i really like this version of when doves cry, and something in the water is just f----n brilliant. One of the top 5 prince bootlegs for sure.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

errant said:

Trader's Little Helper is my favorite. Audacity works too, but it's more involved.

I used Audacity too. I like it. You may need to DL some plug-ins to get it to let you convert but I like how you can edit the songs. So if you want to make a ring tone just select the part you want and there you go.

Audacity is great. I would mind looking into Burrrn, though. Burning FLAC files directly to disc would be awesome!

P.S. I am still flipping over this show!

veronikka said:

InternationalLover82 said:

He said it quite casually. I was actually wondering about the people who were actually there... were they upset or happy that he did most songs they didn't know?..

three of the songs on this recording I had never heard before, I instantly fell in love with them, it would have been great to actually be there

Oh nice . I actually hadn't hear Our Destiny before but now love it. I also loved hearing "Wendy wants to live forever. Maybe she will" CRYSTAL clear!!

alexnvrmnd777 said:

olb99 said:

I wouldn't say it's the case with many tracks. Anyway, I shouldn't have put it that way. The version of "When Doves Cry" on "From The Soundboard - 1984 Birthday Show" is maybe closer to the studio version, but it's completely boring (to me) at the same time. The only positive thing I could say was that it's an "interesting" version from an historical point of view. So I guess my point was: "more faithful to the studio version" does not imply "more enjoyable/interesting".

I just don't get it when people say that WDC was "too long" or "boring"! I absolutely LOVE what he's done to this song during those days on the rehearsals and this show. Less so on the actual tour, though. It's a classic tune with a classic leadline and is QUITE funky.

I was talking specifically about the 1984/6/7 version. It's the absolute lowest point on an otherwise great recording.

Spinlight said:

I can't stop bumpin this set. The dynamics are so clear. "All Day All Night" has to be my favorite. That groove is undeniable, I can't believe he didn't put this out. Fuck the overdubs, this stripped down and stanky version shoulda been put out!

Well said!

I agree with lots of your posts Spinlight (I'm a bit of a lurker) and you're right on the money here.

What amazes me is how Prince is perfectly willing to just sit on this sort of material,

instead of making it available to his ever-dwindling hard-core fan base.

What exactly is he holding out for?

owen said:

Spinlight said:

I can't stop bumpin this set. The dynamics are so clear. "All Day All Night" has to be my favorite. That groove is undeniable, I can't believe he didn't put this out. Fuck the overdubs, this stripped down and stanky version shoulda been put out!

Well said!

I agree with lots of your posts Spinlight (I'm a bit of a lurker) and you're right on the money here.

What amazes me is how Prince is perfectly willing to just sit on this sort of material,

instead of making it available to his ever-dwindling hard-core fan base.

What exactly is he holding out for?

It could be he was embarrassed by the opening flub and then delay of "When doves Cry". He'd probably balk at the thought of putting that out as it is. There's also the hiccup at one point of "Something in the Water".

Seems like he would only release an edited version of these performances, to make it mostly smooth and perfect.

But if he did put it out, what would he make moneywise? How much should he charge for this? Or should it be some kind of free retro promotion for his current tour?

What does that man say before Prince says 'oh lord that voice was too deep'! ?? And does Prince say 'wrong' before saying Wendy?

InternationalLover82 said:

What does that man say before Prince says 'oh lord that voice was too deep'! ?? And does Prince say 'wrong' before saying Wendy?

Been wondering the same thing?

He does say wrong, because someone screams out Lisa as being the new member when its actually Wendy

veronikka said:

InternationalLover82 said:

What does that man say before Prince says 'oh lord that voice was too deep'! ?? And does Prince say 'wrong' before saying Wendy?

Been wondering the same thing?

He does say wrong, because someone screams out Lisa as being the new member when its actually Wendy

A guy yells out "I wanna be your lover" as a request.

"Check it, we got a new member to the band" Girl in audience "Lisa" Prince "Wrong, Wendy."

love2thenines2003 said:

luvsexy4all said:

because VIDEO of this show is leaking soon.....

what are u talking about??>...no way...this event has never been recorded on video pro-shot...only a video from the rehearsal (security cam) exist!!!

Sorry 'love" but this show, was shot by three house cameras, pretty much the same set up as the famous Benefit show from '83. Certainly video of this exists. It is whether or not you or I will ever be able to see it that is uncertain.

[Edited 5/22/11 17:41pm]

Been listening to this for days now. It's gotta go down as one of the most must-have bootlegs out there, one that even non-bootleg-collector people should hear.

[Snip - luv4u]

BigSurScott said:

love2thenines2003 said:

what are u talking about??>...no way...this event has never been recorded on video pro-shot...only a video from the rehearsal (security cam) exist!!!

Sorry 'love" but this show, was shot by three house cameras, pretty much the same set up as the famous Benefit show from '83. Certainly video of this exists, ...

okay.. cool info!.. that really would be some discovery.. imagine rumaging through that dusty old shit & finding something as priceless as that. flipping heck!

[Edited 5/23/11 10:59am]

Trivia from the '84 birthday show:

At the beginning of "Noon Rendezvous" Prince shouts out "Shake it Steve." The "Steve" he is referring to is Steve McClellan" who was the manager of the First Ave. for most of the "80s - '00s

I am sure people wonder about the start of When Doves Cry and Prince's pleas to the crowd to clap. The tickets for this show were first provided to members of First Ave. Membership cards were not sold, you had to be given one by someone at the club. I had one and that was how I got my free tickets to the show. I was about as hardcore of a Prince fan as you could find at the time, but a lot of people who went were not. Also there was always this thing that is hard to explain, but will try. First of all in general, Minnesotan's are pretty reserved people. Adding to that was that Prince, while being a star, and all of us would queue for hours to get into to see one of his impromptu performances, was felt like a cousin. You just don't go too wild, "ya know, sheesh, he's your cousin, dont cha know." Then there was the fact that at time pretty much everybody was either in a band, managed a band, starting a band or just posing. Way too cool to do what Prince is asking you to do. Sort of like, "I'm in Exotic Storm, and we just got signed and will be way bigger than Prince." My apologies to Exotic Storm members, but be honest you knew you sucked.

So here it is, Prince's birthday and he is so gracious as to play for us on his birthday. And most of the crowd are just too cool to clap along.

Also, I have seen several people ask about if the crowd was disappointed about Prince playing all of these songs that at the time most did not know. I can speak for myself and the reactions from my friends, we were totally blow away. The songs were great. I could not wait to get the tape of the show the next day.

BTW, I may be responsible for the best quality of the now irrelevant audience tapes from this show. I DID NOT TAPE IT, nor was I near the tapers. But I was acquaintances with them and a friend of the guy whose equipment they used. They were total stoners and I am so happy now to hear Prince say "Soft and Wet" and not hear John go "whoooooaaaahhhhh." Those two would later go on to get off and on gigs doing security at Paisley Park. And help smuggle in a tape deck to record.

I have a great memory of playing that tape about two weeks later. There use to be a small indoor parking lot that was part of the First Ave. building. Which was in fact a Greyhound station in the past. I had gone to the club, saw Prince hanging out there, but he was just sort of dinking around upstairs, as he did a lot during that time. I was parked in the indoor lot, I had a green TR6 convertible, it was a pleasant summer evening, had the top down and I was leaving the lot. I had the tape of the Birthday show playing and rather loud. I am just about thirty or so feet from the entrance/exit of the garage as I am leaving. And then suddenly from around the corner walks in Prince, perhaps a friend and Chick behind them. I sort of freak out, like a deer in the headlights and then hit the off button on the car stereo. This is a loud echoing garage. I am thinking, "I am done for, Chick is going to pull me out of the car and dismantle both me and the car stereo." I sort of pretended like I had no idea who Prince was, though we had met a couple of times by that point. I think the rumble from that old British sports car combined with the echo of the building is what they heard and any music was indistinguishable. I never again played a Prince boot anytime I was near the club.

I understand how people who have never heard this boot before and are just now hearing the soundboard may be under whelmed by it. The expectations of it must be huge, and nothing usually lives up to the mythical level Our Destiny and Roadhouse Garden have. But for me this is perhaps my favorite performance of the 100 +/- I have been lucky enough to see. It captures him at a very important moment in time. Purple Rain is in the can, it is awaiting it's release later in the summer. When Dove's Cry is already a huge hit. He will never be the same again after this performance at First Ave. He played that night for the last time as just our "cousin" as just Prince, hometown boy. In a few months he will become a superstar. Instead of hanging out with his cousins back at First Ave. he is going over to Liz Taylor's house for dinner. He is bigger at the end of the summer than Michael Jackson. There is an innocence to his performance, a level of comfort with the audience that will never return. He will change because of the fame and super stardom and our reaction to him when he returns home will change as well.

I wish I were a better writer and in someway could convey to you what it felt like to be there that night. How impossibly cool Prince looked. How great the show sounded, how exciting it was to hear the knew songs. How special it felt to be there and how at that moment Prince still felt like he was ours.

BigSurScott said:

I understand how people who have never heard this boot before and are just now hearing the soundboard may be under whelmed by it. The expectations of it must be huge, and nothing usually lives up to the mythical level Our Destiny and Roadhouse Garden have. But for me this is perhaps my favorite performance of the 100 +/- I have been lucky enough to see. It captures him at a very important moment in time. Purple Rain is in the can, it is awaiting it's release later in the summer. When Dove's Cry is already a huge hit. He will never be the same again after this performance at First Ave. He played that night for the last time as just our "cousin" as just Prince, hometown boy. In a few months he will become a superstar. Instead of hanging out with his cousins back at First Ave. he is going over to Liz Taylor's house for dinner. He is bigger at the end of the summer than Michael Jackson. There is an innocence to his performance, a level of comfort with the audience that will never return. He will change because of the fame and super stardom and our reaction to him when he returns home will change as well.

I wish I were a better writer and in someway could convey to you what it felt like to be there that night. How impossibly cool Prince looked. How great the show sounded, how exciting it was to hear the knew songs. How special it felt to be there and how at that moment Prince still felt like he was ours.

I think you just wrote superbly. Especially with describing your perspective in this last part.

BigSurScott said:

Trivia from the '84 birthday show:

I wish I were a better writer and in someway could convey to you what it felt like to be there that night. How impossibly cool Prince looked. How great the show sounded, how exciting it was to hear the knew songs. How special it felt to be there and how at that moment Prince still felt like he was ours.

thanks 4 sharing your memories & i love that u were all just too cool to clap i can imagine that!..

but at times there are excited cheers from the crowd.. equally cool..

i love your stories, u expressed them well. i'm so jealous.

.

[Edited 5/22/11 19:07pm]

BigSurScott said:

I had a green TR6 convertible...

That Ingrid destroyed.

Absolutely wonderful insight on the performance, by the way. Thanks!

BigSurScott said:

Trivia from the '84 birthday show:

I understand how people who have never heard this boot before and are just now hearing the soundboard may be under whelmed by it. The expectations of it must be huge, and nothing usually lives up to the mythical level Our Destiny and Roadhouse Garden have. But for me this is perhaps my favorite performance of the 100 +/- I have been lucky enough to see. It captures him at a very important moment in time. Purple Rain is in the can, it is awaiting it's release later in the summer. When Dove's Cry is already a huge hit. He will never be the same again after this performance at First Ave. He played that night for the last time as just our "cousin" as just Prince, hometown boy. In a few months he will become a superstar. Instead of hanging out with his cousins back at First Ave. he is going over to Liz Taylor's house for dinner. He is bigger at the end of the summer than Michael Jackson. There is an innocence to his performance, a level of comfort with the audience that will never return. He will change because of the fame and super stardom and our reaction to him when he returns home will change as well.

I wish I were a better writer and in someway could convey to you what it felt like to be there that night. How impossibly cool Prince looked. How great the show sounded, how exciting it was to hear the knew songs. How special it felt to be there and how at that moment Prince still felt like he was ours.

Reading that was sad!

and you wrote it all quite wonderfully

BigSurScott said:

Trivia from the '84 birthday show:

At the beginning of "Noon Rendezvous" Prince shouts out "Shake it Steve." The "Steve" he is referring to is Steve McClellan" who was the manager of the First Ave. for most of the "80s - '00s

I am sure people wonder about the start of When Doves Cry and Prince's pleas to the crowd to clap. The tickets for this show were first provided to members of First Ave. Membership cards were not sold, you had to be given one by someone at the club. I had one and that was how I got my free tickets to the show. I was about as hardcore of a Prince fan as you could find at the time, but a lot of people who went were not. Also there was always this thing that is hard to explain, but will try. First of all in general, Minnesotan's are pretty reserved people. Adding to that was that Prince, while being a star, and all of us would queue for hours to get into to see one of his impromptu performances, was felt like a cousin. You just don't go too wild, "ya know, sheesh, he's your cousin, dont cha know." Then there was the fact that at time pretty much everybody was either in a band, managed a band, starting a band or just posing. Way too cool to do what Prince is asking you to do. Sort of like, "I'm in Exotic Storm, and we just got signed and will be way bigger than Prince." My apologies to Exotic Storm members, but be honest you knew you sucked.

So here it is, Prince's birthday and he is so gracious as to play for us on his birthday. And most of the crowd are just too cool to clap along.

Also, I have seen several people ask about if the crowd was disappointed about Prince playing all of these songs that at the time most did not know. I can speak for myself and the reactions from my friends, we were totally blow away. The songs were great. I could not wait to get the tape of the show the next day.

BTW, I may be responsible for the best quality of the now irrelevant audience tapes from this show. I DID NOT TAPE IT, nor was I near the tapers. But I was acquaintances with them and a friend of the guy whose equipment they used. They were total stoners and I am so happy now to hear Prince say "Soft and Wet" and not hear John go "whoooooaaaahhhhh." Those two would later go on to get off and on gigs doing security at Paisley Park. And help smuggle in a tape deck to record.

I have a great memory of playing that tape about two weeks later. There use to be a small indoor parking lot that was part of the First Ave. building. Which was in fact a Greyhound station in the past. I had gone to the club, saw Prince hanging out there, but he was just sort of dinking around upstairs, as he did a lot during that time. I was parked in the indoor lot, I had a green TR6 convertible, it was a pleasant summer evening, had the top down and I was leaving the lot. I had the tape of the Birthday show playing and rather loud. I am just about thirty or so feet from the entrance/exit of the garage as I am leaving. And then suddenly from around the corner walks in Prince, perhaps a friend and Chick behind them. I sort of freak out, like a deer in the headlights and then hit the off button on the car stereo. This is a loud echoing garage. I am thinking, "I am done for, Chick is going to pull me out of the car and dismantle both me and the car stereo." I sort of pretended like I had no idea who Prince was, though we had met a couple of times by that point. I think the rumble from that old British sports car combined with the echo of the building is what they heard and any music was indistinguishable. I never again played a Prince boot anytime I was near the club.

I understand how people who have never heard this boot before and are just now hearing the soundboard may be under whelmed by it. The expectations of it must be huge, and nothing usually lives up to the mythical level Our Destiny and Roadhouse Garden have. But for me this is perhaps my favorite performance of the 100 +/- I have been lucky enough to see. It captures him at a very important moment in time. Purple Rain is in the can, it is awaiting it's release later in the summer. When Dove's Cry is already a huge hit. He will never be the same again after this performance at First Ave. He played that night for the last time as just our "cousin" as just Prince, hometown boy. In a few months he will become a superstar. Instead of hanging out with his cousins back at First Ave. he is going over to Liz Taylor's house for dinner. He is bigger at the end of the summer than Michael Jackson. There is an innocence to his performance, a level of comfort with the audience that will never return. He will change because of the fame and super stardom and our reaction to him when he returns home will change as well.

I wish I were a better writer and in someway could convey to you what it felt like to be there that night. How impossibly cool Prince looked. How great the show sounded, how exciting it was to hear the knew songs. How special it felt to be there and how at that moment Prince still felt like he was ours.

Oh, you are killing me. I'm from Minneapolis, I was 13 when PR came out. I haven't thought about Exotic storm in years! I used to stare at their poster at that one store downtown that sold rocker spandex and Stacy Adams style shoes...

Great read Scott. These are the kind of stories I like to read.

BigSurScott - You are a good writer, that was cool. How do you feel being part of Prince history just by being there?!

BigsurScott - I really enjoyed your post, must have been sooooo cool to have been around Prince and minneapolis then - I'm jealous, but I am loving the birthday show.

Efan said:

I can't stop listening to it. It's like a million little kisses from funky little puppies.

Damn! The thing is a beauty. Really hear how good they all were at this time.

[Edited 5/23/11 5:02am]

BigSurScott said:

Trivia from the '84 birthday show:

At the beginning of "Noon Rendezvous" Prince shouts out "Shake it Steve." The "Steve" he is referring to is Steve McClellan" who was the manager of the First Ave. for most of the "80s - '00s

I am sure people wonder about the start of When Doves Cry and Prince's pleas to the crowd to clap. The tickets for this show were first provided to members of First Ave. Membership cards were not sold, you had to be given one by someone at the club. I had one and that was how I got my free tickets to the show. I was about as hardcore of a Prince fan as you could find at the time, but a lot of people who went were not. Also there was always this thing that is hard to explain, but will try. First of all in general, Minnesotan's are pretty reserved people. Adding to that was that Prince, while being a star, and all of us would queue for hours to get into to see one of his impromptu performances, was felt like a cousin. You just don't go too wild, "ya know, sheesh, he's your cousin, dont cha know." Then there was the fact that at time pretty much everybody was either in a band, managed a band, starting a band or just posing. Way too cool to do what Prince is asking you to do. Sort of like, "I'm in Exotic Storm, and we just got signed and will be way bigger than Prince." My apologies to Exotic Storm members, but be honest you knew you sucked.

So here it is, Prince's birthday and he is so gracious as to play for us on his birthday. And most of the crowd are just too cool to clap along.

Also, I have seen several people ask about if the crowd was disappointed about Prince playing all of these songs that at the time most did not know. I can speak for myself and the reactions from my friends, we were totally blow away. The songs were great. I could not wait to get the tape of the show the next day.

BTW, I may be responsible for the best quality of the now irrelevant audience tapes from this show. I DID NOT TAPE IT, nor was I near the tapers. But I was acquaintances with them and a friend of the guy whose equipment they used. They were total stoners and I am so happy now to hear Prince say "Soft and Wet" and not hear John go "whoooooaaaahhhhh." Those two would later go on to get off and on gigs doing security at Paisley Park. And help smuggle in a tape deck to record.

I have a great memory of playing that tape about two weeks later. There use to be a small indoor parking lot that was part of the First Ave. building. Which was in fact a Greyhound station in the past. I had gone to the club, saw Prince hanging out there, but he was just sort of dinking around upstairs, as he did a lot during that time. I was parked in the indoor lot, I had a green TR6 convertible, it was a pleasant summer evening, had the top down and I was leaving the lot. I had the tape of the Birthday show playing and rather loud. I am just about thirty or so feet from the entrance/exit of the garage as I am leaving. And then suddenly from around the corner walks in Prince, perhaps a friend and Chick behind them. I sort of freak out, like a deer in the headlights and then hit the off button on the car stereo. This is a loud echoing garage. I am thinking, "I am done for, Chick is going to pull me out of the car and dismantle both me and the car stereo." I sort of pretended like I had no idea who Prince was, though we had met a couple of times by that point. I think the rumble from that old British sports car combined with the echo of the building is what they heard and any music was indistinguishable. I never again played a Prince boot anytime I was near the club.

I understand how people who have never heard this boot before and are just now hearing the soundboard may be under whelmed by it. The expectations of it must be huge, and nothing usually lives up to the mythical level Our Destiny and Roadhouse Garden have. But for me this is perhaps my favorite performance of the 100 +/- I have been lucky enough to see. It captures him at a very important moment in time. Purple Rain is in the can, it is awaiting it's release later in the summer. When Dove's Cry is already a huge hit. He will never be the same again after this performance at First Ave. He played that night for the last time as just our "cousin" as just Prince, hometown boy. In a few months he will become a superstar. Instead of hanging out with his cousins back at First Ave. he is going over to Liz Taylor's house for dinner. He is bigger at the end of the summer than Michael Jackson. There is an innocence to his performance, a level of comfort with the audience that will never return. He will change because of the fame and super stardom and our reaction to him when he returns home will change as well.

I wish I were a better writer and in someway could convey to you what it felt like to be there that night. How impossibly cool Prince looked. How great the show sounded, how exciting it was to hear the knew songs. How special it felt to be there and how at that moment Prince still felt like he was ours.

Nice............

When Doves Cry often gets filed with Kiss as a studio track that doesn't work in a live setting. However with this tempo and arrangement it does IMO and there's no reason it should be left out of live sets as such.

veronikka said:

InternationalLover82 said:

What does that man say before Prince says 'oh lord that voice was too deep'! ?? And does Prince say 'wrong' before saying Wendy?

Been wondering the same thing?

He does say wrong, because someone screams out Lisa as being the new member when its actually Wendy

I think it's so funny. WRONG Wendy lol.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

BigSurScott - You are a good writer, that was cool. How do you feel being part of Prince history just by being there?!

Thanks for the compliment.

How do I feel, grateful and blessed to have grown up in the Twin Cities, come of drinking age (18) at the right time and also have been sober so that I have such vivid memories of that time period. I was fortunate enough to make friends with people that opened doors for me to things that otherwise I would never have had a chance to experience.

I also feel a strange sense of melancholia, not unlike what it feels like to be homesick. Knowing that I will never be able to go home again, as that home was torn down long ago. That was my youth, my late teens and 20's, when everything was new and in terms of music, what was happening all around me was not only new to me but new to the world as well. It was exciting and we were all so young.

BigSurScott said:

TheFreakerFantastic said:

BigSurScott - You are a good writer, that was cool. How do you feel being part of Prince history just by being there?!

Thanks for the compliment.

How do I feel, grateful and blessed to have grown up in the Twin Cities, come of drinking age (18) at the right time and also have been sober so that I have such vivid memories of that time period. I was fortunate enough to make friends with people that opened doors for me to things that otherwise I would never have had a chance to experience.

I also feel a strange sense of melancholia, not unlike what it feels like to be homesick. Knowing that I will never be able to go home again, as that home was torn down long ago. That was my youth, my late teens and 20's, when everything was new and in terms of music, what was happening all around me was not only new to me but new to the world as well. It was exciting and we were all so young.

Where are you based now if not in Minny? Do you have any Prince contacts now, ie ex band members, security etc?

What was your feeling on seeing Prince - did you think 'This guy is something special' ?