Barcelona 23 August 1993 (am)

 

Recently I have become very interested in the evolution of Prince and in particular the missing link between the Act I/Act II concerts, and the shows that we would see in 1994/1995. When I look at the recordings on hand, I can see that the clues for the sounds and songs that are to come are there in the aftershow concerts. The frequency of these after shows increase markedly in 1993, and Prince sustains this rate for a good few years afterward.  Several songs from Come and The Gold Experience can be first heard in these 1993 after shows, even though it is a couple of years before they have an official release, and there are also the Goldnigga songs in the mix too. Add in the Undertaker project and songs from the time, and 1993 begins to look like a very fertile creative period indeed. Today I am listening to an aftershow from later in the year. It wasn’t my first choice to listen to, but due to computer problems, it’s the one I have to run with.

23 August, 1993 Estàndard, Barcelona

“The Sacrifice Of Victor” didn’t get played regularly on tour, so hearing it here is a nice treat. The horns have a swagger to them as the song begins, and it’s a nice way in. A simple riff repeated over and over, it sounds too easy and it always works. Having a horn section gives it a more mature sound, and it’s much more laid back than it sounds on the record. I find that even though the recording is an audience recording, I much prefer this arrangement of the song to that on the record. The band has a swing to them, and Prince sounds very relaxed and happy as he commands the band. What is great about it is that he isn’t sounding like he is pushing them too hard, rather he is just guiding them in direction. As the song progresses I feel some regret that it wasn’t released in this form, like a fine wine it has matured at this point, and now is ready for me to digest.

Prince doesn’t mince his words as he introduces the next song “Black mother fuckers in the house!” “Black M.F In The House” from the Goldnigga album is a bit of an oddity. It’s one of the few Goldnigga album songs that I like, and this is due for the most part to the guitar line that runs through it. Here again, it's the guitar line that holds my attention. The horns are again in fine form, but it's a slippery guitar sound that I love so much. There are better live versions of this song out there, this one is good – although not the first one I would choose to listen to.

 

The lyrical meaning of “Race” is highlighted next as Prince speaks the lyrics before the song begins. It’s still a year away from this being released on the Come album, and much like the other songs here, it’s got a much more laid-back sound at this stage. Prince seems to come up with these laid-back sounding songs, then amps them up and adds extra hooks, and tightens them up for release. It’s interesting to hear it like this, and it is lacking some of the intensity in the chorus, and with the horn section playing more relaxed all over it, it has a different vibe. The slippery guitar sound is present and is giving it that same groovy sound as the horns. It takes on a different feel with the lead guitar playing a break, however, the break is only short and we soon return to a great funky sound. The last minute has a cool-sounding guitar refrain that is a great way to finish it.

Another new song next, with “The Ride.” Its public debut was only three weeks before this, so it still fresh to the audience, and I guess to the band too. It’s a little faster than what is heard in the following years, the beat is just a shade quicker. Prince doesn’t slow it right back, and this makes it more interesting for me to listen to. The recording is pretty good, and I like the sound of Prince’s guitar break, it’s nice and crisp sounding in the speakers. Sometimes I get bored of this song, here I don’t, and I find myself listening intently all the way through, the guitar has some different sounding breaks and Prince solos, and he doesn’t repeat himself, nor does he make it scream. It’s tight and well worth the attention.

The crunching guitar sounds out the beginning of “Honky Tonk Woman.” I was surprised all those years ago when I first heard him play it, but now I see it’s a good fit for this band and this sound. The guitar isn’t as in my face as I’d like, at the show, I’m sure it was plenty loud, it’s just not picked up on the recording. Prince takes a solo early on, and the song is sounding a lot more like Keith Richards than Mick Jagger. Vocals are secondary to the guitar sound, and the only negative thing about the song is that it ends much too soon.

We go back further in time with a performance of “Jailhouse Rock.” As with “Honky Tonk Woman,” one gets the feeling that Prince isn’t particularly interested in singing it, rather he’d be playing his guitar. It’s a tease of a song and ends after a couple of minutes, but not before Prince has played a couple of solos and called “Vegas!” to finish it.

“Come” is another of the songs from this time that was around for quite a while before Prince finally released it on the Come album. It’s got a jam quality to it, and the audience is very quick to pick up the “come” chant. It sounds loose and easy to listen to here, and I prefer this to the released version. I wonder if it was stale by the time Prince released it, and perhaps he has worked the life out of it in the year and a half it took to release it. Here it’s fresh, and very enjoyable to listen to.

 

The guitar introduction to “Endorphin Machine” is excellent, and not in a way you might expect. It’s not a full-sounding guitar riff at the start of the song, rather it’s a thin-sounding guitar playing the riff. I like that it’s not a full-out assault, instead, it creeps upon you, and it’s only at Prince's scream does it take off. It’s still a whole two years away from its official release, and yet all the parts are in place, and it is sounding complete. Tommy plays his solo well, and it’s a nice mix as Prince comes over the top with his guitar break. It’s a shame we had to wait so long to get the official version, but it was worth it.

With the crowd calling Mayte, Prince plays a song about her, “Peach.” There is nothing new in the guitar in it, instead, it's Prince singing in a raspy throaty voice that gives it a real rock sound here. The audience does get a chance to sing along before Prince takes over with his guitar and drives us right through to the end of the song. The song is a little light for my tastes, but I can’t deny that it sounds like a lot of fun, and I always get a buzz from hearing Prince shredding on the guitar. He gives it plenty and throws in a couple of false endings that tease me at the end.

Next, we get the first public performance of “The Undertaker.” I am very used to hearing it from The Undertaker release, this one is different, but every bit as good. The horns add a different dimension to it and Prince's guitar break is more intricate, and it’s got a fine tone to it that I like. This one is a must-listen, and in a lot of ways is the most interesting song of the show. The band gets to showcase their talents, there is a bass solo as well as the guitar solo, and the horns add just enough brassiness to make it shine. There is also a strange-sounding solo later in the song that I want to come back to and listen to again. Actually, make that two solos, this is better than I imagined.

“Sing A Simple Song” is a song we have heard many times now, but this recording is the first time it was played by Prince at a gig. It’s very much a band performance, and no one person stands out, even Prince himself is well in the mix. He is singing, but the song doesn’t seem to highlight his singing or his guitar playing, instead, it’s the song that is the thing here, and the entire band plays tightly on it as the crowd sings. Prince also sings some lines of “You Can Make It If You Try,” but it’s not worth mentioning as the song finishes at this point.

 

“Get Your House In Order” sounds good, but it seems to be a much better fit for Mavis Staples rather than Prince. However the horns sound great on this track, and the band is very sharp through it all, even if Prince's vocals don’t seem quite right. The song turns into a groove and a jam. At this point I enjoy it much more, and so does the audience from the sound of it, as they again get to sing along, as the various band members get a chance to play. Even here at home, I find myself nodding along and chanting, usually a good sign when I am listening to one of these shows. The horns shine a little brighter as the song continues and overall it’s a good representation of the whole show.

Prince leads us in “Johnny” with a “J..O..H..N..N..Y”. Like he has done a couple of other times in this show, the song is more laid back. I seem to remember it’s a little more lively on other performances, this one is only a little more laid back and I like it too. It's a casual way to finish the gig, and Prince and the audience sound very at ease as they sing and chant their way through the song. Levi has plenty of time to play before the sax break comes in, and his part is my favorite part of the song, understated yet very good. There is a hint of a Prince guitar break, I’m sure I can hear his guitar for a few seconds before he has the crowd chanting “NPG in the mother fucking house” which is the last thing we hear as the band stop and the crowd continues chanting.

The importance of these 1993 aftershows shouldn’t be underestimated. A lot of what will come in the next couple of years is laid out in these shows, and I could have picked any aftershow from this year and been well satisfied with it. Prince and the NPG are laying down the blueprint of the sound that they will follow for the next couple of years, and some of the songs that will define that period have already been written and performed regularly at these after shows. I will spend some time revisiting shows from this period, so expect plenty more blog posts relating to this period from me in the future. This show was very good, perhaps not my favorite aftershow from 1993, but it’s a fine place to start. Anyone with an interest in Prince's evolution as an artist should pay close attention to these shows.

Madrid 21 August 1993

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

San Francisco 12 April 1993 (am)

 

I find myself forever drawn to 1993. It is the pivot point between Prince the 1980s pop idol, and The Symbol he would become in the Nineties. A fascinating period, there are a variety of concerts and after-shows for us to sift through – looking for musical nuggets that may have been previously overlooked in the wave of creativity Prince was riding at the time. I have covered a selection of shows thus far, mostly from later in the year, but today I would like to turn my attention to a show from earlier in the year. This show from April 1993 carries a diverse range of songs. Some had been released on various projects, while others would appear a year later on Prince’s Come album. Just as interesting as the music though is Prince’s thinking at the time, and this makes his spoken introductions just as essential as the music he is playing. So, with that in mind, let’s take a listen.

12th April (am) 1993, DNA Lounge, San Francisco.

In 2009 Prince told Tavis Smiley, and his TV audience, that as a child he had epilepsy. This may have been a revelation at the time, but for those paying close attention in 1992 Prince had already told us through the lyrics of “The Sacrifice Of Victor.” At this particular concert, he spells it loud and clear in his introduction to the song, the key lines are spoken before the song starts proper. Prince’s raspy drawl suits the mood of the evening, and the song as the band picks up on the lyrical content and weaves it into music. With the horns tucked sweetly into the mix, Prince’s rasp has something to contrast against, and for this, the lyrics sound all the stronger. The horns and vocals pull back mid-song, leaving a barren scratch guitar that had been previously buried, thus revealing the funk that the music slides across. The song is a bright opening, leaving the rest of the concert full of possibilities.

 

“Race” makes an appearance, but only as spoken lyrics, and it is up to “Come” to pick up the musical baton and move the concert forward. “Come” doesn’t always sound as good in concert as it does on record. However, the song coasts on a gentle groove with the mix catching just the right balance between the instruments. It stays with a stripped-back sound after the previous all-in of “The Sacrifice Of Victor” With the bass holding the bottom down, the guitar picks its way across the top – leaving plenty of room for Prince to inject his lyrics or any other instrument he calls in. With the horns gliding in and out the song feels like it’s moving forward even as the groove remains steadfast. This is the band that Prince has put together for the Nineties, and here they are living up to their reputation as one of his best.

From the luxuriant groove of “Come,” Prince pulls the band funk band apart and reassembles them as a rock ensemble for a riff-laden “Peach” They still carry the song with a groove, but it is Prince and his guitar that holds the ear. However, Prince is betrayed by a mix that has his guitar sounding thin and brittle. It is especially disappointing as one can clearly hear that he is shredding as only Prince can. This is a pale imitation compared to the much better renditions circulation (and longer ones) and makes for one of the lesser moments of the concert.

 

“Black MF In The House” brings the smile back to my face. The interaction between Prince and Tony M is a lot of fun, and they devote plenty of time to playing with the crowd. The political message remains to the fore, played with a grin the song remains true to itself while giving the crowd plenty to dance to. In this case, Prince’s humor strengthens the message rather than detracting from it.

The “Starlight Lounge Improvisation” sounds like a wedding band that has aspirations for greatness. With the organ swirling above an upbeat groove, it certainly is one to get the crowd moving. The walking bassline and church organ hold center stage as it draws strength from the past, while the brief guitar solo Prince plays fires the song into an unknown future. Like the best Prince songs, it is this dichotomy that keeps the listener interested, and this is a great example of Prince pulling from the past and future.

Prince steps firmly back into the past with the following “I’ll Take You There.” A song he dabbled with often in the late Eighties, here it is almost too familiar. Tommy’s contribution on the keyboards is note-worthy, but Prince doesn’t have a strong female foil to play off, leaving the song one-dimensional and lacking any real punch. Even the guitar tickle in the final minutes is underwhelming and certainly not up to the standard of what was heard earlier.

 

“Sexy Dancer” is strong whereas “I’ll Take You There” was weak. Every instrument has power and purpose, they are muscular and propulsive throughout. The keyboard has a spluttering start, but soon enough is a driving force, the song disappearing under waves of keyboard bliss. Prince returns with some razor-sharp guitar that cuts the song in two, the keyboard glory lost under Prince’s six-string antics. There is a scat that nearly undoes this, but the final minutes as the organ grinds and the horns return make it all worthwhile.

Prince takes on George Clinton’s “Get Satisfied” for the first time, and it sounds like a success from the start. With the horns stepping forward the song gets a strong push. Prince is expanding his horizons and this band is with him every step of the way. A joyful fusion of rhythm guitar is a mid-song highlight, the combination sent from funk heaven. The song remains an evolving funk jam, and Tony M himself says it best with his repetition of “Fat beats and basslines” It does look like an audience chant may finish the song, but a final call of “Groove y’all” sees the band finish what they started.

 

“Papa” isn’t the party jam you might expect after such a song. It briefly wraps the concert in a darkness not previously heard, the cool groove slipping us into the dark lyrical content from Prince. As much as I like it, it doesn’t feel part of the same show. The contrast is too stark, the jump required to follow Prince and his band too great to make for a cohesive experience.

The pop and kick of “777-9311” lifts us from this murky fog, and the band moves swiftly in “Hair.” “Hair” is a recurring song throughout the Nineties, to the point where there is very little new left to hear in it. In this case, it is kept short at a couple of minutes, and as such retains a freshness that isn’t always heard.

An instrumental “What Is Hip?” is a good choice for this band. They play it with a confidence that makes it their own. With the keyboards carrying the load and the horns giving it some flash, it is a bright moment that also carries some energy and momentum as we near the end of the show.

With the full band in from the start, “When U Were Mine,” doesn’t have the same new wave charm as it did in the Eighties. Prince’s raw guitar sound is lost amidst the strong horns and busy drums. The song is still at the center of all things though, and Prince tells his story with an economy not always heard in the Nineties. Overall the positives outweigh the negatives, and the concert is all the better for it being in the setlist.

 

The concert closes with the song of the moment, “Sexy M.F.” With a fabulous long intro that features a bare guitar and horn stabs it signals what is to come. These two elements are essentially the core of the song, and even when the rest of the band joins they carry the song for the next eight minutes. Prince’s vocals don’t appear until the three-minute mark, leaving us plenty of time to bathe in the simple elegance of guitar and horn. Prince’s vocal contributions are perfectly in tune with the funk groove, his lyrics enhancing the music as he flows with ease. The “Love 2 The 9s” lyrics make an appearance, working equally well with the groove, the song continuing to wash easily from the speakers. With a final horn stab, the concert ends with this song, only fitting given how much they have been heard throughout.

So ends another worthy entry in the year 1993. It is yet another fascinating look at Prince as he is on the cusp of his great metamorphous of 1994/1995. One can hear him shedding his 1980s skin, and pushing forward in a new direction, leaving all he has created previously firmly in the rear-view mirror. With the horns locked in place and the NPG building a history with him, this is a springboard into the years that will follow. Fans of hits and short sharp pop songs may be disappointed, but this is Prince reaching for another level of creativity and delivering some of the most interesting material of his career. Better shows will follow, but this is a great place to jump into his Nineties material.

Detroit 1 April 1993

 

Five long years after the 1988 Lovesexy shows, Prince returned to Detroit with his Act 1 tour. The change in Prince’s music and look in that period is immense, but the unbridled love that the Detroit crowd has for Prince remains undiminished. One only has to listen to a few seconds of today’s recording to see what I mean. Both of the Detroit concerts are recorded and circulating, today I will be listening to a recording of the first night. This is for no other reason other than it is the first. Both concerts are more or less the same length (and among the longest of the tour), so it’s not like we are not missing out on anything. As with all the shows in recent weeks, this one is a rough and ready audience recording. I will try not to come hammer that point too often, but be aware this is not for the faint of heart. And so, on with the show.

1st April 1993. Fox Theatre, Detroit.

The most striking thing about the recording in the first minute is just how passionate the Detroit crowd is. At other shows, we have heard them cheering and applauding at the appropriate moments, but in this case, it is pure hysteria from the opening moments. The shrieks and screams are reminiscent of what I have seen in Beatles concerts, and although it’s tough on the ears, it does put me right in the moment, crushed there with the audience as they lose themselves in the moment. The music remains buried beneath this carnage, but I can hear enough of “My Name Is Prince” to appreciate what is happening – the crowd has every right to lose their shit as the concert becomes a whirlpool of noise, excitement, and unrestrained enthusiasm.

 

Things become slightly more orderly for “Sexy M.F.” – the audience is still all over the recording, but here Prince corrals them, with their screams and cheers coming at more opportune moments. “Sexy M.F.” has its own easy slide, and the tape delivers it to us with a steady stable recording for the next few minutes. The glossy horns, Tony M’s hype and rap, and the greasy guitar line all make for a recording that lays bare the new facets of Prince’s music. I am warming to this show already, 1993 is a weird and wonderful year in the Prince canon, and concerts such as this are a prime example of the exciting new directions he was pushing in.

A ballad three songs in, who’d have thought? “Damn U” lays the syrup on heavy, this is a song that could easily be overworked, but Prince pricks some of this lushness with his intricate piano playing that sharpens the music just when it needs it. Whatever happens in the music however becomes irrelevant as I drown myself in Prince’s buttery lyrics, the most essential ingredient in this rare delicacy of a ballad.

Some howling guitar puts an emphatic end to this, and ushers in an urgent “The Max.” Prince’s vocals carry the sense of right here and now, while the wave of music behind him sees the band pushing in the same direction. Tony M adds a heavy, macho element to proceedings, in this case, the song is a fine match for his talents. Interest ebbs for me midsong, as Prince and the band pull back from this initial intensity, it may well be another great musical moment, but the recording doesn’t give me a good sense of what is happening, and I cannot properly appreciate the music.

The opening of “The Morning Papers” highlights this same issue. I can hear Prince clearly enough, but the tape does have the slightest distortion that steals the crispness from us. It gets better for the guitar line, but Prince's vocals remain of lesser quality. Putting these issues aside for a moment, the song itself is very good, the performance is much better than the recording of it, and in particular, the horns come into their own later in the song.

 

“Peach” cuts right through any recording issues, and is the strongest song of the set (at least to listen to on the bootleg). Prince’s vocals are just as strong as his guitar playing, and the crowd is quieter here than anywhere else on the recording, all in all, making for a pleasant listening experience. It works as a great contrast to come of the other material in the setlist, this was one of Prince’s great funk bands, yet “Peach” rocks like nothing else and stands tall again all the other funk and pop material at the concert.

Yet another musical strand is pulled into the show with the appearance of “Blue Light.” An under-appreciated song on the album, in the show it works as the perfect foil to some of Prince’s more demanding material, and it easily deserves the five minutes it gets here. It's a song where I find I don’t listen too closely, rather I just lean back and let Prince's warm summer delivery envelop me.

“The Continental” is a coat of many colors, and the song comes to us fabricated from several different swatches. Its initial fury dissipates into a gentle lay in the sand as Mayte delivers her seductive list of pleasures, most of which are unfortunately lost to audience noise. “Get On Up,” “Everyone Get On Up,” and “Tighten Up,” keep this groove going as we move forward, they all play with gentleness, especially against the driven sounds of “The Continental” that started all of this, but to my ears, it is these later songs that offer the most pleasure and insight to where Prince was at this time, as well as bringing the Detroit crowd back into the show.

The not-so-gentle push and pull of the concert continued with the hip-hop-influenced “The Flow” rolling heavily over the previous few minutes. It comes as a shock to the system after the melodic ending of the previous song, and with Tony M dominating the is very little subtly in the performance. Not the best moment of the concert, and certainly not helped but the rapidly overheating recording.

 

The slow and confident swagger of “Johnny” is much better, both in terms of the quality of the recording, and the use of Tony M’s deeper roll. Prince’s rap gets the attention of the crowd, but as far as I hear it is the groove of the band that should draw the headlines, along with the decisive use of horns. Kathy J in particular is outstanding, her solo performance trembling in its deep-rooted intensity and sound. The other outstanding player is of course the Detroit crowd themselves, and once again they are integral to the performance.

It is impossible to untangle “Eye Wanna Melt With U,” “Sweet Baby,” “And God Created Women,” and “Three Chains Of Gold” from one another, they come together as a suite, beginning with Prince’s piano musings through “Eye Wanna Melt With U,” and “Sweet Baby” The opening minutes quieten the audience, Prince’s performance of “Sweet Baby” casts a spell that no one dares breaks. This strange alchemy between Prince and his piano spins the leaden recording into a golden moment, and even as it descends into crowd screams I remain enthralled by his performance. The magic of the moment permeates through the next few minutes, “And God Created Women” picking up from where it left off, and even as the music builds it is still Prince’s vocals and keyboards that remain at the heart of the matter. “Three Chains Of Gold” caps this most dramatic and theatrical part of the show, not quite as emotional as the preceding minutes, it is still a fitting end to one of Prince’s most ambitious pieces.

I do admire the Arabic intro to “7,” again Prince continues to challenge himself and the audience with new music and expectations. The merest taste of  “7” can be heard throughout, and this whets my appetite for what is to come. When “7” does appear through the swirling exotic eastern sounds, it is to the expectant cheers of approval from the Detroit crowd as they add their flavor to what is unfolding. The recording fails to live up to the moment, the bootleg is too clattered and uneven, and this is where we lose a great concert moment to a poor recording.

 

A similar fate befalls “Let’s Go Crazy,” although to be fair it is an abridged version and saturated in audience noise. It doesn’t feel like a good fit for the previous music and one wonders if even a better recording could make it any better.

The crowd is just as noisy for “Kiss” as they were for the opening song of the evening, and although I can catch the guitar and horns well enough, most of the song remains buried beneath the energized crowd. Strangely enough, this poor recording only makes me wish I could have been there as obviously the crowd is going bonkers for what one can only assume is an outstanding performance. A lot of fun can be heard, even if the music cannot.

The funk is turned up to eleven for “Irresistible Bitch,” and this time we can hear the performance, although again the crowd is with us every step of the way. Only two minutes is not long enough to get down into its groove, but it’s always nice to see a friendly face from the past.

Speaking of familiar faces of the past, “She’s Always In My Hair,” has me sitting upright and paying close attention. This is a song that still captures the imagination, even after thirty years, and although there are much better recordings of it from this tour, I still take note as Prince frames out a strong rendition of this beloved B-side. It is relatively short, at least in comparison to other renditions on the tour, but nevertheless, it still retains a heavy weight punch, and although noisy is still worthy of attention.

The same could be said of the horn-infused “When You Were Mine,” which follows hard on its heels. The crunch of Prince’s guitar is matched by the shrill addition of the horns, and with the crowd providing a wave of emotion and energy, Prince rides the song easily through the minutes it plays. It is far from perfect in sound, but I still thrill in its ragged and torn live glory.

The return to the nineties is timely, as is the return to the seductive sounds with “Insatiable” and “Scandalous.” “Insatiable” positively drips in lust and yearning, and even twenty years later, and through the filter of a raw audience recording, I can feel the heat of Prince’s performance. The horns add a thin veneer of respectability to the song, but at the heart of it is raw lust, I can feel the sweat building as I listen here at home, there is no escape as Prince lays out his seduction plan. “Scandalous” raises the stakes even higher, and judging by the audience noise, it is all too much for some of the ladies in the audience. Unfortunately, this mars the recording, and of the two seductive ballads, it is “Insatiable” that has me breathing quicker.

 

“Gett Off ” is good, very good in fact, but it is “Gett Off (housestyle) that always gets my heart racing. Fast and furious, Princes keeps his foot on the accelerator, even as he engages the audience for some signing, the momentum of the music is maintained. There is no time to dwell on what is happening, just go with the moment and enjoy it for what it is.

The inclusion of “Goldnigga” is timely, it brings us firmly back to 1993, and again grounds the concert in a slow, solid groove. Tony M rides the groove in an easy style that plays to his strengths, and I can only wish there was more of it at this show.

The sacred cow at the concert is of course “Purple Rain.” It is untouchable and expected at every show, even when it feels at odds with the other material. The rendition here is worthy enough, but it is an odd fit and feels ponderous after the previous two hours of high-energy pop, funk, and theatre. This is one for the Detroit crowd though, and their singing along with Prince’s guitar in the final minutes is a dramatic example of the bond between audience and performer. If you wanted a taste of what Prince and Detroit meant to each other, then here would be a good place to start.

One of the more interesting moments comes at the end of “Purple Rain” when Prince muses on the possibility of playing for 25 nights, something that was to come to fruition fourteen years later in London. One wonders if he carried that thought with him for those intervening years, or if it came to him again as a fresh idea in 2007.

There comes a tremendous rush with “Partyman” living every inch up to its name. With “Loose” and “Partyup” thrown into the mix it becomes an out-of-control, downhill rush towards what must surely be the end of the concert, and Prince can be heard picking up the crowd and bringing them along for this final wild ride.

“1999” serves the same purpose, although it’s not as joyful as the previous “Partyman.” The crowd is singing, and it is hard not to as Prince hits that chorus, but overall it leaves me empty, and if anything slightly melancholy for a youth that seemed to go by me all too fast. I was already a twenty-year-old punk by the time of this concert, and “1999” is a nostalgic nod back to the ever-lasting summer of my since lost childhood.

The segue into “Baby I’m A Star” is all too predictable, but it matters little as the song only cooks for a minute and a half before Prince takes it off the heat. A finale of “Push” is far more satisfying, although this too is all just part of this extended jam. Prince takes a back seat for “Push” rather it is the band that drives the groove home, with the horns leading the way with a bold and brassy spring in their step. Everything is thrown into this final hit-out, and it becomes a cacophony of sounds and instruments in the final minutes as everyone seemly wants to get a final say.  It’s not quite the ending I would choose, but it is fitting for a concert that has contained so many styles and sounds that they should all appear in this final number.

Okay, so what to make of all this? The first part of the show, which contained mostly songs off the Symbol album, was certainly a lot stronger than the second half of the show. If we put aside the audience recording, which is what it is, we are left with a passionate Detroit crowd, a dramatic and epic first half, and then a hits-filled second half that doesn’t live up to what has come before. As a bootleg, it is an interesting listen, if only we could have it in better quality, and despite the unsatisfying second part I still enjoyed what I heard throughout.  As I said at the beginning, this is not for the faint of heart, but no doubt anyone from Detroit who was there would grab this as a memento of what sounds like a hot and heavy night.