like he did on the night before the Reign with trademark blistering electric guitar? I don't think he did that on a song before the Purple Reign era, did he?

ComeHereLetMeCutYourHair said:

like he did on the night before the Reign with trademark blistering electric guitar? I don't think he did that on a song before the Purple Reign era, did he?

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It appears you did not listen to your b00tz.

Do you have any?

Tss, tss, tss … why should everyone be owning or be listening to boots, Udo? There are some folks on here who obviously tend to care more about the empirical analysis of P’s career, rather than listen to audio documents of such shows. But maybe this thread was just a potential kick-start for some reasearch & listening sessions?

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In order to answer the OP’s question: There are recordings in circulation from P’s earlier/pre-Purple Rain tour shows (1979 through 1983). To my knowledge though, nothing has surfaced from the few 1979 gigs (let alone his mid- to late 1970s, pre-contract gigs on block partys and local fashion shows). I assume he mostly sang and played rhythm guitar and keys on those. The first two "regular" Mpls shows at the Capri (early 1979) are only vaguely documented and not accessible audio-wise.

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If you are looking for Prince concerts with extensive solo guitar playing by the man himself, you’ll certainly find less recordings from the years 1980 through 1983 then from 1983 onwards. 17 Minutes of "Purple Rain" during the eponymous tour were something new. At first I had spontaneously tended to agree to Udo’s point of view, and then, upon thinking about it, you seem to have a point there.

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One reason for the change might be the extensive rehearsals going on during that era. Prince put a lot of time into his guitar playing there AND he was writing guitar-heavy rock songs, so this called for some more solo work on guitar, I assume. Another reason should also be the fact that he had only just hired Wendy to take over Dez’ part in the band (and his spot on stage, too). She certainly wasn’t ready to take any serious extended solo parts in a way that Dez had been used to. So P rather took that upon himself.

LOGIC said:

Tss, tss, tss … why should everyone be owning or be listening to boots, Udo?

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THey are more reachable, findable, affordable than ever.

LOGIC said:

Tss, tss, tss … why should everyone be owning or be listening to boots, Udo? There are some folks on here who obviously tend to care more about the empirical analysis of P’s career, rather than listen to audio documents of such shows. But maybe this thread was just a potential kick-start for some reasearch & listening sessions?

.

In order to answer the OP’s question: There are recordings in circulation from P’s earlier/pre-Purple Rain tour shows (1979 through 1983). To my knowledge though, nothing has surfaced from the few 1979 gigs (let alone his mid- to late 1970s, pre-contract gigs on block partys and local fashion shows). I assume he mostly sang and played rhythm guitar and keys on those. The first two "regular" Mpls shows at the Capri (early 1979) are only vaguely documented and not accessible audio-wise.

.

If you are looking for Prince concerts with extensive solo guitar playing by the man himself, you’ll certainly find less recordings from the years 1980 through 1983 then from 1983 onwards. 17 Minutes of "Purple Rain" during the eponymous tour were something new. At first I had spontaneously tended to agree to Udo’s point of view, and then, upon thinking about it, you seem to have a point there.

.

One reason for the change might be the extensive rehearsals going on during that era. Prince put a lot of time into his guitar playing there AND he was writing guitar-heavy rock songs, so this called for some more solo work on guitar, I assume. Another reason should also be the fact that he had only just hired Wendy to take over Dez’ part in the band (and his spot on stage, too). She certainly wasn’t ready to take any serious extended solo parts in a way that Dez had been used to. So P rather took that upon himself.

thanks LOGIC for backing me up!!!