Funk Ball (Sabotage) 2CD

Funk Ball 2CD

Sabotage
Catalog # 083/084
Release Year 1999
2CD Length 70:00 | 57:06
Date/Venue 28 December 1998 Ghent
Source Audience Recording
Quality VG+/EX-

Rating 4.0/5.0

Track Listing
Newpower Soul Music Festival Tour Finale Flanders Expo, Ghent 28th December 1998
Disc 1
1. Push It Up 2. Jam Of The Year 3. Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Nothing 4. I Know You Got Soul 5. Let's Work 6. Delirious 7. Rock N' Roll Is Alive (outro) 8. Purple Rain 9. Little Red Corvette 10. I Would Die 4 U 11. Get Yo Groove On 12. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man 13. Guitar & Sax Solo 14. Speech 15. The Christ 16. One Of Us 17. The One (Sax Solo) 18. Let's Go Crazy 19. She's Always In My Hair 20. U Got The Look

Disc 2
1. Pop Life intro) - Kiss 2. Gett Off 3. Gett Off (Houstyle) 4. Jam 5. Baby I'm A Star 6. 1999 7. Come On 8. The Annual Funk Ball (Bass Battle) 9. Release Yourself 10. Nothing Compares 2 U 11. Take Me With U 12. Raspberry Beret 13. Mr. Happy (outro) [NPGCS Opening Act w/ Prince] 14. Free

Comments
Fink's Comments (rates this release 4.5/5.0)
The closing show of the short European December 1998 tour, and unfortunately not the best concert from the brief 9 date tour. The quality of the recording really cannot be faulted and is of extremely high quality. The audience level is at a minimum and the only time they become a little too audible is during Candy Dulfer's sax solo on 'The One' - the remainder of the recording is above any criticism from me. The concert is rather predictable, and certainly free of anything surprising. Prince adds a few lines from 'I Know You Got Soul' to 'Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothing' which itself is one of the longest versions of the tour. 'The One' opens with the normal instrumental intro before Candy Dulfer guests for a solo.

Prince the proceeds to sing the opening lines but stops and launches into 'Let's Go Crazy'. The jam proceeding 'Baby I'm A Star' is quite fun, and unusually Prince begins 'Baby I'm A Star' from the keyboard before the band join in. The remainder of the show IS good, but just a little too predictable, and certainly not as impressive as a tour finale concert usually is (by Prince's own high standards). The added bonus from Larry Graham's opening act is an unnecessary addition, and very echoed in comparison to the main Ghent concert.

Deane's Comments (rates this release 3.5/5.0)
A slightly different setlist to most of the other shows from the Winter '98 tour, probably to accommodate Larry Graham's guest appearance during the show. He is used to good effect on the bass battle with Prince.