I'm immensely fond of this song. I have several performances of it (the Crystal Ball version, the one on the Vegas DVD, a few ONA-tour aftershows and the like) and I love how he uses this song as a blues workout for whatever mood he happens to be in on a given night. He changes the lyrics, the pacing, the solos, as he sees fit.

Right now, I'm partial to this recording from an aftershow in Barcelona in 1993. Compared to the version he put on Crystal Ball, which is an intensely hyped-up performance, this one is a slow, langorous tease, exploding suddenly into a searing guitar solo. The audience reaction is priceless - you can tell they haven't heard the song before. (supergeeks: when did he first perform "The Ride"?) So when he sings the line, "You like to be alone?" the audience clamors to scream "No!" ~ then comes, "...I like to watch!" and they go absolutely batshit. Fucking great.

So which version is your favorite? The one that rips the wigs off the others and mops the floor with them?

i've only seen a snippet of the performance of "the ride" from the nude tour...from what i heard, that particular one's pretty hawt.

i'm a bit anal about the intro - i prefer the drum intro rather than prince just kicking off on the guitar before the drums come in.

so i'm a big fan of the performance of the Ride on the Black MF boot (can't remember which aftershow that was, sorry) and on the Undertaker.

The one on The Undertaker, no doubt about it.

JediMaster said:

Do you believe I don't have the Undertaker? I know.

What is this one like? Describe it to me.

FunkMistress said:

less on the talk, more on the guitar - lots of wah wah and heavy guitar too.

Oh, and some random puking in the middle.

Did i mention there's a lovely drum intro?

TheFrog said:

random puking

TheFrog said:

I think the best version i've heard is from the Sacrifice of Victor Video,
The black mf boot u were talking about frog, was it the Rex club in Paris '93?

Can someone explain the puking now?

FunkMistress said:

i guess he meant the singing....or sumfin...

AM I the only one who thinks that the Cristal Ball Version is the best?
the guitar solos are just ridiculous
that is what i call wild guitar

7salles said:

They are intense.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Are you sure it was from the nuddy tour? I'm pretty sure he didn't start performing The Ride until 1994/5.

ConsciousContact said:

I was thinking the same thing.

The Sacrifice of Victor version is my favorite by far.

ConsciousContact said:

hell if i know, i didn't pay much attention to it.

ConsciousContact said:

I have a version that says it's from 1993 in Barcelona.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

No, there is a break in one of the songs (the Ride?, I'm not sure) where the lead lady pukes.

*senior* moderator? Congrats!

sabaisabai said:

What "lead lady"?

EverlastingNow said:

This is the ONLY version as far as I'm concerned... well, the only version I listen to.

FunkMistress said:

Oh I thought The Frog was referring to The Undertaker video. The girl in the flimsy story pukes halfway through a song.

7salles said:

I also prefer that version 2 most others. I love the jazzy/vegas-style outro

FunkMistress said:

on the undertaker video, theres a really crappy story, that really doesn't matter at all with the music. before "the ride" is performed, vanessa marcil (from Las Vegas and other stuff) walks into PP nad askes 4 a payphone. One phonecall nad a few popped pills later she walks into where the power trio are performing and starts tripping n stuff. right at the end of princes guitar solo, she leans over the sofa shes sitting on and pukes.

and u SERIOUSLY need this vid.

MashedPotatoKid said:

I know.

FunkMistress said:

its worth it for "bambi" alone

okay...the puking bit i didn't even know about. i learn sumfin new here everyday!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I tried but wasn't able to babel fish the puking

paintsprayer said:

Paintsprayer!

FunkMistress said:

Hi
(absolutly loved your "life" post by the way)

FunkMistress said:

pukey babelfish