July 1981 - Long Beach, CA



http://www.youtube.com/wa...AcfTXLPcdQ

thank's , it was nice to see some of teena's prformances. I've never seen a few of them.

I wish they would release this entire concert on DVD.It's featured on the bonus disc of the 'Street Songs' remaster/deluxe edition and it sounds like an EXPLOSIVE show!

SoulAlive said:

I LOVE THAT DELUXE EDITION
[Edited 4/21/07 19:41pm]

What it is, pill? Nice thread. I went to this show with my older cousin. Same cousin that I was suppossed to go with to see P at The Roxy during his second album but I got super sick a few days before so my mom wouldn't let me go. He took his girlfriend instead. But uh, I didn't miss this show.

blackguitaristz said:

Yeah bruh, this was DEFINATELY Rick at his peak. And for all the folks that think they know all about P...nobody can't tell me that P didn't dig the shit out of Rick. Look at the clip with Rick before Teena came out on stage. Tell me P didn't take that shit. Rick's mannerisms, facial expressions, the falling on the floor and then sitting up, looking disgusted...the whole 9.

blackguitaristz said:

Man!!!!

I was thinking the same thing


I was like "I've seen this before"


[Edited 4/21/07 21:27pm]

Don't know how many of ya'll were actually around in 81, but even though I was a kid, I always went to concerts. Didn't matter who it was; KISS, Parliament, Journey, ...if I dug them, I was going. Anyway, for those that might not know' in 81,...Rick was king. Nobody was hotter than Rick during this period. Not even Michael. Was Rick bigger than Micheal? Ya'll know the answer to that. Of course not. But he was hotter during 81. The only cat that might have rivaled Rick that year was the other Rick. Rick Springfield. As far as P was concerned,...well,..he was getting it together with Controversy, mapping out things to come. Which was a smart move and to his credit, he fucked Rick AND Michael AND everybody else up in 82 with his 1999 album. Rick was not, at the very least, ready for that. He couldn't compete with P's versatility as a songwriter and I think that's when he really first realized it. But in 81, Rick was the man and P was taking notes.

funkpill said:

Yeah, u have.

blackguitaristz said:

But don't make that comment on the Music & More section..

You might get hung

Don't mean to get too deep with this, but fuck it. Here's my thought on Rick's decline. Like I posted earlier, Rick was the shit in 81. His Streetsongs album was really, really big. Rick was already set and sitting pretty with the black audience. but with Steetsongs, Rick really crossed over into the pop market and had a lot of white folks that dug rock as well. "Give It To Me Baby" and "Super Freak" were monster smashes and they were all over the radio. To say Rick got caught up is an under statement. I believe he thought that nobody in music could fuck with him. He knew that Parliament was over. He knew Michael was always going to be there but Mike had his own thing that didn't get in the way with Rick's thang. But man, when P hit with his 1999 album and also he was getting massive black airplay with The Time and Vanity6, on a creative level, I think Prince at that time, on a creative level, kinda scared Rick. I think what P showcased on the 1999 album really set him apart from everybody else in the biz. Plus, P had the support of MTV, which never supported Rick. Rick always had that black rock star thing. He had the women. And with Streetsongs, he had crossed over. But now, here comes Prince, coming on hard like he got some kind of magical force working for him all of a sudden. Prince was hitting all of the marks, basically doing a lot of what Rick HAD been doing, BUT Ptook it to another level. It was obvious as hell that Rick couldn't fuck with P as a musician and P utilized this on the 1999 album to death. It's some of his best playing on any of his albums. That album basically is a musician album. All of the songs are built to showcase this. That's why so many of the songs are so long. Plus, Prince being a rock guitarist, in the vein of Hendrix, that was another element Rick couldn't expoit. In other words, P set back and studied Rick. He knew what Rick was good at. But he was on fire about out doing Rick so he showcased what he knew Rick couldn't do. On the very album right AFTER Streetsongs. Gotta understand, P was competing against Rick, against The Time. So he was going to bring it. And he hasn't brought it that hard since. I think Rick saw this and it under cut his confidence. Folks in Rick's clique, including Teena, knew that P was hard and on another level than Rick. This and the drugs really fucked Rick over from 82 onward. Sure, Rick had some jams but imstead of climbing upward like P was doing, Rick went the other way. Even getting to the point that he was bitting off of P. Which was sad to see.

I've always considered Rick better on the albums rather than live. Of course, I've only heard two of his live shows the Long Beach live show on the Deluxe Edition of Street Songs and the Rockpalast performance.

FuNkeNsteiN said:

Oh and by this I don't mean I dislike him live, I just prefer the studio versions. I loveee me some Rick James

I think this is pretty awesome even compared to his studio recordings:



In fact, I wish this was on CD somewhere (for "Big Day" alone).

blackguitaristz said:

As ususal...

You're dead on it Black

blackguitaristz said:

LOL! Only you would put Rick Springfield in the same graf as Parliament and KISS, but you are DEAD ON. During '81, Rick was the man, people only knew Prince through on whisperly sung "I Wanna Be Your Lova" and maybe a couple of other tunes and Rick Springfield tore up the charts with "Jesse's Girl".

It's funny but whenever I heard Rick's Human Touch, I would think of Prince's later Glamorous Life.

Prince's gift then and now was his versatility. My all-time favorite musician and performer...

blackguitaristz said:

I hear ya!! Rick was on fire in '81.During that summer,'Street Songs' was blaring out of every car speaker in America,lol.He was unstoppable back then....the true King of Punk Funk.I got a copy of 'Street Songs' and I treated it like gold,ha ha.That album kicked ass on so many levels.I love every song on it.On songs like "Ghetto Life" and "Mr.Policeman",Rick was singing about things like police brutality and life in the streets long before the rappers jumped on this bandwagon.With "SuperFreak",he created a credible New Wave/funk jam that the pop crowd couldn't ignore.Shame on MTV for not showing the video.Regardless,it still became a classic,with R&B and pop audiences."Call Me Up" is an underrated track that could have been a single.The very next year,MJ and Prince reached a new level of superstardom but in 1981,Rick was hotter than both of them.

Alasseon said:

I know what you mean! I am convinced that Prince borrowed from the chorus of Rick's "Human Touch" when he wrote "The Glamorous Life".

we all need....the human touch
I need...the human touch

she don't need...a man's touch

CinisterCee said:

I have this DVD and I'm disappointed with it I'm sure that Rick did some amazing shows during this era,but this show isn't it.It's frustrating to see him get a groove going,sing one verse and chorus,then turn it into an annoying call-and-response segment that goes on forever.

blackguitaristz said:

As usual,you are spot on with your analysis! Right on! You know what I think Rick shoulda done after 'Street Songs'? He shoulda came out with a kickass 2-record set.Took it to another level!! 'Throwin Down' is a great album but most of it sounds like Street Songs Part 2."Hard To Get" is a clone of "SuperFreak".There's even another duet with Teena Marie.Imagine if he had kept a few of those songs...the best tracks ("69 Times","Throwdown","Standing On The Top") and wrote a bunch of other dazzling tracks,enough to fill two records.The other tracks could have really went in another direction....some edgy New Wave stuff...maybe a few rock tracks....and of course,some hardcore funk jams.With two records,he would have had more room to experiment and try new stuff.If it had been released in the spring/summer of 1982,he would have beat Prince to the punch,since '1999' didn't come out until late '82.

I think Rick's problem was a lack of new ideas.'Street Songs' was edgy and fresh,but the follow-up albums didn't break any new ground or took him to another level.I think he had the talent to go other places (musically),but lost his way.

funkpill said:

Thank u, player.

Alasseon said:

Ha ha! Let me take it deeper still; Linda Blair ended up in serious relationships with James and Springfield. She damn near ended up marrying James.

SoulAlive said:

Definately.

SoulAlive said:

Thanx soul. Hey, excellent points from u as well. Rick had the potential to do what u just described and he should have done just that. BUT, Rick wasn't nearly as motivated at that time as Prince was. P felt he had everything to prove and he was angry. Those elements is what drove him to produce such an outstanding album with the 1999 album. Rick felt he had NOTHING to prove and was sitting on cloud9 in the Hollywood Hills. Nothing at all wrong with that. Enjoy your success. BUT, u can't get side tracked either. U must maintain that same drive and focus that u had when u weren't successful. Otherwise, you'll end up bloated and everything u write, u think is a hit. Even when it's not. Your judgement will become way off cuz all u see now is money, being noticed everywhere u go, beautiful women throwing themselves at u. Basically that spells fame. With fame comes power. Not everyone is capable of handling all of that and not letting those traps effect your work and your judgement of your work. That shit caught up with Prince as well, overtime.

funkpill said:

Man, you and I both would get banned!

Omg,Great clip!!!! Rick had so much energy, he was a great performer and Teena can sing her ass off. Love 'em both!

That would have been great.



I've always liked "Throwin' Down" more than "Street Songs".



I always called it "Super Freak Part 2". However, it's more funkier than "Super Freak". "Hard To Get" reminds me more of the extended part of "Super Freak".



He was definately capable of doing some rock. However, what I've always admired most about Rick James is, even after he had a crossover hit with "Super Freak", he didn't let that change him. He continued on with funk and nothing but funk. People straying from the funk trying to continue pop success is what helped to kill funk.....and you know how I feel about people who go out of their way and try for a crossover hit.

vainandy said:

Well, Rick had already done songs with a strong rock element in them ala "Fire It Up". Like P, when they incorporated rock in their sound, it just enhanced their sound. It didn't dillute it. I'm saying that to say that Rick didn't seek out a pop audience by adding a rock element to his thing. He added rock to his thing when he did, simply cuz he dug rock. Like I posted earlier, and in agreement with the point Soul made, Rick SHOULD have expanded on the motif he was using to death. I've always prefered "Hard To Get" over "Super Freak". The riff on that is bangin'. But it became a formula that wore out quickly. As where P was ALWAYS pushing, musically.

blackguitaristz said:

blackguitaristz said:

[quote]i dont think you cats are being serious with this/ do you think rick was honestly scared of prince.