POPCORN!
See you all in ’07. Happy New Year!
Back to the Roots: James Brown Live
Dec. 25th Update: With the passing of James Brown on this Christmas Day, I’m reposting this show. I don’t have time right now to link up all the individual songs below, but if you go here you can download the songs. Or, if you want the whole show in a RAR file, click here (it’s right around 50 MB).
Today’s R&B, soul, hip-hop, and music scene overall would be a vastly different place without James Brown. His influence is immeasurable. Where would Prince’s live show have been without the signature James Brown splits and mic stand tricks?
So we cruise back to the year 1973, and across the pond to Switzerland, to listen in on a James Brown show. The JB’s featuring Maceo Parker had just played an opening set, and then on came James.
For a great accompaniment to this show, read this great James Brown article in Rolling Stone.
James Brown
Live in Switzerland, 1973 (exact city & date unknown)
“Avalanche of Funk”01
Intro
02Get On The Good Foot
03Soul Power
04Make It Funky
05Bewildered
06Super Ad
07Try Me
08Hot Pants
09Sex Machine
10I’ve Got A Bag Of My Own
11It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World
12Please Please Please
13I Can’t Stand Myself
14Cold Sweat
1999 Tour: Prince takes the Stage
This is about the only official Prince web site online right now. Click this, take a look, and come back. http://3121.com/
Yep, it looks a little something like this, doesn’t it?
So the latest rumor surrounding the purple guy is a series of shows at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. We’ll see… it is only a 5.5 hour drive from my home, so I’m not totally against the idea, but still strange to fathom…
So let’s wrap up the March 31st Long Beach show, shall we?
Prince & the Revolution
Long Beach, CA
March 31st, 1983
The 1999 TourIntro / Controversy
Let’s Work
Do Me, Baby
D.M.S.R.
Lisa’s Solo
With You
Still Waiting
How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?
Lady Cab Driver
Little Red Corvette
Dirty Mind
International Lover
1999The Time Funk Up Long Beach
Smack dab in the middle of Vanity 6 and Prince on the 1999 tour (figuratively speaking, I think), was Prince’s funky-ass pet project, The Time: Jesse Johnson, Monte Moir, Jellybean Johnson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and of course charismatic front man Morris Day. Now, rumor of course has it that the Time were dropped from the tour toward the end because Prince was tired of being upstaged. Truth, rumor? I don’t know. Who can offer insight into this great life question?? Help me people, I was 12 during this tour.
The Time were touring in support of their second (and best) release, What Time Is It?, produced, arranged and composed by Jamie Starr and his Starr Company.
Mr. Starr (yes, aka Prince) had created a monster…
The Time
Long Beach, CA
March 31st, 1983
Opening for Prince on the 1999 TourIntro
Get it Up
777-9311
Girl
Wild and Loose
Gigolos Get Lonely Too
Cool
The WalkPrince takes the stage later this week… | Vanity 6’s Set
Vanity 6 Open It Up
I thought we’d all jump in the time capsule back to 1983 this week, and take a listen to the “triple threat” tour, AKA Prince’s 1999 tour, also featuring the openers Vanity 6 and The Time. First up, Vanity 6.
Made up of Prince’s high school girlfriend Susan Moonsie (on the right above), Boston native Brenda Bennett (on the left), and Canadian model/actress Denise Matthews, who underwent the obligatory Prince name change to Vanity (reportedly after Prince first recommended Vagina – – classy!).
Vanity 6 wasn’t out there to impress anyone with their vocal and musical prowess, they were there to wear trashy lingerie and entertain, which they did. Backed up by The Time (on stage and on record), the music ranged from funky (Nasty Girl) to the new wave of the period (He’s So Dull).
It wasn’t long after this show that Vanity made the decision to break off from the Prince camp and go solo with a Motown record deal, as well as appearances in some quality films (The Last Dragon, anyone??, and Action Jackson, of course). Vanity’s personal life took a nose dive (no pun intended) over the coming years, as a severe cocaine addiction developed. But fear not folks, Miss Vanity found Jesus and is alive and well these days, doing her thing as Evangelist Denise Matthews.
The opening set:
Vanity 6
Long Beach, CA
March 31st, 1983
Opening for Prince on the 1999 TourMake Up
Wet Dream
Drive Me Wild
If A Girl Answers, Don’t Hang Up
Nasty GirlComing This Week: The rest of the show with The Time and Prince & the Revolution
Buy Vanity 6 (the CD’s out of print, but you can buy them used for a fee):
A Closer Look at Nino
Having had time to sit back and take in Nino Moschella’s LP, The Fix, I can report back to you that yes – we have a funky white boy on our hands (takes one to know one). Yes, the man channels Innervisions-era Stevie Wonder. Yes, the man channels Prince. Yes, the man records out of a home studio not far Fresno, California.
The Ickmusic Seal of Approval is hereby affixed – dingggg! – on to The Fix.
Nino Moschella:
Didn’t You See Her(mp3)Related: Nino Knows Funky | Nino’s MySpace page | His Official Site | His Ubiquity Records profile
Purchase The Fix:
The latest on Prince
The Ickmusic Hero of the Month is Arthur, who hooked me up in a trade with the Feb. 14 and Feb. 15, 2004 Prince aftershows at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The quality is superb, the set lists are amazing, and I’ve been one happy Prince fan the last few days. The parts that really hit me are hearing Prince reach back into his catalog for the old favorites. “The Beautiful Ones”, “Adore”, “Sign o the Times”, “Let’s Work”, “The Question of U”, “D.M.S.R.”, “I Feel For You”, and so many more (even the Time’s “777-9311” – which of course was a Jamie Starr production).
It brought me around again to wondering what is happening today. How 3121 was released back in March, and beyond the publicity blitz around that time with him and his latest protege Tamar, we have yet to see a tour. Meanwhile, his official site closed down due to a trademark issue, and Tamar’s CD has apparently been scrapped. See this 8/31 article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press for a look at the current state of affairs…
Secrets shroud Prince more than purple ever did
by Ross Raihala
Pioneer PressLast week, Rhino Records quietly slipped the double-CD compilation “Ultimate Prince” into stores, five months after its original street date. Fans of the Purple One might remember back in March, when “Ultimate Prince,” which features one disc with his biggest hits and a second with hard-to-find remixes, was scheduled for release a week before his latest studio album, “3121.”
But at the last minute, Prince coerced Rhino (which is owned by his old nemesis, Warner Bros.) into delaying the compilation, lest it compete with “3121.” And it truly was an eleventh-hour decision, as “Ultimate Prince” appeared in that Sunday’s circulars for the big-box stores, and promotional copies of the set had already shipped to the media. (At the time, those rare promos were selling for up to $180 on eBay.)
– read the entire articleSo suffice to say I hope everything steadies its course in Prince’s world, and he gets back to what he does best: making and performing his music, and please, more aftershows like these!
Prince:
The Beautiful Ones(mp3) – live, 2-15-2004D.M.S.R.(mp3) – live, 2-14-2004I thought I’d post this video since there are a good number of folks who have not seen Prince tear up the stage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2004 ceremony (the year Prince was inducted). Prince’s guitar solo during “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, the all star tribute to George Harrison, was a show stealer to say the least. This performance won praise from Prince fans and non-Prince fans alike. Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne are showcased during the first half of the song. Then, Prince takes over. Watch……
Prince, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Dani Harrison, and Others: “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
Did you make it this far? Good. Are you anxious to hear the full aftershows? Well, a lucky winner will receive both nights, Feb. 14th and Feb. 15th. It’s as simple as leaving a comment below. One winner will be selected in a couple of days. Good luck….
Update – Related: Silence is a Rhythm Too has a couple of tunes posted from the new ‘Ultimate’ release. Check out the post here.
A WINNER!!! >>> See my comment below for the winner of the aftershows.
1988 Prince Aftershow at the Warfield
I sound like a broken record with my Prince posts, so let me sum it up:
Prince + after-hours performance + 1980’s output = Best Prince
Hmm, I guess I have to conjure up a Not So Best Prince formula.
I’ll try: Prince + Tony M. + “Jughead” = Not So Best Prince.
“Jughead”, from ‘Diamonds and Pearls’, is THE worst Prince song of all time. Totally unlistenable. Not far behind is the title track from ‘Graffiti Bridge’. LOTS of good tunes on the album (“Question of U”, “We Can Funk”, “Joy in Repetition”), but “Graffiti Bridge” itself is cringe-inducing for sure.For the Comments section below: What are your Best and Not So Best Prince formulas [formulae?]. Worst song?
But back to the best of Prince. The Lovesexy tour was my first live Prince experience (two shows at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago, Sept, ’88). This aftershow came a couple months later. After playing the Oakland Coliseum, Prince and his band zipped across the Bay Bridge and set up at the Warfield Theater.
That evening, the lucky Warfield audience caught great versions of “Positivity” (the closing song on ‘Lovesexy’), “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker”, and the Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” (and a lot more). Question for the Prince fans…. “Imagination” turns into a refrain of “Sitting in this cafe, waiting for my baby.” I’m wondering about this song, namely what it is. The age old trick of plugging lyrics into Google gets me nowhere! Does .. not .. compute.
Prince
Warfield Theatre
San Francisco, CA
November 10, 1988 (aftershow){Explore & Buy the Music of the Purple Man}
Lineup:
Prince (everything)
Mico Weaver (guitar)
Levi Seacer (bass)
Sheila E. (drums, percussion)
Cat (eye candy)
Matt (Dr.) Fink (keys, synth)
Boni Boyer (keys, vox) [who sadly passed away in 1996 at age 38 due to a brain aneurysm]
Eric Leeds (sax)
Matt (Atlanta Bliss) Blistan (trumpet)1.
Positivity
2.The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker / Four (Madhouse)
3.Housequake > Take The A-Train
4.Housequake (ending)
5.Just My Imagination > Sitting In This Cafe (Waiting For My Baby)
6.I’ll Take You There > Take this Beat(from “I Wish U Heaven” 12″ version; it is hard to get funkier than this)
7.Cold Sweat
8.Prince Drum Solo > Sheila E. Percussion Solo
9.Lovesexy > It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night > Chain Of Fools > Beautiful NightUPDATE: I forgot to mention a web site I recently came across. Michael and Tobias have a very cool thing going with their Prince Podcast site. They have 4 podcasts so far, where they go deep into their thoughts and observations about different Prince albums, eras, etc. Check ’em out here: Prince Podcasts
Being James Brown, by Jonathan Lethem
If you haven’t had a good fix of James Brown lately, or if you’re not that familiar with his stuff other than what you’ve heard in hip hop samples, allow me to steer you toward a great piece in Rolling Stone magazine by Jonathan Lethem. It’s an in depth look at the James Brown of 2006, and the James Brown Band of 2006. From spending days with the band in an Augusta, Georgia recording studio, to a JB gig in Gateshead, UK, Lethem really captures James Brown: the soul / funk superstar, the strict and unforgiving band leader, the lonely, abandoned inner child, and the troubled older adult (with the law, marriage, etc.). It also captures those surrounding him, his band in particular. Obedient and respectful servants of the man on stage and in the studio, but very real people with real musical aspirations behind the scenes.
Lethem is an amazing writer, as you’ll see. I’ve enjoyed a few of his imaginitive sci-fi books (Gun, With Occasional Music, Girl in Landscape, As She Climbed Across the Table), and was happy to come across this RS article.
The online article also has a link to a James Brown Essential playlist, 9 full songs including “Cold Sweat”, “Think”, “Please, Please, Please”, and “Lost Someone”. There is also a 20 minute mp3 interview with Lethem. Take a few minutes out of your online cruising and enjoy this…
Article: Being James Brown – Rolling Stone article written by Jonathan Lethem
The Artist: James Brown’s Official Site | Wikipedia Entry | Buy His Music
The Author: Jonathan Lethem’s Web Site | BibiliographyNino Knows Funky
Well here’s the coolest Prince song I’ve heard in a while, but not from the man himself, but rather an Irish-Italian living in the tiny California town of Friant (in Fresno County, 519 people). Nino Moschella does his own vocals, plays his own instruments, and knows how to get seriously funky. He’s channeling the sounds of Prince, Sly Stone, and Stevie Wonder. I’m just digging into his album now, but find myself stuck on this track here.
Funky beats, layers of Prince-like vocals, cool synths and handclaps. Yeah, this one’s for me. Thank you World Cafe.
Whaddya think, is someone beating Prince at his own game here? Isn’t this the kind of quirky, wildly original and FUNKY song that’s gone missing from the little man’s repertoire of late? Keep it comin’ Nino. If you come to Arizona, I’ll be there.
Nino Moschella:
Are You For Real(mp3) – from the May 2006 Ubiquity Records release, ‘The Fix’. Pick it up on the label’s site, eMusic, or iTunes.Another mp3 download, “Moved On”, is available here on Nino’s site.