CNickyD said:

I LOVE watching him perform, but I really hate the way he changes up his music, until sometimes tracks are practically unrecognizable. I realize most artists do this to some extent, but Prince takes rearranging to another level. I can never sing along with the song, which it what disappoints me so much... Alas, I'll take whatever I can get at this point. But still!

Well I guess you won't have to worry about that any more....

mimi1956 said:

CNickyD said:

I LOVE watching him perform, but I really hate the way he changes up his music, until sometimes tracks are practically unrecognizable. I realize most artists do this to some extent, but Prince takes rearranging to another level. I can never sing along with the song, which it what disappoints me so much... Alas, I'll take whatever I can get at this point. But still!

Well I guess you won't have to worry about that any more....

Right?

I love his live performances

OP here: I've never debated that he put on a fantastic live show. It was a pure spectacle to watch. I just want the songs to be closer to their original! I've seen Earth, Wind & Fire perform (the greatest band EVER) and didn't get that sense from them.

.

(Edited for typos)

[Edited 6/21/16 10:23am]

TrevorAyer said:

I agree ... The medley obsession is really vegas cheesy and kills any momentum a song has ... Unfortunately his extended live versions are just as bad ... He is was more inclined to play one verse and jam on a one chord boring chant than he was to give us 3 verses a bridge and 3 choruses we can enjoy ... To the average ear this may seem impressive but to me it seems lazy and uninspired ... I was happy on the celebration tour when he played full songs but it has been rare that we get more than 10 full songs and its usually the crap like chapter and verse that he plays in full instead of the good songs ... I mean .. I enjoy "the one" but a full version of the question of u would be very satisfying .. I blame his lack of qualified musicians to work with ... He got no pushback on his cheesy medley vegas dreams

This guy understands where I'm coming from.

I totally get what you're saying OP. I can agree to a certain extent. There are some songs that I absolutely adore, and when he'd only sing a line of it I'd be disappointed with the whole arrangement. Nothing wrong with wanting to hear what you know and love the way it is. However, there are also songs that I love and then I heard a live version and was absolutely floored. She's Always in My Hair does that for me, I prefer his live versions 99% of the time. All a matter of opinion. Everyone has their preferences

CNickyD said:

NorthC said:

I felt honored just to be in the same room with him when I saw him in concert, just to be breathing air that might've come from him, and as far a his live shows disappointing, c'mon now.

it looks to me like he got less overbearing as time went on so the musicians he had backing him pretty much came up with their own versions of the arrangements. In the early 1999/Purple Rain days it was still pretty close to the album version with one exception, Dez Dickerson I think, or maybe it was Jimmy Jam said that prince was always telling them "it's got to be better live than on record" and so it usually was a little different. the time took this lesson to heart and routinely spanked Prince and band on the 1999 tour. But Prince typically made changes too, why? Probably because he kept getting ideas for the songs. As a songwriter, I often get all kinds of ideas for a song after i finish it. it's kind of frustrating but if it makes the song better you do it anyway.

Ahsister said:

I felt honored just to be in the same room with him when I saw him in concert, just to be breathing air that might've come from him, and as far a his live shows disappointing, c'mon now.

Ya know? He could have played Purple Rain on a polka dot kazoo and I would have been just fine with it.

PeteSilas said:

it looks to me like he got less overbearing as time went on so the musicians he had backing him pretty much came up with their own versions of the arrangements. In the early 1999/Purple Rain days it was still pretty close to the album version with one exception, Dez Dickerson I think, or maybe it was Jimmy Jam said that prince was always telling them "it's got to be better live than on record" and so it usually was a little different. the time took this lesson to heart and routinely spanked Prince and band on the 1999 tour. But Prince typically made changes too, why? Probably because he kept getting ideas for the songs. As a songwriter, I often get all kinds of ideas for a song after i finish it. it's kind of frustrating but if it makes the song better you do it anyway.

I only ever saw him live once, at Mohegan Sun in 2013. It was the third night, which the reviewers called the least favorable of the three shows. I loved seeing him - finally! - but the show wasn't that good IMO. A lot of other singers and artists. Yes, I had heard it was going to be a house party format, but I wanted something similar to his shows of the early 2000s. In fact, I deleted the videos of him (yes, taken against the rules - an usher made me stop) because there just wasn't that much there.

Genesia said:

Ahsister said:

I felt honored just to be in the same room with him when I saw him in concert, just to be breathing air that might've come from him, and as far a his live shows disappointing, c'mon now.

Ya know? He could have played Purple Rain on a polka dot kazoo and I would have been just fine with it.

Love that

the version of "gotta broken heart again" on the ona dvd is vastly superior to the recorded, not only because of one of his greatest vocal performance but also the revamped, jazz/vegas arrangement. in fact, i never really even liked the song before that.

PeteSilas said:

the version of "gotta broken heart again" on the ona dvd is vastly superior to the recorded, not only because of one of his greatest vocal performance but also the revamped, jazz/vegas arrangement. in fact, i never really even liked the song before that.

You know what was even better? The version of Gotta Broken Heart Again that he did at the Rio in 2007. Man, was that silky and sad.

i'll check it out. and also, a few of his biggest hits are production marvels that do not translate to live performance. He said as much when he said he didn't play when doves cry live because it had "too much space" and Kiss too, sparse arrangements may be great on record and sound think in person. I played when doves cry at a piano bar I worked at, after i was done, the audience was stone quiet. I got off stage and the boss said "never play that one again". but ya know, I think they may have been impressed in a way that they were stunned (or so I like to think).

Prince's live version of ILYBIDTYA (from the "Rave" album) is far better done in Montreux 2009 concert than the CD version.

KlyphIsBackAgain said:

My opinion? Prince live BEFORE Musicology tour? AWESOME. Prince live AFTER Musicology tour? Mediocre. Sampler sets, "one verse then play guitar" arrangements, too many background singers, too many horn parts.... I could go on. Not to mention pretty much every tour since Musicology (with the exception of the 3rd Eye Girl ones) seemed to be just an extension of that one. Prince tours previously seemed to have their own identity.

Did you see the Live Out Loud Tour? Barely any "hits" were sang. Obscure and non-single songs sung. That was an awesome tour.

Even the W2A tour had different versions and I would say the alternate show on that tour was a good show. The 20 minute Musicology performance was great.

kewlschool said:

KlyphIsBackAgain said:

My opinion? Prince live BEFORE Musicology tour? AWESOME. Prince live AFTER Musicology tour? Mediocre. Sampler sets, "one verse then play guitar" arrangements, too many background singers, too many horn parts.... I could go on. Not to mention pretty much every tour since Musicology (with the exception of the 3rd Eye Girl ones) seemed to be just an extension of that one. Prince tours previously seemed to have their own identity.

montreaux? the great performance on the naacp show? I thought he was hitting a peak as a live musician at that time. His guitar solo during that salsa number was something he never did live before and he did it like he'd been doing it all his life. Because of the blackout, i haven't been able to see everything he's done live so you firsthand people have a leg up on me but Little Red Corvette, the versions I heard seemed to be better and better live. Even third eye girl's guitarist seemed to nail that solo better than anyone did before (including Prince) I gotta say, I have my own opinions.

PeteSilas said:

CNickyD said:

I LOVE watching him perform, but I really hate the way he changes up his music, until sometimes tracks are practically unrecognizable. I realize most artists do this to some extent, but Prince takes rearranging to another level. I can never sing along with the song, which it what disappoints me so much... Alas, I'll take whatever I can get at this point. But still!

I'm with you completely, he is grerat live, it's great he makes changes live but sometimes the changes go so far it's hard to identify which song he's singing, the same happens with Bob Dylan, i just don't like it.

KlyphIsBackAgain said:

PeteSilas said:

montreaux? the great performance on the naacp show? I thought he was hitting a peak as a live musician at that time. His guitar solo during that salsa number was something he never did live before and he did it like he'd been doing it all his life. Because of the blackout, i haven't been able to see everything he's done live so you firsthand people have a leg up on me but Little Red Corvette, the versions I heard seemed to be better and better live. Even third eye girl's guitarist seemed to nail that solo better than anyone did before (including Prince) I gotta say, I have my own opinions.

Of course there have been moments since Musicology that I thought were really good musicianship wise. But overall I've found his live performances since then to be mediocre, fairly uninspired, similar and by the numbers. Yeah, he may have grown as a live musician, being able to play certain things he hadnt before, but it's not just what you can play for me..... It's the feeling, it's the spirit, it's the freshness.... and it just seemed pretty stale to me in general.

I understand your stale concept. For me it was the Raspberry Beret/Take me with U medley.

mimi1956 said:

CNickyD said:

I LOVE watching him perform, but I really hate the way he changes up his music, until sometimes tracks are practically unrecognizable. I realize most artists do this to some extent, but Prince takes rearranging to another level. I can never sing along with the song, which it what disappoints me so much... Alas, I'll take whatever I can get at this point. But still!

Well I guess you won't have to worry about that any more....

heehee No Joke! And especially to the bolded... You sound like this was done on a large majority of songs. If he did rearrange to the concerts I saw him do I was able to still able to recognize them. Are sure these wasn't some songs you didn't even know? The Purple Catalogue is quite large.