Post-Punk Monk

The “International Lover” was poised for takeoff

[…continued from last post]

One of the good things about this boxed set was that it gave me a chance to experience the “1999 Tour” live on album and video. Prince had brought the tour to [sort of] Central Florida when the “1999” tour played at the Lakeland Civic Center in early 1983. I knew the tour was happening and was interested in seeing it but the facts were that in 1983 I had still yet to see any sort of rock concert yet. The acts I was into didn’t play Orlando. And the Lakeland Civic Center was in a sleepy orange grove town halfway between Orlando [large] and Tampa [larger] and 50 minutes away from either metropolis. Lots of acts that would draw more than the 3,000 that the Bob Carr PAC in Orlando but less than the 60,ooo of the Tangerine Bowl had few choices in the entertainment environment of the time but to play there. So hearing and seeing this tour as in the box were a second chance for me to experience Prince as I would have liked to in 1983 when I had no wheels and none of my friends were making any trips to see shows either.

Live In Detroit 11/30/82 | Disc 5

Prince: 1999 SDLX box disc 5 – Live In Detroit 11/30/82 – US – CD [2019]

1. Controversy 5:46
2. Let’s Work 5:27
3. Little Red Corvette 4:12
4. Do Me, Baby 7:18
5. Head 4:12
6. Uptown 2:43
7. Interlude 2:25
8. How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore? 7:03
9. Automatic 7:02
10. International Lover 8:40
11. 1999 10:24
12. D.M.S.R. 8:02

The concert opened with the infamous varispeed “don’t worry…I won’t hurt you…I only want you to have some fun” tape before laying into an intense opener in “Controversy.” That was my favorite Prince track of the time [still is, really] and I really would have lost it if my first song from Prince would have been this one, but it’s a natural set opener. It lays out the Prince ethos succinctly and declares his aim boldly. Live, it didn’t contain the lord’s prayer but still had the “people call me rude” chant. Ultimately, it was all about the coiled guitar riff vying with the synths.

A one-two punch from “Controversy” continued with “Let’s Work” that continued the jam and moved on from the LP length to partially incorporate the “work it” coda from the 12″ mix. The came the first track from the new album. Little Red Corvette” showed up in the flow here with the 7″ single version, but with an added bombastic showbiz coda the built up to several climaxes. And what is Prince unless he can deliver several climaxes? Dez Dickerson might have had one foot out the door by this tour, but he sure delivered on the even better lead solo here.

I’ll bet that Prince thanked his lucky stars that Simmons Drums were released to the market in time for this tour. Without them, the precise percussion that was the foundation [via Linn Drum originally] on the albums drawn from for this set would have faltered with only acoustic drums. “Head” from “Dirty Mind” in particular, benefited from the precise thwacks that Bobby Z. was able to give the song live, but the song’s greatest asset was the lascivious synth solo that Dr. Fink was able to give the song live; making Prince’s original solo sound positively chaste in comparison. After it was delivered, the song sped into a little over two minutes of “Uptown” to finish the “Dirty Mind” portion of the set. It seemed like a tease, in comparison. I would have wanted more in concert. Then Lisa Coleman got the synth spotlight with a chance to solo for a few minutes as she crafted the intermezzo to the concert.

Surprisingly, the then new B-side to the “1999” single was given the spotlight in an expansive rendition of just Prince and piano, finger snaps, tambourine, and lush close harmony singing by the band. The song normally stood at 3-4 minutes, but here, Prince teased the audience [who was with him every step of the way] into twice that with his increasingly provocative raps measured in between the backing bursts of “how come U don’t call me” on the beat. This continued for as long as Prince could stretch it until he declared “aw let’s go… she ain’t gonna call” and the song wrapped up, abruptly.

The second half of the set delved deeper into “1999.” “Automatic” was recast in a very different light as the machine-tooled, aerodynamic precision of the all-Prince + machines album version was translated to a much less clinical arrangement. One with room for the guitars and bass to manifest at the song’s midpoint; taking the pneumatic track into the red for some visceral Rock music grit.

The live version of “International Lover” was announced by Lisa Coleman in stewardess mode, but overall, the live version, while longer, was a less campy take with none of the smirk audible as on Prince’s album performance. Here, he was perhaps more serious and less tongue-in-cheek about the nature of his seduction. After his stream of pillow talk at the song’s halfway point the instrumentation took over as Prince was surprisingly quiet for the last third of the song [we’ll find out why, next] as the synth players vamped and shimmered over the beat until the destination [a.k.a. “satisfaction”] was reached.

Then the synthetic whipcrack of the “1999” intro made room for the eponymous song of the album to finally play out. It played closely to the 7′ mix before extended to the “party” call-response movement as on the LP version. Then, after the “mommy… why does everybody have a bomb” section, the song took off at midpoint for uncharted territory as the groove got embellished with further funky guitars and synth licks that expanded upon the arrangement.

Prince led the audience in a call-and-response volley, giving our ears the extended 12″ mix of “1999” that were were secretly pining for. After a second drop of the “mommy” speech, the guitars got specially crunchy while the synths became climactically church like, leading the song to a powerful apotheosis over eight minutes in. Don’t let the timing I listed fool you. There then came two minutes of cheering before the encore!

Which was a dramatically reconfigured “D.M.S.R.” The tune was familiar enough to its halfway point, but the it shifted gears dramatically with a whole new phase of melodic development as the shimmering synthesizers began working their way up the octaves as the guitar and bass syncopated with the rhythm to build up the pressure, where it finally plateaued for a few bars before the “don’t worry” voice returned to signal the end of the show.

It was certainly a treat to hear the differences between the album and in concert renditions of this material. The tape used here was a soundboard recording and drummer Bobby Z’s brother and Prince confidante David “Z” Rivkin must have worked wonders to get this show mixed in to this level of coherence. At times, especially early on, one can hear Prince obviously moving around onstage vigorously, as he drifted from mic to mic; sometimes being picked up primarily from the monitors. He was definitely not wireless. At times backing vocals and guitars were also variable in the mix. The lack of glib slickness is a big plus with me. This is just the sort of live recording that may have a lot of sweat put into its production, but it’s nevertheless a more honest document of the show than a multitrack remote truck recording where almost every voice and instrument might have been re-recorded in the studio to simulate a highly idealized “live album.” This was recorded probably for review as a matter of course and it sat there for almost 40 years to give the teenagers in us a glimpse into what it was to experience Prince immediately before the flashpoint of superstardom. Taking Post-Disco studio music made by a single person and letting a Rock band cut loose on it.

Next: …Prince In Tejas

Batman had the Batcomputer® so it follows that Prince had the Vaultcomputer® – click for legible instructions

[…continued from last post]

“No Call U” was a retro Rock and Roll song, albeit made strictly with synths and drum machine. It was an upbeat rocker not a million miles away from a “Jailhouse Rock.” One could imagine Little Richard tearing this one up in 1957 easily enough, but the song’s coda marked it as being obviously pitched as material for The Time. There Prince was definitely using his “Morris Day voice” to ad lib on the outro proclaiming that “I’m the coolest” and wanting the girl to call him. The liner notes claimed that since Jill Jones did BVs for this one, that it was destined for her long-gestating album, even though a tape with her vocal has not been found yet. I say that’s crazy. I say that this was for The Time.

While “1999” marked the end of Prince’s New Wave fusion era, “Can’t Stop this Feeling I Got” was a rare example of Prince diving into uncut New Wave. This one was all bass/guitar/drums with nary a synth to be found, apart from the screaming Farsisa patch keeping time at a steady series of eighth notes. This sounded like nothing more than a song that would have sat nicely on The Boomtown Rats “A Tonic For The Troops” while Prince’s vocal had gospel and soul inflections that were not part of Bob Geldof’s toolkit. This song would emerge years later on the “Graffiti Bridge” soundtrack in a version that stripped off the synths but still had the old New Wave urgency.

“Do Yourself A Favor” began with a beat suggestive of the one on Toni Basil’s “Mickey” before settling into a smooth soul groove more akin to the first two Prince albums from the late 70s than where his head was at in 1982. The prominent synth strings definitely were of that era. Strangely enough, it was a song by Pepé Willie a musician who was married to Prince’s cousin who originally recorded the song as “If You See Me” in 1975 with a teenaged Prince contributing guitar to the session. The Purple One revisited the song from memory seven years later as a long and more conventional R+B soul groove, but the ad libs in the second half of  the song were absolutely in his “Morris Day voice” and redolent of the Day personal as well; marking this as more material aimed at The Time. Due to the changes wrought over the gulf of time and the hazards of memory, Prince was credited as co-writer on this version.

I was bowled over by the immediately brash “Don’t Let him Fool Ya.” The deep synth bass was infectious and the jamming groove suggested tight band choreography on the stage with keytars a’plenty. But once Prince opened his mouth, I got the feeling that this was absolutely Vanity 6 material as he was dissing a lame guy as a warning to other ladies not to fall for his lines. It was down to Prince’s vocal delivery, which was him mimicking a woman’s delivery. There’s a difference between Prince’s famous falsetto and Geraldine Jones. But yow, here was another jamming Vanity 6 number that I was loving [see “Make Up” on “Originals”] and I am starting to get the notion that after years of resisting the cheap come on that was Vanity 6, maybe it’s time to hear it all?

“Teacher Teacher” was another pop/rock outlier with no synths or drum machines; just twangy guitars and vibe that was more Tom Petty + The Heartbreakers than dance floor. It sounded like it could have been recorded any time in the previous decade. It was another example of Prince writing and recording songs no matter what genre and vibe they might slot into when the spirit hit him. Any type of song was worth getting down on tape for possible use later.

Finally, the last Vault disc ended with a tour demo of a medley [“Lady Cab Driver/I Wanna Be Your Lover/Head/Little Red Corvette”] of Prince material dating from 1979-1982 for his “1999 Tour.” The arrangement of “Lady Cab Driver” was so far removed from the LP cut I had a hard time imagining the words to that song in the instrumental bed. More than anything, it reminded me of the vibe that The Machinations attained on their magnificent single”Pressure Sway,” which I always thought had a distinct Prince vibe. I could sing that one just fine to the instrumental here.

It was most exciting hearing Prince update the groove to “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” a great song, but definitely of the 1979 milieu, to sound more contemporaneous to his newer style. This time he was singing to the demo and the minute or so of that one was quite a tease. I would have liked to hear his revision of the entire song. But that was “War + Peace” compared to the 2 bars of “Head” that were barely there at all before segueing into a more dynamic and anthemic “Little Red Corvette;” also instrumental. This was the latest of the Vault tracks in this box; dating from January 1983, immediately prior to the second leg of the “1999” US tour. At the time of this tour demo, the single had not yet been released and had yet to be the hit that he would hoist his star from.

Next: …Got Live If U Want It

This Prince Vault shelf clearly had masters of “Neon Telephone;” destined for The Three O’Clock – right next to “Pop Life Outtakes”

[…continued from this post]

So the ante had been upped on “1999” Super Deluxe with a second disc of Vault Tracks. At first as these SDLX editions of of “Purple Rain” and then “1999” were released, I was assuming that Vault tracks were randomly by the Powers That Be  to make for a pleasing, if eclectic SDLX set, but the reality was actually that all of this music was contiguous to the period where the albums in question had been recorded. A vast and potentially dizzying array of music in a wide variety of styles had been put to tape, as Prince had by then, a professionally outfitted home studio to tinker in 24/7. And there was no stopping this guy.

Vault Tracks 2 | Disc 4

Prince : 1999 SDLX box disc 4 – Vault Tracks 2 – US – CD  [2019]

1. Possessed (1982 Version)
2. Delirious (Full Length)
3. Purple Music
4. Yah, You Know
5. Moonbeam Levels
6. No Call U
7. Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got
8. Do Yourself A Favor
9. Don’t Let Him Fool Ya
10. Teacher, Teacher
11. Lady Cab Driver / I Wanna Be Your Lover / Head / Little Red Corvette (Tour Demo)

This disc began with a song I’d heard before in a radically different version on the Vault Tracks disc included with “Purple Rain.” This version of “Posessed” was leaner and meaner, with none of the diffuse filigree that dissipated the song’s energy into slightly jazz-inflected realms. No, this one was a full-bore Prince dance track, built on a repetitive Linn Drum beat with a pair of dueling synth riffs slithering through it all. The interest was easily maintained throughout the 8:46 length by the artist himself, who made sure we were never bored. Prince uttered “step on it” for effect to [non-present] drummer Bobby Z.  to keep the needle moving towards the red.

Up until about 3:45 it was the basis for a 7″ single, but the song of Prince’s erotomania began to break down and show the man’s state of mind as he drawled “I got this luuuust” in the earthiest manner possible before detailing in the breakdown how “f***** up in the head” this woman had him. He got pretty explicit at describing what’s at stake in the breakdown. Let’s just say that Tipper Gore would not approve. Then he circled back for the kill with some hot guitar solingo before the ice cold ending let us know it was time to move on. This was definitely the definitive version of “Possessed” to be had out there. This year, anyway.

“Delirious’ had always been a short, sharp Prince song around this time period. The hit single edit was well under 3:00. And the LP version wasn’t too much longer at 3:56. But it’s welcome to know that there was actually a long, 12″ single length version of “Delirious” at 5:59 to be finally had since there was [criminally] never a 12″ single of the A-side. It could have fit on the LP with the first two tracks only taking up about 11:22, but we now have the long version of “Delirious” that we’ve always wanted on “Vault Disc 2.” It’s fun to hear this and pick out the edit points for the LP mix. And its existence is further proof that Prince really was looking at an album of 12″ singles.

The previous disc had “Rearrange” which was a self-reflective funk song about trying to find his voice. “Purple Music” was another, much longer track, that looked internally into the question as it posited a new “Purple Music” that was a sophisticated new hybrid. And Prince’s sound this time could replace any drug he might care to take.

“Don’t need no reefer, don’t need cocaine
Purple music does the same to my brain
And I’m high, so high
Don’t need no cymbals, no saxophone
Just need to find me a style of my own
And I’m high, so high” – “Purple Music”

The groove was another repetitive, trancelike slipstream of Linn Drum with bass and scanty synths but the x-factor here was definitely the fruity licks of jazz guitar that were new to the Prince palette. His vocal was distant with hazy effects as he did sound intoxicated in his revelry. He kept the breakdowns and tonal shifts going for a long time. At the 8+ minute region, there was a psychedelic breakdown with Prince taking the role of a valet with crisp diction, drawing a morning bath for his charge before losing his bearings in the purple music swirling around him like an opiate. In the final minute the tracks finally crossed the line into jazzfunk with some bass and guitar interplay before the song abruptly evaporated on the jazzy guitar solo.

I’d heard about “Yah, You Know” and certainly lived up to the advanced billing. This was a gimmicky slice of New Wave Bop that sounded for all the world like DEVO performing a cover of The Standell’s “Dirty Water” [not a bad thought, actually] around the same time that they did cover “Working In A Coal Mine.” The metronomic, gridlike synths blared on a very close cousin to the classic “Dirty Water” riff while the glamstomp beat ignored everything else going on in the song. The jauntily mocking song seemed to be a portrait of someone Prince might have known.

I loved the phrase he coined to describe the “polyester punk to the bone. No wonder you came alone. We’re all grossed out ‘Cause you spit when you talk, Say yah, you know.” When the lyric described the loser sitting unemployed at home “watching television like a fool,” Prince wittily interpolated the Andy Griffith Show theme into the synth leads. The dead giveaway that this was a real guy the song was about came in the outro, where Prince imitated the space cadet in question with what was probably a real quote.

“Yah, you know, like, I would get a job
But the world’s gonna end soon…
You got any ‘ludes?” – “Yah, You Know”

When Prince died in spring of 2016, the first posthumous track from The Vault was “Moonbeam Levels” which figured on the “Prince 4Ever” compilation. I had not managed to hear this one yet, but it really played like the best possible track that might have been a big hit from the “Around The World In A Day” album. It had that kind of stately trippiness to it with a complex piano ballad verse structure mated with a honestly anthemic chorus in a way that was still new to Prince’s output at the time. This showed that even while making what turned out to be his last New Wave/Post-Disco album blown up into 12″ singles, parts of his brain were already occupying the space that the album following his next one [or two] would come to inhabit. It could have honestly fit onto “Parade” as well! Prince was playing 3-D chess when every other musician was mastering checkers.

Next: …Vanity, Thy Name Is Prince?