Detroit 30 October 1988

 

Continuing my rumble through Prince bootlegs emanating out of Detroit, this week we reach 1988 and the first of two nights at the Joe Louis Arena. One might imagine that excitement was high for this one, with the Sign O The Times tour never making it to US soil, this is the first chance for Detroit to see Prince since 1986. As with the other recordings, the Detroit crowd takes Prince to their heart, and they are just as much a part of the show as Prince is. The recording is again a poor audience recording, but it is better than the recording from the 1986 show that I listened to last week. However, it's one to be listened to quietly alone, rather than blasted out of the stereo or car at maximum volume. The other negative is that it is heavily incomplete, running out at barely half the length of a normal show. Large chunks are gutted out of the heart of the performance, so it will be interesting to see how the natural flow of the concert sounds in this form.

30th October 1988. Joe Louis Arena, Detroit.

The crowd is passionately loud, but the music is louder for the “Erotic City” opening number. With his arsenal consisting of heavy artillery in the form of the bass, and highly maneuverable cavalry made of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss and their gleaming brass instruments, Prince’s opening salvo hits the mark, pushing the music far into the motor-city audience. I too am swept up by this charge, the blitzkrieg of this funk attack is only rebuffed by the quality of the recording, if not for the patchy sound it would be an unswerving opening to the show.

 

There is no time to linger on “Erotic City,” Prince sweeps it aside with an equally combative “Housequake.” He is staking out his place in the world of funk early on, and even on an audience recording one can hear his conviction and vibrant performance pitched squarely at the Detroit audience. Although the sound quality renders it a performance sounding one step removed, it is nevertheless a song that gives life to the recording,

At this point we reach the first of several cuts, resuming the concert at “Do Me, Baby.” It still has its sweeping luxurious sound, this time enhanced by the passionate Detroit audience and their delirious anticipation of every dripping line. The recording is steady enough, and although it would never be rated very good, it is good enough for us to wallow in Prince’s seduction patter against a veil of sumptuous music.

The steady flow of the concert and recording is restored by a timely injection of pop in the form of the effervescent “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” It is the most spontaneous sounding moment of the concert thus far, for the first time we hear Prince unbridled and singing in a voice that speaks of pure joy. It is a thrilling few minutes and one that draws a line back to the Prince of the early days.

 

“Head” brings a dark, heavy velvet curtain down on this uplifting sound, its salacious lyrical content matched by the dark intent of the music. If “I Wanna Be Your Lover” was all about bright melody, then “Head” is all about its dark groove. It slides on its belly throughout, the bass only raising its head in the final minutes as the horns briefly lift the song into “A Love Bizarre”

Prince has time to play with the band throughout “A Love Bizarre,” something that seems to give Detroit a great kick. The moment through belongs to Eric Leeds as he blows up a multitude of storms on his saxophone. From the opening eddy to the final tempestuous hurricane of music, he is a man in complete control. This is a Prince concert, no doubt, but all is forgotten in the minutes Eric plays.

We have further nostalgia shoehorned into the show as Prince sets his sights on “When You Were Mine.”  I must admit, I am caught up in the moment and find myself absentmindedly yelling “hey hey” with the crowd, but that’s no bad thing and usually a sign that the bootleg isn’t all that bad.

 

The is a definite swagger to “Blues In C (If I Had A Harem)” and the music itself steps firmly into the spotlight in the first minutes as Prince plays rather than sings. That changes with his vocals, and this immediately brings the Detroit crowd back into the recording. It’s not quite as enjoyable as the previous few minutes, although Prince’s talking to the crowd is always worth hearing, especially when he is as loose as he is at this concert.

Sadly we are missing “Little Red Corvette” and instead the recording jumps to a storming version of “Controversy.” The start is slightly muddied, but the quality of the recording can temporarily be forgotten as Prince and the band tears their way through the rest of the song. With “U Got The Look” and “Superfunkycalifragisexy” both sandwiched in the middle, it becomes a song that briefly is dipped in rock before being smothered in the funk that Prince was peddling at the time. It’s not the best-sounding recording, but it’s good enough for me to appreciate the performance that is happening on stage.

The recording is equally stable for “Bob George,” and with its cold stripped-back sound it is one of the better sounding parts of the recording. We can’t see what is unfolding onstage, but it is obvious that the Detroit crowd is embracing everything that is happening, with plenty of cheers and laughter to be heard through the song.

 

Prince’s speech that ends part one is very explicit in laying out his vision and is a great introduction to Lovesexy and its themes. Again, judging from the crowd noise, the Detroit audience is ready for anything Prince gives them.

I have heard more powerful versions of “Anna Stesia” in circulation, in this case, the song hits all the usual emotional sweet spots, but it lacks the clarity and spiritual force that I have come to associate with it, and again, sad to say, this is mostly down to the audience recording more than Prince himself.

“Eye Know” also greatly suffers from this problem and sounds paper-thin on this recording, far removed from the exquisitely crafted and exotic song that is heard on record. In a song that is normally so busy in sound, here it sounds flat and washed out. A great song that is cruelly undone by the bootleg.

As the recording continues I sigh in frustration as “Lovesexy” goes the same way as “Eye Know.” These complex and sophisticated songs aren’t matched by the recording, and it is hard to give an even assessment of them. Even the crowd seems to have disappeared from the recording at this stage, and I know it must be poor if I can’t hear the Detroit audience.

 

The bold strokes that come later in “Glam Slam” bring some strength back to the show, but these are the only parts of that song that stand out, and for the rest of the performance, it is business as usual.

Another cut sees us missing “The Cross,” instead we resume with “I Wish U Heaven.” It’s slight, and the boisterous audience participation I expect never materializes. Instead, it is Prince’s guitar that provides some fleeting excitement in the final minute, but it is only fleeting. The recording then fades out as the song moves towards its extended coda, a coda that no doubt holds the real riches of the song.

“Kiss” is only two years old at this point, but it sounds as if it’s from another time altogether, such is the speed at which Prince covers new ground. The horns update the sound nicely, and they aren’t overbearing at all, leaving the song closely resembling the rendition we are most familiar with. The recording remains heavily incomplete, and again the song fades just as it segues in “Dance On.”

The power of “Let’s Go Crazy” is diluted in this case, and like so many of these songs, it is just a pale facsimile of what we would normally expect at a concert such as this. The final audience participation and volcanic eruption of guitar from Prince does save things a little and makes the previous few minutes almost worthwhile.

 

I am surprised by how quickly “When Doves Cry” passes by. There is very little of it, merely the opening hook, verse, and chorus before Prince calls thank you and indulges Motorcity in some chanting. I don’t feel cheated, it’s a sharp rendition that gives the audience just enough without spoon-feeding them all the way. In this form, the attention remains firmly on the full-length Lovesexy songs that appeared earlier, and the story Prince is trying to tell.

The concert ends in the traditional “Purple Rain,” which in this case is little more than a guitar solo with a single verse and chorus tacked on to the front end. For me it is lacking, there is no building up to this final release, and shorn of this emotional release it is merely self-satisfying rather than delivering anything with real heart. It cuts abruptly into “1999,” and unfortunately my ears aren’t good enough to say if this is how it was at the concert, or if it’s another cut in the tape. The Lovesexy band is a good match for “1999” and one can hear the contributions they all bring to the music. Although crowd-pleasing, it does feel like an unsatisfying end to the concert, the music already sounding dated against the hugely creative Lovesexy material.

Okay, so obviously the recording isn’t great. But as is so often the case, the performance lies at the heart of the matter, and once again Prince delivers to the Detroit crowd. My biggest problem isn’t with the recording however, it is the cuts. Incomplete as it is we lose the continuity of Prince’s carefully crafted set-list, and without that continuity we have a collection of songs rather than the vision that Prince had. I enjoyed the music, but hard to recommend this to anyone based on the quality, and incomplete recording. An interesting diversion for a Saturday afternoon, I am unlikely to revisit this one anytime soon.

Hamburg 31 August 1988 (am)

 

I haven’t covered an after-show for a few weeks now, so today I look forward to listening to one of my favorites. Recorded on the Lovesexy tour, this after-show from Hamburg ticks all the boxes. A couple of covers, a guest appearance, and a few personal favorites make this one a joy to listen to. I can’t wait, so let’s take a listen.

 

31 August, 1988, Große Freiheit ’36 Hamburg

The show gets off to an excellent start with “Just My Imagination (running away with me).” There is very little in the way of build-up, Prince is right into the song from the jump. The recording is raw, and the audience is right in the microphone, it’s very much an audience recording of its time. It doesn’t detract too much from the song, Prince's vocals are strong and steady and after a few minutes, his guitar break begins. It’s not as soaring or as sheering as I have heard, but I still listen to it captivated. It segues beautifully into some horns and that rolls things up nicely. The recording doesn’t capture the guitar great, but when Prince comes back on the mic I can hear his vocals nice and loud, and I love his vocal ad-libs near the end as he sings “was that you, in your red dress?” The crowd sing with him “Just my imagination” and it has a fine intimate sound to it all. With the snare coming in, Prince plays another break, but again the recording doesn’t quite do it justice. Maybe I am just too used to hearing the quality of the Small Club gig. His solo here is quite different, and it would be interesting to compare the two if this was a quality recording. There is another guitar break, and I’m guessing it's Miko. It’s more relaxed sounding and clean, and in a lot of ways, I enjoy it more than Princes. Miko brings his style and sound to the band, and he adds a lot. It gives it a more rounded sound, and I find that listening after all these years is something that keeps me interested.

 

Prince briefly introduces a couple of the band, as well as his “new friend, the blue angel”. I wonder where we are going next as he says “we going make up something now, they don’t know what I’m going to do” and then calls for the beat. The recording gets a little rough, but I stick with it as the music is becoming more interesting. Two funky rhythms are running in and out of each other, and it’s very cool to hear. Prince starts to sing “Rave” and “Rave Into The Joy Fantastic” really begins to get cooking. It’s more laid back than the Small Club gig and the crowd seems to be much more with it too. Eric adds his sound to it, and we get something very different from what is heard on the Small Club gig. It’s fascinating to listen to, and you can hear the music unfolding right before you. I would soon tire of listening to these shows, if not for all the improvisations and jams we get. This one is outstanding, especially as Eric Leeds plays more and more as the song continues. As the crowd chants “Junior, play the bass” he more than obliges. Again, it’s unfortunate that the recording doesn’t capture his moment as well as I would have liked, but it’s still very listenable. The break for the drummer sounds good, the recording picks up the drums well, and for the rest of the song, the drums are all I find myself listening to. There is a nice guitar sound, and I am sure on subsequent listens I would get much more out of it.

 

Without pause, Prince begins to sing “I only knew her for a little while” before he proceeds to first sing a few lines a capella. The rest of the band joins, and the funk levels go up several notches with “Girls And Boys.” There are several instruments and sounds worth listening to but as always it's Eric Leeds that I dig. He comes in early with a break before Prince calls him later for a much longer sax solo. Just as I think he’s finishing up, Prince begins to chant “Eric blow your horn” and I am pretty happy as we get another minute of his work. There is a breakdown and some funky guitar before Prince plugs in and plays a scorching solo. Please excuse the cliché, but it’s an apt description as his guitar playing is so hot at this point. I wouldn’t have expected it to suit this song, but once again Prince proves me wrong.

Things take a gentle twist as the piano of “Venus De Milo” begins. It’s as brief as it is beautiful, however, I can’t complain as it’s the perfect intro to a short piano set.

“Starfish and Coffee” sounds equally good in this setting. The crowd is clapping along and I can feel them, as Prince plays and sings it feels so intimate I can almost feel the heat coming off the stage. Prince keeps it short, opting for a single verse and chorus before he segues into “Raspberry Beret.”

 

“Raspberry Beret” to my ears always sounds better solo on the piano. I love hearing that melody on the piano, and although I have heard it may be too much in my life, I still smile as it begins. It's only Prince and the piano, and he gives it the same treatment as the previous song, which is just a verse and a chorus. The crowd is appreciative, and Prince acknowledges this with an “Oh, you guys are too nice, I’m gonna stay here a while”

With the crowd steadily clapping I get my first surprise of the recording, as Prince solo at the piano begins to play “People Without.” I am so used to hearing it on the Small Club recording, that any other arrangement sounds new and fresh to my ears. It lacks some of the weight of the Small Club gig, and yet in some ways, I enjoy it much more as Prince plays the piano and sings. It’s not a fully formed song, and Prince sings a couple of lines, then the main refrain for a couple of minutes, and asides from that there’s nothing more to it. Still a good moment, and another reason I should listen to this more.

Next Prince plays “Condition Of The Heart.” It’s an excellent choice and wins me over right from the start. Prince sings the first verse before the crowd comes on board for a loud “Condition of the heeaarrrtttt”. Prince dryly comments that “oh my goodness, how many singers we got?” before telling them “Now I’ll play one you don’t know”

 

“Still Would Stand All Time” on record has never come close to the live versions I have heard. On record the soul of the song seems to be missing, it’s been so polished and worked that the emotion of the live performances is missing entirely. The arrangement of this recording is fantastic. Prince sings gently, but his voice aches with emotion as he sings the first chorus. I am so caught in it that I am practically holding my breath as he sings. He works the audience into it, coaching them through the first chorus, before delivering the lines himself dripping in an emotional quiver. The song does meander for a time, but it’s always pleasant even when its lacks direction. Things pick up as Prince works the crowd through the chorus before introducing Taylor Dayne for a vocal solo. I had forgotten just how good she was, in the 1980s I used to listen to her a lot, without giving any thought to just how good she was. She doesn’t get much time here, but having her vocals does add some color and interest. Things do slow down after this and Prince does his spoken/singing part. It’s not as crisp and clear as I have heard, and he is a little devoid of ideas on this one. There is a coda as the song suddenly takes on an upbeat swinging sound. It’s a lot of fun, and the singers can be heard having fun keeping up and adding their parts to the song. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I certainly enjoyed it. Still a great song, and another great performance.

 

A “One, two, three” brings on another firm favorite. “Strange Relationship” is irrepressible, and my head moves immediately as I hear it. Like the other songs, the recording doesn’t do it any favors, and I can’t hear the horns and keys as well as I would like. Prince’s vocals though sound great and the drum has a great sharp sound. The bass plays a solo, and I don’t remember hearing that in this song before. It’s a good sound and it segues beautifully into a keyboard solo, absolutely seamless. Dr. Fink plays the keyboard solo, and it’s got his distinctive sound all over it. It’s great to hear his style and sound are still present with Prince at these gigs, and it draws a line right back to his early sound. The song continues with Prince and his “Is he good to ya?” and many sounds are thrown into the mix. Prince calls for horns to swell, and the keyboard arrives back into the mix. It’s a lot looser the second time around and has a great live sound. The trumpet comes to my ears for the first time in the show, and its shrill sound easily sounds over the top of everything else. There is plenty to smile about as Prince and the crowd start barking before Prince says “Look at Boni’s face, she scared to death that groove gonna come back in”. There is plenty of chunky piano as the funk carries through right to the end of the song.

 

An elastic-sounding bass kicks off the next song, and it’s not immediately apparent to me what the song is. There is a classic Miko guitar line before Prince begins to sing “Love Bizarre.” This song is true to an after-show gig, it’s drawn out and has a different sound from this band. Eric’s playing is freer sounding, and the bass line is very strong underpinning the whole thing. It’s much less a pop song, and much more a jam. Levi is very prominent in the song as is Miko. Both of them sound very strong before Eric gets a nice long solo. He plays for quite some time, and the song becomes his as he asserts his saxophone style. There is the sound of Prince later in the song with his guitar, but it's lost in the mix somewhat, and Eric dominates.

 

For me, things become less interesting as Boni sings “I’ll Take You There.” I can’t deny, that she’s a fine singer, but the song itself doesn’t ignite, and as I listen I am waiting to see what’s coming next. The music does pick up as it goes, and Boni unleashes some great screams before things quickly change to the “Down Home Blues.”

 

The song starts relatively slowly, Boni speaks to the ladies in the crowd as she explains what the song is about. She sounds very confident in this song, and it’s obvious that this is a great fit for her voice, and a style she is very familiar with. The keyboards and horns play some nice swells in the background, and I am transported to another time and another place. Prince brings me back into the here and now as he plays a guitar break in his unique style. The song gets much better to my ears as Boni gets into the swing of things with some hearty screams before there is another guitar break that takes things off into a different space completely.

“Cold Sweat” is much more my thing, and even though it takes a minute to start properly I get into it straight away. There are some cool drum patterns played initially before things settle into a groove after a minute or two. There is very little Prince early on, and the first section of the song is Eric Leeds playing a much more laid-back solo than we have heard previously. There is another drum break, and I do wonder if it is Prince himself playing as I can’t hear him anywhere else on the song. There are several stops and starts, and then a funny moment as Prince briefly sings the bass line of Michael Jackson’s Bad. It’s very short and amusing.

 

Things go up a gear as the guitar chugs and grooves along with the keyboards into “God Is Alive.” This is another highlight, the groove is very heavy and strong. Prince is singing with a lot of passion and that is infectious to me. The keyboard plays a strong loop over the bass, as Prince and his guitar play. His vocals have a growl to them and he sounds like he is singing from the heart. It’s the vocals that get me, but then he stops and lets his guitar do the talking. The guitar sound doesn’t match the intensity of his singing, it is strong without being the main focus. The chant of “Cat, where is at?” is fun, my only problem with it is that it detracts from the earlier intensity of the song. However, that intensity returns as Prince sings “God is alive” and the guitar is turned up in the mix. The reason for the Cat chant becomes apparent as she raps her lines from Alphabet St. It’s not bad, although I am usually no great fan of it. The song becomes very interesting as Prince talks about Camille, and his influence. It’s fascinating and brilliant to listen to, and Prince even draws on Eric to play some smooth grooves as he talks. Prince talks about Camille making the album, then not naming it. The recording drops a little at this point, but once I adjust I can still hear everything OK. Prince ends the song talking about Lovesexy. It’s not what I expected to hear, but as a whole, it’s a must-listen. To hear Prince talk frankly about his beliefs is an insight into his inner world, and in this case, it’s not preachy at all.

 

I never would have guessed an appearance of “Purple Rain” at an after-show, but that is the song that closes the show. I am so surprised to hear it, it's halfway over before I even start listening properly. Prince plays the shorter arrangement here- skipping straight to the guitar break after a single verse and chorus. The audience sense that there may not be much in it, and I can hear them begin the “aww,awww” singing almost as soon as the guitar break begins. Prince ends his first guitar break to sing with them, and it’s at this point the recording ends, leaving me to wonder what happened next.

This show looked good on paper, and despite the flaws in the recording, it lived up to those expectations. There are plenty of highlights for me on this, and the two that immediately come to mind are “God Is Alive,” and “Still Would Stand All Time.” These 1988 after shows are something special, each one is similar and yet different in many ways. There is some tough competition for a favorite, but you would have to count this one up there.

 

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.