The performance on Leno of Dreamer is extraordinary, deserves similar accolades to the Fury SNL performance. Love the charging guitar near the end, and the touches of harmonica in the background.

can you relate?

I agree. The entire band sounds rehearsed but it's not slick and sterile. From Sonny T's slide of the fretboard, the entire band plays that groove that is not reminiscent of blues-rock bands of the past. I love that on the first verse the band plays 16 bars, 2nd verse 12 bars and after the 3rd verse, Prince goes off on that stratocaster. Does Morris Hays actually play, because he's not audible in the mix. Yonnet isn't as bad as some people think. He learned from somebody the key to a Prince gig, is to watch Prince like a hawk for non-verbal cues. I actually prefer this version than the one on Lotus Flower. The intensity of his vocals and the lyrical content from the jump lets you know that Prince is pissed off and has something to say. My only question is during the 3rd verse did he forget the lyrics on purpose or did he shorten the lyrics for a reason?

Yes I can. He rocked!

Probably my favorite of all the Leno performances except for maybe Dorothy Parker. The (temporary) hand over of the guitar was cute too.

Don't kill me, but I don't think he's done that track justice live yet

I think it's a bit like Chelsea Rodgers, an awesome song, that should be even better live, but never quite meets your (my) expectations. Just my humble (and cowering) opinion.

unkleg said:

Don't kill me, but I don't think he's done that track justice live yet

I think it's a bit like Chelsea Rodgers, an awesome song, that should be even better live, but never quite meets your (my) expectations. Just my humble (and cowering) opinion.

well, the version at Leno is ok, not on par with the studio version in my opinion. Best live version is absolutely the one from the 1st monaco show last year, 10 minutes of madness. Have a listen. This should have been released in some way!

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[Edited 8/17/10 0:28am]

Sorry, this song is just such a huge rip off of Hendrix that I can't even listen to it. The riff is lifted straight off of Voodoo Child and I can't get past that part.

One of my top Prince TV performances, for sure. The combination of Michael B. and Sonny T., the guitar solo, the inspired vocals, and the song itself make this performance perfection for me.

This is one of the rare instances where I think the studio version is as good as the live versions, though. I can't decide which I like better.

Marco81 said:

Best live version is absolutely the one from the 1st monaco show last year, 10 minutes of madness. Have a listen. This should have been released in some way!

Yes! That's my favorite live version, too.

I also love the somewhat funkier version from the Nice show, although it would have been better without Prince yelling about the lights being on or off, as usual these days.

unkleg said:

Don't kill me, but I don't think he's done that track justice live yet

I think it's a bit like Chelsea Rodgers, an awesome song, that should be even better live, but never quite meets your (my) expectations. Just my humble (and cowering) opinion.

Don't cower my friend, I am with you all the way. Never quite opened it up yet IMO

sorry-im with spinlight on this one

ive listened to Hendrix for a long time-so i feel like dreamer is an old tune-a cover even

but the Leno version is a superb one for sure

bashraka said:

I agree. The entire band sounds rehearsed but it's not slick and sterile. From Sonny T's slide of the fretboard, the entire band plays that groove that is not reminiscent of blues-rock bands of the past. I love that on the first verse the band plays 16 bars, 2nd verse 12 bars and after the 3rd verse, Prince goes off on that stratocaster. Does Morris Hays actually play, because he's not audible in the mix. Yonnet isn't as bad as some people think. He learned from somebody the key to a Prince gig, is to watch Prince like a hawk for non-verbal cues. I actually prefer this version than the one on Lotus Flower. The intensity of his vocals and the lyrical content from the jump lets you know that Prince is pissed off and has something to say. My only question is during the 3rd verse did he forget the lyrics on purpose or did he shorten the lyrics for a reason?

Yes this performance kicked ass something nasty & I prefer this over the album version any day. On the the 3rd verse I think he held back cause he was on national television & didn't want the negativity to get in the way of his promotion of the album! Very excellent lyrical content also!!!!!

unkleg said:

Don't kill me, but I don't think he's done that track justice live yet

I think it's a bit like Chelsea Rodgers, an awesome song, that should be even better live, but never quite meets your (my) expectations. Just my humble (and cowering) opinion.

No need to feel that way. If you mean in a concert setting, you're probably right. The groove on this song is so hypnotic. There's no denying that this song is derivative of "Voodoo Child", so in a way this song is an original cover. It would be great if Sonny, Michael and Prince would record a follow up to The Undertaker, but take it farther. I still think that this rhythm section could bring out a side of Prince artistically that John, Rhonda, Renato did for Prince in ONA.

Spinlight said:

Sorry, this song is just such a huge rip off of Hendrix that I can't even listen to it. The riff is lifted straight off of Voodoo Child and I can't get past that part.

BULLSHIT !
CLEAN YOUR EARS