortunately, I feel Prince is trying too hard with his vocals to match it. They do sound somewhat forced and a little ragged. All is forgiven however when he steps back and lets his guitar do his talking. The momentum is lost when he engages in call and response with the audience, and then some vocal adlibs. But the guitar is the thing and Prince soon returns to the solo before the song winds up. Of course, it’s a false ending and there are several more minutes of heavy guitar action following this. It all sounds great, but nothing strikes me as spectacular or noteworthy.

A very well-balanced recording, this one was well worth listening to. Some people have commented that it is their favorite, and I can understand why. Although not my favorite period, there was plenty here for me to enjoy, and I am confident it would stand up to repeated listening. Not a top 10, but an excellent recording nevertheless.

Vienna 25 August 1993

 

Last month someone kindly suggested that I should take a listen to some shows from Austria, with the promise that Prince always played something special when he played there. The obvious place to start would be a couple of after-shows or the main show from later in Prince’s career. Instead, I have elected to run with an Act II show from 1993, mainly because I have a DVD of the show but have never quite gotten around to watching it due to the very ’90s-looking cover. I probably have a better audio copy of the concert somewhere, but I know that during this period the look was just as important as the music (although I could probably say that about every stage of Prince’s career), and I am pretty excited to watch a full concert again.

25th August 1993, Vienna, Austria

The first minutes of the video is entirely typical for an audience recording of the era, filmed from the far left we begin with the camera out of focus and shaking. This is matched by the audio which is equally shaky and thin sounding. The visual aspect rapidly improves though, with the zoom utilized we have a nice close view of the action unfolding on stage, which is timely as the pseudo-Prince onstage strips off his clothes at the end of “My Name Is Prince” to reveal Mayte’s shapely body. However, the audio never improves, and I resign myself to the fact that it is what it is and I had better get used to it. “My Name Is Prince” is a frantic way to start with plenty of motion all over the stage, although to be honest I only have eyes for Mayte.

 

Prince makes his appearance for “Sexy M.F.”, the greasy funk of it highlighted by the person who can be seen crossing the stage with a mop.  The audience may have been agape any the bombastic opening, but they come forward for “Sexy M.F.” and can be heard all through the song with their singing and clapping. Asides from Prince and Mayte, it is Levi who gets plenty of spotlight, and I can’t deny it is his guitar sound that oils the funky cogs.

  

The soft sound of “The Beautiful Ones” is unwittingly matched by the soft focus of the camera as we temporarily have a blurry image at the song’s beginning. The look of Prince is casual/cool, and this is equaled with his low-key delivery of this normally heavy hitter, he maintains his facade of cool and never digs as deep into the song as I hope. This isn’t helped by the sound quality which stays shallow, and I am sure I would have a much better opinion of the song if I heard a better recording of the concert.

The concert is front-loaded with hits, it is “Let’s Go Crazy” that vanishes any thoughts of “The Beautiful Ones” from the stage. With an elongated keyboard opening from Tommy Barbarella, I am immediately impressed by the extra depth to it, and Prince delivers with his punchy guitar line that gives the song a steely force that I haven’t previously heard at this show. With guitar a blaze, and lights and streamers adding to the moment in a spray of color, I expect the song to go for longer than it does, but we only get a few minutes. Prince gives us plenty in that time, but it only makes me hungry for more.

 

“Kiss” is too busy for my tastes, and the stage is awash with horn players and musicians which takes away from the stripped-back funk sound that first drew me to the song. Visually Prince is looking great as he works his way back and forth across the stage, but I can’t find an entry point for me to get into the song, and it leaves me feeling ambivalent about the whole performance.

The performance of “Irresistible Bitch” isn’t a patch on the original, and with the previous “Kiss,” this becomes a flat spot in what has been otherwise a funky show.

Redemption comes with a blistering “Always in My Hair” The organ stabs come as soft punches before the Prince hits us with a jabbing guitar that leaves a burning impression. Coupled with some of his trademark showmanship, one feels that at this point the show has reignited and the next portion of the concert might be the essence of the performance.

 

From the high voltage “She’s Always In My Hair,” Prince easily transitions to the pure pop of “Raspberry Beret” It’s always too sweet, and Prince knows this as he ends it quickly before one has time to tire of its upbeat joy. “The Cross” is the polar opposite, the music is joyous and the lyrics celebrate Prince's spiritual beliefs, but it is a heavy and sincere rendition giving us a sense of how important this song is to Prince. All things considered, it is wonderfully filmed and Prince looks brilliant in the spotlight while his Cloud guitar provides a stunning contrast in its deep blue color. This is easily the part of the concert that demands watching the most, and I drown myself in the music through its entirety.

Prince stays with the heavy hitters, “Sign O The Times” just as compelling and every bit as intense as “The Cross.” They are a good match, despite the bleakness of “Sign O The Times,” it is countered by the note of hope that Prince hits in “The Cross.” Both sound weighty and deal with themes that you wouldn’t normally hear at a pop concert, and that excites me about the music even more. The music is the main focus of “Sign O The Times,” and even with Mayte being a visual supernova it is still the music that stays to the fore.

 

“Purple Rain” is lightweight in comparison, but that may well be due to the previously mentioned audio limitations. There is a lightness to Prince’s performance though, his hand in the pocket early on does indicate that he is holding back from a full-blooded performance. The guitar break more than makes up for it though, and I am most pleased to see him on top of the piano, head thrown back and guitar howling. If you’re looking for an iconic image of Prince, this would be it.

I have strong feelings about the medley of “Thunder,” “When Doves Cry,” and “Nothing Compares 2 U.” I don’t like it. The first two songs are merely throw-away hooks that introduce the slightly longer “Nothing Compares 2 U.” All are instrumental, and even with Mayte providing some sense of spectacle with her dancing, my interest begins to wane. This interlude continues with “And God Created Woman,” and “Diamonds And Pearls,” but there is no doubt that without Prince on stage this feels like a different concert entirely.

Last time Prince was on stage he was blazing with his guitar, his return sees him conquering another instrument as he delivers the intimate piano set. As is his way so often, this begins with the gentle “Venus De Milo.” With very little moving on stage, the melody is the motion that carries the performance and sketches out where Prince might go with this set.

 

If not for an annoying buzz on the recording, “Condition Of The Heart” would be one of the quietest moments on the bootleg. It is only a verse, but the audience is reverentially quiet as Prince delivers it. “Little Red Corvette” comes from the same place, and gets equal respect from the audience. It’s easy to forget how big this concert is as Prince draws the crowd in with his intimate delivery.

There is a major tape dropout for “Strollin.” The picture rapidly deteriorates into grainy static, before stopping altogether a minute into the song. When the picture resumes it is in time for us to enjoy the final portion of “Scandalous.” Prince whoops and squeals to the crowd, but without the foreplay of the first half of the song it is an unsatisfying climax.

The NPG does a fine job of taking us back to 1986 with their take on “Girls And Boys.” Eric Leeds may not be in the lineup, but Prince has the band stuffed with horn players, all of who are eager to make their mark on this song. It isn’t particularly clean sounding, but it is energetic and engaging, and that more than makes up for any audio inconsistencies.

On audio boots, the Arabic intro is enjoyable enough, on video boots it becomes much more as we witness Mayte dancing with a sword perched on her head. I’m not convinced it belongs in a Prince concert, but there is no doubt that this is just the kind of thing we expect at a Prince concert. Expecting the unexpected was always part of the anticipation of a new tour or album, and Prince certainly delivered that in the early and mid-90s.

Predictably, it is a smooth “7” that follows. The person filming is evidently in love with Mayte, and the camera follows her relentlessly for the first part of the song, Prince is only seen when she is nearby. Prince gives a highly staged performance, it is almost too slick, every note and moved planned, all rehearsed with very little sign of spontaneity in the song. I enjoy it, but it just makes me wish he would break out and give something extra at this stage of the show.

 

The encores open with another predictable song for the moment – “1999.” With the large ensemble on stage it becomes lost in the crowd, the song is there somewhere, but I can’t see it for all the bodies and different sounds emanating from the stage. It is only near the end as Prince and Levi play up with their slick guitar sound do I finally engage with the song, and just in time too for the quick transition into “Baby I’m A Star.” This is a far better song for this group, this time all the bodies and instruments make sense as they have a strong hook to play against and plenty of time to display their skills. It becomes an evolving jam at this point, and as “America” pounds out I am completely in awe of the moment, even the slightly tacky US flag made of fireworks has me excited. The horns are a fantastic addition to the song, and one can only imagine how overwhelming this musical assault must have felt in the flesh.

The funk continues to flow through “D.M.S.R,” this time the trombone becoming a key player and adding some depth to a recording that is otherwise high in treble. Morris Hayes cuts into his work, fleshing out the sound further with his muscular keyboard. Prince’s diversion into the lyrics of “Gett Off” doesn’t enthuse me, but the NPG is simply untouchable throughout, and I fall easily into their orbit. Another drop in the tape breaks me out of this moment, and when it resumes I find Prince in the middle of “Johnny,” a song so laid back it is almost comatose and a million miles away from the previous rambling medley.

 

Prince ups the pace as he closes the concert with a quickfire “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night.” It comes at breakneck speed, and there is barely enough time to register what song it is before Prince ends with his traditional “thank you, good night.” The crowd reaction isn’t as vocal as I expect, and I think a lot of them find it hard to believe that it is all over.

This would not be my first choice to watch or listen to from this time. We have better videos circulating from the Act I tour, and soundboard quality audio circulating from the Act II tour (especially the Germany festival show just one week later). However, this show does have its place in the bootleg canon. It is yet another record of the NPG as they were hitting their stride and driving Prince’s music in a new direction. There are parts of this show where I felt the NPG was almost upstaging Prince, and with Mayte serving as a visual foil, there were times when Prince disappeared into the performance going on around him. With a setlist nicely balanced between old and new tracks, the concert is a marker of the two eras Prince was straddling, the slave era is almost upon us and this is a final goodbye to his back catalog for the next few years. It is difficult to recommend this bootleg, but I know how addictive this game is and I am sure most fans would want to see it anyway.

Madrid 21 August 1993

 

1994 and 1995 were times of tremendous change for Prince, but looking back one can see that the roots for this change were planted in 1993, and the transformations of the next two years are signposted throughout the Act II shows. Prince’s concert performances of the Act II tour have evolved from the Act I portion of the tour, some of his more outrageous concepts have been reigned in, and although it remains a wild ride he has tempered the previous excesses. It becomes a tighter show, and Prince's overall story arc comes into tighter focus as he strips the fat from the show. This week I will be watching one of the better performances of the Act II tour, the concert from Madrid. It is a well-filmed show, although incomplete in the middle portion. There is a full audio recording in circulation, although at this point I feel no inclination to include it here. Even in this incomplete form, it is still essential viewing as Prince carves out a new niche for himself and his music.

August 21, 1993, Plaza de Toros de las Ventas, Madrid

One can feel the thrill of excitement in the air as the concert opens with “My Name Is Prince,” and there is a vivid rush as the lights come up and the concert takes flight. Twenty-five years on and we can join Prince with his tease of the crowd as Mayte plays his part while he sings off-stage. It’s all too obvious now, Mayte does a good impersonation but lacks the high heels, and one can hear the gasp of comprehension as Mayte strips off her disguise. Part excitement, part confusion, it is a great concert moment as she reveals her athletic dancer’s body and writhes to the music.

 

Funk is in the air as Prince finally appears, a pocket rocket at the back of the stage singing “Sexy M.F.” The bootleg isn’t perfect sounding or looking, but the performance remains one of his best, the band locked in a holy unison that makes this brand of funk a religious experience, Prince, Mayte, and the music a trinity worthy of 1993.

For the briefest of seconds, it feels as if I have stumbled across the wrong gig as the band effortlessly lifts us to the highs of “The Beautiful Ones,” the grease and funk of “Sexy M.F.” all but forgotten as Prince pitches the music at our hearts rather than our feet. Lust is replaced by pure love, and a younger Prince emerges from the music, the last 10 years shedding off him as he takes us back ten years in the blink of an eye. There is no need for the lights to bathe him in purple, the music itself wraps him in this noblest of hues, the song no mere exercise in nostalgia, but rather a fully immersive Purple Rain experience just as passionate and uplifting as the era itself.

 

Prince continues to roll back the clock with a version of “Let’s Go Crazy” that stays reasonably faithful to the original. It does have an extra layer of funk, just a little extra slip-and-slide that we didn’t hear on the record, and although the guitar heroics are downplayed, it is as fresh as I have heard it for a long time. It’s a punchy and playful few minutes and serves more than a hollow gesture and a nod to the past.

“Kiss” takes this element of funk, blows it up ten times, and plasters it right across the next five minutes of the show. Prince is entirely subservient to the music, the funk remaining to the fore, Prince doing little more than riding on the music as it flows in a never-ending stream from the stage. The horns and Levi on guitar do more than anyone in creating this whirlpool of sound and are the mainstays of the band for the next ten minutes. As sublime as this music is, the bootleg becomes a frustrating experience at this time as it zooms back, rendering much of the action on stage a mere blur to us here at home.

The previously stripped-back sound of “Irresistible Bitch” is inflated by this extended funk band Prince has on stage. The music remains the main focus, the song and performance disappearing under the layers of horns and guitar. And that is perhaps for the best as the camera work remains unfocused and heavily obstructed.

 

With guitar in hand, Prince and his instrument become the sole focus for “She’s Always in My Hair” Forget the song, forget the vocals, this performance is all about one thing – Prince’s guitar. It is not a storm, nor a hammer blow, instead, it is a weapon of finesse, Prince delicately cutting the music up with scalpel-like stokes, the guitar in hand opening up new vistas as it cuts through the night, Prince revealing new worlds through his instrument of choice. Of particular note is the final few minutes as he takes us from power chord rock into flamenco territory, much to the delight of the crowd (and me here at home). It is an extraordinary display that leaves me grasping for words to describe it. I want all my guitar gods to be like this.

 

The crowd loves “Raspberry Beret,” but the truth is it can’t compare to the previous few minutes. However, it does raise the energy levels of the crowd, before Prince again lets them down gently, the opening verse and chorus of “Sometimes It Snows In April” falling as soft as snow before the video jumps to the introduction to “The Cross.” The song lacks some of the weight I have heard in other renditions, but as the song kicks off midway through the balance is restored. The camera is in sharp focus at this stage, and that no doubt lifts my enjoyment levels immensely as Prince does his finest guitar posing of the night.

 

The video continues to frustrate as it jump cuts through the end of “The Cross,” but the following “Sign O The Times” is incendiary and is the strongest performance of Prince’s back catalog of the show. Prince laces it with a fearsome guitar line, but it is Michael B who grabs the final headlines with his apocalyptic drum sound rounding out the song.

“Purple Rain” sets the standard for the next portion of the show, the most frustrating portion, as the video drops out several times, robbing the song of any momentum or emotional weight. It is inconsistent and seems to do it at the worst possible moments, for example taking us from mid-verse to the middle of the finale.  Things don’t improve, we miss the entire instrumental interlude, before picking up at “Little Red Corvette.” It is apparently a stunning performance, with Prince alone at the piano, but we only see a minute of it, before catching 30 seconds of “Strollin” and “Scandalous,” and not much more or “Girls and Boys” before settling back in for “7.” The heart of the show is ripped out of the bootleg, leaving us to fill in the blanks from other sources.

 

The encores are much better served by the bootleg, the final 30 minutes playing like just the kind of party I’d like to attend. “1999” plays at a brisk pace, leaving the album version huffing and puffing far behind. The camera is settled firmly on the stage, and this part of the show is very easy on the eye, with Prince and Levi holding court center stage. The segue into “Baby, I’m A Star” makes the two songs practically one, but there is better to come.

The band is at boiling point as they take on “America” a song that becomes an angry funk jam at this particular concert, especially with some furious horn riffs rising from the mix midsong pushing that song far beyond the stage and out into the stratosphere. Mayte shaking her thing is a pleasant enough distraction, but for  Prince connoisseurs, the real joy comes as Prince takes a lengthy drum solo that demonstrates his mastery of another instrument. Plenty has been written about his skills with the guitar and keyboards, but to see him is a revelation, and one can see he plays with as much heart on the drums as he does with the guitar. This is an excellent bootleg (aside from the midsection) and nowhere is it better than this point here as Prince demonstrates another essential element of his musicianship.

 

With the audience clapping the rhythm the band switches it up again with “D.M.S.R.” It gives way to pure groove, the song secondary to the feel of it, in a performance suggests the lengthy, groove infused, jams that will propel Prince through 1994/1995. With Prince on bass, we have an insight into what will be a familiar sight in the coming years and although he is playing to an audience of 58,000, one could easily see this taking place in a smaller club with the groove and crowd interweaving through each other. With this laid-back bass sound dominating, Prince takes us back to the song, this time with his vocals infused with a blues sound that suits the slowed-down beast that it has become.

 

After one final frantic groove, Prince returns for the last song of the show, another low and slow version of “Johnny,” a song we will be hearing plenty of in the post-Prince landscape of the next couple of years. With the house lights on, this performance becomes an expression of love between Prince and the audience, they embrace his sound and take every opportunity to contribute. It threatens to take on an aftershow feel, especially as they take up the NPG chant, and the concert turns into a communal celebration. The show comes to a playful end as Mayte coaxes Prince off stage, or attempts to, before she finally drags him off, much to the delight of the crowd. It may be part of the act, but it creates the feeling that Prince never wants to stop playing for the crowd, something that could well be true.

 

Act II differs greatly from the Act I tour just a few months previous. The bulk of the material from the Symbol Album has been dropped, replaced with more overtly Prince material from the 1980s. Yet, watching the concert here, one can’t help but feel that Prince is looking firmly into the future with both his look and overall sound. He will push far further in this direction in the next twelve months, leaving his Prince material behind completely, yet keeping this band and their monstrous funk sound. Here we see him laying the groundwork for the slave era, we may not have known it at the time, but twenty-five years later it is plain to see. This is one of the best video boots circulating from the Act II tour and as such must be held in the highest regard, an outstanding show, with some great footage, albeit with the dropouts at the center of the show, and Prince on the cusp of the most interesting part of his career, this is a must-see.