DiamondGirl said:

cranshaw62 said:

Is Teena Marie on this as well?

I loved every minute of it. Rick really turned it out. I didn't know he was that well known in Germany, the place was packed. It was a trip to see the announcer at the beginning speaking everything in German except for the words...."Reeeek James....Stone Ceeety Band". It was also great to hear some unreleased songs.

DavidEye said:

Too often,he gets a hot groove going,sings one verse and chorus,then spends ALOT of time playing silly "audience participation" games.

DavidEye said:

I hate when artists do this in concert. It's fine for a few seconds but he drug it out on one of the songs for several minutes.

DavidEye said:

I can deal with the talking. I really like the part of the live CD that came with "Street Songs" where he says "Raise your hand and act like it's the Ku Klux Klan....now smack the shit out of them!". It kind of reminds me of Millie Jackson "rapping" in a humorous way. What gets on my nerves is....."Everybody say Oh Ooh Oooooh.....everybody say ooooow weeeee" for five minutes.

I don't really know much about Rick's unreleased songs. I had never really looked for them because I had assumed they all might sound like something from "The Flag".

Anyway, I loved "Freaky".

vainandy said:

I really like that 'Live' CD that comes with the 'Street Songs' Deluxe Edition.I wish that show had been videotaped,it sounds like a better performance than the Germany show.Plus,it included Teena Marie.

vainandy said:

Honestly, I can't remember a concert that I've been to that Rick didn't do that tired left-versus-right with the audience...Yes, I thought it was fine, too for a few seconds, but he had gotten to the extreme with it in the last few years of his life when his voice was really thin and I think he did it more for a cover-up for his voice & he also didn't remember the lyrics to a lot of his songs, but what singer is going to remember the lyrics to all their songs. I remember last year when Teena and Rick played the Smirnoff Music Center in Dallas to a crowd about 5,000. That place was packed!!! Teena was just a little dynamo with her sassy little sidestep dance moves when she sang "Still In Love"...Its really rare for a performer to sound better live than on record, but Teena does. If you don't believe me then GO to one of her shows and witness it for yourself...She's AMAZING!!! Rick on the other hand was doing that left-versus-right with the audience and he was truly a mess...bless his heart...Knocking over his microphone stand & stuff. I also remember one show that they did in Los Angeles and they had to end up giving Rick a microphone with a cord because he kept laying the cordless mic down and forgetting where he put it. That was really sad, but it was also kinda funny at the same time. He also was going into Teena's time and we could see her just pacing back and forth until he realize that it was her turn. You see, on their last tour together they had one band ( a kickass 11 piece band I must add) and they would play like a tag team thing. Rick would come out and do a couple of his songs and Teena would do the same and then they would come out together. I really didn't think they should have giving him a mic with a cord either because he had gotten all tangled up in that and he also like to twirl it. He also like doing some sexual gesture with the mic, too. The entire time I was like he's going to knock someone the hell out with that mic...LOL But anyway, back to the show in Dallas, Rick was just out of control. He drop the stick while trying to start a percussion solo at the end of "Give It To Me Baby." During "Fire and Desire", he just went on and on talking some really R-rated stuff until a very embarrassed Teena came out and save the song. Teena didn't want to do that last tour with him because she said he was a lot to deal with. She was worry about him getting out of control and going to far with stuff like he did in Dallas and other shows. However, she did say that she was glad that his sister, Penny talked her into doing the "You and I" tour with Rick because she does has some really great memories of him on that tour.

I love the live from Long Beach Arena '81 show, too and would love for that show to be on DVD. If you don't know how great Teena Marie sounds live then the Street Song Deluxe Edition is a great place to start. Also, you can get the remastered version of Teena's "It Must Be Magic" with a live version of "Deja Vu" on it. SHE TORE IT UP...I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!! Daniel on sax and Teena Marie...THAT WAS A GREAT COMBINATION BACK IN DA DAY. She also does wonderfully on Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free. She was just 24!!!
[Edited 9/29/05 15:24pm]

casperd11 said:


I love the live from Long Beach Arena '81 show, too and would love for that show to be on DVD. If you don't know how great Teena Marie sounds live then the Street Song Deluxe Edition is a great place to start. Also, you can get the remastered version of Teena's "It Must Be Magic" with a live version of "Deja Vu" on it. SHE TORE IT UP...I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!! Daniel on sax and Teena Marie...THAT WAS A GREAT COMBINATION BACK IN DA DAY. She also does wonderfully on Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free. She was just 24!!!

intha916 said:

I grew up lovin Rick's music but he was just a mess on stage during his later years.

vainandy said:

Honestly, I can't remember a concert that I've been to that Rick didn't do that tired left-versus-right with the audience...Yes, I thought it was fine, too for a few seconds, but he had gotten to the extreme with it in the last few years of his life when his voice was really thin and I think he did it more for a cover-up for his voice & he also didn't remember the lyrics to a lot of his songs, but what singer is going to remember the lyrics to all their songs. I remember last year when Teena and Rick played the Smirnoff Music Center in Dallas to a crowd about 5,000. That place was packed!!! Teena was just a little dynamo with her sassy little sidestep dance moves when she sang "Still In Love"...Its really rare for a performer to sound better live than on record, but Teena does. If you don't believe me then GO to one of her shows and witness it for yourself...She's AMAZING!!! Rick on the other hand was doing that left-versus-right with the audience and he was truly a mess...bless his heart...Knocking over his microphone stand & stuff. I also remember one show that they did in Los Angeles and they had to end up giving Rick a microphone with a cord because he kept laying the cordless mic down and forgetting where he put it. That was really sad, but it was also kinda funny at the same time. He also was going into Teena's time and we could see her just pacing back and forth until he realize that it was her turn. You see, on their last tour together they had one band ( a kickass 11 piece band I must add) and they would play like a tag team thing. Rick would come out and do a couple of his songs and Teena would do the same and then they would come out together. I really didn't think they should have giving him a mic with a cord either because he had gotten all tangled up in that and he also like to twirl it. He also like doing some sexual gesture with the mic, too. The entire time I was like he's going to knock someone the hell out with that mic...LOL But anyway, back to the show in Dallas, Rick was just out of control. He drop the stick while trying to start a percussion solo at the end of "Give It To Me Baby." During "Fire and Desire", he just went on and on talking some really R-rated stuff until a very embarrassed Teena came out and save the song. Teena didn't want to do that last tour with him because she said he was a lot to deal with. She was worry about him getting out of control and going to far with stuff like he did in Dallas and other shows. However, she did say that she was glad that his sister, Penny talked her into doing the "You and I" tour with Rick because she does has some really great memories of him on that tour.

I love the live from Long Beach Arena '81 show, too and would love for that show to be on DVD. If you don't know how great Teena Marie sounds live then the Street Song Deluxe Edition is a great place to start. Also, you can get the remastered version of Teena's "It Must Be Magic" with a live version of "Deja Vu" on it. SHE TORE IT UP...I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!! Daniel on sax and Teena Marie...THAT WAS A GREAT COMBINATION BACK IN DA DAY. She also does wonderfully on Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free. She was just 24!!!
[Edited 9/29/05 15:24pm]

That audience participation call and reponse rock concert cliche stuff is the worst I have ever seen. I have had this concert on bootleg tape for years. The performance is good without that stuff.

A few years ago,Rick performed at a concert given by one of our local radio stations (KBLX in the Bay Area).It took place outside in a big park and I think it was on a Memorial Day.I didn't go to the show,but apparently it was a disaster.The next day on the air,the DJ was complaining about Rick's non-stop cussing."This was a family event,and there were little kids at the show!" he fumed.He also said that they would NEVER book Rick James again to perform at one of these shows.