Sabotage Catalog # SAB 347-348-349-350 Release Year 2008 2CD Length
77:22 / 77:24 / 79:55 /
75:07 Date/Venue
IndigoO2 10th & 22nd Sept. 2008 Source Audience Recordings Quality
EX
Rating
5.0/5.0
Track Listing Disc 1
3121 Aftershow - IndigO2, The O2, London : 10th September 2007 (am)
1. INTRO - FOOTPRINTS 2. CHERISH THE DAY 3. THE WORLD IS A GHETTO (INSTRUMENTAL)
4. 1999 5. I NEVER LOVED A MAN (THE WAY I LOVE YOU) 6. ALL THE CRITICS LOVE U IN
LONDON 7. CHELSEA RODGERS 8. SEXY DANCER V'S LE FREAK 9. ALPHABET ST. 10. I WANT
TO TAKE YOU HIGHER (Including YAKETY SAX) 11. THE CHICKEN - MIND IN 7 12. CRAZY
13. CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD - VIDEO
Disc 2
1. JOY IN REPETITION 2. WHAT IS HIP? (INSTRUMENTAL) 3. PEACH (Including ROCK ME
BABY) 4. PEACH GROOVE / PRINCE SPEECH 5. LOVE CHANGES 6. SWEET THING 7. THE
QUESTION OF U (INSTRUMENTAL) (Including THE ONE - FALLIN') 8. GIRLS AND BOYS
(Including MISS YOU) 9. 3121 (Including ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND - MUSIC! MUSIC!
MUSIC! - THE ENTERTAINER - THE SAILOR'S HORNPIPE - YAKETY SAX) 10. I FEEL FOR
YOU 11. CONTROVERSY (Including SOUL MAKOSSA - HOUSEQUAKE)
Disc 3
3121 Aftershow - IndigO2, The O2, London : 22nd September 2007 (am)
1. INTRO - LOVE IS A LOSING GAME (ft. AMY WINEHOUSE) 2. 7 3. COME TOGETHER 4.
HONKY TONK WOMEN 5. ROCK STEADY (ft. BEVERLEY KNIGHT) 6. WHOLE LOTTA LOVE
(INSTRUMENTAL) 7. SHHH 8. ALL THE CRITICS LOVE U IN LONDON 9. SEXY DANCER V'S LE
FREAK 10. CHELSEA RODGERS
Disc 4
1. MISTY BLUE 2. BABY LOVE 3. LOVE CHANGES (INTRO) - KISS (GUITAR GROOVE) -
ALPHABET ST. 4. INSTRUMENTAL 5. GET ON THE BOAT 6. LOVE ROLLERCOASTER 7. PLAY
THAT FUNKY MUSIC 8. ANOTHERLOVERHOLENYOHEAD - ROCK LOBSTER 9. VILLANOVA JUNCTION
10. PEACH - ROCK ME BABY 11. STRATUS 12. THE QUESTION OF U (INSTRUMENTAL)
(Including THE ONE) 13. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY? 14. PARTYMAN 15. IT'S
ALRIGHT
Comments
Fink's Comments(rates this release 5.0/5.0)
The 10th (am) September 3121 aftershow
contained on Disc 1 & 2 is again another stellar effort from Sabotage and a
better source recording than the O2verload release (listed HERE). Not without a
few minor niggles though, and a few female screams during the early stages of
the show are probably the most audible of problems. Again, the audience level
reaches fever pitch and increases dramatically as Prince steps onto the stage
for the first time, and while it may have you reaching for the volume to turn it
down, it's (to me) perfectly acceptable and to be expected. This recording also
has a few wavering moments towards the end of 'Chelsea Rodgers', but as with the
majority of the recordings on the Sabotage "The Indigo Chronicles" chapters, I
only really make note of them as there is very little to be critical of overall
due to their excellence. Not the best aftershow of the residency as it's
slightly disjointed with no flow and just as Prince appears to be getting into a
funky groove, he walks offstage and leaves the NPG to entertain with a 13 minute
instrumental before returning to rescue the show - disjointed, but when it's
good, it's very, very good. I've covered the shows content in the O2verload link
above so shan't wax lyrical about the content too heavily.
For the most part Disc 1 is fairly straightforward with the added bonus of a
rare performance of Sade's 'Cherish The Day' (Shelby on vocals) and the bizarre
inclusion of '1999' during an aftershow - always a pleasure to hear, but strange
in such an intimate setting. Disc 2 begins well with an extended instrumental
intro to 'Joy In Repetition' complete with sublime guitar flourishes by Prince
before moving onto an instrumental 'What Is Hip' and an instrumental 'Peach'
with lyrics lifted from 'Rock Me Baby'. It's at this point Prince plays an 8
minute groove whilst berating the state of the record industry, which may sound
tedious, but is actually pretty funky. The remainder of the show is again pretty
standard fare, save for the inclusion of the African chant from 'Soul Makossa'
during the closing 'Controversy'. The final aftershow from 22nd (am) September
really leaves me nothing to be critical about as it's one of the best audience
recordings of the entire "The Indigo Chronicles" box set and one of the best
recordings to surface from the London main shows or aftershows from any label -
fan or otherwise. To be 100% honest I hear a few distant background voices
during the quieter parts of the 'Instrumental' following on from 'Alphabet St.'
and during the quieter parts of 'Stratus', along with some very minor movement
during 'Alphabet St.' - but these are barely worthy of mention and I only do so
as the remainder is flawless, extraordinarily clear and sharp, and the audience
level throughout is zero.
The recording is very tasty and particular mention goes to the bass level which
adds a kick to the show - listen to this release and tell me Josh's bass solo on
'Rock Steady' isn't funk personified. Excellent show to match the excellence of
the recording and there is something here from just about every other 3121
Aftershow condensed into 155 minutes. Amy Winehouse's appearance for the opening
'Love Is A Losing Game' is the real highlight of the show and whilst it was
great to hear on other recordings circulating, it's a sheer joy to listen to it
in this quality. Not to be outdone, Beverley Knight's version of 'Rock Steady'
matches Shelby's vocal power and these two guest appearances alone make this
show unforgettable. Prince's mini-rock/guitar set during the second half of the
show is the highlight of his own performance with the one and only appearance of
'Villanova Junction' from the London stay, followed by 'Stratus' and an
excellent 'The Question Of U - The One - Fallin' complete with some impressive
screaming for a man who has just played 34 shows in 52 days.
This particular "chapter" of Sabotage's Indigo box set really shouldn't be
overlooked simply due to the extremely high quality source recordings used -
anyone looking for the best recordings should look no further as I can't see
anything appearing better than this, particularly the 22nd(am) aftershow. As
with the rest of the "chapters" in this set, the packaging and artwork is
stunning with a 12 page booklet containing a nice fan-written report swiped from
prince.org and various fan pictures from inside the Indigo club. This Chapter 6
is a fitting end to one of the best unofficial releases in a long, long time and
is a very welcome return to form for Sabotage after their 2 year absence.