Prince and the Revolution: Live

Prince and the Revolution: Live
Video by Prince and The Revolution
Released	July 29, 1985
Recorded	March 30, 1985 at Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York, United States
Genre	R&B, pop, rock, New wave
Length	1:56:00
Label	Warner Music Video, Paisley Park
Director	Paul Becher
Prince chronology
Prince and the Revolution: Live (1985) Lovesexy Live 1 (1989)

Prince and the Revolution: Live is a live concert video by Prince and The Revolution. Released after the tour itself was complete, the video is a recording of the March 30, 1985 concert in Syracuse, New York. The concert was also broadcast live throughout Europe as the final act of the 15th "Rock Night", an all-night show of four concerts staged by West German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk as part of its Rockpalast series that was simulcast by the Eurovision network of European TV stations.^[1]

Background

In 1984–85, to capitalise on his growing success with the Purple Rain album, Prince toured the United States extensively to promote the album and sales increased accordingly. Though not on the video, the tour was opened by Apollonia 6 and Sheila E..

Music

Unlike Prince's past tours, which usually opened with older material, Prince now had some #1 hits and chose to open the tour with Purple Rain album opener, "Let's Go Crazy". This segued into a triple-dose from the 1999 album. "Delirious" contained a bit of the extended version of "Let's Go Crazy". "1999" followed, containing a bit of "Reveille" on synthesizer. Next came "Little Red Corvette" and audience participation with "Take Me with U".

The pace was slowed down with "Do Me, Baby", introduced by a bit of "Purple House", Prince's take on Jimi Hendrix's "Red House". The ballad was jolted into the funk of B-side, "Irresistible Bitch". The shortened version segued into the unreleased "Possessed" (which was dedicated to James Brown in the credits). Another audience tease came with "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" before a mostly-spoken "Let's Pretend We're Married". A brief "International Lover" was followed by the lengthy ode to the Divine, "God".

The remainder of the concert was dedicated to Purple Rain material. Much like the album, "Computer Blue" was followed by "Darling Nikki" (but with the backmasking played forward. In a twist, a bit of backwards "The Dance Electric" (Prince-written for André Cymone) introduced "The Beautiful Ones". The ballad segued into a guttural into to "When Doves Cry". Mirrors were set up onstage to mimic the video for the song. The remaining songs essentially copied side 2 of Purple Rain. "I Would Die 4 U" segued into a lengthy "Baby I'm a Star", which included Sheila E. and her band, Apollonia 6 and Eric Leeds. The title song, "Purple Rain", was stretched out to over 18 minutes, filled with lengthy guitar solos.

Track listing

1. "Let's Go Crazy" (5:30)
2. "Delirious" (2:46)
3. "1999" (includes "Reveille" interpolation) (4:15)
4. "Little Red Corvette" (5:10)
5. "Take Me with U" (4:15)
6. "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (Interlude) (6:10)
7. "Do Me, Baby" (includes "Purple House" spoken intro) (4:40)
8. "Irresistible Bitch" (2:00)
9. "Possessed" (4:24)
10. "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" (5:05)
11. "Let's Pretend We're Married" (4:15)
12. "International Lover" (1:00)
13. "God" (8:30)
14. "Computer Blue" (4:30)
15. "Darling Nikki" (4:00)
16. "The Beautiful Ones" (includes backwards "The Dance Electric" and wind chime intro) (7:30)
17. "When Doves Cry" (8:15)
18. "I Would Die 4 U" (3:50)
19. "Baby I'm a Star" (10:00)
20. "Purple Rain" (18:24)

• Tracks 1, 5, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 taken from Purple Rain
• Tracks 2, 3, 4, 11 and 12 taken from 1999
• Track 7 taken from Controversy
• Tracks 8, 10 and 13 taken from The Hits/The B-Sides
• Track 9 is an unreleased song
• Track 6 is an interlude

Source: ^[2]

Personnel

References

External links

• Prince and the Revolution: Live! at the Internet Movie Database