The Hague 19 August 1988 (am)

 

Small Club is the most famous Prince bootleg of them all, and for good reason. It captures a fantastic aftershow from 1988, when he was at the height of his powers, in pristine soundboard quality. I know that whenever I meet any Prince fan, no matter what we disagree on, this is the one thing that runs common to all fans. Everybody knows and loves the small club bootleg. I wouldn’t like to guess how many times I have played it over the years, although to be honest I rarely listen to it now. I think I overplayed it back in the days, and now if I want to hear it, I can pretty much play the gig in my head from memory – Yes, I am that strange. However, for the purposes of this blog, I did make the effort and listened to the CD. See how much I sacrifice for you people! I am not sure how much more can be said about this gig, so this may be brief, but then again that is no bad thing as words do tend to run away with me.

19 August, 1988, Paard van Troje, The Hague

The gig itself opens innocuously enough with a simple drum roll, and then some soft percussion. The sound of drum sticks on drum sticks or the rim of the drum gives a nice jazz percussion feel, as does the piano when it begins to play. It’s nothing too much and has a jazz club feel about it until Prince's guitar enters and things move up a gear. There are no vocals at all here; it’s a typical warm-up jam. The piano gets plenty of shine, interspersed with Prince and his guitar. There is some heavy spacey keyboard halfway through, but I think I much preferred the piano from earlier. In the last third of the song, the guitar work of Prince takes over (apart from a brief drum solo by Shelia). I don’t know what it is about his playing at this stage, but something about it feels Arabian to me, or how I imagine it to sound. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think I can best describe it as Arabian, how I might imagine a snake charmer to sound if he played electric guitar.

There are some little things on these recordings that I always thought I was the only one who noticed or enjoyed. It wasn’t until later when I met other Prince fans that I found that other people also recognized these little moments. Prince’s spoken intro between songs is one of these moments. “Well, this sure beats going to sleep, don’t it? A show of hands of how many are drunk? Alllriighht, you mean you actually gonna hear what we play, aren’t going to make up the notes in your mind?” I always loved that comment, and it always makes me smile. I never thought anyone else got it until I started meeting other hardcore fans later in life.

 

“D.M.S.R” opens with a nice funky rhythm on the guitar. Prince asks “what kinda beat can you put to that?” and the band enters with a funky beat that underpins “D.M.S.R.” It’s one of the songs that first jumped out at me when I bought the 1999 album, so I am always happy to hear any live version. This is a great version, it's true to the original, but has just enough differences and variations to keep me interested. In particular when Prince tells them to “Rumble, Minneapolis style,” followed up by some very funky guitar, then Prince takes it to Hawaii with Hawaiian-sounding guitar. It doesn’t last long before he kicks back in a solo that evolves into the main riff from America. All along the band keep the “D.M.S.R” chugging along underneath. Typically, there is a couple of Prince false endings, ‘stop on the one’, ‘stop on the two’, before a quick Miko funk break. The song eventually ends with just a bare guitar playing a run that sounds almost country-like.

“Just my Imagination” draws me in right from the start. The simple strum of the guitar and Prince intoning “two, three”. The soft keyboard swells give Prince plenty of room to sing, and his voice here is beautiful. It’s a beautiful ballad and a great choice for a cover. I remember the first time I ever heard this gig, I was totally surprised when the guitar solo began at two and a half minutes. It knocked me sideways; I didn’t imagine that it was going to have a guitar solo. And what a solo! Prince doesn’t overplay, and he delivers one of his most soulful and beautiful solos. I know it is very much loved among the Prince community, and yes, sign me up, I am a fan of it too. By the time we come down from the stratosphere and landed back at the song, I had almost forgotten how gentle and beautiful the singing had been. Prince sings us softly through to the finish, and it feels like quite a trip.

 

Before “People Without” begins, Prince tells the crowd that they “Do this one in the dark” The problem with writing about music is sometimes words aren’t adequate to describe something that can be expressed by music. So it is with “People Without.” I have no words to describe the keyboard that plays for the first three minutes of the song. The only thing I can say is that the first three minutes of this song blows me away every time. The aforementioned keyboard plays against Prince, who lists attributes of people without. Briefly reading his People Without lyrics, it seems that in a couple of instances I am someone without. My favorite line in the song, and something that I can easily apply to my life, is “People without, talk shit when they’re not asked”. Oh yes Prince, I hear ya!

After three minutes some heavy bass and keyboard come in, and it always reminds me of Janet Jacksons ‘Black cat’. Now I have no logical explanation for this, you will just have to accept that I have a loose wire in my head. And just a side note- I can’t find my Janet Jackson CD, if you are an ex-girlfriend reading this and you have it, please contact me.

The song stays in this heavy vain with Prince singing about people without. The song returns to its beginning near the end, with Prince singing “I thought you wanted to do it in the dark, turn out the lights”. Again it is one of my favorite moments. Overall this song is great to me, the sound of his voice, the lyrical content, and that keyboard. I am so very glad someone captured this for us to enjoy.

I have always loved Prince’s sense of humor, but the knock-knock joke he tells before Housequake falls a little short.

Knock knock
Who’s there?
Joe
Joe who?
Joe momma!

Ok, so it’s not terrible, but it does lack the usual Prince wit. Luckily he more than makes up for it with “Housequake.” It’s nice to hear Atlanta Bliss playing here. He doesn’t play on every song this night, but he grabs his moments here and it changes the feel of the evening. There is no Eric Leeds at this gig, I believe he elected to stay back at the hotel because he was too tired. Still, the trumpet sound of Atlanta Bliss gives this song, and the gig is just enough color. Interestingly enough, “Housequake” is the shortest song played all evening, clocking in at just five minutes. It feels like a blink of an eye compared with the other extended jams and songs played.

Atlanta Bliss introduces the next song with some very fine trumpet playing. Now it's Boni’s turn to shine and she starts singing “Down Home Blues,” which sounds exactly what you might expect based on the title. There is some nice crisp blues guitar played by Prince, very similar to his guitar sound heard at main shows during the blues segment. Atlanta Bliss follows with an equally bluesy trumpet solo, and we stay in the same groove as Boni sings “Kansas City.” Prince’s next solo moves things up a notch, and the groove gets deeper. It finishes at the ten-minute mark, but another few minutes I wouldn’t mind at all.

“Cold Sweat” leaves me a little cold. Prince is on the drums, which is fine if you are there but doesn’t add much if you are listening to a recording. The song does have a nice keyboard groove, the keyboards’ are excellent during the whole gig. I think if I had been there this would be a good song, but listening at home I just don’t get into it. The trumpet plays a couple of nice pieces, but I have never been a fan of the Shelia E “Transmississippi Rap.” My finger is dangerously close to the skip button, but it can’t be as bad as all that, because although it's 10 minutes I listen right to the end.

The next song is the high point of the gig for me. After the briefest of guitar intros the heavy organ and drumbeat of “I Wish U Heaven (part 3)” begins. That in itself had me excited, but when Prince starts singing “Forever in My Life” over the top of it I am in ecstasy. Again, words cannot describe how good this sounds to me. This is shaping up to be the worst blog ever if I can’t find the words! The organ groove and the rattle of the guitar don’t let up, and my head never stops bobbing the whole time this is playing. There are some fantastic call and response guitar between Prince and Miko, and then some great guitar interplay between the two of them. Just when it is heating up Prince cools it down by calling for the lights to be turned down, and getting the crowd to sing along. Girls singing one line, boys singing another, it works very well. But the best is yet to come. Prince calls “Put a snare on it” and Boni completely takes over. Her vocals are as you would expect. The more she puts into it, the more the rhythm guitars of Prince and Miko respond. The whole things get bigger and bigger, every scream by Boni meets with a pause, and then more groove from the guitars’ and organ. The song ends, and Princes tells the crowd: “Boni Boyer, ain’t nobody can mess with that girl” and I have to agree. It’s a great moment at an outstanding gig.

 

Did I say “Forever In My Life” was the highlight of the gig for me? I must have been premature, because hands down the version of “Still Would Stand All Time” played here is my favorite performance of any song, at any time. Not only is it my highlight of this gig, but it is also my highlight of any gig I have heard. The song begins with some lovely little guitar from Prince before the band and keys enter. The music itself is just wonderful, and it feels like waves lapping against the shore to me. No one instrument overwhelms another, and Prince’s vocals are passionate and clear. This was recorded long before we heard the finished version on Graffiti Bridge, and I think here it is caught at just the right moment. Being live it doesn’t have a syrupy overproduced sound, and it comes across as passionate rather than overly sappy. The keyboard refrain, the bass, the guitar, all of them sound in sync and so beautiful. The best part of the song comes when Prince breaks it down and sings a few throaty lines. It hits me that he means it. A lot of passion in just a few lines- you can hear it, especially when he sings “I don’t care, bout the color of your hair.” And of course, it’s here that he corrects the band with the well-known line “Who’s the fool singing will, it’s would” Obviously the song is pretty new to everybody. The following few lines have the potential to come across as smutty, but instead, the way he sings it sounds like a beautiful moment.

“All night, all day
Never on Sunday, always on Monday
Real slow on Tuesday, kinda fast on Wednesday
Circular motion on Thursday, rocky ocean on Friday
Pull a black box of paraphernalia out on you child, you know that’s Saturday night”

It could have been cringe-worthy, but somehow he gets away with singing it before he delivers another guitar solo. The solo is shorter than some of his other pyrotechnics on guitar, and it’s a good thing too. The song itself is already well balanced without being swamped by the guitar.
The song fades out with a few more of “Still would stand all time” and it’s just heavenly.

 

After such a Prince highlight, “I’ll Take You There” starts with Boni, keyboard, and organ. One feels that Prince is giving himself a moment to catch his breath after the previous song. After a couple of minutes though he is back into the fray, leading the band from I’ll take you there to the guitar-driven “Rave.” It’s quite a change from the keyboard-led “I’ll Take You There.” “Rave” itself is a guitar-driven groove, with the band chanting Rave. Prince sings several lines but then hands it over to Atlanta Bliss for a quick trumpet break. The whole thing is pretty upbeat, and a good jam song. Miko is next to get a solo, and he delivers a very tasty break, but then Prince ups him a couple of minutes later when he plays his solo. The song later has plenty of trumpet as well as guitar, and Prince sings a couple of refrains of “Beautiful night”

The song ends, but then with a call of “kick some ass’ Prince and the band take off again, sounding more frantic than before, then there is a minute of Prince drilling the band with “give me one, give me five, gimme two” etc. I’ve heard him do these 100 times, but it’s always great to see how tight and well-rehearsed his bands are. There is one more furious burst and it ends with a simple “Thank you, God is Love”

 

An excellent gig, and as I said earlier, generally recognized as the greatest Prince bootleg. Part of the reason this gets so much love is when it came out after-shows by Prince weren’t as common as they are now, it was still relatively new for him to be playing these shows. For a lot of us, this was the first time we realized that there was a whole other different side to Prince’s music away from the arena shows and pop charts. And that is the reason I am such a fan, not because of all his hits, his albums, or his movies, but because of gig’s like this where it is just about the music. I don’t need to tell any of you that you must hear this show; I know that if you are any sort of fan at all you already have.

Oslo 14 August 1988

 

This week Lovesexy is in the air – everywhere I look I see people celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the release of the album. I enjoy the album just as much as anyone else, but for me, it is always about the love bootlegs, and Lovesexy and its subsequent tour gives us an array of stunning performances and recordings. The one I would like to focus on today comes from the European leg, the single performance of the tour in Oslo, Norway. Although the recording is incomplete, it is one of the better audience recordings I have heard, with the audience barely audible throughout. A good review from The Data Bank seals the deal for me, this is the one I want to celebrate Lovesexy‘s birthday with.

14th August 1988, Oslo, Norway

It’s hard not to drift back into 1980’s nostalgia as I feel as much as I hear the opening drum beat. This bootleg will be an exercise in nostalgia all the way, and there is no way to untangle my feelings from the music I am hearing. The music is familiar from the start, we all know what to expect, although it does take a minute for the guitars to emerge cleanly from the mix and into their dry funk sound. It is with Prince’s first verse of “Erotic City” that the loudness and clarity of the recording improve dramatically, not that it was bad before, but suddenly it opens up into a more panoramic sound.

The concert gains a sense of urgency with “Housequake” – the band bringing a fuller sound and an immediacy with horn and synth stabs punctuating the sound.  The horns are the most notable addition to the overall sound, but it is the guitar that holds my attention with its taut funk rattle. What little audience noise there is, is easily enough drowned out by the horns and the performance of Prince that seems to stun the audience into silence.

 

The concert threatens to slow down with “Slow Love,” but Prince has the setlist finely tuned, and it is merely a gradual introduction to the next opening barrage of abridged versions of some of his most beloved songs.

“Adore” follows suit, the sweetest of openings quickly gives way to the oncoming “Delirious” which keeps the tempo of the concert quickly moving forward. The recording remains solid, the music clearly heard as Prince rumbles through his back catalog. “Jack U Off” gets more time in the sun than the previous two numbers, and for the most part is a vehicle for the horns and organ to strut their stuff. The recording does thin near the end of this, but it’s not enough to derail the performance I can hear. “Sister” comes as a final orgasmic rush, and although the lyrics make the middle-aged me cringe, I still feel the energy of the performance flowing through me.

The welcoming sound of “Adore” rounds out this medley with a romantic reprise. It’s not as full-bloodied as I would like, but it does bring us full circle in a carefully crafted setlist.

I find it impossible not to be taken back by the appearance of “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” a song that immediately transports me back to high school. The snare drum that serves as its backbone through the Lovesexy tour is deliciously dry and adds extra tension to a previously familiar pop song. There is a darkness in the final minutes that tempers its pop roots and leads us nicely into more salacious territory.

The primeval funk of “Head” is slightly lost on this recording, but I know it well enough to bring my own darkness to it. The song is well-honed, yet retains its air of dangerous sexuality, even in the lightness of a stadium performance one senses that this is a song where some of the younger girls hold the hand of their mothers just that little bit tighter.

It is a different Prince who plays “When You Were Mine,” the undercurrent of “Head” replaced by the purity of a simple guitar-driven song. It is too short to properly register, but I welcome its brief appearance.

The flow of the show is interrupted by “Blues In C (If I Had A Harem)” but it is a lot of fun and gives Prince to showboat on his guitar. Prince is in no hurry, and he takes his time to lead the audience through his performance. He keeps the blues firmly under his thumb, there is no point where it feels like the song might ignite. A clean performance, it suffers in that the following song offers a much more interesting worldview.

 

There is a portion of the concert missing, and unfortunately, we miss the pleasure of hearing the next 20 minutes as Prince digs deeper into his back catalog. The recording resumes with a swirling and claustrophobic “Bob George” – a song that seems to have gained an extra depth since the last time I listened to a Lovesexy show. With a calculated backbeat, Princes plays out this musical psycho melodrama. While not the most powerful moment on the recording, nevertheless the next few minutes are riveting as Prince spins his tale, ending with an emphatic bang that brings this mini-play to an end.

Some of the power of “Anna Stesia” is lost as for the first time the audience becomes audible, in this case with hand claps. It isn’t too much of a distraction later in the song as the guitar rises up with its throaty anguished cry. The real power of the song comes from the memories it evokes within me, and for the next few minutes, I am again fifteen and listening to this for the first time alone in my room. The memory is a powerful thing, and I am lost in my own thoughts and feelings as the song plays in my ears, I am transported away and temporarily forget where I am and what I am doing.

The music for the interval is interesting enough, but it doesn’t compare to the punch of the main show, and I instead wait expectantly for what will follow.

“Eye Know” provides the punch I am looking for, and initially it explodes out of the recording at me. Soon enough the quality of the thirty-year recording pulls it back a little, but it matters not as Prince and the band can be heard playing yet another storming version. Princes vocals are slightly trebly on the recording, but I forgive all as the recording is remarkable for what it is.

The live version of “Lovesexy” would be every bit as good as the album version, that is if it was on a soundboard recording. As it is in this state, it merely is very good. All the key elements are in place, however, the audience recording doesn’t quite capture the array of sounds and complexity of the original. It is a complaint I also have for “Glam Slam” that follows. Both songs are uniquely Prince, and this recording provides us with a washed-out sound that doesn’t highlight the real strong points of these two songs.

 

“The Cross” sounds much more powerful, perhaps due to its stripped-back sound and the forceful drum sound coupled with Prince’s crisp guitar. The audience noise again rises but is well matched by the music, and the roar when the song takes off has both the audience and me at home gasping as it soars into the sky. It’s almost a cliche to point to this as the highlight of the show, but along with “Anna Stesia,” it is the spiritual heart, and both carry power and beauty that cannot be denied.

“I Wish U Heaven” comes to full bloom in the live setting. On record, it is deceptive, a simple enough pop song, while in concert Prince turns it into a spectacular jam and unifying coming together of audience and artist. The appearance of “God Is Alive” drives Prince’s point home as he whips the crowd up, all the time riding across the beat of “I Wish U Heaven.” It’s not as dramatic or long as I have heard elsewhere, but it does capture the spirit of the show.

The band makes their mark on “Kiss,” and as a unit, they do their best to bend it to the style of the show. It is busy sounding, with the band taking a familiar song and giving it a good shake-up. It may be far from the original sound of the album, but it is unmistakably “Kiss” and it sits easily with the surrounding songs.

The band spin and spirals around the horns before setting on the opening blitzkrieg of “Dance On.” They don’t settle on the song, it is merely a door into a drum solo from Sheila E. With locomotive power she steams through her solo, giving the concert a respite from the constant cacophony of sound and visuals. A simple focal point, she brings some intensity to the concert and a sense of pure fun and enjoyment.

Somebody can actually be heard shouting “Yes!” as Prince begins his opening sermon of “Let’s Go Crazy.” Although it comes from another time and place entirely, it still elicits a response from the crowd and it is obviously just as loved as it has always been. It becomes more interesting for me later in the song as Prince goes off script for some unhinged shredding, but the return to chanting with the crowd is less so and undoes some of the intensity of earlier in the song.

 

The cold sparseness of “When Doves Cry” is undone but the extra horns and elastic bass. It is still enjoyably enough but fails to bring the emotional clout of the recorded version. I do eventually decide that I enjoy the horns' contribution, but it does make it a different song for me.

I have always felt that “Purple Rain” is the odd man out at these shows, and I don’t hear anything here to change that opinion. The tempo is ponderous, and although it carries Prince’s spiritual message it doesn’t sound as urgent and important as the previous music. Asides from his opening speech, Prince does keep it relatively short. The verse and chorus are crisp before he plunges deep into the guitar solo. The sound of the recording is uneven – midway through the guitar solo, the volume leaps up, making for an uneasy listen.

Normally “1999” plays like a well-oiled machine, in this case, it has an uneven quality, something I can directly attribute to the recording. Prince keeps the lion that is ready to roar firmly in his pocket, and the song never threatens to be anything more than a reminder of past glories. With its memorable chorus and riff, it plugs directly into the past and the crowd sing mindlessly along, pleasant in sound it doesn’t come close to some of the more challenging music earlier in the evening.

“Alphabet St.” splutters into view, it doesn’t have the sharpness of the previous few numbers and is an easy comedown as some of the previous histrionics. It is refreshing to hear Prince's vocals sitting at the center of the song and even as it devolves into a rhythmic outro, Prince remains the ring leader of this revolving circus. It’s a fitting end to a typical Lovesexy show, and as always I feel like I have been on quite a journey by the time it's over.

There is a range of Lovesexy concerts available on bootlegs, including the superb Dortmund soundboard, and an array of classic after-shows. However, this concert should not be forgotten, as it stands as a great audience recording of a standard Lovesexy show. There are twenty minutes is missing from the middle of the show, and with no piano set it is considerably shorter, yet it has its own charms, making me wonder why more people don’t talk of it. The thirty years from then to now have passed so quickly, yet Prince’s music of the time sounds fresh and remains uniquely his. Every part of Lovesexy is to be celebrated, and this concert is no different, it captures a moment in time when Prince moved beyond genres and created a sound that could only be described as his and his alone.

Bloomington 15 September 1988

 

I have listened to a lot of 1988 concerts for the European leg of the Lovesexy tour, and several after shows from the US leg of the same tour. What I haven’t listened to a lot are the main shows of the US tour. To right this wrong today I will be dipping my toe into the Minneapolis concert from September 15th 1988, a concert that is well worth visiting as it features guest appearances from George Clinton, Lisa Coleman, Susannah and Wendy Melvoin, as well as The Sounds Of Blackness. I can only hope it sounds as good as it looks on paper. I was wondering why I haven’t heard more of this, and it seems that as a poor audience recording it has sat neglected in my collection for some time, but in the last couple of years some new recordings have appeared, and although they too are audience recordings (and everything that comes with that) they are an improvement. Prince playing to his home crowd with one of his greatest concert tours, and some fantastic guests, there’s no way I could not like this.

15th September 1988, Met Centre, Bloomington, MN

The opening drum sound comes like a heartbeat through the audience noise, and although someone is clapping loudly near the microphone it matters little as the music comes loud and proud, rolling and crashing over the frenzied crowd sound in the opening minutes. The funk settles in early, the bass of “Erotic City” tying down the bottom end of the recording and temporarily overriding the cheers of excitement. For the rest of the song, there is a battle between the music and the crowd noise, each one taking a turn to dominate before Prince’s vocals emerge, one final scream from the crowd with his first line, before it subsides and the song can be heard. “Erotic City” delivers no surprises, but it doesn’t have to as we can safely consider it one of Prince’s untouchable classics, and the rest of the performance delivers all that I want to hear.

The concert begins to accelerate with the punchy beat of “Housequake” bringing further frenzy to the crowd. The song does sound as lean and mean as the previous “Erotic City,” but again Prince ticks all the boxes of what we would expect from the song as it sways back and forth like a boxer before landing its own heavy blows of funk and some dirty horn lines that suggest the song has a wayward past.

 

There is exotic reliability about “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night,” and this is no exception as its pulsating beginning turns into a thrilling ride of spontaneity and revving thrusts. The “Holly rock” chant lifts the curtain on a series of changes from the band as they crunch through several 1980s hooks and lead lines before turning the stage into a churning inferno of sound. The song never settles from this injection of brimming pop, the rest of the song moving and twisting with its own energy and personality for the next few minutes. The horns add to this sense of constant irritability as they loom and clatter over the song before they finally drive it into the softer “Slow Love”

“Slow Love” is the Trojan horse that ushers in much shorter and sharper songs, Prince using it to springboard into a medley of tunes. The chorus of “Slow Love” evaporates into a plush sounding “Adore,” the band and Prince coming together to build an intimacy that belies the size of the venue. There is no time to dwell though as Prince puts his foot to the floor for a headlong rush through “Delirious,” “Jack U Off,” and “Sister,” each song trying to outdo the other as they accelerate faster and faster in a collision of sound and focused fury.

Things ease back with the coda of “Adore,” but this is merely a brief comedown before we wallow further in Prince’s back catalog with a slice of pure 1979 pop in the form of “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” a song that in this context only serves to highlight how far Prince had come in the nine years since it’s release and this concert, the complexity and scope of his current music light-years beyond the purity and innocence of the “I Wanna Be Your Lover” hook. It brims with vitality, the concert soaring on its wings and it sounds good on the recording, all things considered. The building blocks of the song lift us higher and higher, each slab of pop elevating us further until things come to a head and we drop into the abyss which is “Head.”

Prince scratches at the song, slowly scraping it back to reveal its pure funk heart, a revelation that makes all the more sense with the appearance of George Clinton who brings his own “Knee Deep” to the party after Dr. Finks solo, immediately marking this concert as something special. The band is a great match for this song, and it is colored by the sound that Prince was peddling at the time. It is all undercut by George Clinton himself who extols the crowd to “get off your ass” in his chocolate deep tones. It’s playful, and undeniably funky as George and Prince tear the roof off the sucker, dropping and swapping lines from Georges's own immeasurable catalog. It exceeds expectations, and even on the audience recording one can hear the funk crawling across the stage and through the sound system

 

Anything after this would be a letdown, and “Blues In C (If I Had A Harem)” starts brightly before slowing to a crawl that undoes the previous few minutes. It is likable and fun, but almost puppy-like in its need to be loved in comparison to the rabid fierceness of the previous song. Prince’s vocals drift easily, and it is the band and music that demand all the attention, the horns off-setting the lower sway of the band with their own airy tangles of freewheeling brass.

The sudden arrival of “When You Were Mine” propels the concert forward again, the sudden thrust and pull jerking throwing the song forward and face-first into a wall of synth and the welcoming breast of “Little Red Corvette.” There isn’t enough of “Little Red Corvette” to properly draw us into Prince’s story, a mere verse, chorus, and guitar solo hitting all the highlights of the song without the need for us to dig further.

There is a further rush with “Controversy” coming at the same breakneck speed of most of these earlier songs, and the quick segue into “Dirty Mind” There is enough to appreciate of the song, but those that want to see the back catalog treated with respect would be better off looking elsewhere.

“Superfunkycalifragisexy” serves as a great introduction to “Bob George,” it brings a sense of menace and drama to the concert before Prince tips us right over the edge with his vivid and expressive performance during “Bob George” It is again well presented on the recording, and I am constantly forgetting this is an audience recording as Prince snares me in his world.

 

The raw piano sound of “Anna Stesia,” sounds with mournful loneliness before Prince’s vocals start us on a journey towards redemption. The song ceases to exist as Prince channels it into his mood, atmospheres are created beneath the music the band is playing and a new world is revealed through music. In concert one could see how this would be an almost religious experience, something Prince makes clear in his final speech, and even on the recording, we can hear the spiritual mountain Prince is climbing.

“Cross The Line,” sounds like 1988 in a brief two-minute package, before the second half of the show kicks off with an urgent and energized “Eye Know.” The concert is reborn beneath its rhythms and shining horn lines, the darkness of the finals songs of the first half banished with its gleaming positivity. The horns are an integral part of everything that has gone on thus far, and here is no different as they continue to ribbon and stream out across the music.

The rhythms and collision of sounds continue through “Lovesexy,” music that defies genre and can be asserted uniquely, Prince. The song revolves around the colorful drum sound and an unending supply of horn lines, although later in the song the bass rises up – keeping the song on an even keel and moving forward, least it get caught up in its own web of musicality.

I have always been disappointed by “Glam Slam” in concert, a song that was deemed good enough to be released as a single, in concert it is short-changed and presented as an abridged version, most of the intricacy of the song stripped in favor of a chorus and a chance to leap forward.

 

The reverence with which “The Cross” is delivered is only heightened by the spiritual aspects of the Lovesexy concerts, the song now standing shoulder to shoulder with songs drawn from a similar spiritual palette. The crowd is present with us through the song, one can’t fault them for being part of the moment, but as the musical storm intensifies they are washed away by wave after wave of sermon and righteous guitar work. It is all delivered at a furious pace, there is no room to doubt the message Prince is delivering as the song and its message floods the headphones.

There is a simplicity to “I Wish U Heaven,” which endears it to me after the sonic assault of “The Cross.” However, it carries its sting as Prince is joined onstage by The Sounds Of Blackness, a fantastic moment as Prince introduces the choir for “I Wish U Heaven (part 2)” His guitar stabbing in the darkness punctures some of the depth of the moment, the choir temporarily stepping back on the sound of the bootleg while Prince carves his own space. A hoarse rasp from Prince brings “God Is Alive” into the arena, the concert becoming his pulpit to deliver his spiritual message. Anyone else and I would say it is all too much, but this is an integral part of the show, and indeed an integral part of Prince the man, and it is one of the most fascinating and scintillating parts of the concert. Along with “The Cross,” “I Wish U Heaven” is the bedrock upon which the concert is founded.

“Kiss” is the odd man out at this concert, it doesn’t fit with his Lovesexy material, and even against his older material, it sounds jarring in its uniqueness. There is no denying the intent of the delivery, or the quality of the song, but it does sound like nothing else that is heard at this concert.

 

Prince returns to his Lovesexy material one final time for a brief “Dance On,” a song that sounds far more stripped back than the previous “Kiss.” It is little more than an opportunity for Sheila E. to give us one of her famous solos, although listening to it on this bootleg I think I would rather see it than listen to it, and her wanderings around the drum kit leave me a little cold.

The concert comes back into focus with a pointed rendition of “Let’s Go Crazy.” The crowd obviously loves it, especially the person clapping near the microphone, and Prince does serve up some tasty guitar work later in the song that belies its otherwise overly simple call and response. I am never excited by “Let’s Go Crazy” through the Sign O The Times and Lovesexy tours, but there are enough enjoyable moments here for it to earn its place in the setlist.

Like so many other songs, “When Doves Cry” is stripped of most of its length, Prince giving us the hits package – the hook, a verse and chorus, and the singalong. As with the previous “Let’s Go Crazy,” I find there is just enough there for me to enjoy, and I am glad to see it on the setlist.

 

We have one final special moment in “Purple Rain,” as Prince is joined by Wendy, Susannah, and Lisa, a moment that is preempted by an audience member screaming “Wendy!” Prince is gracious with his introduction, and the song lingers in the opening as the audience adds their voice to the song. The song doesn’t need any extra emotional weight added, it carries enough of its own, but it does take on this history and sense of moment unfolding on stage and lifts it along with its own baggage. Prince’s guitar break releases some of this emotion, the guitar channeling all the thoughts and feelings of the crowd and spinning them into golden shafts of guitar work. It is a heady moment, and the bootleg is a great record of it, capturing all we need to hear from this brief concert reunion.

After such highs, “1999” can only disappoint. To its credit, it does punch above its weight, and the energy on stage continues to carry the audience through the song. However, my mind continues to drift back to “Purple Rain,” and even as the audience continues with their “party” chant I am still stuck in the previous moment. It does end the concert on a high and serves as a better finish than “Purple Rain” would have been, leaving us with a song on our lips and hope in our hearts.

 

As a bootleg this is good, but as a concert it is exceptional. The appearance of George Clinton adds to Prince’s funk credentials, and the appearance of Wendy, Susannah, and Lisa gives the concert a real human heart that is sometimes lost at other concerts with Prince’s heavy spirituality dominating. This concert is a gem and sadly overlooked in my collection. Today has been a revelation, and I will certainly include it in my pile of concerts to listen to regularly. Not a great bootleg for those that dislike audience recordings, but for anyone else it is a must-listen.

London 26 July 1988 (am)

The Palace in Hollywood wasn’t the only “Palace”  aftershow that Prince played in 1988. Earlier in the year, he played a late-night show at the Camden Palace in London, just one month before the famous small club gig that we all know and love. This concert is well known, in a large part due to the pro-shot footage that was later aired on “Prince: Musial Portrait” and “Omnibus: Prince Rogers Nelson,” both of which provide a rare pro-shot glimpse into after shows of the era. The concert itself is notable for three things. Firstly this pro-shot footage hints that the full show remains on videotape somewhere in the vault. A tasty morsel of what could be an appetizing prospect should this whole show ever see the light of day. Then there is the guest appearance of Mica Paris, who Prince spots in the crowd and hands the microphone to for a guest spot. It is a glorious spontaneous moment that perfectly encapsulates the pure love of music and the feeling that anything might happen at the show. Lastly, the show gains further luster from the guest appearance of Ronnie Wood, and immediately after  Mavis Staples. Although neither guest is heard on the bootleg (which sadly cuts out before they come to the stage), it still adds to the mythology of the show, and Sabotage has tried their best to give us a taste of what is missing by appending 20 seconds of Ronnie Woods appearance onto the end of the bootleg. It is a pointless exercise but does serve to remind us of what we are missing from the recording. What we are left with though is a fierce performance that touches on historic as Prince lavishes a hot and sweaty, yet utterly cool, performance on one of the most famous venues in London.

26th July (am), 1988. The Camden Palace, London

It is a special gift to Cat that introduces us to the bootleg as Prince gives a unique performance of “Happy Birthday” in her honor. It is a playful rendition as he flirts with different characters in his voice, and gives a gentle ad-lip with only heightens the lighthearted feel of the song. It is far from essential listening, but it does have its simplistic charm.

 

“Forever In My Life,” is sonically far more serious, although the recording is less than ideal with its tape hiss just loud enough to catch my attention. The music that the band is cooking up is full of different flavors as Prince takes it from a campfire sing-a-long start to a song steeped in gospel and history, filtering it through a lens that colors it both with blues and funk while settling in neither camp. The guitar runs that appear midsong become the most fascinating feature as they carry the rhythm and the emotion of the song long after Prince has given up singing. Coupled with the popping bass sound, the song becomes the type of jam that contains far more rhythmic ideas than melodic ones, something for the feet rather than the ears.

 

The recording does no favors for the following “Strange Relationship.’ All the pieces are in place for a grand rendition, Prince’s guitar coupled with Eric Leeds's horn sound as if they are prepared to inflict some serious damage upon the dance floor, but the recording remains willfully thin, all the more frustrating given that what we can hear is full of shadows and echos, a highly contrasting collage of sounds for the listener to luxuriate in. Prince’s guitar does whine and cut through the recording, but it never wails and howls as it would on a more full-blooded recording, making this a neutered version of what we know would be a testosterone-fueled performance.

 

“Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” is undoubtedly the high point of the show for several reasons. The introduction gives no hint of what is to come, the tape hiss stealing some of the intricacies from the performance, leaving only the bold strokes for us to hear. However, it settles down after this with the music elevated above mere trivialities. The vocals don’t fare so well, but as we approach the chorus the sound lifts as the sun bursts through the clouds of the recording. It is Dr. Fink who first breaks this initial spell with his glistening and chiming solo. It does play to the divinity sound the rest of the band is weaving, with Eric Leeds following in a similar suit there is the feeling that the band is indeed taking it higher. Prince’s guitar solo is different from the small club gig, in this case, it is far more nuanced in the opening minutes, and Prince draws a slow build from his instrument, not so much playing rushing to hurricane force finish, but rather playing with the eddies and wind gusts before he finally blows us away with the gale-force crescendo that follows. There is much more to come through, and as he spots Mica Paris in the audience he casually hands her the microphone for an impromptu performance that musically is just as rewarding as all that has come before. She grounds the song with strong roots, while Prince creates something otherworldly onstage Mica brings a humanity to the song that we can all relate to. This performance alone has me salivating at the prospect of a full pro-shot ever appearing.

I find the appearance of “Colonial Bogey March” and “Under The Cherry Moon” to be nothing more but a diversion, although “Under The Cherry Moon” offers a fresh take on a familiar song with the keyboard squelching and heaving in a psychedelic way that would sit happily at home in any late 1960’s commune.

“Six” brings further interest, as Eric Leeds brings his horns and Jazz sensibilities to what would otherwise be a pop-rock concert. The opening horn refrain signals what will follow, and the song throws down a challenge from here on in as Eric wiggles and squiggles across the beat for the next few minutes in a manner that suggests the wider palette that Prince was drawing from at the time. It is a far from the furious guitar rock we heard earlier in the show, and even when Prince’s guitar is heard it remains subservient to the mood of the piece, remaining busy without ever coming into full focus.

 

  

This audience recording finishes with some funk in the form of “Dead On It” and “Housequake.” “Dead On It” is notable only for inclusion, musically it doesn’t muscle up to the other songs performed in the evening. “Housquake” is more rewarding, there is some punch to Prince’s performance, and the beat alone is reason enough to always dedicate time to this song. Unfortunately, this is where we leave the concert as the recording finishes midsong, leaving us to only guess what the following “Miss You” (with Ronnie Wood) “I’ll Take There,” “Chain OF Fools” (both with Mavis Staples) and “Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic” offer in the way of musical treasures. Part of the “Miss You” performance with Ronnie Wood can be seen on the circulating footage, with Prince giving a fine impersonation of Mick Jagger, and the Sabotage release of this show has tacked the 20-second snippet onto the end of the recording, a waste in that it doesn’t offer much listening value, although I have to admit the video footage out there looks fantastic.

 

This is almost one of the greats. A 1988-era aftershow, a bevy of guest appearances, and some of Prince’s finest music all make for a memorable performance. On the downside, the recording is just on the rough side of good, and incomplete. In itself this would be no bad thing, but having seen parts of the video, we know that this show has so much more, and the thought that it exists on video out there makes for a frustrating listen, always there is the voice in the back of my head saying “this could be so much better” Until we do get a better recording of the show, we will just have to make do with what we’ve got. It’s not perfect, but it is definitely a show that every fan needs to hear at least once.

Paisley Park 31 December 1987

 

As far as Prince bootlegs go, 1987 is a stellar year.  Starting with the Sign O The Times warm-up show at First Ave, through the tour itself, the excellent after shows of Le New Morning, Park café, and Fineline café, there is a good variety of shows available and some of them are of outstanding quality. The year 1987 is capped off with one more legendary boot, the New Year’s Paisley Park show, where the iconic Miles Davis joins Prince and the band onstage. Prince had experimented with jazz the previous two years, and one feels that having Miles on stage with him meant a lot to him and his art.  Miles doesn’t feature through the whole show, and the show itself isn’t as jazz-infused as some of the other shows that year, but it’s still great to see his interaction with Prince and the band onstage. The show is an interesting mix, there are some standard renditions as we had heard throughout the tour, but things get more interesting near the end as the band indulges in a long jam that incorporates all sorts of songs.  The recording is missing the first few songs which is unfortunate, but what we do get more than makes up for it.

31 December, 1987, Paisley Park.

   

I have been a little hard on Shelia E and her drum solos in previous posts, but this show jumps in just as she is beginning one of her solos, and to be fair it is very good. Maybe it’s because I can see her playing, and the passion and effort she puts into it.  We hear the very end of “Jack U Off” as the recording cuts in, and I assume it’s played very much as the Fineline Café gig I previously wrote about. The drum break starts slow, it almost has a soundcheck quality to it as she works her way around the kit. But then it does pick up pace as it goes along, and I especially love the sound the snare has on it. Just as the drum solo reaches its peak the sound of “Hot Thing” cuts in, but I think this is just an error, and it quickly stops as Shelia continues. There is a very passionate moment as she crashes away on the cymbals, forgoing sticks just to smash away with her hands. I love seeing that sort of thing, and it is the peak as the band rejoins for another quick refrain of “Jack U Off” led by Eric Leeds. The song concludes rather fittingly with the band gathered around the drum riser as Shelia drums the end.

 

Immediately after we do get “Hot Thing.” If you have seen the Sign O The Times movie then this one contains no surprises for you, as it is very faithful to what we have heard throughout the Sign O The Times tour. Prince engages in plenty of dancing and even rips off Cat’s dress as seen in the Sign O The Times movie. The band is sounding tight, there is not a loose moment in the whole song. I can’t get excited about it, it is much as I have heard before,  but the onstage fun with Cat and Prince is worthwhile and does brighten it up.

 

The bass line of “If I Was Your Girlfriend” sounds fantastic as it begins. This song is a masterpiece, and like all the best Prince performances he draws it out, milking every second. The intro with the drumbeat, hypnotic bass, and organ goes for a good few minutes, and I could listen to it all night long. Prince sings it looking very casual with one hand in the pocket, but his delivery is sublime. There is a nice sound to it, a little echo which lends it the lonely sound. Prince is full of character as he speaks the lines midsong about going to the movies etc, but he returns to his excellent singing voice without skipping a beat. Again, as per the Sign Of The Times movie, he picks out Cat midsong and lures her away. With the main focus removed I find myself enjoying Eric and Dr. Finks playing until it pulls back to the bare beat and the song finishes.

 

The organ refrain that begins “Let’s Go Crazy” is one that I always associate with this tour. As one keyboard holds a long sustained note, the other plays a sound that rocks back and forth. It's something I have heard between other songs about this time, and it's something I like. Prince then picks up his guitar and we get a traditional sounding “Let's Go Crazy.” The first half of it fails to connect with me, but Prince ditches the usual song about halfway and begins a long guitar break. This also starts leaving me cold, but the second part of the break is certainly a lot better and he plays some wild-sounding licks. I don’t enjoy the “go go go” chants with the crowd, its a little tired and the audience doesn’t seem to respond very well to them either. Perhaps Prince realizes this, because he shakes his head, and says “No no” before the band picks up again and Prince gives us the classic ending to “Let's Go Crazy,” head thrown back and guitar howling.

 

Another Purple Rain era song follows with “When Doves Cry.” This one I find very satisfying, there is plenty of horn early on, before the stripped back verses. The keyboard is a little quiet for my tastes, but this is compensated by another great vocal delivery by Prince. I wouldn’t have guessed that the horns could add much to this, but they do slot in nicely to the song. There is a lot of dancing by Prince and the others later in the song, it's an abridged version played here, we get a verse and a chorus, followed by a minute or so of dancing before it finishes up. Short and sweet as they say, but still very worthwhile.

 

“Purple Rain” itself gets the full-on treatment at this show, there is plenty of Dr. Fink playing before Prince walks on stage with the cloud guitar, playing the melody of “Auld Lang Syne.” It is a great moment, and the sound of it played on Prince's guitar sits very well on the keyboards of Purple rain. Prince says “one more” and then plays it again on the guitar as the crowd waves their arms. Another call of “one more” and he gives it to us a third time, and every time is very good and worth hearing. Even as he plays it a fourth time I am not tired of it, he improvises a little, and it's the type of Prince playing that I like to see more off. The call of “Bring it down” and we strip back to the keyboards and drums softly playing. At this stage, a technician hands Prince a rope to release balloons over the crowd, but there is a malfunction and it doesn’t come off. For years I only had an audio recording of this, and I didn’t know what was going on, especially when Prince says “Matthew, come get your rope”. But after seeing it, I understand much better. Prince then attempts to sing Auld Lang Syne but its nowhere near as good as his guitar playing of it, mostly because it is apparent that he doesn’t know the words beyond the first couple of lines, fading to “la la la” after this. The crowd doesn’t save him, and when Prince sings again “Should old acquaintances be forgot” he ruefully smiles and says “(I) know that part”. There is then a few moments as the music progresses Prince goes to one side to release the balloons and there is a beautiful solo played by Miko. I always associate Miko with a slippery dirty funky sound, but this guitar break was a revelation to me, it's just great. It is not a fast rock solo, just a sharp-sounding crisp break. Prince takes command soon after this and we finally get the verses and choruses of “Purple Rain,” complete with Prince's crunching guitar. The rest of his guitar solo is standard for “Purple Rain,” but it is very enjoyable indeed, even for someone like myself who has heard “Purple Rain” hundreds of times.

“1999” seems strangely out of place. It sounds clean, but there isn’t any fire in it. Prince keeps it very short, there is the opening verse, a chorus and then have the ‘party” chanting outro. The horns riff keeps it sharp, but apart from that, there isn’t much for me.

 

We return to the rocking back and forth sound of the keyboards as the stage goes dark. This is played out for a minute, and as I said before I like it as it sets the tone for what comes next. The beat of “U Got The Look” and the rhythm guitar sound as Prince takes a minute to ham it up with the crowd. He has his guitar but as he sings he doesn’t initially play it, so we just have a less strong rhythm guitar which negates some of the rockiness that I sometimes tire of in this song. After a couple of verse-chorus, he does begin to play in a loud crunching way as he climbs atop the piano. It is a very showman moment as the dancers go through their routines as Prince plays rock god over them all. And so the song ends in this manner, with Prince waving over the band, and a “thank you, good night”

 

There is a break about now, as the band leaves the stage. It is a good few minutes they are gone, and knowing what is coming I can understand why.  What comes next is extraordinary, and I am not sure that writing about it can ever do it justice. They return to the stage for a 30-minute rendition of “Its Gonna Be A Beautiful Night,” with Miles Davis, and incorporating everything except the kitchen sink. Anyway, I shall do my best to give a brief outline. The song begins as we heard on the Sign O The Times tour, and after the first part, there is some fun dancing with Prince, before he takes to the drum stool as Shelia E delivers her rap. Her delivery is fast and accurate and I love watching the band dancing as she sings. Prince too is sounding good, and it's fantastic to see him on the drums for an extended period. Soon after Cat dances, everyone to the ground Prince steps down from the drums, and it's time for the keys to have a solo. The whole performance has a lot of joy to it, Prince sings to the crowd about his brand new dance, and Eric Leeds plays a little of “Six” before it quietens as Miles Davis enters and begins to play. How to describe this moment? To see Miles stalking across the stage and playing next to Miko is fantastic and I am a total fanboy throughout the whole time he is playing. It is not what he is playing, it's just the sound of his horn and seeing him play with that band. Prince scats against his playing for a little, but I preferred just to hear Miles play alone for some more. As Miles continues Prince throws some cues to the band and they play around him. Miles steps back into the shadows as the snare comes down hard and Prince cues the band into the next section. He directs the band through several different dances and refrains before he speaks to the crowd  “someone tell me I ain’t got the funkiest band in show business, we will take on all comers” Finally we hear Boni and she blows her way through “Chain Of Fools,” and sounding powerful all the way.  The band is seamless and I have to agree with Prince's sentiments about his band.  Boni gives way to an excellent solo by Eric Leeds before Prince indulges in some grooves on the organ. The band hit their stride at this point, Eric is killing it on sax while the band keeps the groove going. Prince stops the band to tell the crowd “we the best” before he cues them in again and they hit a faster groove. Prince does very little playing at this stage, he is in total control as a bandleader and runs the band through their paces and dancing around the stage. There are several stops and starts, and the band moves effortlessly through several different grooves. My mouth is open the whole time, it is mind-blowing to watch, this band is unstoppable. Prince has me laughing when he tells the audience they are going to be jamming 20 more minutes “..on the same song!” He then proceeds to be true to his word as the band continues on and on. Prince has me laughing again when he says “you’ll expect an awful lot for $200.” Perhaps my favorite part of the jam is what comes next, Prince takes a couple of minutes playing at the piano. Just the sharp sound of the piano over the heavy groove, it is the contrast that makes it all sound so good. In the last five minutes, Prince throws in everything you could imagine, there are lyrics and horn lines from all sorts thrown into the mix, and it all works until we return to the Beautiful night riff that started all of this. With a final call of “Confusion” Prince brings the show and this brilliant jam to an end.

 

What a great way to end the year 1987. This recording is a favorite among prince fans, and I have to go with the consensus on this one, it’s very much a must-have. The band is on top of their game, coming off a fantastic year, and this show is the icing on the cake. The fact that Miles is there gives it just a little more shine, and I feel it means a lot to Prince to have him there. This is one that I will come back to again and again. If anyone ever doubted Prince's genius just check this one out.