Prince - Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas

Starring:Prince, Maceo Parker
Studio: Hip-O Records
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Given the sheer volume and varying quality of his recorded output, not to mention his weird behavior, it's easy to overlook the fact that Prince is one of the great talents of the last quarter century--a fact underlined in earnest by this galvanizing performance. The guy has always had a preternatural ability to channel R&B and rock legends like Sly Stone, Jimi Hendrix, and James Brown (cf. this performance's amazing "Money Don't Matter 2 Night/The Work"); now he's added more sophisticated flavors to the mix as well, ranging from George Benson to Steely Dan and Weather Report, and all without sacrificing his own voice. Add to that covers of the Ohio Players' "Love Rollercoaster" and Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" (really), all played by Prince and his smokin', skin tight band, and what you get is one of the best shows of 2002, or any other year. Extraordinary. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews:

Prince does funk.......2007-03-10

Prince has an absolutely exceptional group of musicians assembled for this show. Prince himself plays, sings and performs well. If you like funk, you will really enjoy this show.

The sound quality is, at times, sub-par. I was surprised that Prince, in the interest of quality control alone, would permit the DVD to be issued without correcting this technical flaw.

The music cooks and, with the exception of a bit too much drama at the very end, the show is well worth the cost of this DVD.

good show, awful dvd.......2006-08-20

obviously, the music featured here is of high-quality. hardly sign of the times transcendent, but nonetheless very exciting (as was typical of prince's 2002 tour). unfortunately the director does his/her upmost to ruin everything for you with sub-bootleg grainy picture quality and warped sound, hamfisted camera angle switches, bizarre washed-out colors, some horribly cheesy effects and cuts. for a band featuring nothing but incredibly dextrous musicians who play with an enormous level of detail and complexity, it's a shame the director clearly hasn't the faintest idea how to shoot a concert let alone one featuring musicians of this caliber. hey prince, just so you know....your DIY "NPGMC" approach is only impressive if with it you can match what you'd been able to do had you still had the financial might of a major behind you. if it looks this amateurish then you just look, well...amateurish. and your talents are not worthy of anything even close to amateur-level presentation. the bootleggers you despise so much put far greater care into the stuff they put out than you obviously could be bothered to do with this. i mean really, you re-shot sign of the times in its entirety at paisley park after the rotterdam/antwerp footage was not up to par: i find it hard to believe that original footage was any worse than this.

hardcore prince fans such as myself will want it despite this, but casual fans (especially those not familiar with the more obscure prince material that makes up most of this concert) should definitely avoid.

Great musicianship.......2006-07-14

This is an excellent video. There are very solid performances from all the musicians involved.

I am a sax player so I was excited to find out that Maceo Parker was going to be on the video again, as I had seen him also perform with Prince on the Rave video. Maceo is without a doubt one of the most influential alto players alive today.

I was also impressed with Eric Leeds' Tenor sax chops. This was the first time I had heard Eric Leeds and he is an enjoyable sax player to listen to.

The only reason I don't give 5 stars is because I have seen Prince perform in this manner before, and I didn't find the performance to be overly suprising. I enjoyed other videos of his, such as Rave un2 The Year 2000. Honestly, I felt that Rave had a bit more energy and suprises than this one. This performance is a bit more intimate as well as tamed in comparison.

Overall, it is a great show and I would recommend it to any music fan. There is something for everyone here, jazz, blues, r&b and hip-hop fans will all find something to appreciate.

How to make a bad dvd of a good concert.......2006-05-06

AOL music allows you to download the entire concert for free, which is FAR better than this dvd. This is NOT a dvd of the Las Vegas concert; it is a dozen music videos, all of which were created from the concert footage. The director has chopped-and-diced this concert beyond enjoyment. The sound is not in true surround sound, and the MTV-style quick-cuts and wacky angles are so annoying as to make the video unwatchable.

A new musical high!.......2006-03-17

There are artists who grow better with age, reach artistic peaks that they could only hint at during their long career and manage to deliver on this promise one day. Well for Prince, that day has come as shown by this concert DVD. "Prince: Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas" shows Prince at his most laid back, confident, versatile and downright spectacular. Although Prince has always been an amazing musician and instrumentalist, producing record after recored of singular, unique pop and performing at awe-inspiring concert after another for almost thirty years, this concert shows him achieving a new musical high. Mixing Jazz (that's right!), funk, hard-rock, r&b and electronica, he and his band perform one of the finest concerts ever recorded beginning with "Pop Life" all the way through several tracks from his "Rainbow Children" album (in re-arranged and funked up versions) as well as cuts from "Sign o'times" and even a cover of James Brown's "Pass the peas" and Led Zeppelin's "Whole lotta love" (which has one earth-shattering solo by Prince). Add to that some of Prince's finest vocal performances in years, a band performing as if they were born to (this incarnation of the NPG puts almost all others to shame and that's saying something) with moments of unparalleled jamming, some stellar horns work by Maceo Parker and Eric Leeds, and Prince's ocassional comedy bits (which are at times outright hilarious) and you've got one umissable show by a musical genius. Essential for fans of all kinds of music.

*The four star rating is because of the less than stellar video presentation and the short running time of 72 minutes (80 mins if you count the bonus track "The Ride"*.

Average customer rating:

Awesome concert

Live at the Aladdin Las Vegas
Starring: Prince
Manufacturer: Hip-O Records
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: UMD for PSP

General | Pop | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

The Artist: Rave Un2 the Year 2000
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Accessories:

Sony PSP I.Sound Theatre With Wireless Remote
Sony Intec PSP 18-In-1 Pro Starter Kit
Sony PSP Media Manager
Sony PSP Headphones with Remote Control

ASIN: B000BVNSES
Release Date: 2005-12-13

Customer Reviews:

Awesome concert.......2007-03-08

Even though this concert is a bit old, it is the newest one to date from Prince. I thought it was a great concert and always enjoy hearing a musician with such incredible talent as Prince. His collaboration with Costa in this concert is incredible. It is worth every penny if you are a Prince fan.

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