these guys are beyond great. gaslight is incredible. i wonder if they will gig again soon?? another album in the works?????

XxAxX said:

these guys are beyond great. gaslight is incredible. i wonder if they will gig again soon?? another album in the works?????

I believe they are already working on some new stuff

OldFriends4Sale said:

XxAxX said:

these guys are beyond great. gaslight is incredible. i wonder if they will gig again soon?? another album in the works?????

I believe they are already working on some new stuff

i checked their website, guess i will just have to keep an eye out.

I agree - I am having withdrawl symptoms after "Gaslight" and the "Relit" remix CD's. I am sooo glad they decided to reunite after 25 years, and come back sounding EVEN BETTER than before. The new music was refreshing and only leaves me wanting more. I hope we don't have to wait a couple of decades again... fingers crossed!

I really like the Gasslight album and it was great fun to see them live here in NY last year.

I like that they're doing tons of remixes also. More fun stuff to listen to. I was hoping that the Original Seven would do some singles/remixes, but, nothing from them. Oh well, their album is great too.

i know i know I KNOW i am dreaming a dream a happy silly dream but i dream of seeing fDeluxe and O7 at a celebration at paisley park one day...... my stars that would be divine. all that amazing power and talent under that particular roof. even god would come to the party and check it out...

I think we will see an even more cohesive fDeluxe project the next time around, the live show will be more visually and audio coming together, I love what they are giving

Love how they have this interesting Family visual thing happening

its funs see what they can do without prince but its also kinda boring at the same time.ive always enjoyed sunanahh voice over paul something about her is just so erotic and mysterious

cbarnes3121 said:

its funs see what they can do without prince but its also kinda boring at the same time.ive always enjoyed sunanahh voice over paul something about her is just so erotic and mysterious

I wish Prince would have embraced their extended hand when they started this

take issue with St Paul and get over it (forgiveness) but Susannah Jellybean & Eric Leeds did nothing to have offended him

I think the Prince would would be so much more interesting if he had Sheila E, the Time, the Family, Revolution members doing stuff with him, opening, mixed band performances etc

Things have gone fairly quiet on the bootleg front in Princeland, although that will surely change once his upcoming Welcome 2 Chicago residency starts up. But in the meantime, Akashic Records is keeping the funk rolling with this double disc set of two of Prince's finest proteges who teamed up recently in New York. A Family Affair at BB Kings documents the double bill of fDeluxe, formerly The Family, and Sheila E., recorded August 29, 2012 at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill.

fDeluxe opens things up with a nearly hour long set that splits things right down the middle, six songs from their lone 1985 self-titled Paisley Park Records classic and six tunes they've recorded over the last few years as fDeluxe. Their set opens the way their debut album did with "High Fashion", though this is a rather sloppy version. The title track from last year's Gaslight and "Sanctified" from that same album are next. The set starts out a little slow but things start to heat up with their lone 'hit', "The Screams Of Passion". The audience reaction to that drum pattern makes it obvious there are a lot of Purpleheads in the crowd and their response to the set picks up from here as well.

St. Paul Peterson introduces the next song by saying, "We let somebody borrow this song for awhile but we're taking it back", as they go into "Nothing Compares 2 U". Their new single "You Got What You Wanted", a cover of an Ike and Tina Turner song follows, and I really like their rendition. Things slow down a bit with "Desire" and "Lover" played back to back but their set closes out in truly funky fashion. After a brief portion of "River Run Dry" they go into two of my favorites off Gaslight. First up is "@8" featuring Eric Leeds' masterful work on sax. That is followed with an over eight minute jam on "Drummers And Healers" and by this point the band is truly smoking onstage, very tight and in a groove musically. Things come to a close with the fantastic "Mutiny" with Leeds again shining on the sax. This man is simply a funk legend on the saxophone, what a shame Prince no longer has Eric's talents gracing his music.

Sheila E.'s set starts with a near five minute samba jazz intro before she goes into a run of Prince written tracks that have you thinking this show is going to be hot. It starts off with "Holly Rock" and, after a brief segue, goes into "The Belle Of St. Mark". Prince wouldn't dare touch "Erotic City" these days but Sheila pulls it out for a couple minutes before heading into "Koo Koo". On paper this looks like a great setlist but the problem is Sheila is now living in the same 'Medley-land' Prince is, only playing these songs in shortened two minute bursts before moving on to the next one. Just when the crowd is really into a song, she's on to the next one. It becomes maddening, especially because Sheila doesn't have nearly the amount of hits Prince does.

Of course the one Prince penned song you probably care to hear in full the least, "Leader Of The Band" is given the full six minute treatment. This is an obscure, Latin jazz flavored track from an EP Sheila sold at a couple shows in 2010 that Prince wrote uncredited. The second half of the show seems to drag between gospel covers and a laborious cover of the Mary Jane Girls "All Night Long" performed by her backing singer Sy Smith aka Sy Boogie. "A Love Bizarre" is sandwiched in the middle of all of this but, frustratingly, after playing the single version of the song it deteriorates into twelve minutes of free-form jazz. The only real 'fun' part of the second half of Sheila's set is the closing "The Glamorous Life".

I'm not saying Sheila E. has to play nothing but the songs Prince wrote for her to put on a good show. Where was "Hold Me" for example? I've seen her put on tremendous concerts focusing on jazz, her shows with the E. Train back in the day were outstanding. This particular set here just suffers from rather dull songs about how great Jesus is and doesn't keep things upbeat enough for me. The true winner of the night is fDeluxe. Their new material blends very well with the more well known Prince penned tracks, there is very little fall off in the flow of their set between new and old material. With Sheila E., as soon as she wanders from the Prince material, this becomes a snooze fest.

As for the quality of the audio, this is clearly an audience recording, but as I have stated before, in this day and age it is hard to get a truly crappy audience recording with the technology available to those who 'do the work'. The sound quality here gets a solid B and all credit and thanks again goes out to the tapers and those bringing us these completely free, first rate releases. Big thanks to Akashic Records for sharing this one.

- Mike Antonich

I would love to see them TOUR some more!

OldFriends4Sale said:

cbarnes3121 said:

its funs see what they can do without prince but its also kinda boring at the same time.ive always enjoyed sunanahh voice over paul something about her is just so erotic and mysterious

I wish Prince would have embraced their extended hand when they started this

take issue with St Paul and get over it (forgiveness) but Susannah Jellybean & Eric Leeds did nothing to have offended him

I think the Prince would would be so much more interesting if he had Sheila E, the Time, the Family, Revolution members doing stuff with him, opening, mixed band performances etc

im glad 2 see prince expand beyond them and them do the same cuz regardless of what we all say they always find themselves back in eachothers company in one way or another. prince and shelia i think will 4ver be connected cuz they share a bond of loving music. the revolution i never really cared 4 them much i like where he is now musically better. but lisa 2 me was just the coolest chic ever she had a mystery 2 her that always got my attenion.

Can't wait to hear more music from them. Love much of Gaslight and "You got what you wanted" cover.

cbarnes3121 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I wish Prince would have embraced their extended hand when they started this

take issue with St Paul and get over it (forgiveness) but Susannah Jellybean & Eric Leeds did nothing to have offended him

I think the Prince would would be so much more interesting if he had Sheila E, the Time, the Family, Revolution members doing stuff with him, opening, mixed band performances etc

im glad 2 see prince expand beyond them and them do the same cuz regardless of what we all say they always find themselves back in eachothers company in one way or another. prince and shelia i think will 4ver be connected cuz they share a bond of loving music. the revolution i never really cared 4 them much i like where he is now musically better. but lisa 2 me was just the coolest chic ever she had a mystery 2 her that always got my attenion.

for me it feels more like a dry spell. i could not say that without a smirk on my face cuz fact is no new album since 20ten.

cbarnes3121 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I wish Prince would have embraced their extended hand when they started this

take issue with St Paul and get over it (forgiveness) but Susannah Jellybean & Eric Leeds did nothing to have offended him

I think the Prince would would be so much more interesting if he had Sheila E, the Time, the Family, Revolution members doing stuff with him, opening, mixed band performances etc

im glad 2 see prince expand beyond them and them do the same cuz regardless of what we all say they always find themselves back in eachothers company in one way or another. prince and shelia i think will 4ver be connected cuz they share a bond of loving music. the revolution i never really cared 4 them much i like where he is now musically better. but lisa 2 me was just the coolest chic ever she had a mystery 2 her that always got my attenion.

Prince has lost any real drive - he basically riffs off of himself and music he grew up on. Sorry, but I'm hearing nothing groundbreaking - even Screwdriver which is pretty dynamic and fun has ben done far better by himslef. Fortunately fDeluxe did grow. Their melodies and production are far better than what Prince has done on a record in a long time. It is clear that it is a musical collaboration bringing the best of each members experience to the table. Prince needs some of that. Hopefully his new female backing band is it.

Except for the fact that they put at least 2 weak ballads too much on "Gaslight", I enjoyed the album quite a lot. So I'm all for new music, but it took them an awful long time to finish their first effort.

[Edited 2/2/13 12:46pm]

OldFriends4Sale said:

cbarnes3121 said:

its funs see what they can do without prince but its also kinda boring at the same time.ive always enjoyed sunanahh voice over paul something about her is just so erotic and mysterious

I wish Prince would have embraced their extended hand when they started this

take issue with St Paul and get over it (forgiveness) but Susannah Jellybean & Eric Leeds did nothing to have offended him

I think the Prince would would be so much more interesting if he had Sheila E, the Time, the Family, Revolution members doing stuff with him, opening, mixed band performances etc

yes, no one expects a full blown reunion or some sort but just to see they're all still making music together

that would be a dream as XxAxX said

maja2405 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I wish Prince would have embraced their extended hand when they started this

take issue with St Paul and get over it (forgiveness) but Susannah Jellybean & Eric Leeds did nothing to have offended him

I think the Prince would would be so much more interesting if he had Sheila E, the Time, the Family, Revolution members doing stuff with him, opening, mixed band performances etc

yes, no one expects a full blown reunion or some sort but just to see they're all still making music together

that would be a dream as XxAxX said

Right, and I think it would be a sorta full circle affect.

U remember the Jay leno 3 show performance for Lotusflower? and his announcement that there would be some past band member reunions? I think a lot of us were looking for a good mix up of members from 1980-2009, that would have been a hot thing, it was sort of a let down, because it was pretty much the same people from 2000-2009

having the Time open for him at a few shows, FDeluxe, Sheila E w/Eddie M and band etc

wonder505 said:

I'm willing to give FDeluxe one more chance and listen to their next release.I felt Gaslight was weak and unlistenable. Very bland and boring. We'll see.

sorry but anyone who could listen to gaslight and call it weak' and 'bland and boring' is flat out missing something.

[Edited 2/4/13 9:27am]

Gaslight was one of my favourite albums of the past few years, it really got me - and non-fans that heard it liked it too - especially Over The Canyon. The remix album was cool too, those retro-sounding mixes were really well done and fun.

Would love for them to work on another album, and I kind of expect them too.

XxAxX said:

wonder505 said:

I'm willing to give FDeluxe one more chance and listen to their next release.I felt Gaslight was weak and unlistenable. Very bland and boring. We'll see.

sorry but anyone who could listen to gaslight and call it weak' and 'bland and boring' is flat out missing something.

[Edited 2/4/13 9:27am]

Um no. anyone who can't accept the fact that people have different taste is is flat out missing something. I tried to listen to Gaslight three times and just couldn't. Am I supposed to pretend to like something that I don't because you like it? I'm happy that you like it. but i hate it. like i said, i'll give them one more try.

[Edited 2/4/13 12:17pm]

NouveauDance said:

Gaslight was one of my favourite albums of the past few years, it really got me - and non-fans that heard it liked it too - especially Over The Canyon. The remix album was cool too, those retro-sounding mixes were really well done and fun.

Would love for them to work on another album, and I kind of expect them too.

it is excellent, isn't it? too bad fDeluxe doesn't get more exposure. they should be touring

They sent an email out a few days ago saying they are releasing the dakota concert they did soon......

Judging from the email I got from them, you are going to be soon getting your wish!

i'll buy it!

I could be tempted to buy it...but only if there's no "Beautiful You" or "The Vigil" on it...

^ I hope you're joking, those are probably the best songs

^Sorry, no joke. The less ballads the better. Just listened to "Lover", this one has to go too!