Detroit 13 January 1997

 

The year is 1997, and four years on from his last concert in 1993 and things have changed. Prince has changed, his music has changed, and recording technology for bootleggers has evolved. This week's bootleg is again an audience recording, but it sounds considerably better than what we have heard in the last few weeks. It has more depth than what we have previously heard, and even if we still have heard some rumblings from the audience, it is still a much more pleasant and satisfying experience. The music Prince is presenting is a happy medium between crowd-pleasing favorites of his colorful past and his current studio output at the time. I haven’t visited this period for quite some time, but I can see from the setlist that I will be listening to some material that doesn’t perhaps get as much praise as it should, and a few of my personal favorites that I haven’t heard for a while.

13th January 1997. The State Theatre, Detroit

The first screams we hear on the tape suggest we may be in for a crowd-heavy recording as per the Detroit show of 1993, but things quickly quieten as we settle into “Jam Of The Year.” The depth of the recording pays immediate dividends with the jam nature and pure groove of the song highlighted in the solid bass and some sparkling keyboard work. The live performance sizzles far more than what we hear on the album version, and this is a good opening number to get the Detroit cooking, and the bootleg off to a fine start.

There is an organic transition to  “Talkin’ Loud And Saying Nothin’,” the song a natural pairing to the previous “Jam Of The Year.” The band continues to stew in this type of jam, and although the crowd never boils over, they are warming up. The tape remains an easy listen, giving this recording an immediate edge over the other Detroit concerts I have listened to.

“Purple Rain” comes as a melancholy postcard from the past, its previous glory faded and tatty against the smooth sheen of the opening numbers. Even with its revamped and muscular guitar solo, it still feels like a song that is too weak to scratch the surface, and rather than digging deep under my skin and injecting some raw-edged emotion it instead leaves me feeling a sense of loss for a more emotional and engaging Prince.

 

All is forgiven with “17 Days.” It’s not the Revolution, and it’s not 1984, but it’s a close enough facsimile of the beloved funk classic for me to buy it. Some choppy guitar and swirly organ lift it to a late 90’s sound, while the rhythm section keeps us firmly in the Purple Rain era. It’s kept short enough that I don’t dwell on nostalgia, and that’s a good thing as it keeps the concert moving forward and focused on his newer material.

Although the opening of “Get Yo Groove On” initially has me interested, there is not enough meat on the bones to hold my attention, and despite the appearance of “Six,” the rest of the song remains devoid of anything to latch onto and enjoy. I could get my groove on listening to it, but it isn’t a demanding dish and slides by without making a lasting impression on me.

“The Most Beautiful Girl In The World,” loses some of its beauty in this recording. Listening to it is like seeing a beautiful woman without makeup, recognizable enough as a beauty, but not as striking as we have become accustomed to. I usually derive pleasure in the sharpness of the band for the mid-song break and re-entry, on this bootleg I find it tiresome and breaks the flow. Maybe I am particularly grumpy and tired tonight, but this time it just doesn’t work for me.

The extended treatment is bestowed upon “Face Down,” and this gives us plenty of time to indulge ourselves in the pure pleasure of Rhonda Smith’s bass. Rumbling angrily beneath for most of the song, the final minutes see her break cover to “play that motherfucking bass,” in one of my favorite moments of the concert. It’s undone a little by the recording, but there is enough fleshed out there for me to put myself in the moment and the arena.

 

“The Cross” retains its fierce intensity despite its somewhat pared-down sound on the recording. I do hear a storming version, but due to the tape, it does sound one step removed and not quite as upfront as I would like. There is no doubt that it is the final guitar frenzy that holds the most interest, and several whoops from the crowd suggest that this may be one to watch as well as to listen to. However, we only have this audio recording, so that is merely surmising.

The inclusion of “One Of Us” is timely, and a nice companion for the previous song. It comes neatly packaged, Prince’s forceful guitar line the hook that adds a sense of drama and show to the moment. Without that it remains firmly Joan Osbourne’s song, but as Prince lets loose later in the song he makes a strong claim for the song as he briefly turns it into one of his.

The seduction suite is next on the setlist, a medley that contains “Do Me, Baby,” “Adore,” “Insatiable,” and “Scandalous.” The opening line of “Do Me, Baby” brings a roar from the crowd, this is what the Detroit crowd is here to see. Prince gives a surprising rendition of “Do Me, Baby” opening with a couple of minutes of intense and lusty guitar that sets the mood just as much as Prince’s lights-down vocal performance. The vocals arrive long past the five-minute mark, by which time I am wondering why I don’t play this a lot more than I do, it is a performance to speaks to me in the raw language of love and music. The other songs in the set don’t get long in the sun, “Adore” rolls quickly into “Insatiable,” “Scandalous,” and a single line from “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore” before Prince bookends it all with another verse of “Do Me, Baby.” Just when I think it can’t get any better Prince unleashes several of his screams of passion that mark this out as the best song on the recording.

“Sexy M.F.” is loud and proud, especially the guitar that greases it in the first minute. I’m not totally convinced by Prince’s rapping, but the funk and sing-a-long chorus is more than satisfying and this is just the song to bring the concert back to full speed after Prince’s dip into velvety seduction in the previous song.

The wheeze of the organ at the start of “If I Was Your Girlfriend” has me hoping the rest of the song will go the same way, but the recording undoes this heavy oppressive curtain of keyboard with its mix that brings the bass to the fore, leaving Prince’s vocals and Morris Hayes keyboard too far back for my tastes. Not that it matters too much, after all this is still “If I Was Your Girlfriend” we are talking about, and the song still stands strong as its own man in the setlist.

 

Prince teased earlier with a single line from “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore,” and here he returns to the moment. He may be alone at the piano, but he certainly isn’t alone with his vocal performance as the Detroit crowd out-muscle him on almost every line. Prince rides the song and the audience throughout, the song never quite settling as it passes back and forth between Prince and the audience.

The double pop punch of “Take Me With U,” and “Raspberry Beret,” hit the right notes with the audience again, and they are more vocal here than at any other point of the concert.  As jaded as I am by this combination, I can’t help but be energized by the Detroit crowd's embracement of the songs, and a youthful glow descends upon me as I listen.

I want to get on board with “Mr. Happy,” but on this recording, I just can’t. There is a power in the bass that I am drawn to, but the bulk of the song remains beyond my reach with the recording negating some of the power. The Detroit crowd does save the moment for me, their chanting of “If you’re 18 and over, I wanna bone ya” has me laughing out loud and enjoying it for what it is.

“Somebody’s Somebody” was only ever played occasionally in concert, and that s a shame as listening to it here brings delicate beauty to the concert after the brutal “Mr. Happy,” “18 And Over” combination. It does sound very much of its era though and roots the concert firmly in 1997. It has an easy glide to it, only gleaming at the last minute as Prince burnishes it with a light guitar solo.

“The Ride” rolls in with an easy gait, the first minutes merely a deception before Prince brings it to a climax with his guitar flickering before bursting into a scorching solo. It doesn’t contain any surprises but is a good demonstration of Prince building solo up from nothing into epic proportions, and I am more than happy to wallow in his indulgence.

 

The tempo increases with “Sleep Around,” a song that runs on a groove and very little else. Whatever else there is to the song is lost as Prince strips it down mid-song, providing the Detroit crowd another chance to fill the void. I want to like it more than I do, but there just isn’t enough there for me, and even as it runs to five minutes I find it leaves no impression upon me.

The final song of the night is “Johnny,” a song that sounds neutered in this context, especially in comparison to some of the renditions in previous years. I do warm to the piano lines, but overall the final two songs make for a weak ending to what has otherwise been a good concert. There is no doubt that “Johnny” is a great song, but to my ears, it works better at one of Prince’s late-night after-shows, rather than a closer to a main show. The one good thing about it is that it ends the concert with the crowd chanting “N.P.G. in the motherfuckin house,” something guaranteed to always get a smile from me.

A highly enjoyable concert, this one did lose me in the final minutes. As with previous bootlegs coming out of Detroit, the crowd certainly brings the best out of Prince as he provides another show full of vim and vigor. It is easy to overlook 1997 when there are so many bootleg gems from the 1980s, but I recommend this as a solid audience recording that provides a tidy snapshot of where Prince was at that time.

Pennsylvania 7 January 1997

 

“Great men, it’s been noted, die twice—once as great and once as men.“
– Mark Kram

Prince’s greatness wasn’t dead in 1997, but it did seem in terminal decline. His most recent burst of creativity in 1995 already felt a lifetime ago, and the 1980s seemed to belong to another Prince entirely. It is often said that form is temporary while class is permanent, but by mid-1997 it was hard to remember just how classy Prince had once been.

The Love 4 One Another charity tour is undoubtedly well-intentioned, and a reminder that Price was a great man aside from music. But as a celebration of the Emancipation album, it was uninspired and lacked a sharp focus, a criticism that could equally be leveled at the album itself. The sheer sprawl of the album buries any interesting ideas or musically challenging moments as Prince’s productivity works against him. Likewise, the live setlist suffers the same problem, no enduring theme or concept is holding the show together, and the setlist does at times look like just a random list of songs rather than a coherent whole. If the Lovesexy tour was the pinnacle of Prince putting together a cohesive show, then this comes as the complete opposite, a dire moment in the live canon of Prince's performance history.

 

7th January 1997, Tower Theatre, Pennsylvania

Prince sets out his stall early with the first track of the Emancipation album opening up the concert. “Jam Of The Year” sounds great for cruising in the car during summer, but at this concert it feels forced and tense, undoing any previous summery vibes that may have been associated with it. The biggest problem is one common of this era, it has no firm core or focus. The song sprawls as the band takes solos. Normally I love to see the band stretch like this, but this is the wrong song, and none of the contributions build the song to any more than what it was before. Kept to four minutes and this could have been a punchy opener, instead, it becomes a disappointing introduction to what will become a trend for the next few songs.

“Talkin Loud And Sayin’ Nothing” fits better in aftershows. The intense swirling keyboards and funky beats belong in small clubs, not the larger venues such as this. However, I do enjoy all the elements. Mike Scott and Morris Hayes are not men to be taken lightly and they contribute mightily to the groove that Prince builds this part of the show around. But with no firm direction, the song begins to meander and once again is too long for so early in the concert.

Prince continues to persist with these longer songs, this time dropping “Purple Rain” as the third song of the night. There is no sense of build-up in this concert, and “Purple Rain” feels empty and throw-away because of this. Prince is drawing from his history, a history that feels far removed at this concert, and “Purple Rain” beams in as an alien at this stage. Empty and dead-eyed, this is a hollow imitation of the song. It only highlights Prince’s rapidly fading greatness and the weakness of the new material. Emotionally barren, there is a relief as the final notes fade and Prince returns to a song that has something to say.

 

“17 Days” is a short sharp shock that casts the concert back in sharp relief. Prince’s greatness continues to shadow him, taunting his current music at the time, but in this case, he embraces the song for what it is and briefly engages with the material more than we have previously heard at this concert. The tightness of the song works in its favor as it keeps Prince on the straight and narrow, here he is a slave to his music rather than the music playing on his whim, the song remaining the center of attention rather than the performer.

Light-hearted and focused, “Get Your Groove On” keeps the concert in equilibrium. After the drifting opening numbers, the concert is now moving rapidly through the music with Prince’s songcraft to the fore. With the band taking a back seat, the show becomes all the more enjoyable with the solos enhancing the music rather than distracting from it.

Prince’s recently glories get an airing with “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.” It has a tenderness not heard elsewhere at the concert and is one of the two high points for me. It has an authenticity that serves it well, the song connecting immediately with the crowd and with Prince. As a radio hit it has an important place at this concert and is the rock that dominates the center portion of the show. Other songs may rise and fall against it, but it remains firm in it’s solid pop joy.

 

Muhammad Ali once told Elvis “Elvis, you have to keep singin’ or die to stay big.” In “Facedown” Prince is that man, still singing to stay big, and appropriately name-dropping Elvis throughout. The first portion of the song is the beat and gives the crowd too little to engage with, but once the band enters the song lifts immediately as Prince makes his angry statement through music. Not normally a fan of this singing style, but I do like the sharpness of it and its intent. There is steel to Prince that he reveals through this song. His anger briefly flashes to the surface, and the song takes on an intensity that isn’t heard anywhere else in the show.

After the pop of “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World” and the anger of “Facedown,” Prince engages us at the spiritual level with a reverential rendition of “The Cross.” It is a thin, weedy version, and despite the religious heft Prince wants to install in it, it remains pale compared to other live renditions. Morris Hayes's keyboard work matches Prince’s guitar in thickness of sound, but neither can prop up a song that is ten years past its best.

From the same spiritual well, “One Of Us” holds up much better. After the climax of “The Cross,” it is a paired back sound, the music given more room to breathe in this refined atmosphere. Princes’ guitar gains the most from this, it’s call clearer in the stripped-back setting. Prince’s vocals wash over the song, it is the guitar that brings the music to a fine point, a point that holds your attention and draws the threads of the song together. As a religious moment, this is as close as Prince comes in this particular concert, and the vocals and guitar combine to give it a religious vibe, even if the vocals aren’t always distinctive.

 

“Do Me, Baby,” sucks us back into Prince’s past. The concert is cast in a new light with guitar spilling and flowing over the first minute of the song as Prince touches on his greatness. The enthusiastic crowd response breaks this spell cast by the guitar, and the rest of the song fails to live up to these first moments. Sadly the hint of vulnerability that carried the song in its first years is gone. Prince’s vocals are just too clinical and dry in this context. Prince is no longer a yearning young man, but rather a man who has conquered the world and as such carries the confidence of someone who has done it all.

This confidence is well placed and on full display for the following “Sexy M.F.” In this era, and with this band, it works well and goes over well with both the audience and me. The band has just the right amount of funk and sass to make it believable, and the song matches the general mood of the performance.

Unfortunately, “If I Was Your Girlfriend” does not match the mood of the times and feels out of place. A song that is tangled in Prince's past, the rather plastic rendition here does no favors to the song, nor my memories of it. Resting on name value alone, the song fails to deliver the emotional gut-punch I expect and is rather emblematic of this concert and tour in general. The songs are still there, but they have been strip-mined of their greatness. Prince is playing little more than cover versions of his songs.

Likewise, “The Ride” is a light ramble, rather than a smoldering dark diversion, and Prince’s guitar work repeatedly fails to capture the intensity or excitement of previous years. It lingers long, but never demands you sit up and listen. All the pieces appear to be here, yet they aren’t connecting and the song never becomes greater than its sum of parts.

 

Things return to an even keel for “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?” It’s an unhurried version, yet this time I’m happy to indulge Prince in his musical ramblings and wanderings. The piano drifts into organ and back again, the guitar and drums lightly touching the song in places to remind us this is a band performance. Prince’s vocals are outstanding as he hits all the heights expected of him. The audience is appreciative as he goes through the same routine as the previous fifteen years and there is a comfort in the familiarity and sense of stability in a concert that has otherwise been a shotgun blast of songs and styles.

The particular recording I’m listening to finishes midway through the concert at “I Feel Alright.” It sounds like the audience is well involved by this stage and lapping up all Prince can give, although there is not enough of the song for me to get a good handle on it.

This concert does nothing to dispel the notion that by 1997 Prince’s star was on the wane. Listening now, there is very little to signpost the renaissance and second flourish his career will take with the release of “The Rainbow Children” and “Musicology.” There are glimpses of his greatness, an occasional flash of guitar or vocal flourish, but for the most part Prince’s greatness remains buried, and if not dead already at least on life support. A great man dies twice, but only Prince can arise from that death and reassert his greatness with a string of creative and exciting albums in the wake of this nadir. Critics may have been ready to pronounce Prince dead, as he did in the mid-Nineties, but he was anything but. Think of this as hibernation rather than death.