Musicology Celebration 2004ever Vol. II Ladybird Records 4CD

Musicology Celebration 2004ever Vol. II 4CD

4 CD
Label : Ladybird Records
Catalogue : #LBCD 012-013-014-015
3Disc Length : 79:32 / 77:28 / 79:15 / 78:43
Venue : Excel Energy Center, St. Paul 17th June 2004
Source : Audience Recordings
Sound Quality : EX
Year Of Release : 2004

Rating 5.0/5.0

Track Listing
Musicology Tour Excel Energy Center, St. Paul 17th June 2004

Disc 1
1. Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Video Intro 2. Musicology 3. Let's Go Crazy 4. I Would Die 4 U 5. When Doves Cry 6. 1999 (intro) - Baby I'm A Star 7. Shhh 8. D.M.S.R. 9. A Love Bizarre (intro) - The Glamorous Life (intro) 10. I Feel For You 11. Controversy 12. A Love Bizarre (including Housequake) 13. Renato Interlude 14. Georgia On My Mind 15. Little Red Corvette 16. Cream 17. Alphabet St. 18. Prince And The Band 19. Jailhouse Rock (intro) 20. 12:01 21. Raspberry Beret

Disc 2
1. Sometimes It Snows In April 2. 7 3. Sign O' The Times 4. The Question Of U 5. The One - Fallin' 6. Let's Work 7. U Got The Look 8. Life 'O' The Party 9. Soul Man 10. Kiss 11. Take Me With U 12. The Beautiful Ones 13. Nothing Compares 2 U 14. Purple Rain

'The Combo' - Bunker's Bar & Grill, Minneapolis : 14th June 2004
15. Purple Rain 16. I Can't Get Next To You 17. Take Me To The River 18. Too High

Disc 3
Musicology Tour Aftershow - Paisley Park : 18th June 2004 (am)
1. Footprints 2. Dear Mr. Man (including Hit The Road Jack) 3. I Know You Got Soul 4. Skin Tight 5. D.M.S.R. 6. House Party 7. Sexy Dancer 8. Peach 9. Prince And The Band

Disc 4
1. Beautiful Strange

The Time Opening Act - Musicology Tour - Excel Energy Center, St. Paul : 17th June 2004
2. Intro 3. Wild And Loose 4. The Stick 5. Fishnet 6. Oak Tree 7. Jerk Out 8. Get It Up 9. Cool 10. 777-9311 11. Gigolo's Get Lonely Too 12. The Bird 13. Jungle Love

'The Combo' - Bunker's Bar & Grill, Minneapolis : 14th June 2004
14. The Payback Part 1 15. Atomic Dog 16. Guest Raps 17. La Di Da Di 18. The Payback Part 2 19. Cosmic Slop 20. Undisco Kid 21. The Payback Part 3

Comments
Fink's Comments (rates this release 5.0/5.0)
Without doubt this is the best of the 3 volumes in this set by Ladybird. First things first, the Musicology show is fantastic. Prince's mood is far more energetic and enthusiastic than the previous nights concert and his performance is scorching. The highlight of the show (for me) is 'The Question Of U/The One'. His voice is perfection, his guitar playing is sublime, and the guitar effects to close the song are....awesome. The aftershow is quality, however the majority of the tracks are more laid-back instrumentals than previous aftershow versions that have been played. The real joy of the aftershow lies with 'Beautiful Strange' - I could write a whole page praising it, it's stunning.

The Times opening set is a nice addition to the set, and adds to the completeness of the show. Finally, we have 'The Combo' (formerly Dr. Mambo's Combo). These guys are unbelievably funky, filthy and SO much fun to listen to. Their set actually rivals Prince's set in terms of listening pleasure. They do a fantastic James Brown impersonation on 'The Payback', and 'Atomic Dog' would make George Clinton proud. The sound quality (as with the other volumes) varies slightly from EX / EX+. To have all this brilliant material is cool enough, but to have it in THIS high quality is amazing.

The packaging leaves a little to be desired (photo-shop job) and a fold-out poster as opposed to a booklet, but the musical content is so good - I don't care. Credit where credit is due, Ladybird have knocked me off my feet with this release. It should be noted that this 12 Disc Set (Vol I, II & III) is a numbered, limited edition of 1,000 copies.