My Sabotage Monaco set arrived the other day and I'm really loving this track in particular the guitar work is killer.

Any one else feeling this?

Also John Blackwell is incredible on drums his work on Shhh is just jaw dropping. Probably the most gifted drummer Prince has ever played with.

never heard it

The Love We Make in Monaco without doubt is extraordinary. Must not forget the French Letters.

Soundboard, I'm hopin.

crimson and clover is my favorite from those shows . solo is awesome

That song is plain beautiful !

soulyacolia said:

ya that whole first disk is awesome lrc dreamer shhh crimson and clover..great show!

2freaky4church1 said:

They are audience recordings but the sound quality is excellent on all shows.

soulyacolia said:

John Blackwell is cool but Michael Bland OWNS Shhhh....any other version without Michael on drums pales in comparison,IMO.It´s probably one of the few songs in Prince´s catalog where you simply can´t replace a certain musician. The same goes for songs with Eric Leeds. Those two have an irreplaceable sound.

KoolEaze said:

very true

couldn't agree more with the above posts, michael b is an exceptional drummer and has a pocket so wide u could drive a truck between the beats. blackwell is also incredibly talented, to put it mildly but he lacks the taste of michael b.
often times with blackwell i find if you're not watching him and just listening he can have a tendency to over play. (see live versions of raspberry beret and take me with u from one nite alone live) i find it a bit distracting in simple pop tunes like those 2 when he follows every little run the band does. 'i think i love her...'' do de dod do dod dod do... i don't now, maybe it's just my preference but michael b's restraint, and often times what he doesn't play, is what shows his taste and ability to present SONG first and foremost.

i'm a musician and i have a hard time finding drummers that demonstrate a true understanding of what's important in a song the way michael does... and then when he let's loose on something like ''shhh'' it's game over, no one disputes his talent. to me that's more impressive, when u choose your moments.

nurseV said:

Don't even think it

should we talk about the performance of "Dreamer" from the first show? ...My holy god!

i wanna see the Monaco concerts!

electric said:

Very good observation! That´s exactly how I feel about Michael B. and John Blackwell.

That could also be down to Michael B being a rock drummer and Blackwell being a jazz drummer, you know what those jazz musicians can be like.

Some good remarks about John Blackwell and Michael Bland here.

IMO John Blackwell is often distracting the listener with his flashieness and so called 'technique'.

A good musician comforms him or herself to the collective, WITHOUT losing his or her own distinctive touch: somethimg that Michael Bland does. He can play pop, rock, soul and funk without getting into some flashy 'egotrip', while maintaining his impressive driven, hard-hitting sound.

Blackwell seems so obsessed with showing off (look how good and flashy I can hit all this cymbals and drums!). It overshadows his role and function within the band.
Look at Take me With U on the Alladin DVD for example. His drumming is partly responsible for this song turning into some cheesy, Las Vegas version. This song needs harder, more straightforward rock-drumming to give it more of a 'rock and roll' vibe.
[Edited 12/4/09 11:17am]

the love we make - one of the highlights of the 2nd show in monaco,followed by controversy .he should play more often

luv4u said:

Umm...what was I thinking?