Prince at the Spectrum in 1984
This article was originally published in the Inquirer on November 23, 1984.
Prince, the rock star who recently became a movie star with his self- mythologizing debut film Purple Rain, performed the first of three sold-out shows at theSpectrum last night. Among current rock performers, Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson are Prince's only rivals for the sort of rabble-rousing ecstasy he inspires in an audience. At the Spectrum, 17,519 people had good reason to scream and rant: This tour offers Prince at his most disciplined as well as his most scandalous.
At the Spectrum, Prince and his five-person back-up band the Revolution gave tight, spirited performances of his most recent material. Fans who enjoyed the elaborate concertsequences in Purple Rain had the pleasure of seeing them acted out onstage at theSpectrum, and this resulted in good performances of songs such as "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy," and great, superior-to-the-film versions of "I Would Die 4 U" and "Baby I'm a Star. "
The concert was more than a reproduction of a hit movie, however. On one level, it was worse: There was a long, discursive section of the show in which the star sat at an electric piano and mumbled bits and pieces of songs such as "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore." He also chatted with a hand-puppet and mused portentously about big issues like life, death and God - it was scarily mediocre.
But whenever the tempo was fast, Prince was a brilliant showman who did something he all too rarely accomplishes on record: He proved he has a sense of humor. From the perfect Elvis Presley dance moves he inserted into ''Delirious" to the beautiful James Brown falsetto he invoked on "Baby I'm a Star," Prince demonstrated his range with wicked wit.
Preceding Prince was his protege, Sheila E., who recently scored a Number 1 hit with the title song from her debut album The Glamorous Life. A percussionist who hammers away on conga drums with serene skill, Sheila E. also affects a sexy image that includes skimpy costumes and explicit between- song patter. Rather than detract from the music, Sheila E.'s stage persona is a playful success - her demeanor enhances the sensuousness of her music.