Take Me With U

By any measure, nearly twenty years is a darn long time between visits to any town by a touring musician. The last time Marshall Crenshaw set up camp for an evening in Omaha was in November of 1994! In fact, the last 2 places he performed at here are long gone; either repurposed, or razed and built over. But this past weekend, Crenshaw made up for his lengthy absence with a setlist that could have been written by any of his dedicated fan base, who ignored near-zero degree temperatures to attend in force, easing any concerns the promoter had about the weather affecting turnout. The enthusiastic crowd got plenty of Crenshaw's hits, a few covers, new stuff and deep album tracks arranged in a balanced way that made it all work well together. All told, a fine show by a seasoned artist.

The crowd was also rewarded by a snarly, hour-long opening set of prime Americana Rock by The Bottle Rockets, who also very capably served as Crenshaw's band. The Bottle Rockets came in armed for bear, playing many songs from their first 2 albums, which date from the early 90's, and for which they were just recently able to recover full ownership of their master tapes. There was plenty of newer material also; proving that the experience of the many miles since the 90's have in no way been a wasted lesson. The Bottle Rockets are now a mature, sturdy, ass-kickin' Rock band with plenty of midwestern grit and a keen sense of melody and harmony. Plus, they feature twin lead guitarists on Baritone and Coral Sitar! Don't miss 'em if they play in your town.

Marshall Crenshaw (photo courtesy of Mars Booth)

After the show, I did get to speak with Marshall briefly, but not privately, as the traffic at the merch table was extremely busy. To say the least, that environment makes for distracted conversation at best. Nonetheless, Marshall did share with me a couple of his personal favorites of the cover recordings that he's done since the 80's, which was probably not easy, as Crenshaw has a lengthy resume of excellent cover recordings. While he's partial to the straight, orchestrated cover of The Carpenters' "Close To You" that he just released on one of his new series of vinyl EP's, along with the as-yet unrecorded workup of "Man With Money" by The Everly Brothers that he opened his show with, he did tell me that he was happy with how his version of Prince's "Take Me With U" turned out, despite referring to it with a grin as "my trailer park version". A little humility from musicians is always welcome.

What Marshall and I did not get to discuss was exactly why he chose to do that song, at that time. While Crenshaw is known for making less than obvious choices of material to cover, this one seems almost too slick for him, lacking in the requisite chordal gymnastics that is a trademark of Crenshaw's sound. Perhaps, that is exactly why he did it. But, I did get to tell Marshall when he mentioned "Take Me With U" that I felt it was a good one for him to have done because his version sounds like he could have written the song. He seemed to enjoy hearing that.

From his 2003 album "What's In The Bag?", here's Marshall's recording of "Take Me With U", which was produced by the mighty Eric "Roscoe" Ambel. Marshall must have liked this enough that it's the 3rd track on the album, which is a prime spot. Enjoy!

Prince's recording of "Take Me With U" was the last song from the blockbuster "Purple Rain" album to be released as a single, peaking at #25 in early 1985. Soon after, Prince would prove his mercurial nature by moving on from "Purple Rain" to the neo-psychedelic pop of his next project, "Around The World In A Day".

The ultimate follow-up plan to the commercial success of his previous album "1999" would have been for Prince to hit a home run with every possible demographic in the Pop market, which is exactly what he did. Even if there hadn't been a movie, the album "Purple Rain" was still a breakthrough by anyone's definition. But, this was 1984, when the advent of music video on television was a new chapter of how Pop music was getting into people's homes and wallets. In a 'go big or go home' play, Prince doubled down with a film that would enable him to dominate radio airplay, movie theaters, and MTV programming for at least the next year.

Some have said that the semi-autobiographical film "Purple Rain" was, for all purposes, an extended length music video, much like many of its ancestors, going back to "A Hard Days Night". But that's not a bad thing if it all ties together well enough to make it work as a movie. So, to say that "Purple Rain" was little more than a 110 minute commercial for the album, as critics of the day often did, is off the mark, as it covered all the checkpoints for being successful as a movie. "Purple Rain" has good production values (considering the budget), and a sustained level of energy. It features a magnetic star and an engaging supporting cast (with an eminently quotable star turn by singer Morris Day), and a story that encourages empathy with Prince's character, called simply "The Kid", without forcing the issue. That's a huge accomplishment, as empathy is not something people give up easily to a personality as outsized as Prince. The only contrary thing is that the film is very much of its time, and may seem dated to some today. But the story holds up well and the music remains electrifying.

"Take Me With U" was sung as a duet with Prince's co-star of the movie, Apollonia Kotero, with Lisa Coleman doubling the part, and was originally intended for the Apollonia 6 side project. Prince obviously knew a good song when he heard one and wisely pulled it from that project for the movie.

Almost anything that you might be missing from the extensive catalog of His Purple Badness is waiting for you at Amazon, or your local independent music connection. Some have become pricey collectables, so shop wisely. Speaking of that, I never should have sold my purple vinyl promotional copy of "Purple Rain", but the album has recently been reissued on black 180 gram vinyl, for those of you who want the original 1984 experience. It'll just sound better now.

Lately, Marshall Crenshaw has been busy with a unique new angle on distributing his music. Foregoing involvement with any traditional record label, he's taken the road of a true independent; recording and releasing new music on his own schedule. His vision is to not have to wait until he has written what others consider to be a cohesive 12-15 song album. Being a lifelong fan of singles, Crenshaw began releasing a series of 10" vinyl EP's last year. The EP's include a new original song on the A side, and the B side will typically have a cover song plus a rare or live recording of one of his older songs. Also included is a card that gets you a free digital download of all the songs. The EP's are available now on Crenshaw's website, where you can get them individually, or buy a subscription for the next 3 forthcoming EP's. Collectors should know that limited editions in colored vinyl are available only thru independent record stores. Subscription vinyl is black only. As to whether all the EP's will eventually be assembled on a CD, that is not known, as it's way too early in the process. Before I forget, most of Marshall's excellent back catalog is available at The Big A, and yes, your local indie music shop.