freedom
7th March 2007, 09:51 PM
http://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/images/stPAUL_dvd.jpgI’ve been closely following this man talents for many years…ever since he first stepped out of high school and stepped into “The Time” to fill the spots vacated by the legendary Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis back in 1984… thru being co-lead vocalist with the Prince created group “The Family”…then onto his solo pop career with MCA records… carrying on with his own label releases and stints with MPLS groups “The Living Daylights”, “The MPLS Allstars” and his very own musical family…
It’s been six years since St. Paul’s last live solo performance… In between he’s been busy with his independent releases and touring with the likes of Oleta Adams and Donny Osmond.
He has come a long way from his fresh faced debut… The bass player and “blue eyed soulful” vocalist extraordinaire in my opinion had all the qualities of becoming a major artist, but felt that his own modest personality stood in the way of fully realising his potential. The “nobody will come to my gig” comment from St. Paul in the DVD kinda illustrates the point.
The show was taped in front of a live audience at Bunker’s in Minneapolis. Bunker’s (for us Europeans who don’t know) is one of the many popular nightspots in downtown Minneapolis similar to London’s Jazz Café. Hosting local bands every night (with the occasional national act on weekends), Bunker's is best known for weekly performances by the Combo (formerly Dr. Mambo's Combo), which attract a who's who of local funkophiles to the stage.
Technically, perhaps owing to a limited budget, the production of the DVD is pretty basic with only 2 cameras shooting the whole show. Repetitive and un-imaginative shots of St.Paul and various band members kinda makes for a somewhat unexciting visual experience.
From a musical point of view this DVD will please both old and new school St.Paul fans alike… Paul covers all bases beginning with his most recent material (which does come across a lot better live than on record) and ending with a medley of classic songs from his (all too brief) time with The Family. Understandably after 6 years of not headlining his own gig, St. Paul seems slightly nervous at the beginning, but as the show progresses he becomes more relaxed and makes a connection with his audience. The group of top class local MPLS musicians he as assembled and rehearsed in a short space of time all perform to a very high standard…of note are his nephew (and right hand man) Jason Peterson DeLaire a multi-instrumentalist who plays a mean sax, Donnie LaMarca jazzy interludes on keyboards, MPLS guitar legend Billy Franze and special guest Jellybean Johnson of The Time, amazingly funky jamming with St. Paul on guitar when he joins the band onstage towards the end of the DVD.
The show starts with the funky “Sensation”. Here St. Paul displays his skills as a top notch funky bass player owing a nod to slap bass pioneer Larry Graham. Followed by the pop cuts of “Sugar” and “Stay A While”. Things slow down with the emotional ballad “Can’t Believe We’re Through” and a rare performance of “Desire”. Things get funky again with “Jungle Love” and “Get Down” where St. Paul swaps bass guitar with Billy’s lead/rhythm guitar. Paul then changes to acoustic guitar for the next two cuts “Somebody Like You” and “Life’s Too Short” featuring strong vocal performances from St. Paul and his nephew Jason.
Personal highlights of the show are a funky jazzy re-interpretation of his hit “Stranger To Love”, old school party favourite from The Time “Jungle Love” (Franze’s funk face on this song is really something to witness), plus the cool medley of songs from the classic “The Family” album including the definitive, show-stopping version of “Nothing Compares 2U”.
Sadly songs from St. Paul’s first solo release, in particular “Rich Man”, “Can’t Get Enough” and his big UK hit from way back “Intimacy” are ignored … otherwise this DVD’s setlist would’ve been near on perfect. Nevertheless, this is an essential purchase for any St. Paul fan and an education for anyone who is unfamiliar with St. Paul’s talents as an all round singer, songwriter and musician.
Review by FREEDOM © 2005 The Dawn Experience
It’s been six years since St. Paul’s last live solo performance… In between he’s been busy with his independent releases and touring with the likes of Oleta Adams and Donny Osmond.
He has come a long way from his fresh faced debut… The bass player and “blue eyed soulful” vocalist extraordinaire in my opinion had all the qualities of becoming a major artist, but felt that his own modest personality stood in the way of fully realising his potential. The “nobody will come to my gig” comment from St. Paul in the DVD kinda illustrates the point.
The show was taped in front of a live audience at Bunker’s in Minneapolis. Bunker’s (for us Europeans who don’t know) is one of the many popular nightspots in downtown Minneapolis similar to London’s Jazz Café. Hosting local bands every night (with the occasional national act on weekends), Bunker's is best known for weekly performances by the Combo (formerly Dr. Mambo's Combo), which attract a who's who of local funkophiles to the stage.
Technically, perhaps owing to a limited budget, the production of the DVD is pretty basic with only 2 cameras shooting the whole show. Repetitive and un-imaginative shots of St.Paul and various band members kinda makes for a somewhat unexciting visual experience.
From a musical point of view this DVD will please both old and new school St.Paul fans alike… Paul covers all bases beginning with his most recent material (which does come across a lot better live than on record) and ending with a medley of classic songs from his (all too brief) time with The Family. Understandably after 6 years of not headlining his own gig, St. Paul seems slightly nervous at the beginning, but as the show progresses he becomes more relaxed and makes a connection with his audience. The group of top class local MPLS musicians he as assembled and rehearsed in a short space of time all perform to a very high standard…of note are his nephew (and right hand man) Jason Peterson DeLaire a multi-instrumentalist who plays a mean sax, Donnie LaMarca jazzy interludes on keyboards, MPLS guitar legend Billy Franze and special guest Jellybean Johnson of The Time, amazingly funky jamming with St. Paul on guitar when he joins the band onstage towards the end of the DVD.
The show starts with the funky “Sensation”. Here St. Paul displays his skills as a top notch funky bass player owing a nod to slap bass pioneer Larry Graham. Followed by the pop cuts of “Sugar” and “Stay A While”. Things slow down with the emotional ballad “Can’t Believe We’re Through” and a rare performance of “Desire”. Things get funky again with “Jungle Love” and “Get Down” where St. Paul swaps bass guitar with Billy’s lead/rhythm guitar. Paul then changes to acoustic guitar for the next two cuts “Somebody Like You” and “Life’s Too Short” featuring strong vocal performances from St. Paul and his nephew Jason.
Personal highlights of the show are a funky jazzy re-interpretation of his hit “Stranger To Love”, old school party favourite from The Time “Jungle Love” (Franze’s funk face on this song is really something to witness), plus the cool medley of songs from the classic “The Family” album including the definitive, show-stopping version of “Nothing Compares 2U”.
Sadly songs from St. Paul’s first solo release, in particular “Rich Man”, “Can’t Get Enough” and his big UK hit from way back “Intimacy” are ignored … otherwise this DVD’s setlist would’ve been near on perfect. Nevertheless, this is an essential purchase for any St. Paul fan and an education for anyone who is unfamiliar with St. Paul’s talents as an all round singer, songwriter and musician.
Review by FREEDOM © 2005 The Dawn Experience