Jan 86 Early 1986 : !
Pop Eye : Dredging Up the Purple Prince's Past
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- By Ken Tucker, Inquirer Popular-Music Critic
Pop Eye : Dredging Up the Purple Prince's PastBy Patrick Goldstein There's a new Prince record in your local record store this week called "Minneapolis Genius : 94 East." At least, it looks like a Prince album. After all, the record jacket is bright purple. But is it really, as the label copy reads, "The Historic 1977 Recordings" featuring Prince's first appearance in a recording studio ? Technically, the answer is yes. In the mid-'70s, Prince - then the leader of a bar band called Grand Central Station - went into a Minneapolis studio to do some session work with Pepe Willie, a mainstay on the local music circuit who led a band called 94 East. Now, nearly a decade later, Hot Pink Records has released an album with six songs from those sessions. Prince's contributions are strictly musical. He plays most of the instruments on the album but does not sing on any of the tracks and only co-wrote one of the six songs. So the big question remains : Isn't it a wee bit misleading to use all this Prince imagery as a come-on for Prince fans to buy the record ? Not so, insisted Willie, who said he was an "adviser" to Prince early in his career, "showed him the ropes" and has remained "friends" with him ever since. "People can say what they want," Willie explained, "but if I'm cashing in, I'm cashing in on me. I got all this stuff started. I don't mean this in any ego trip way, but the whole Minneapolis scene wouldn't have happened without me." According to Willie, he first met Prince at a ski-party and later helped shape the sound of his early groups, which also included Andre Cymone (who's on the new record) and Morris Day, whose mother originally booked the band. "There was no question that they knew how to play," Willie said. "But there wasn't any construction. They'd do a song for three minutes, then jam for 10 minutes, and one person would sing something different from what the other person was singing." As for the tag, "The Historic 1977 Sessions," Willie said : "Hey, this was the beginning, the first time this 16-year-old kid was in the studio. To me, that's historic." Willie added that he hasn't heard anything directly from the Prince camp, just rumors. "But I'm pretty sure he's happy about it." Though Prince's name is being used to attract record buyers, he won't be seeing much in the way of profits from the album. According to Andrew Frances, an executive vice president at Hot Pink Records, the Purple One was paid a fee to perform session work on the record and will receive royalties from the one track he co-wrote. As for the timing behind the record's release - coming just as Prince is issuing a new album on Warners - Frances says it's strictly coincidental. "We had no idea that Prince was going to drop a single onto the world the week our record came out," he said. "He hasn't exactly been talking to us every day about his plans." Prince's management had no comment. A spokesman for his record label, Warner Bros. Records, said : "This predates our involvement with Prince. Actually, when we saw the title, 'Minneapolis Genius,' we thought maybe they were talking about Harmon Killebrew." 17-02 to 01-03-1986 : Rehearsals 17-02-1986 : Euphoria Highway (2:04) A two-week period of sessions at Sunset Sound followed in February 1986. Prince and Jill taped one new track, “Euphoria Highway.” Other than Jill Jones singing the title phrase during the song's introduction, it is an instrumental piece. They recorded overdubs and did more work on the tracks they had chosen for the album. At this stage, the project was turned over to David Rivkin as Prince realised he was not going to have enough time to complete it on his own. He felt Rivkin could spend more time and care with the record. ??-??-1986 : My Man (2) * It is likely that additional recording was done on My Man by David Z. at a later date, perhaps at the same time that Jill Jones added vocals (likely 1986-7, although this is unconfirmed). After these two songs in which Jones boasts of her sexual liberation, ‘My Man’ comes as suddenly conservative. It’s a musically and lyrically basic song about a woman who’s annoyed with a cheating lover. There’s a danger, once again, in reading this album as a narrative rather than a simple collection of unconnected songs. It’s not a concept album, so there’s no reason to look for themes or to see ‘Jill Jones’ as a created persona, but Prince always gives great thought to sequencing: maybe ‘My Man’ is there to counterbalance the licentious feel of so much of the record ; to distinguish Jones from Apollonia and Vanity. 23-02-1986 : Sheila E @ Oakland Late 02-1986 : Jill Jones 1st configuration / Last Jill Jones Sessions The first configuration of the album was compiled in late February, 1986, before the recording of Violet Blue, but the tracklist of this configuration is unknown. The first configuration of Jill’s album was compiled in late February 1986, but it would take another year before the record was completed. “Prince decided it needed more work or songs,” says Rivkin. “We didn’t go ‘what?’ We went ‘yes, OK.’ That’s why it took so long.” Apart from tracks that eventually ended up on Jill’s album, the early version of her record included “Euphoria Highway” and “Too Rough.” Being a slow-paced, predominantly synth-based instrumental piece (apart from Jill’s wailed intro of the title phrase), “Euphoria Highway” is very different from the rest of the material that was worked on for Jill’s album. “Too Rough,” meanwhile, is an uptempo pop effort about a woman who carries her money in her garter belt with a pistol. The men all want to take her out, but her only aim is to take their money, pride, and personality. The song was later offered to Joyce Kennedy, formerly of Mother's Finest. She turned it down, commenting, “I don't think it’s some of his best work. The hook and the vocal lead are good, but the rest of the song... It’s real strange.” Mar 86 01-03-1986 : Capitol Studio (LA) Can I Play With U (3) (4:10) – Miles Davis overdubs – Prev. Sunset Sound 27-12-85 – Perfect Way Miles Davis added trumpet to the song on 1 March, 1986 at Capitol Recording Studio, Los Angeles. NME (UK) Prince And The Revolution – Kiss By Andy Gill OK, I submit this is brilliant. After the momentary aberration of Around The World In A Day, Kiss is back to roots, and not just Prince’s roots, but the roots of those roots. The song calls all the way back to Sly Stone’s deconstructions, a sparse, stinging and – yes ! – sly funk workout in which the spaces say as much as the paces.
What a thrill it is to hear the new Prince single, "Kiss" (Warner Bros.). The song is spectacular - twice as good as anything on Purple Rain, five times better than anything on Around the World in a Day, and a hundred times as appealing as Prince's new sleazy-Romeo haircut. "Kiss" extends the groundbreaking work performed by Sly Stone and Jimi Hendrix in the late '60s and early '70s, when rhythm-and-blues confronted the electronic age with renewed vigor and inventiveness. Prince's use of both electric guitar and synthesizers to create tiny, precise bursts of rhythm is exciting; his witty falsetto vocal reaches back to Frankie Lymon to achieve a sexy yet sincere emotionalism. It's unlike anything else on the radio. It is heartening that Prince has chosen to release this generous, funny single just now. Over the last year, in the wake of the enormous success of both the film and album Purple Rain, as well as the self-absorbed psychedelia of Around the World in a Day, Prince has presented himself to the media and his fans as a churlish recluse. "Kiss" suggests that he is opening up, that he still has a good sense of humor - how else to interpret the song's chorus, which culminates in the lines, "You don't have to be cool to rule my world / I just want your extra time and your... (loud sounds of lips smooching) kiss." This song is the first single from the yet-unreleased sound track to Prince's recently completed film Under the Cherry Moon, and if its funky playfulness is indicative of the movie's mood, we might be in for a treat. If only he'd lose that haircut.03-03-1986 : Parade Tour Wendy / Miko Weaver / Brownmark / Matt Fink / Lisa / Eric Leeds / Matt Blistan / Bobby Z / Jerome Benton Greg Brooks / Wally Safford + Susannah Melvoin  
Prince's Parade show was considered by many to be his best yet. Eschewing the elaborate theatrics of the Purple Rain tour and earlier shows, the Parade show focused more on music and stagecraft than anything else. The addition of Miko Weaver on guitar freed Prince to concentrate on the dancing and singing, closer to a James Brown soul-style revue. He proved to be a masterful showman with a stunning repertoire of dance moves and routines, often with the three dancers and hacking singers following him. The choreography and interplay between Prince and the trio were obviously tightly rehearsed, but spontaneity was never suffocated : everyone bristled with energy and enthusiasm. The show was much more playful and had more personality than Prince's earlier shows. Indeed, many considered the show to he his most mature and professional yet. The addition of Miko Weaver on guitar freed Prince to concentrate on the dancing and singing, and more than anything else, the concerts showed Prince to be a masterful showman with few to match him in terms of stagecraft. He had a stunning repertoire of stage moves and dance routines, often with the dance trio following his moves. The incredibly deft choreography and interplay between Prince and the dancers were obviously tightly rehearsed, but spontaneity was never suffocated; Prince and his band bristled with energy and enthusiasm. Musically, the show was just as absorbing and exhausting as it was visually. The musical pace was very fast and many of the songs were shortened and rearranged. Instead of playing one song after another, many songs were played in long medleys. The horns of Atlanta Bliss and Eric Leeds took over many musical lines previously played by synths, and their embellishments added a strong clement of jazz to the music. At the smallest wink from Prince, the band switched effortlessly from sparse funk numbers to jazzy big hand arrangements. Prince performed in at number of outfits, ranging from colourful baggy suits and ties to more revealing skin-tight spandex trousers and tops. His wardrobe also included a pearl-studded leather jacket, a trenchcoat, and a polo sweater. The show opened with “Around The World In Day," played behind a curtain until the very end of the song, Prince's shout of "parade” was the cue for "Christopher Tracy’s Parade." "New Position" and "I Wonder U" followed without interruption, much like on Parade. The latter was sung by Wendy, allowing Prince to disappear off-stage to change clothes. He returned to the stage for a sing-along version of “Raspberry Beret," which was followed by the considerable less known instrumental B-side. "Alexa De Paris.“ The next portion of the show focused on funk, with “Controversy” segued into "Mutiny.” The latter incorporated parts from "Dream Factory" : a phrase of “this is what it's like in the dream factory” was usually added and the hacking singers lambasted Paul Peterson with the repeated chant of “St. Paul, punk of the month !" A chorus from “How Much Is That Doggie ln The Window ?” preceded a truncated medley of three 1999 tunes, “Lady Cab Driver,” “Automatic” and “D.M.S.R.” “The Dance Electric” featured few lyrics, instead developing into a lengthy instrumental jam with Prince soloing on the guitar. The mood changed as Prince sat down at a grand piano to play “Under The Cherry Moon.” Lisa took over at the piano for “Anotherloverholenyohead” and she played a solo while Prince left the stage for another change of clothes. Reaching back to his first three albums, the next songs were “Soft And Wet,” “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” and “Head.” The latter was an obvious audience favourite, sometimes culminating with Prince seducing and making love to the microphone stand. “Pop Life,” “Girls And Boys,” and “Life Can Be So Nice” closed the main section of the concert. Prince strapped on his guitar for “Purple Rain,” which launched a lengthy encore section. The encores changed from show to show, but Prince often played a frantic version of the Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 classic “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “A Love Bizarre,” “Mountains,” and “America,” before the show climaxed with a rousing “Kiss.” Prince and The Revolution had rehearsed a vast number of songs and the set was changed from show to show. A fairly typical US “Hit & Run” show had the following set list : “Around The World In Day”/ “Christopher Tracy’s Parade”/ “New Position” / “I Wonder U” / “Raspberry Beret” / “Alexa De Paris” / “Controversy” / “Mutiny” / “Dream Factory” / “How Much ls That Doggie In The Window ?” / “Lady Cab Driver” / “Automatic” / “D.M.S.R.” / “The Dance Electric” / “Under The Cherry Moon” / “Anotherloverholenyohead” / “Soft And Wet” / “I Wanna Be Your Lover” / “Head” / “Pop Life” / “Girls And Boys” / “Life Can Be So Nice.” Encore section: “Purple Rain” / “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” / “Mountains” / “A Love Bizarre” / “America” / “Kiss.” The encore segment did not always include “Mountains” and “America.” The extended “Electric Man” portion of “Head” was added for the first time (on tape anyway) in Detroit, June 7th, while “♥ Or $” made at least one appearance in the set, San Francisco, May 23rd. “Paisley Park” was dropped after the First Avenue concert. Chants from “Holly Rock” were occasionally added to “Controversy,” “Mutiny,” “A Love Bizarre,” and “America.” Apart from the early performnces of “Raspberry Beret,” which featured a full-length version, the song was shortened to include only a verse and the chorus. When Prince and The Revolution played in New York, August 2nd and 3rd, the show had undergone several changes. “Delirious” was added in place of “Alexa De Paris,” while “When Doves Cry” replaced “The Dance Electric.” “Do Me, Baby” was inserted as a breather between “Mutiny” and the 1999 medley, and “Sometimes It Snows In April” was added as an encore. In addition, the “Dream Factory” portion of “Mutiny” was dropped. Instead, “Mutiny” included lines from “Ice Cream Castles” and the “roof is on fire” chant from George Clinton’s “Mix-Master Suite,” from his then-newly released album R&B Skeletons In The Closet. For the European tour, Prince dropped “Soft And Wet,” replacing it with “17 Days” or “♥ Or $” (played less often than “17 Days”). “I Wanna Be Your Lover” was only played during the first concert in Europe, London, August 12th, before being omitted for the rest of the tour, while “Mutiny” was replaced with “A Love Bizarre” after making two appearances in Europe (London, August 12th and 13th). Introduced in the set in Europe was “1999,” which ended the main portion of the show. “Purple Rain” was used as the closing number. The Rolling Stones’ “Miss You” (London, August 14th), “Manic Monday” (Rotterdam, August 18th), and the new “lt’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night” (Paris, August 25th) made one appearance each on the European tour. Prince sometimes added a song or two to the segment of the show with him seated at the piano, “Condition Of The Heart,” “Little Red Corvette,” “Paisley Park,” “Do U Lie?,” and “The Ladder.” Prince would sometimes add a line from “Hey Good Lookin’,” another track on Clinton’s R&B Skeletons In The Closet, to “Head.” Few set changes were made for the subsequent japanese tour, although “♥ Or $” was played more often than “17 Days” and the piano sit-down portion was extended. The band... Prince (Whatever), Wendy (guitar), Lisa (keyboards), Brown Mark (bass), Bobby Z. (drums), Dr. Fink (keyboards), Miko Weaver (guitar), Atlanta Bliss (trumpet), Eric Leeds (saxophone), Greg Brooks (backing vocals), Wally Safford (backing vocals), Jerome Benton (backing vocals). 
This was a first-rate production and perfectly captures the mood and style of the Parade era. It contains full-page portraits of Prince and the individual members of the expanded Revolution with excellent photography by Jeff Katz. Other than a discography, there isn’t much more to the book. The edition sold at the European and Japanese shows was the same, but the Japanese one included a Sheila E. poster inserted in the book. 
 
 
 
 
♫ MPLS 1st Avenue Soundcheck (0:20) (A : Stroke – 8/10)
Instrumental / Controversy / Mutiny The pre-show soundcheck included work on “Controversy” and “Mutiny,” as well as Mazarati's “Stroke," written by Brown Mark. Part of this soundcheck has been circulating for years and has appeared on various pressed releases in the past - 'Cherry' and 'Veni, Vidi, Vici' - being the obvious two. Those however lasted around 17:30 which means this fan release is almost twice the length and contains an entire 15:30 version of 'Stroke' which has never appeared until now. Those are the positives, however the downside is the quality of the recording is really rather woeful and anyone looking for a pleasurable listening experience would be better looking elsewhere. It's not the worst I've heard, however a constant droning hum and background hiss throughout, matched with tape flaws, glitches and wavering all make this something for the hardcore. The hiss lasts for the entire recording, but is at its peak during the (until now) uncirculating 'Stroke' and the volume level rivals the soundcheck content itself. That said, this is a one-of-a-kind soundcheck, so I find it pretty easy to zone out the problems and focus on the merits of the soundcheck - of which there are many. The opening 5 minutes consist of nothing more than a mess of drums, guitar licks and synth effects whilst the band tune their instruments. This gives way to a jam centered around 'Stroke' which is mainly instrumental with Prince adding a few lines. A basic run-through of 'Controversy' is followed by a lengthy jam on 'Mutiny' which extends into a groove with Prince picking up his guitar towards the end. The recording then ends with another blast of band tuning/instrument checks before the recording ends abruptly. The musical content may be secondary to the majority due to the quality of the recording, but the 'Stroke' jam really is worth at least one listen, if you can stomach it. ♫ h MPLS 1st Avenue (2:11) (A : First Avenue ‘86 – 10/10 * V : First Avenue Warm-Up – 8/10) Around The World In A Day / Christopher Tracy’s Parade / New Position / I Wonder U / Paisley Park 
Alexa De Paris (aborted) / Raspberry Beret / Alexa De Paris Controversy (Incl. What Have You Done For Me Lately) / Mutiny (Incl. Dream Factory) / Soft & Wet I Wanna Be Your Lover / Head / Under The Cherry Moon / Pop Life (Incl. Frere Jacques) Girls & Boys(Incl. Holly Rock) / Life Can Be So Nice / Purple Rain / Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On Anotherloverholenyohead / Mountains (Incl. Disco To Go) / A Love Bizarre America (Incl. Spanish Key – Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) – Holly Rock – The Oak Tree – Living In America – Free World – Color Of Success) / Kiss The revamped Revolution made their debut at First Avenue with an announcement on Minneapolis radio station KMOJ as the only advance notice. Prince's family members watched from the balcony and four video cameras recorded the event. Prince and his group, in a relaxed and congenial mood, thrashed the stage for two and a half hours of rock and funk. Prince changed from purple pajamas with a long white coat into a bare midriff paisley outfit, ending in a leather greaser-era look. He even wandered into the amazed audience several times during the show. Prince reminded the audience from the outset that it was just a rehearsal. "We've only been rehearsing for about a week. So we're a little rusty. But here it goes," he said before kicking off with “Around The World ln A Day.” “That was Wendy," he said after "l Wonder U." “We're gonna try to play everything that we know. Some of us are kind of rusty. Like I said, we've only been rehearsing a week. If we come back and play next week, it will be alright." Prince launched into a guitar solo before starting to sing “Paisley Park" unaccompanied. The song worked great and it is a shame that it was dropped from the set after only one performance. Towards the end of “Raspberry Beret,” Prince addressed Jerome, "l gotta talk to you about this girl, man.” He described the “raspberry beret” girl's figure and said, “You know what ? She don't wanna make love to me." “That's a lie," Prince remarked after singing the line “ain't got no money“ in “l Wanna Be Your Lover.“ "Head" was a highlight of the set, featuring a lot of encouragements by Prince to get the audience to take part. “Say it, one word ! Head !“ He instructed. “When I say, 'Whose house ?,' l want y'all to say ‘Prince's house !"' Jerome showed Prince how to dance the “Oak Tree" during "Head," causing Prince to say, “Oak tree ? Is that it ? We've got to chop that down tonight and make a wooden leg out of it." “Purple Rain" started unusually, with a long sax improvisation by Eric Leeds before Prince joined the band, playing some jazzy guitar phrases, before starting to sing. Played as an encore, “Anotherloverholenyohead" did not feature Lisa Coleman's piano solo. “A Love Bizarre" was fairly short, emphasizing Eric Leeds' saxophone playing. More inspired, “America" lasted around 15 minutes and featured lyric quotes from "Holly Rock," Jesse Johnson's "Free World,” Morris Day's “The Oak Tree" and "Colour Of Success," and James Brown's 1985 hit “Living In America." Prince had the backing singers repeat his lines in a call-and-response manner. Prince also played a drum solo during "America.” “Whose house ?,” he asked one more time before kicking off "Kiss," which closed the show. 
Prince opened what became known as the Hit N Run tour with a surprise home-town show at First Avenue, a month before the release of Parade. As he did when playing there in 1982, and would again when premiering the Sign o’ the Times show in 1987, he was eager to establish that this was a rehearsal. In the time between the last Purple Rain show at the Orange Bowl in Miami nearly a year earlier and this performance, Prince had played only three shows, and this was the first chance for a paying audience to witness the major changes he had undergone since the bombast of the Purple Rain tour. Just as Parade represented a change in his sound from the rock-orientated previous two albums, so the Hit N Run tour revealed a more playful Prince than the angst-ridden kid last seen onstage. At the First Avenue show, Prince announced that they’d only been rehearsing a week – in reality, they’d been working on the show for a month – but he clearly felt they needed more work as he took the band back into rehearsal after the show and appeared anxious about how the show might be received, offering up further apologies throughout the performance. ‘Paisley Park’ sounded particularly ragged that evening, as Prince struggled and strained to make it fit, and it’s a song that he performed only a handful of times on the tour, as it didn’t really work in a show more focused on the Parade material. He turned on his bandmates too. When someone began the intro for a song not due until later in the set, he snapped : ‘Man, that’s what I said : you let somebody new in the band, they always want to solo.’ The mention of new people joining the band was an acknowledgement of a recent sore point. After the break-up of The Time, Prince had absorbed several new members into the band, including Jerome Benton, his right-hand man from Under the Cherry Moon, and would now interrupt ‘Raspberry Beret’ to banter with him about breast sizes, giving an early indication as to why some members of The Revolution would soon become frustrated with the new direction. Prince would use Jerome as a foil throughout the tour, seemingly in an attempt to absorb The Time into The Revolution, the childish interplay between the two of them an odd contrast to the sophisticated music Prince and his band were playing. About the change, Matt Fink says : ‘I wasn’t completely crazy about it, but I warmed up to it. It was a result of what happened with The Family. Paul Peterson couldn’t come to an agreement for his terms of contract. Prince wanted to tie him down for seven years, or at least three years with an option, but he just wanted one year with an option. So he walked away, and Prince felt bad so he offered places in The Revolution to members of The Family.’ But Fink accepts that it wasn’t just kindness or guilt behind the restructuring. ‘There was some creative element. The music started to need people playing horns and stuff like that.’ Other additions to the band included Eric Leeds, Atlanta Bliss, and more contentiously, as dancers and on backing vocals, Wally Safford, Greg Brooks and Wendy’s sister Susannah Melvoin. The conflict that would soon emerge shouldn’t, however, overshadow the brilliance of this tour, particularly the American leg. Among the hard core, there are three candidates for Prince’s greatest tour : the Hit N Run/Parade tour of 1986, the Lovesexy tour, and to a lesser extent, the One Nite Alone … tour. But to a certain breed of fan, the Hit N Run/Parade tour easily ranks highest, largely because Prince was debuting an extraordinary amount of high-quality new material (the same would be true of the Sign o’ the Times and The Ultimate Live Experience tours, of course, but those shows were without The Revolution). These were Prince’s densest, most complicated shows. While still introducing a lot of Parade to an audience who would just be getting familiar with the new record, there were even more unexpected highlights to the evening: the band performing without him on the instrumental ‘Alexa de Paris ’; an ever-growing ‘Mutiny’; and a compelling new version of the song he’d given to André Cymone the year before, ‘The Dance Electric’, which, performed with The Revolution and with Atlanta Bliss on Miles-like trumpet and Prince on guitar, sounded every bit as strong as any Parade song and in its confident demonstration of Prince’s burgeoning interest in jazzfunk provided the show’s highlight. A : An excellent insight into what would later evolve as the Parade Tour. The songs performed (most notably 'Around The World In A Day' & 'Raspberry Beret') are performed far more completely than the versions played on the tour itself. The concert has a rehearsal feel to it, with Prince himself commenting that "We've only been rehearsing for a week" - and he is constantly interacting with the band, and laughing and joking with the audience. 'Mutiny' contains some crowd chants aimed at Paul Peterson (Punk Of The Month), along with parts of 'Dream Factory'. The sound quality, while being an excellent recording is a little less polished than some others, and has some drop-outs and a fairly vocal audience. Overall for interest and rarity value this is a great release. V : This is a major improvement over the previously circulating 1dvdr version of this show. Professionally filmed by a single camera it gives an excellent overview of the stage. There are a number of tight close-ups, however the majority of the footage is shot without zoom, which captures the whole stage. The picture quality and sharpness of colour is much better on this version, however the footage still suffers the same problems as all others do (as they originate from the same source). The picture has a nasty habit of disappearing, which leaves you with audio only. It happens fairly infrequently, however the whole of 'Purple Rain' suffers this fate, as do some other small parts. Camille has decided to replace the blank screen with a Parade picture, and during the audio-only 'Purple Rain' we are treated to a slideshow of great 86 live pictures - an interesting, novel idea. Overall this 2DVD set is far superior in every way to the previous releases. Great menu's, improved quality footage, fantastic attention to detail and nice bonus material. 
Jon Bream, Minneapolis Star And Tribune, described the concert : "Prince has put together a revue that, in time, could rival James Brown’s and George Clinton’s for colourfulness, chaos and coolness. With the exception of three costume changes, it was the closest Prince has come to putting on a no-frills, no-props show that lacked his usual self-indulgences. The concert was unquestionably one of the most fun, free-spirited and free-wheeling performances he has given in the Twin Cities.“ Michael Welch reported for City Pages : “I thought it was a great show, full of sound and fury. Prince and the new Revolution milled all the time and joked among themselves. It was super fun.”' “We only been rehearsing about a week, so we a little rusty” Prince informs the crowd as the show starts “But here goes”. Immediately the sound of Around the World In a Day can be heard, and Prince starts the gig with an “Aawwwhhh” as he does so many times. Around the World In a Day is one of those songs that have seemed to fallen through the cracks. It’s an interesting song, but never seems to quite fit with anything else he has done before or since. The first half of the song is delicate, but the second half the lights come up and Prince and the band run through some fairly solid dance moves. Its bit of a novelty song for me, so I enjoy the performance here. A shout, and the band switch to Christopher Tracy’s Parade. A fun song, the audience and I start to relax more. The mood is pretty light throughout, and Prince ad-libs a nice little line in the middle with “Jimmy Jam, I don’t to hear this on your record” ! The extended Revolution shows off the new members, especially the horns are much more prominent. The song ends with Prince moving to the keyboards and jamming for half a minute. Oh, if only it was longer. There is no rest as they immediately segue into New Position. My thoughts are already how well these three songs all work together. It’s a nice energy to all three of them, and they all demonstrate his nice clean sound at this stage. For a band that has supposedly only been rehearsing for a week, they all sound tight to me. One can only guess that the week involved some very long days. I Wonder U slows us all down, and takes us somewhere different again. What a great mix of styles he had at the time. They play slight faster than I normally hear on record, and it takes a couple of lines perform Wendy’s voice warms up and gets stronger. Another nice moment is between songs when Prince says “oh, I like you guys already”. Again he explains they have only been rehearsing a week, and may be rusty. No fear of that, I assure you, it’s all sounding great so far. Next up is the first of many highlights for me, when Prince pulls out his guitar and delivers up a rarely heard live version of Paisley Park. A favorite of mine on record, live it’s something better again. I can’t explain what it is about this version that I enjoy, maybe the rawness of his voice, and the guitar. There is a lyric ad-lib as well, which only adds to the loose live feel of it. Prince is playing with a big smile, I am sure this comes across in the audio recording. Price plays a nice guitar break near the end, buts it’s the sound of all the instruments working together that I really enjoy. And in a very nice moment Prince plays the finger cymbals as the song has its long fade out. The fade out goes for quite a while, and Prince gets up close and personal with some of the audience. I really do love gigs like this when he is totally relaxed. Alexa de Paris is next, but sadly it’s just a mistake, with only Wendy playing. Obviously she has misread the set list. Prince covers with an “oh man, you let someone new in the band and they wanna solo”, which seems like a strange comment considering Wendy had been in the band for almost 3 years by this stage. A little bit of pop music next as they play Raspberry beret. Usually a crowd sing-along song this version is refreshing in that Prince himself sings most of it rather than leaving the crowd to sing it. Energy levels are high, with some choreographed dancing by Prince, as well as just some joyful jumping around. There is some excellent face pulling by Prince at the crowd, then some humorous banter between Prince and Jerome - mostly about wiener size. (Seriously !) There is a final flourish by the band, the finally Wendy gets her moment with Alexa De Paris. It’s worth the wait, she takes centre stage and plays a great version. Although her body language doesn’t show it, she speaks through her music and it sounds quite impassioned. Again, another gem that should be heard more often. She stalks back and forth across the stage, and I must admit I watch pretty enrapt as she plays. The Revolution certainly was a great band. The pounding beginning of Controversy never fails to excite me, especially when that killer guitar enters, this time backed by the horn section. The balance is just right here, with the funk of the original still intact and the horns not overwhelming it. Prince himself doesn’t play guitar on it here, content with dancing and singing, and the energy seems to pore out of him during this performance. “Get up !”, oh yes, this is my moment as Mutiny begins. I have said it before and I will say it again, this is my favorite part of any Parade show. Prince dances across the stage back by the dancers, and then hits us for a few lines. There are many elements to this that I love - his dancing, Eric Leeds playing, the funky guitar line, the driving beat, and the lyrics. There is a breakdown mid song, I think it sounds good, but somebody has missed a cue - Prince calls “breakdown, then I told you we were rusty.” Eric Leeds sax solo is a absolute joy, especially while Prince and the back up singers have fun with chanting “Paul, punk of the month” Prince teases me even further by singing ‘this is what its like in the dream factory”. This performance is stellar, so much happening in it, and it’s all played with passion and fire. Prince clearly enjoys this song a lot at this stage, and it gets played to maximum impact. I am very surprised to hear Soft and Wet next, although given the variety and quantity of music Prince has recorded anything could be heard at any time. This one isn’t so choreographed as some of the other songs, and at stages Prince looks like his younger self, just playing his music and moving how he feels to it. Fink plays a nice solo, and it feels straight out of 78 again. It’s a real contrast to the previous 40 minutes of music. There is further nostalgia when he follows up by playing I Wanna Be Your Lover. It feels so simple after some of the more complex music he had been working on at the time, but doesn’t lessen the enjoyment level in the slightest. It’s always going to be one of his catchiest songs, and an essential part to his legend. The song segues in to its funky second half and Prince tell the crowd “We gonna play everything we know tonight” There is a party atmosphere, and I find myself typing faster and faster as I listen to it. The crowd is clapping and singing and I find it hard to not get caught up in it all myself. Wendy gets a couple of guitar breaks, and the tone of her guitar sounds nice and sharp. Of course it moves easily into Head, very seamless. I would say that this sound of Prince is the sound that made me a fan, and probably introduced me into the world of funk. I should mention Brown Mark at this stage, his playing here is what I am listening to most throughout this song. The horns here really strengthen and fill out the sound. The keyboards are very much still the basis of the song, and this is highlighted by the solo that Dr Fink plays. Never boring, he delivers every time I hear this song. Prince says “don’t play no keyboard unless you do that” and I know exactly what he means. Dr Fink puts everything into it, and it’s a lot of fun to watch him bobbing and jerking behind the keyboard. Things take a dark turn after this as it slides into a long dark groove. There is plenty of Prince interplay with the dancers, as he moves through some of his more corny dance moves (Oak tree or wooden leg anyone ?) It’s hard to dislike any of it, as the music is so strong and carries it. There is some very funny interplay from Prince and the band between songs, difficult to transcribe here, but actually very insightful to the band dynamics. A keyboard is placed centre stage and Prince plays a nice rendition of Under The Cherry Moon. I am shaking my head at this stage, difficult to believe that just a minute ago we were getting funked up to Head. Prince plays the song, but there seems to be a lot of audience talk throughout on the recording, so I am wondering how well it’s going across with the crowd. However, 30 years later I think it’s great. Pop Life, not only one of my favorites on record, but also a live favorite, here it gets a full treatment. A very well titled song, it’s just oozes pop, with just a touch funk underneath it all to satisfy most fans. Not many songs have a flute solo, but this one does, and somehow Eric Leeds still manages to look cool as ever as he plays it. The bass playing on this is excellent, I just wish there was more of it. The song has a long breakdown, with the male dancers singing “Pop Life” over and over while Prince breaks into some dancing. Doesn’t sound wonderful, but it is enjoyable. Especially when Prince tells the audience “we got plenty of time” Eric Leeds gets further praise from me, as the next song is Girls and Boys. The band is well and truly in the groove now, and the audience is right behind them. This version is tight, my only quibble is the guitar isn’t in the mix as much as other recordings I have heard. On the plus side, Prince’s singing is very strong here, and he does encourage the crowd to party throughout. The latter part of the song finds me with a big smile on my face. The band is definitely heating up, and the song starts to take off as it goes along. Again Prince prowls back and forth across the stage, plenty of audience interaction, and ad-libs, everyone has their hands in the air by now, and you know he owns them. Normally I dislike it when Prince tells me how funky he is, but here he is definitely preaching to the converted, this song is funky as hell. Just when I think it can’t get any better Prince whips off his top, engages in some dancing, then moves to the organ and begins to jam. By now my greatest wish is that one day he will go back, pull a clean copy of this video from his vault and release it. The song lasts for a good nine minutes, never repeats itself, showcases all his styles and talents, and I am breathless by the time it finishes. There is no let up as we get Life Can Be So Nice right on top of it. I don’t know where Prince gets his energy from, I feel tired just listening to it. Not just the energy of the song itself, but also all the stage antics and performance. If anyone ever doubts he’s the greatest ever, just show them this. The show to this point has been truly sublime. The song ends with the band leaving stage one by one, leaving just Bobby Z and Eric Leeds playing. It lasts like this for a minute, until even those two leave. The show to this point has been outstanding, but it’s about to get even better. The next song is undoubtedly the most over played of Princes career. When I look at my Prince recordings I have 100’s of versions of Purple Rain. No matter how good the song is, the fact is I have heard it too many times, and I will quite happily skip it on most recordings. The version here is the exception to that. The arrangement played at this gig is unlike any other I have heard, and it is my favorite recording of Prince’s most famous song. Purple Rain begins with the simple guitar signature that we are all so familiar with, and the steady beat. But where it really takes off for me is when Eric Leeds starts playing saxophone all over the intro. Some people may feel that it shouldn’t be messed with, but for me it adds a whole new element, and in no way at all detracts from the song. It’s another layer to it, and it’s a very welcome for me. His playing gets more passionate and feeling as it goes, and it adds another emotional layer to the song. I don’t know how many times it was played like this, but I would love to hear more recordings of this arrangement. Princes asks “Can I play just a little bit” and he himself adds a beautiful little run on the guitar. Although only 30 seconds, I find myself moved by it, there is a lot of feeling hanging on those few notes. By the time he begins singing at the five minute mark I have already had my money’s worth, and already this is my favorite performance at this gig. Prince sings the verses the same as we have heard so many times, that’s not to say they are bad, but after the first five minutes I am already floored, nothing else can elevate this song more. The Prince solo is just as good as any other I have heard, and it deviates just enough to keep me interested. Actually, it gets better and better and by the end of it I find myself just sitting there nodding, much like Billy in the Purple Rain movie. This is MY Purple Rain. It’s bit of a let down when they follow up with Whole Lotta Shakin. But to its credit, it is short, and energetic. Both the piano and horns get moments to shine, and it does lift the audience after Purple Rain. Hard to imagine anything to follow that, so this seems like not a bad choice ! Another personal favorite next when the long deep sounds of Eric Leeds sax introduces Anotherloverholenyohead. Prince immediately starts to gee up the crowd, but if they are anything like me, there is really no need. Again it’s hard to believe that this is a new song for the band. They seem to have it down pretty good, and it’s another high point in a gig full of high points. Wendy and Susannah share a mic for the backing vocals, and Eric and Atlanta deliver up a couple of nice little runs. The song quickly turns to a jam with the band playing on while the singers sing “You need another lover, like you need a hole in yo head” It’s songs like this that I enjoy most, the horns playing over the top of a long groove. Prince seems in a playful mood, bouncing around the stage and just moving to the music. The songs keep on coming, next we have Mountains. Again it’s lively, with Prince doing plenty of dancing. Early in his career he wasn’t much of a dancer, but by this stage he has got it done, and he is excellent in this song, and indeed in every song. The horns sound nice and sharp in this one, and there is a brief moment for Wendy and Miko to play. Wendy is upfront and prominent for most of the gig, while Miko is fairly anonymous at the back in the shadows. It’s a shame, because his funk playing is excellent. There is a nice long fade out, and I can hear his playing a little better. Prince ends the song with finger cymbals, I can’t help but smile when I see him play them. Another favorite of mine from this era follows, with a shout of “A, B, A, B, C, D !!” A Love Bizarre almost has me leaping from my seat. It’s astonishing how much great music he was writing at this stage, not only for himself but for everyone. Love Bizarre is a classic, and the performance here is brilliant, not just the audio, but also the onstage show. Prince again is all over the stage, dancing and singing. The band doesn’t miss a single note, and the club is partying. Eric solo begins with Prince exclaiming “Eric Leeds, look at his suit !” The whole band is bouncing as Eric plays, and it sends my pulse racing. But the best is yet to come, as Prince plays some mean guitar next. He plays a nice minute on Love Bizarre, but then continues playing as they move to the main riff of America. It’s a shame there isn’t more performances of this song out there. I love the video performance of America recorded in Paris (sic), and the America played at this gig is also outstanding. The Revolution play the hell out of it, and Prince demonstrates that he hasn’t forgotten how to play guitar. This song is so sharp and tight, the band very cohesive and play furiously. Listening to it, I wish he still played it today, but to be honest, I really think its The Revolution that elevates this song. Every member gets a moment, and the pace of it is just relentless. Prince puts down the guitar and dances hard as the band march on. It’s about now that it turns into the jam as you knew it would. With Prince leading the dancing he also demonstrates his band leader skills, and leads the band through several changes. Prince sings bits and pieces of several songs, but never for a moment does the groove let up. Prince further demonstrates his many talents by taking a turn at the drums later in the song. I am doing it an injustice here, this is one of those ones you have to hear, or see. It’s really something. There is a brief interlude, where Prince promises that he will come back and build a club house and they can do this everyday. It’s a nice thought, and I am reminded of his song uptown. With a call of “whose house - Prince house” the band begin the final song of the night, Kiss. It feels light, after some of the songs we have heard previously, but it’s very enjoyable. I especially enjoy the last portion, after the verses have finished and it just moves to funky guitar and a beat. There is some more of Prince dancing with his ‘Wooden Leg’ (That didn’t really catch on, did it ?) while the band and audience stick with him. There is a final chorus and the show ends. I have many thoughts about this one. It contains many of my favorite songs, and favorite performances, yet it’s not often played by me. After listening to it the last few days, this would be number one on my wish list for a better soundboard recording to suddenly appear from the vault, or a crystal clear video. In my list of top twenty shows, this deserves to be somewhere near the top. A lot of new music here, and excellent performance, and some stellar reworkings of familiar songs, I can’t praise this show enough. The show is 10/10, even if the recording is not. Sheila E @ Tuscon 03-1986 : e The Bangles @ Tube - Manic Monday + Interview (0:04) 
MAZARATI – PLAYER’S BALL Single Release Single : Player’s Ball (4:34) / I Guess It’s All Over (3:30) Maxi-Single : Player’s Ball (Extended) (8:10) / I Guess It’s All Over (LP Version) (4:56)
04-03-1986 : MAZARATI Release (40:44) Player’s Ball (4:34) / Lonely Girl On Bourbon St (4:36) / 100 MPH (7:23) / She’s Just That Kind Of Lady (3:41) Stroke (4:28) / Suzy (4:22) / Strawberry Lover (5:21) / I Guess It’s All Over (4:51) 
Mazarati’s self-titled debut LP is released on Paisley Park Records. Formed in 1984, the seven-piece group from Minneapolis was discovered by Mark Brown. He wrote all of the songs except one, and arranged and co-produced the LP with David Z (Rivkin). Prince contributed one track, "100 MPH." He also re-wrote Brown Mark's lyrics for two other songs, Strawberry Lover and I Guess It's All Over. The album only reached number 133 on Bilboard’s pop chart, and number 49 on black chart. Mark Brown, who oversaw the band, was frustrated by the lack of commercial success of the group and accused Paisley Park Records and Prince for not having sufficient support for the album. Their contract with the label was broken when Mark left the band in late 1986. He managed to sign with Motown Records for Mazarati’s second album, Mazarati 2. Sheila E @ Phoenix 05-03-1986 : KISS UK Single / Maxi-Single Release Kiss (Extended) (7:17) / Love Or $ (Extended) (6:51) UK release of "Kiss" / "♥ Or $." It reached number six. Sheila E @ Las Vegas 06-03-1986 : ! LA Universal Amphitheater (Joins Sheila E) * Advert. Start : 8:15PM / Duration : 0:25 A Love Bizarre / Head (Incl. What Have You Done For Me Lately – Dream Factory – Holly Rock) / Kiss 
Unexpectedly, Prince appeared on stage at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles to perform "A Love Bizarre" with Sheila E., before continuing with “America” and “Kiss." By the end of the 30-minute encore. Sheila's band had been relegated to the wings as Prince and The Revolution took over the stage. Meets George Clinton & Vanessa Williams After the concert, Prince received George Clinton backstage along with the former Miss America Vanessa Williams, who were working on a common project. Clinton had contacted Prince’s management and asked him if he was interested to collaborate on tracks on the album. Prince offered them "Eternity" (recorded at Sunset Sound in December 1985) and "Euphoria Highway" (recorded with Jill Jones at Sunset Sound in February 1986). The Clinton project with Vanessa Williams never saw the day and "Euphoria Highway" is still unreleased. "Eternity" was later submitted to Sheena Easton, who released it in her 1987 No Sound But A Heart. 07-03-1986 : Sheila E @ LA 08-03-1986 : h Sheila E @ San Francisco Warfield Theater (0:57) (A : Meet My Heroes – 10/10 * V : Live Romance 1600 – 10/10) Sister Fate / Erotic City / Toy Box / S Car Go / Merci For The Speed Of A Mad Clown In Summer Holly Rock / The Glamorous Life / A Love Bizarre Prince showed up to do another duet with Sheila, this time at her show at the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco. Prince and The Revolution joined Sheila on “A Love Bizarre" and “Kiss.” The show was filmed and later released as a home video. Prince would return to the Warfield Theatre in May. 
♫ San Francisco Warfield Theater (Joins Sheila E) (0:17) A Love Bizarre / Kiss 
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