A Better Place 2 Die (1CD)
Studio outtakes from 82 / Studio outtakes from 85 (The Family)
- Review
- The sound on 'a better place to die' is VG. Annoying
background noise (like on 4th generation tape).
- Tracklist
- Turn It Up #1
- Turn It Up #2
- Feel U Up
- Irresistible Bitch
- Possessed
- A Better Place 2 Die
- U Call Me
- High Fashion [The Family]
- Mutiny [The Family]
- Desire [The Family]
- Susannah's Pyjamas [The Family]
- Yes [The Family]
- The Screams Of Passion [The Family]
- All Day All Night [The Family]
Act 2 Augst Ten 1993 (2CD)
Live at Brabanthalle, Den Bosch, 10.Aug.93
- Label
- ??? - MI 902/3
- Review
-
- Greatest Hits tour; IMHO this tour was the worst...
Nothing new... But Hey.... I was there so I had 2 buy it!
- Tracklist
- [*] recorded aftershow at Le Bains Douches, Paris, 11.Jul.92 (incompl.)
[^] recorded live at MTV Awards, Los Angeles 5.Sep.91
- Disc 1
- My Name Is Prince
- Sexy MF/Love 2 The 9s
- The Beautiful Ones
- Let's Go Crazy
- Kiss
- Irresistible Bitch
- She's Always In My Hair
- Guitar Solo
- Bambi
- Sometimes It Snows In April
- The Cross
- Sign O' The Times
- Purple Rain
- Thunder/When Doves Cry
- Nothing Compares 2 U
- And God Created Women
- Diamonds And Pearls
- Piano Instrumental
- Under The Cherry Moon
- Blue Light
- Delirious
- Little Red Corvette
- Strollin'
- Scandalous
- Disc 2
- Girls & Boys
- 7
- Come
- Endorphinemachine
- Peach
- Johnny
- Gett Off [*]
- Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine
[*]
- Villanova Junction [*]
- Jughead [*]
- Gold Nigga [*]
- Gett Off [^]
Act Deux (2CD)
Live at Bercy/Paris, 31.Aug./1.Sep.93
- Review
- The sound on Act Deux is VG.
- Tracklist
- Live at Bercy/Paris, 1.Sep.93 (incompl.):
- My Name Is Prince
- Sexy MF
- Love 2 The 9's
- The Beautiful Ones
- Let's Go Crazy
- Kiss
- Irresistible Bitch
- She's Always In My Hair
- Guitar Jam
- Raspberry Beret
- Sometimes It Snows In April
- The Cross
- Sign O' The Times
- Purple Rain
- Thunder
- When Doves Cry
- Nothing Compares 2 U
- And God Created Women
- Diamonds And Pearls
- I Love U In Me
- Condition Of The Heart
- Venus De Milo
- Arms Of Orion
- Delirious
- Little Red Corvette
- Strollin'
- Scandalous
- Girls And Boys
- Live at Bercy/Paris, 31.Aug.93 (incompl.)
- Intro
- 7
- 1999
- Baby I'm A Star
- America
- D.M.S.R.
- It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night
- NPG (opening act) live at Bercy/Paris, 31.Aug.93 (incompl.)
- Deuce And A Quarter
- Oilcan
- 6
All of us (2CD)
Live from the Civic Arena/Pittsburgh, Oct. 28th 1988.
- Review
- The sound quality is ok. On the cover has a nice photo
from 1988 which I've never seen before! The CD has wether "Eye Know" nor
"Alphabet Street" on it - does anyone know if it's incomplete or if
Prince didn't perform these songs? The piano medley is really great!
- This CD is the same as "TAKE THIS BEAT"! It lists 2 different
titles on front and side cover.
- Tracklist
- Erotic City
- Housequake
- Slow Love
- Adore
- Delirious
- Jack U Off
- Sister
- Do Me Baby
- Adore
- I Wanna Be Your Lover
- Head
- A Love Bizarre
- Irresistible Bitch
- Holly Rock
- When U Were Mine
- Blues In C
- When U Were Mine
- Little Red Corvette
- Controversy
- U Got The Look
- Superfunkycalifragisexy
- Controversy
- Bob George
- Anna Stesia
- speech
- Anna Stesia
- intro
- Lovesexy
- Glam Slam
- The Cross
- I Wish U Heaven
- Take This Beat
- Kiss
- Dance On
- Sheila's rap
- Sheila's drum solo
- When 2 R In Love
- Venus De Milo
- Starfish And Coffee
- Raspberry Beret
- It's No Secret (What God Can Do)
- Strange Relationship
- Condition Of The Heart
- International Lover
- What'd I Say
- When 2 R In Love
- Let's Go Crazy
- When Doves Cry
- Purple Rain
- 1999
America (2CD)
From the Rex Club/Paris and the NPG support act in Paris, 31.Aug.93
- Review
- Lenght: CD#1 - 67:52, CD#2 - 72:11
- The cover is very beautiful and the booklet features pictures from
the German magazine "max". Unfortunately the source, listed as
"Aftershow Live, USA 93", is wrong. See below what's really on this CDs.
The sound quality is excellent (and very good on the bonus tracks).
- Tracklist
- Intro [From the Rex Club/Paris,
31.Aug.93]
- House In Order
- The Undertaker
- Black MF in The House
- Race
- Blue Light
- Delirious
- drum solo
- The Ride
- Bambi
- Jailhouse Rock
- Poor Goo
- Come
- Endorphinemachine
- Peach
- Pope
- America
- Gett Off
- Johnny
- Deuce And A Quarter [From the NPG support
act in Paris, 31.Aug.93]
- Oilcan
- 6
- Intermission
- House In Order
- Peach [From the aftershow in Brussels,
4.Sep.93]
An American In Paris
Label : Ritual Cat # : 07/08
Released: Unknown Format: 2 CD
Source : 6th July, 1988, Palais Omnisport, Paris
Type : Audience Recording
- Rating
- Music: 8
Sound: 8
- Tracklist
- Disc 1
- Erotic City
- Housequake
- Slow Love
- Adore
- Delirious
- Jack U Off
- Sister
- U Got The Look
- I Wanna Be Your Lover
- Head
- When U Were Mine
- Little Red Corvette
- Pop Life
- Controversy/Dirty Mind
- Superfunkicalifragisexy/Controversy Reprise
- Bob George
- Anna Stesia
- LoveSexy
- I Know
Total time: 68:31
Disc 2
- Alphabet Street
- Glam Slam
- The Cross
- I Wish U Heaven/I'll Take You There*
- Kiss
- Drum Solo
- When 2 R In Love
- Let's Go Crazy
- When Doves Cry
- Purple Rain
- 1999
Total time: 56:22
* = featuring Mavis Staples
- Review by lindeemb@uwec.edu
- This is a pretty good sounding recording of the first show of the
European LoveSexy tour. Its not a soundboard, but its fairly close. The
audience gets in the way of the enjoyment of the music only once or
twice. The highlights of the show include a surprising terrific
rendition of When U Were Mine, with a great horn flurish at
the end. Prince is in good form, as is Cat Glover, who does a nice job
on Head, which is another highlight of the show. The best part
of the show comes with the beginning of the LoveSexy material
about 1/2 way through the show. A 8 minute of rendition of
Anna Stesia is the highlight here. On Disc 2, the highlights
include the almost always spectacular The Cross with its
scorching guitar solo in the middle. There is also Cat's inspired rap
on Alphabet Street along with her trademark meowing alongside
it. Finally, there is Shelia E's eye-popping 3 minute drum solo, where
she demonstrates again why she is the most talented performer that he
has worked with. The band tries stopping her three times, to no avail.
The packaging leaves much to be desired. It consists of a cover photo
of a almost nude Prince in a picture from that era. That is all. Also,
the person who bootlegged this didn't do a good job in labeling it.
Adore is in the wrong spot and the CD wasn't tracked properly.
Thats why its impossible to get timings of each track.
- Recommendation
- This is probably a good boot to buy if you do not have any other
LoveSexy-era non-aftershow bootlegs. This one does a good job
of showing off the band, especially the very good horn section of
Atlanta Bliss and Eric Leeds. The sound quality is very good for a
non-soundboard recording. Its my favorite bootleg out of the ones
that I have. Its a very enjoyable show. This bootleg again shows why
this was his high point as a performer. There were none much better
than he was in 1988.
An American In Paris (2CD)
Live at Bercy/Paris, 9.Jul.88
- Review
- Second show of the tour, feat. Mavis Staples during "I
Wish U Heaven".
An American In Paris
Live in Paris 25.Aug.86
- Label
- WOT 1011
- Review
- Same as Funky Party 2Nite (KTS 246) & Paris 1986
- What a great surprise this release was! Suddenly, over 7 years
after the Parade tour ends a nearly complete soundboard recording of the
8/25/86 Paris show appears with incredible sound quality. The rare
performance of '17 Days' among others makes this release essential to
all fans. Even if this tour wasn't your favorite, you can't deny that
the rearrangements and continuity of these songs further established
Prince as the premiere performer, and band leader of his day. Both of
these CD's look and sound great but go with the KTS CD due to slightly
better packaging and sound quality.
Astoria (1CD)
Live at The Astoria, London, 18. Mar. 1995
- Label
- NP150-2
- Review
-
- DISC LENGTH : ??.??
- OVERALL SOUND QUALITY : VG+/EX- audience recording
- SOURCE: 3/18/95 The Astoria, London. [*] = audience recording of
a studio track.
- COMMENTS : Another temendous aftershow release. The NPG's
versatility is taken for granted because as a group they do so
much well. The same can ovbiously be said for Prince. This
aftershow clearly displays their many talents as does the entire
Gold tour, probably moreso than any other past tour.
From the opening singalong Glam Slam Boogie, to the dirty
and rarely heard 18 & Over and the rocking
Love...Thy Will Be Done this show kicks with energy.
Two cuts feature guest vocals by Chaka Khan including
Seet Thing which is a little reminiscent of
Just My Imagination by the Temptations, which is of
course one of Prince's favorite all time songs.
I Believe In U is pretty standard, as is
The Ride , but those are the only two minor drawbacks.
One very notable highlight is the inclusion of a very clean
audience recording of the STUDIO version of Gold which to
my knowledge does not appear on any other CD's. The studio
version is very similar to the live versions that appear on many
other live shows but the sound here is very good. One thing
noticeable in the studio version is the amount of reverberation in
his voice while singing the verses. Great to have. Sound quality
on the entire disc is very clean. Nearly as good as any aftershow
from any tour. Great audience recording with no annoying fans
screming into the microphone. The packaging is immaculate and I've
been told the cover is the same cover as the Gold tour
program. Wonderful looking booklet and graphics. This CD actually
comes as the third CD in a cardboard box which also contains the
double CD entitled
Prince Esta Muerto (Prince is dead).
- RECOMMENDATION : Yes, this is another great one. Can't imagine
anyone not enjoying this one unless you prefer soundboard
recordings only.
- Sound quality: Live tracks are A-, bonus studio track
(Gold) is C+.
This is the concert at the Astoria in London, on March 8, 1995.
This is an excellent collection of O(+> songs, featuring guest
appearances by Chaka Khan and George Benson.
- Tracklist
-
- The Glam Slam Boogie
(w/George Benson)
- Sweet Thing (w/Chaka Khan)
- U Got The Love (w/Chaka Khan)
- Love...Thy Will Be Done
- Funky (aka:Let's Get Funky)
- 18 & Over
- I Believe In U
- The Ride
- Get Wild
- Gold [*]
The Lyrics for
this concert has been by transcripted by The Live lyrics Team
The Avenue
Label : Moonraker Cat # : 089/90
Released: June 1996 Format: 2 CD
Source : 3rd August 1983, Live at 1st Avenue, Minneapolis,USA
Type : Soundboard Recording
- Rating
- Sound: VG/VG+ (Dazeofwild@aol.com)
- Tracklist
- Disc 1 - 3rd August 1983, Live at 1st Avenue
- Let's Go Crazy
- When U Were Mine
- A Case Of You*
- Computer Blue
- Delirious
- Electric Intercourse
- Automatic
- I Would Die 4 U
- Baby, I'm A Star
- Little Red Corvette
- Segue
- Purple Rain
- D.M.S.R.
Total time: 70:38
* original by Joni Mitchell
Disc 2 - 3rd August 1983, Afternoon Rehearsal at 1st Avenue
- Let's Go Crazy
- When U Were Mine
- A Case Of You*
- Delirious
- Electric Intercourse
- Little Red Corvette
- D.M.S.R.
- Africa Talks To You^
- I Could Have Danced All Night~
- Our House#
- Jam
Total time: 45:56
* original by Joni Mitchell
^ original by Sly Stone
~ from My Fair Lady
# original by Madness
- Review by bergerp@kapsch.co.at
-
This is another release of the great Purple Rain try out concert at
1st Avenue in Mpls. It has been already released on the
M.P.L.S. bootleg CD but
this one comes in much better quality. Furthermore it features the
reahearsal for the show too!
Here are some words from the booklet:
A benefit concert for the Minnesota Dance Theatre company. "Let's
Go Crazy", "Computer Blue", "Electric Intercourse", "I Would Die 4
U", "Baby, I'm A Star", and "Purple Rain" were played for the first
time. From this recording, "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby, I'm A Star",
and "Purple Rain" were used for the Purple Rain album. This show was
also the debut for Wendy Melvoin.
The 2nd disc which includes the rehearsal is also in very good quality,
much better than the tape of this gig which I've already owned. The
second part features a lot of jammin' and goofin'. I.e. instaed of
Dance, Music, Sex, Romance they sing London, Paris,
Holland, France. Another highlight is Sly Stone's
Africa Talks To You which is one of my all time favourite
songs. I'm not sure who sings I Could Have Danced All Night,
but I doubt that it's Prince's voice. Sounds like Klaus Nomi
(maybe unknown to people in the US) joined them on stage...
- Review by Dazeofwild@aol.com
- A long overdue release. The first in a series of classic Prince
reissues begins with the finest sounding CD release ever of perhaps
PrinceAEs greatest performance, the Minnesota Dance Theater Benefit show
on August 3rd, 1983 at First Avenue. This is then followed by a great
copy, albeit incomplete, of the rehearsal for that show on disc 2,
reportedly recorded that same day at First Avenue.
Moonraker has chosen
wisely thus far for these reissues. No place better to begin than with a
classic First Avenue show (I think all of the First Avenue gigs are now
regarded as classics, aren't they?). Packaging is very nice with several
attractive Purple Rain tour photos, much in the same vein as the
City Lights series of CD's
released last year. My only complaint here is that none of the photos
used come from the historic 8/3/83 show. This would not normally be a
complaint if it wasn't for the fact that the show is so familiar in our
eyes as much as our ears, due to the very popular video of the show that
has been in circulation for about 10 years now. I would have much rather
seen some of the awesome black and white pics from the show such as the
one used on the cover of Uptown issue # 3 and in Jon Bream's excellent
book Inside the Purple Reign (which is a MUST HAVE for Prince
collectors). Perhaps also missed in the packaging is an evaluation of the
show with a telling tale of its historic significance. This show was one
of the first signs of the prolific Prince that we now take for granted.
We must remember this show takes place a mere 9 months after the release
of the 1999 album but yet he premieres no less than 6 new
songs, 5 of which wouldn't be released for an astounding 11 more months,
and one that continues to be an unreleased gem (Electric Intercourse).
The show is not all outstanding. Tracks like Let's Go Crazy,
and Little Red Corvette come off surprisingly bland. Others
though, namely When You Were Mine, A Case of You,
Computer Blue and Electric Intercourse are absolutely
electrifying showcasing Prince's increasing wide range of talents both
in musicianship and as a vocalist. The emotional high point climaxes
with THE version of Purple Rain complete with scintillating
guitar work and an extra verse that was left off the LP version. His
guitar solo as he approaches the microphone before the first verse and
his endless solo after the final chorus just ooze emotion. This must be
seen on video to fully realize. The expressions on his face during the
final 6 minute guitar solo make this the defining version of his most
popular song. It is certainly 15 minutes of the finest Prince work ever
recorded, whether its experienced on CD or watched on video. The energy
he possesses here is second to none for any show that exists on tape in
my opinion. His encore of D.M.S.R. is to this show what
A Day in the Life is to the Beatle's Sgt Pepper album,
separating the greatest from just the great.
The rehearsal on disc 2 is in very good quality, recorded at a much
higher level (which does not automatically mean its better quality) than
my already fine copy of it on tape. However, it is very incomplete with
several tracks missing such as Purple Rain, Computer
Blue, Automatic, etc. This is confusing since the second
disc comes in with over 30 minutes of time left to spare. It's ashame
that these were left out. What is here is great though. In particular
are the rare versions of ElectricIntercourse and
A Case of You. The instrumental fooling around at the end with
tracks like Africa Talks to You and Stand Back is
great fun and a nice insight to the fun the Revolution had in rehearsal
on days when Prince was in a good mood. The rehearsal in no way comes
close to the energy of the actual show. First Avenue obviously brought
out a unique quality in his early performances that we don't hear in
other shows during this same time frame. His hometown energy is no
secret.
Reviewing this show cannot be done without referring back to the video
copy I've owned for about 9 years now. It's special for me to review
this show because I received my video copy directly from the First
Avenue DJ who was actually at the show & took part in the taping.
My video copy is 2nd generation with excellent audio sound which makes
me quite impressed with this release because the sound quality here is
very comparable, but yet noticeably different. The audio from my video
master contains a much improved high end with no hiss whereas this copy
on CD seems to have a better low end with a tad bit stronger bass
response. Choosing one over the other is tough. Tapes of the 8/3/83
rehearsal do exist in better quality that what appears here on disc, but
this most definitely is the finest release ever for these 2 recordings
on CD.
- Recommendation
- A must for have for any Prince fan who collects bootleg material. This
show must be in your possession as should the video and was a
pleasure to review.
Marius Gimle Hansen <mariush@unik.no>
26. august 1996