Hey guys. Just a little help if anyone can clarify. Are the performances in the purple rain movie actually live from that footage? Reason I ask is Prince's performance of the guitar solos (esp. the first one) in Let's go crazy seem really hammed up. I know that's his style of playing anyway but it seems staged if you know what I mean. Especially the bit where hits the string three times and twirls to play the rest of the solo. Hope I making sense. Cheers

No. The performances in the movie are all mimed to the album versions of the songs. Pretty standard practice for these kind of movies. You should track down Prince & The Revolution Live! on VHS. It's a full length live performance from the Purple Rain tour. Alternatively, on disc 2 of the Purple Rain Special Edition DVD, there are a couple of live performances of "I Would Die 4 U/Baby I'm A Star" and "Take Me With U". Prince definitely "hams up" some of the performances in the movie for sure - but it's still cool

The basic track Purple Rain you hear in the movie (album) was recoreded live

http://princevault.com/in...urple_Rain

3 August, 1983 at First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA (at the same concert where I Would Die 4 U and Baby I'm A Star were also recorded).

This live version was released in edited form with string overdubs.

And no, what you see in the movie is not part from the August 3rd show

[Edited 7/4/11 1:17am]

Thanks for clarifying fellas..