It's 26 years later and that Dirty Mind tour that set a new course for Prince is still a great source of joy and inspiration for me. It was out even before I was born of course, but I have the video of a couple of those shows.

I was watching them last night and even though they're old, they're not old at all. Prince was in top for with his raw sexuality, amazing musicianship, and wicked ass funky grooves.

Of course now we see that Prince is older, wiser and more mature. But back when he was the nasty freak we all loved him for he was even cooler.

There seemed to be a manifesto behind that whole tour. I think Prince was trying to express social/sexual freedom and liberation through his diverse blend of Funk/Rock/New Wave/Pop/Soul.

And come on, you wanna talk about best guitarists along side Prince? You couldn't fuck with Dez when it came to rocking out. He took the lessons of Van Halen/Hendrix/Rhoads and put his own spin on it. Wendy, Levi, Miko, or Mike couldn't rock out the way Dez did.

It's just as beautiful watching the Dirty Mind tour now as it was then.

You mean to tell me none of you would agree?

i totally agree -- i would've loved to have been a part of it
it's the closest he's ever come to a straight-out stripped-down rock'n'roll show
no gimmicks, no theatrics -- just music for the sake of making music

Loved that tour! It was so full on. I can barely remember him doing any slow
songs at all (I'm sure he must've done at least one). Guitar to the fore,
a real excercise in raw power. Plus I loved all the New-waved-up versions of
the older tracks he played too.