Monte Carlo 4 May 1994

 

I have returned to 1994 as it is just too delicious to resist with Prince diving headlong into his new direction and new vision. I have listened to many shows from 1994, and this one ranks high among them. It does contain the usual jams and songs that we expect, but the concert comes early in the year when Prince’s rebirth was still big news and offers a thrilling sample of things we have never seen or heard before. Prince’s two shows in Monte Carlo are the first time he appeared in this new guise away from Minneapolis, and from the reception, we hear on the tape it sounds like the world is appreciating this new direction just as much as those in his home town. There will be plenty more similar concerts over the next two years, but none have the vitality and urgency of this one, which not only makes for a great bootleg but a most intriguing one.

4th May 1994, Stars ‘N’ Bars Monte Carlo

It is a Hendrixesque guitar tone that shapes the introduction guitar jam. Normally I shy away from Hendrix comparisons when it comes to Prince, but in this case, I think it is valid as Prince’s guitar draws from the sound of some of Jimi’s pure blues sound. It is carefully crafted and subtlety signposts what will follow, a swampy blues infested “The Ride”

A staple of this era, the version heard on this bootleg does not differ greatly from what is heard elsewhere, although it does have a freshness that can’t ever be captured again on those other recordings. The flame of genius burns bright as Prince lifts the song far above its initial plodding sound with his guitar work scratching every itch in its relentless phosphoric intensity. Prince paces it well, we have a long way to go, and every time it threatens to ignite the building he pulls back and eases the tension with his ever-cool vocals.

 

A melodic bassline picks up the threads of “Come” and soon after Prince spins it into the song we are now familiar with. It retains a cool atmosphere throughout, each instrument playing in its own refined way, never coming together to deliver the punches I expect and crave. It swirls and heaves with intent but still hasn’t been sharpened to a point.

“Endorphinmachine” is where the show starts good and proper and is the point where one can hear Prince firmly striding to break from the past. The music is strident and has an urgency that drives it firmly into the future, this is music that doesn’t stop and reflect, it is pitched at the future and never once lets up with this drive forward. Prince’s opening guitar riff leaps out ahead of the band before they come together in a pounding crash to chase it down. This sense of forward motion is retained through the song, even as the guitar pulls back to give the other instruments a chance to breathe. With a call of “turn me up,” Prince whips out a quicksilver guitar solo that with a surgical slice quickly amputates the past and throws the whole future wide open with the thrill of the unknown. He may not know where this ride is taking him, but we are with him every step of the way, the guitar solo both a declaration and a promise.

 

After such a rush we need some space, and this is provided by the aptly named “Space.” It is unfortunate that with such a song the limitations of the tape are revealed, and there is a distorting buzz on the right side. It matters little for a high-octane rock song such as “Endorphinmachine, but on the gentle flowing “Space,” it is all too apparent and lifts me temporarily out of the concert. “Space” itself has an organic feel that offsets Prince’s outer-worldly lyrics, and Tommy Barbarella’s keyboard solo sounds timeless and could be coming from any piano in the world. A nice counterpoint to the lyrics, it neatly balances the song as well as the concert.

My initial thrill of seeing “Interactive” on the setlist quickly subsides as Prince delivers a tepid and lukewarm version that fails to elicit any joy in me. It becomes apparent to me here that Prince did the right thing by not giving it a proper release (asides from Crystal Ball) and one can understand why by July of 1994 it had been retired from live performance. It promises a lot but delivers little, the main hook not quite enough to fully snare the listener, while its stop-start form destroys any sort of momentum that may have been building. The guitar makes an appearance, but it is a self-serving solo that does nothing to advance the song or the emotional pull of the moment, the song remaining emotionally aloof despite my best wishes.

“Day’s Of Wild” gives me everything I had craved in the previous song – it’s new, it’s got something to say, an inner urgency, and drives it all home in a forceful performance. The rhythm section grinds under it all, musically recreating the sound of two bodies moving against each other, while Prince lays down his credo and a bold statement of where he is right here and now, these are truly his days of wild as he curses and jams the song until it becomes a sweaty lather of dirty funk, every one of us rejoicing in this wild ride Prince is providing. Prince’s pointed lines at Michael Jackson stand out midsong, and coupled with his lines about Larry Graham open the door nicely into a quick “Hair.” The final sing-a-long draws the crowd into this new world Prince is shaping before their very eyes on stage, and sounds just as vital on the bootleg as I’m sure it did at the show.

 

The mood is lightened with a song played with a smile – “Now.” It has an uplifting spirit, and although light in its surrounding company its appearance is timely and brings some color to the concert. It has a freedom to it as vocally Prince is playful, while the music rolls and evolves beneath him. Tommy and Morris are the key players here, and although it is the drums of Michael B that make the first impression, it is the keyboards that build the esprit de corps that make this song a beautiful snapshot of the era. It encapsulates the period of 1994-1995, the music coming at an easy flow, continually threatening to turn into a jam as every member of the band plays with unreserved freedom.

There is a maturity to “Acknowledge Me,” the song at points touching on adult radio, while willfully pulling in the other direction with its lyrics and never settling music. It surprises me with its fierce integrity and how much input the band has. It shouldn’t be surprising given the two songs we have just heard, but I am caught unawares several times as band members come out of the mix with wild contributions. Prince’s rap is unhinged, as is the funk that shakes beneath him, and the final minutes of the song see us drifting far from shore in the back of the rolling funk.

It is an alluring “Dark” that appears next in the bootleg, the recording clean enough to capture it at its best. It has its refined smoothness fully intact and retains this glassiness until the very end. The treat, and hook for me, is the appearance of the “Eye Hate U” speech midsong. An idea Prince is toying with (the song itself wouldn’t appear live until the following year) it is fascinating to hear it pitched in here. It works well enough but has yet to find its natural home. The other moment that stands out is the lightning bolt guitar solo that shatters the final minute of the song and brings light to the dark. It may not be the greatest of solos, but against the silky smooth of “Dark,” it becomes twice as loud and twice as dramatic. Contrast is everything.

The instrumental jam that follows is pure 1994 N.P.G. With Morris Hayes and Tommy Barbarella building a sonic wall on the rock-solid foundation of Sonny T. and Michael B. there is plenty of room for Prince to direct the various directions the song will move to. It never settles on a firm hook, and as such remains unmemorable, but I enjoy it for the band and the unrelenting energy they bring to the performance.

“Race” is notable for how closely it resembles the recorded version, and for the horn samples that make an appearance. The bass stays at a low rumble, making the horn stabs all the more noticeable as they flash bright against this darkened background. It is Tommy Barbarella who is called out for his contribution, Prince deriving great satisfaction from what he is providing. I am inclined to agree, and it is the keyboards and various triggered samples that pique my interest throughout.

 

I have been listening to bootlegs for thirty years now, and I think I have reached the point where I could quite happily skip “The Jam.” A staple in Prince setlists since early 1994, the song is predictable in the direction it will go with Prince introducing each band member. Although they each briefly play their assigned part, the song offers no real meat to chew on, and at points, it does feel like it’s becoming a meander. Prince fails to whip it into anything memorable, and as much as I love each band member and their contribution, overall the song leaves me empty and unfeeling.

There is a further nod to Larry Graham with “I Believe In You,” which has me considering what was Prince’s motivation for these cover versions at the time. It was a fertile period of songwriting for Prince through 1994-1995, as testified by the projects and aborted projects of the era. One only has to listen to The Dawn bootleg that draws all these together to see what an arsenal of music Prince had to draw from, which makes his affinity for these cover versions perplexing. However, it is what it is, and while “I Believe In You,” fails to elicit any real excitement within me, it does again give the band a chance to demonstrate their chops.

“Glam Slam Boogie,” has the freshness I desire, appearing here in only its second live outing (the previous live performance the night before). It is an uptempo jam, the band playing with new life on the back of Prince’s commands. Again every member has a chance to play, but there is a looser feel to the jam, the band shedding the weight of playing someone else’s music and instead playing with freedom and investing fully in their unique sound. It is far more fulfilling than the previous two songs, and the energy in the playing carries well onto the bootleg, it sounds just as vital here at home twenty-five years after the fact. The most interesting part of the song comes when Prince challenges Eric Clapton, “Eric my boy, but I’m gonna get in that ass,” a challenge that never comes to fruition, Prince instead choosing to close the song, before finally coming good on his threat of a guitar onslaught in the final “Peach”

The song itself has very little malice or venom in it it is instead a celebration of guitar frenzy as Prince plays with unbridled abandonment and little regard for the constraints of a three-minute pop song. Although not a brilliant recording, it nevertheless is a fantastic rip-roaring version that doesn’t outstay its welcome, Prince working the song hard without overburdening it with a morass of guitar white noise. There are the much-expected guitar fireworks, a spectacle in itself, but there is enough of the bones of the song present to maintain its form through the maelstrom of guitar fury in the final minute, a minute that almost overwhelms the taper, as the bootleg stays just on the right side of listenable.

I could easily categorize every bootleg of the 1994/1995 period as essential listening as Prince metamorphoses before our eyes to harder more extreme funkateer and square-jawed rocker. This one though is a cut above the rest, not for the quality of the recording, but where it falls on the timeline. This is one of the earlier shows of 1994, and much of the material heard over the next two years is heard here in a fresher form, Prince and the band are far more enthusiastic with their new sound, as are the listeners, than what comes later. The sound quality is of its time, but the show itself overcomes any shortcomings in this department and remains as fresh today as it did back in May of 1994. This is Prince and the band taking their first steps into a brave new world, and it is a journey well worth taking with them.

Paisley Park 13 February 1994

 I have been badgered into writing today’s entry by long-time Prince fan Jony. He has long maintained that this is one of Prince's greatest recordings, and I should check it out. For the longest time, I was adamant that I didn’t actually have this one, and I hadn’t heard it. Then last week I was cleaning the spare room, and voila, there was the CD. The recording itself is from early 1994, and believe it is Prince's first performance as Symbol. Some of these songs are now firm favorites in my house, but at the time they were all new to me and quite a departure from what had come previously. A quality recording of one of his most creative eras? Yeah, I’ll give that a listen! 

13 February 1994, Paisley Park 

I love the start of this one. The first thing we hear is Prince saying “alright, let's get it started” before the sound of a computer keyboard and a voice-over telling us there are over 500 experiences to choose from, the same as we hear on the Gold Experience album. A nice scream from the back of Prince's throat brings the band and the music into focus with a fine-sounding performance of “Interactive.” This is a soundboard, but my copy sounds a little muted, it does seem to be missing some of the top end, and a little bass. Perhaps because I only have it as MP3s. A bit of tweaking and it would sound much fuller. The band pauses after a minute, while the voice-over returns, then we kick back in. The drums sound good here, with some excellent sounding tom-toms, before Prince's guitar solo brings things nicely into focus, and energizes the song again. About now I can hear the keyboards underneath, and I realize that this one will give me something more with every listen. It’s a short sharp song, and nicely sets the scene for what is coming next. 

 

And what is coming next is something extraordinary- the first-ever live performance of “Days of Wild.” Hold onto your wigs indeed! It sounds great here, I really dig the nice deep groove to it, and it’s got a slightly dark sound to it. A lot is happening with first listening, the juicy bass line, the moaning and groaning keyboard, the sharp keys dancing overtop, and to top it all off we have Prince's vocal delivery. Not just the lyrics he is singing, but also the passionate way he spits it out, it commands my attention throughout the song. The ‘hold on to your wigs’ refrain balances it nicely and gives me a chance to wave my wild sign high as I write this. Oh, by the way, he plays guitar- it's a thin-sounding guitar solo we get here, it doesn’t stand up again the dark deep grooves, but it's not bad. The song is already very strong and a stronger guitar break would have been overwhelming. I could quite happily turn off my computer now and just groove to this, but it does end and I find myself writing about the next song. 

 

“Now” has a happy sing-a-long beginning. Again it is another first performance of a new song. On a good day, I really enjoy “Now,” and on an average day, I find it a bit ho-hum. It is at a great disadvantage coming straight after “Days of Wild.” Another groove song, it doesn’t have the dark strength of “Days of Wild,” nor does it compare to Prince's vocal delivery. For all that though, it does draw me in, and by midsong, I am hanging on Prince's words, even if I do find the chorus too much. Putting down the laptop and dancing around the room would be a much better experience, but sat as I am writing about it, it’s not that great. I cannot fault Prince's passion, nor the performance of the band, it’s a solid B+. 

The bluesy “The Ride” follows next, and Prince pitches it to the over 35’s in the crowd, great – something for my demographic. It’s a good clean version we get here, I have heard it much slower and bluesier. The recording is great in that I can hear Princes singing so well, something I usually miss on live recordings of this where I mostly concentrate on the guitar work. Prince’s voice is full and he’s in complete control after the fury and fun of the first couple of songs. No sooner had I commented on Prince's vocals than the guitar work begins. It’s not long, but it is one of the better ones I have heard in this song. Very joyful to my ears, and something I will be coming back to again. It pulls back to softer guitar before Prince ends it with “If you got the time baby, I got the ride” and a call for “Vegas in E’. Now I have listened to this song plenty of times over the years, but this was the first time I realized the lewdness of the ‘the ride’. Let’s just say I was a little naive. 

“The Jam” is next, and it is very much like all the other jams we have heard from this era, with lots of Prince calling “oh he’s a funky man” as he moves around the band and gives them all a moment in the sun. Nobody gets too long to do too much, but most parts are enjoyable enough. I do like the guitar parts, it’s different from what you might expect and has a light rhythmic touch. Sonny gives us something in complete contrast with a short heavy moment, and the band begins to swing. This is reined in much too soon but is none the less is very enjoyable. 

 

“I Believe In U” is a cool little cover and plays to the strengths of this band. The keyboards in particular are very strong throughout. Asides from that there is not too much that can be said about it, it does come across as smooth and light in comparison to Prince's original material. I find myself nodding along, but at the same time looking at the setlist and looking forward to what is still to come. 

This show is also the first time that Prince played “Shhh” live and reclaimed one of his most beloved songs (in my house at least) Week after week I heap praise upon this song, and this week is no different. For a first live performance of a song, it’s outstanding. This version here is one of my favorite live versions- the fact it’s a nice soundboard, Prince's band is as sharp as ever, and Prince clearly makes a statement in the way he sings this, it is most definitely his song. He does go too over the top, and as the guitar break starts it’s very nicely restrained and sounds very tight. It’s excellent in every way. The backing singers are right into the mix, and close behind Prince's voice, adding a lot of depth and strength. There is the second drum that rolls and crashes midsong, and then Prince lets fly with his guitar. The sound here is beyond words, it’s something you have to hear. At this point I want to say thanks to Jony for pointing me towards this show, the show is great and this song is outstanding. Most excellent, although I find it is lacking a little ambiance from the crowd. 

 

“What’d I Say” had been covered by Prince for some years before this performance, so I don’t find it overly excellent in this performance. Prince does have Tattoo on stage to play some guitar, but it’s somewhat shambolic and doesn’t add anything of value to the show. It does pick up later in the song, and there is a decent solo, playing on a guitar with a very interesting tone. It doesn’t sound like his usual setup at all. I can’t decide quite how I feel about this song, I didn’t have the urge to skip it, but I could have quite happily gone without it. 

The next song in the set is very interesting. “Peak The Technique” is improvised and has all sorts of things thrown in the mix. There are plenty of samples and some very cool bass and guitar work. Prince can be heard laughing early on, and it’s obvious the band is having fun. There is not too much vocally to the song, mostly samples of Eric B and Rakim's “Don’t Sweat The Technique”. In the second portion of the song things speed up and there is some excellent bass work that is funky and gets things swinging. It’s about here that I become very interested and my ears prick up. The song ends after five minutes, but plenty was going on there, and I could have easily listened to much more of this. 

 

I sneaked a peek at the setlist and this was the song I was looking forward to hearing most. “Martial Law” is a George Clinton song that I never get tired of. The version here isn’t what I expected at all, it’s more a jam and groove, but it’s great. This band I have always thought sounded most like a Parliament/funkadelic band and their sound is very well suited to this song. That thought is further emphasized as Prince puts on a series of distorted and strange voices. The song pulls back to just a bare kick drum sound and more strange vocals from Prince have me slightly disorientated. The only parts left from the original song is where at one point we hear the backing singers singing “ow ow ow”. It’s the drum and piano sound that play all over this one, and some kinetic bass lines. The whole thing has certain strangeness to it, and I would have loved to see Prince do something like this more often. Weird but wonderful. 

A Salt and Pepper song to finish? Why not, it’s that sort of show where nothing surprises me anymore. Prince sounds very relaxed, and the piano playing also has a nice easy sound to it. It’s an instrumental for the main part, mostly piano playing over a groove, but there are a couple of DJ scratches thrown in for good measure. The organ too is well in the mix and the song sounds fat and full. There’s not much more to it than that, and it ends before I know it. A very smooth and listenable way to end the recording. 

Thanks again to Jony for recommending this recording, it was excellent. Old Prince very much was dead by this stage, and the new songs he is unveiling here sound much funkier and are coming from a different place altogether. The start of the recording was sounding uptight, but by the end, it was nice and loose, and somewhat strange. This is a keystone recording from a very important part of his career. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is still essential listening. 

London 8 September 1993 (am)

 After recently taking in two shows of the 1993 Act II tour, I would be amiss if I didn’t address the final aftershow of the tour, the well-known concert performed just hours after the Wembley finale. The performance is of course familiar to many having been widely released on VHS, but this video release doesn’t tell the whole story. As is his way, it is a cut and paste of the actual concert, songs appear out of order, and it only shows us half the songs performed. There is an audience recording that rectifies this, and this will be the recording I will listen to today. I have repeatedly pointed to the Act II concerts as a heavy indication of what comes next in Prince’s career, and this final aftershow of the tour in my mind is already the next phase. This is a setlist I could easily imagine appearing anywhere in 1994/1995, and many of the staples of the coming years get an airing here. Prince may have finally laid his earlier incarnation to rest at the Wembley show, and here at Bagley’s Warehouse he is reborn, a new performer ready to storm through the second half of the 90s. 

  

 8 September 1993, Bagley’s Warehouse, London 

  

The first song of the night, both on the official release and the bootleg, is “The Ride.” The video has the added advantage of the visuals and a soundboard recording, but the audience recording is surprisingly bright and stands up well next to it.  Where the video excels is in building up to the moment. To see Prince emerge from the car, surrounded by minders, photographers, hangers-on, and fans is a reminder of just how grueling his daily life could be. There are parallels to Micheal Jordan, both men were unable to appear easily in public, the only time both were truly free and able to express themselves was when they were on court/stage. This was their domain and the place where there was a sense of calm and control. And calm and control is at the heart of “The Ride” as Prince steadily guides the groove, raising and lowering the intensity at will with his guitar controlling the inner heat of the song. It’s a slow burn, a song that needs repeated listening to truly unlock the secrets Prince is scattering through his guitar breaks, tiny signs that hint at things unknown. The bootleg is already sounding better than I imagined and compares well to the video. 

 

It’s a shame that “Poorgoo” didn’t make it to the official release, it reeks of the symbol era, and in my mind is absolutely essential to this time period. It never got played as much as it should have, perhaps because Prince already had too many of these guitar jams in his back pocket. The recording brings Prince’s guitar to us with a crispy crunchy sound, just as it should, and the playful rhythm that carries the second part of the song shines brightly on this bootleg. 

 

“Honky Tonk Women” is as ragged as Keith Richard looks, and rapidly abandoned as a far heavier, and all the more satisfying “Bambi” emerges from this guitar springboard. With revving thrusts the song becomes pure guitar strut as Prince picks up the strident sound with an aching plea bursting forth from his instrument. Time may age me, but there will always be room in my heart for a solo that plays with an electric fury such as this. 

“Jailhouse Rock” to my ears is a hollow gesture, Prince sounds as if he is playing to neither himself nor his audience. Its nagging hook and nuanced guitar lines have me briefly interested, but at the end of the day, I still can’t decide how it ended up on the setlist. 

 

With Mavis Staples's album “The Voice” released only two weeks previous, her appearance here to sing “The Undertaker” is most timely. There are three key elements at play as the song bubbles up from the depths, Mavis leads us through the darkness with her vocals (one can easily understand why her album is called “The Voice), her voice bringing light while the drama-filled bass stretches out ahead as the dark path we are walking down. The third key element is the horns, all of them lifting the song from a two-dimensional bristle to a titanic struggle between good and evil.  Again, the recording matches the moment, making for a sophisticated soulful howl that grips me at the heart. 

 

There is the inevitable come down, in this case, “I’ll Take You There” can’t match the sonic power of “The Undertaker”, both in performance and on the recording. The recording remains very good, but the mix does become uneven and some instruments appear from nowhere, making for an uneven listen. The debris of the previous song still litters my brain, and it does make it difficult to focus on this part of the concert. 

 

“Calling You” and “Well Done” are commendable, but there is very little Prince to be heard as The Steeles take control of the stage. On another day I would happily listen to them for hours, but in this case, it derails the momentum of the show. I do find a certain peace in their music, their vocal arrangement a soothing balm, but I know I’m not alone in waiting patiently for Prince to again storm the front of the stage. 

 

The Steeles stay at the center of things with “Heart In My Hand,” a song familiar to anyone who is au fait with the VHS release. The recording changes at this point, it feels a little more live, perhaps the taper changed position, I don’t know, but the sound does change even if the quality doesn’t. This makes for a spontaneous feel, and there is a joyfulness that springs out of the recording for “Soldier In The Army Of The Lord” and “Love (Got A Hold On Me).” The Steeles certainly end their set in style, and although it has been a detour from the main event, it has been a pleasant one. 

  

This concert sees the final live appearance of “Deuce & A Quarter,” and just as I was beginning to warm to it. It is interesting to note here the difference between the bootleg and the released version. On the bootleg, we hear the entire song played, whereas on the video it is edited down to barely a minute to serve as the introduction to “Call The Law.” I prefer the bootleg, but only after seeing the video and realizing Tony M was an integral part of the band and hyping the crowd. It doesn’t always come across well on bootlegs, but on live video, one can see just how much of a positive reaction he gets from the crowd and how it lifts the energy levels of the shows. “Call The Law” is cut from the same cloth, Tony M lifting the crowd to new heights as Prince adds some submerged guitar to the song, behind a veil of call and response. The guitar emerges from its hide to ambush the song after the infectious chorus, cutting through the hype and giving it a bare-knuckle punch that was previously lacking. Tony M becomes a little rough and ragged by the end of it, but it matters little as the music drives far beyond the confines of the song. 

 

The concert continues to swing upwards with another appearance of Mavis Staples for “House In Order.” Another song that appears in the video, here it appears in its correct position – near the end of the concert rather than earlier as we see in the video. This gives another chance for the horns to glisten as they add their driving stabs to Mavis’s full-throttle sound. It is the longest song of the bootleg as Mavis and the N.P.G. pull the song into an infectious jam that sweeps the audience into a fervor as the chorus swings around and around, pivoting on Mavis’s vocals and Prince’s subtle, yet essential, spindly guitar. 

 

The next two songs have a long and torturous journey to release and are both essential in the coming years. “Come” was recorded in early 1993, and would go through several re-recordings before its release in late 1994. The version we have here is heavy on the beat and lacks some of the finesse of the released version. Infused with some of Prince’s deeper guitar playing, it becomes a muscular low-rider, sleek and speedy under the radar, never quite raising its head to the sun. 

 

“Endorphinmachine” had an even more eventful journey, initially recorded on the same day as “Come” in early 1993, it first saw release on the Interactive CD Rom of 1994, before finally appearing on an album (albeit in a much tamer form) in 1995. The version we have here in 1993 is untamed and wild, the guitar shooting off in several directions at once, Prince’s initial big bang giving way to hundreds of other explosions, each opening up its own small universe. It’s live, it’s raw, it’s a thrilling ride that dismantles the carefully crafted tension of earlier in the concert and replaces it with a bare-knuckled ride expressed through Prince’s guitar licks. It may not be the best-sounding version in circulation, but it is an explosive shift in sound that cannons Prince and the N.P.G. into the future. 

  

An abrasive guitar shriek and the briefest of guitar noodles lays the stage for the final barrage which is “Peach.”  Once it begins properly it is unrelenting in its ferocious sound, an electrifying wall of sound that is just as dense on the bootleg as it is on the official release. The song wore out its welcome in later years, but at this moment it is at its zenith, and it lights up the bootleg as it blazes across the final minutes. It’s hard not to go back and look at the video after this, the performance is so compelling, that it needs to be seen as well as heard, and the image of Prince throwing his guitar to the ground puts an emphatic full stop to the concert, to the tour, and to the past. This is the end. This is the beginning. This is the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end. This is everything. 

 

Most bootlegs stand on their own and can be enjoyed without appreciation for the context in which they appear. That is not the case with this recording, it is already widely heard in its Frankenstein form, and is too an important document of an explosive point of Prince’s career to be viewed alone. This recording and concert are the culmination of a tumultuous year that saw Prince change his name and begin the process of turning his back on his former name and catalog. This concert is a defiant statement as he plunges deep into his new self and music. Some people were disappointed at the time of the official release that Prince didn’t feature more prominently, but this is the new Prince, and these are his new rules. Prince killed himself off at the last concert of the tour, and at this aftershow the future is revealed. New, bold, exciting, this bootleg captures it all just as the world was turning in a new direction. 

London 7 September 1993

 

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

7th September 1993, Wembley Arena

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

 

  

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

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

Flugplatz Lüneburg 3 September 1993

 

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

3 September, 1993 Flugplatz Lüneburg, Germany

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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