Prince seizes purple reins on greatest hits

Spencer Patterson

Tuesday, June 1, 2004 | 8:13 a.m.

Prince brought the year's most anticipated retirement bash to the Mandalay Bay Events Center Sunday night.

Don't worry, music fans: The Artist himself isn't retiring. But reportedly, he's putting his best-known songs to rest after this tour, possibly for good.

True to his word, Prince loaded his two-hour show with hits.

He and his crack eight-piece band, the New Power Generation, established the theme from the start, performing "Let's Go Crazy," "I Would Die 4 U" and "When Doves Cry" in succession early on.

The concert's middle section, Prince's solo acoustic set, also featured familiar material: "Little Red Corvette," "Cream," "Alphabet St." and "7."

And when the band returned for the night's stretch run, they played more old favorites, including "Sign 'O' the Times," "U Got the Look," "Kiss" and a "Purple Rain" encore.

Saturday's show at the same venue, which benefited the Tiger Woods Foundation, reportedly featured a few more classics such as "Raspberry Beret" and "Nothing Compares 2 U" (a hit for Sinead O'Connor).

With a musician as unique as Prince, however, nothing is ever as simple as it seems. That was certainly the case at the "Musicology" tour's Las Vegas stopover.

As one woman commented in the foyer after the show, the hits "didn't sound anything like they do on the albums."

Some were truncated after just a verse and a chorus. Others were performed medley style. And a few -- most notably "When Doves Cry" -- featured dramatically new arrangements.

You've got to respect that. Because much as the sold-out crowd of 11,400 might have yearned to sing along to the renditions they've worn out on CD, cassette tape and vinyl, Prince isn't given to fits of nostalgia. He lives in the here and now.

In fact, it's somewhat surprising that the 45-year-old headliner has opted to dig out his popular songs at all.

At his Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts gig in 2002, he avoided almost anything that ever made it onto the radio, and the results were equally stunning.

Not that Prince didn't appear to be having fun combing through his vaults on Sunday. During his acoustic segment, the purple-clad performer joked with his adorers as he spun in a chair at the center of his "in-the-round" stage setup.

"You can do better than that," he reprimanded when the audience half-heartedly filled in one of the lyrical gaps he left for them in "Cream."

He then added, "Don't make me come out there," eliciting some of the night's wildest cheers.

Prince created an intimate vibe despite his arena surroundings, telling jokes, including one about a "fan" at a casino slot machine who informed him "Strawberry Beret" was his wife's favorite song.

Midway through "D.M.S.R.," the band segued into two of 2003's chart-toppers, Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" and OutKast's "The Way You Move."

Prince did his own Beyonce dance, shaking and shimmying along one of the stage's four ramps before halting with the quip, "I want to do that stuff but I ain't got no booty."

Much as he appeared to enjoy celebrating his past, Prince also seemed determined to push forward.

"Call My Name" and "Life 'O' the Party" off latest disc "Musicology" -- included in the price of a ticket and handed out at the door -- were two of the night's highlights, featuring fiery work by a four-piece horn section.

"You see, Las Vegas, 'Musicology' is about real musicianship," he announced. "I don't know about you, but I only hang around with real musicians."

The new material sounded fresh and funky, ultra-tight but with plenty of room for improvisation by Prince and his band.

That's what his live show has been like for years. Now that they've heard the hits one last time, perhaps the masses will get back on board and support Prince's present and future the way they cherish his past.