Written in honor of Prince Rogers Nelson's 55th birthday on June 7th.
Recently, I saw a quote from The Roots' justifiably celebrated drummer/bandleader Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson as he described himself as a "Prince scholar." Dear listeners, I feel compelled to announce to you, and without any trace of arrogance (so please do not try to detect any as I assure you it is not present), That I am also a Prince scholar.
Earlier on Synesthesia, I expressed to you that my personal musical "Holy Trinity" consists of one third The Beatles, one third Todd Rundgren and for the final, crucial third, the artist always and forever known as Prince. As WSPC celebrates Black Music Month, I would be remiss if I did not spend some time honoring the individual who is one of those musicians of such rarity that he has essentially taken all that has come before him and like The Beatles and Todd Rundgren and other specialized musical artists, has essentially created his own musical language that every sound presented within a certain way or context can only be described as sounding like Prince. Additionally, June 7th will mark Prince's 55th birthday, a strange number for someone who has always seemed to be so ageless (even though he is obviously not leaping from piano tops anymore) and always in tune with his uncompromising musical spirit as he is consistently on the pursuit of something new.
At this time, I do not want to entirely fixate upon where Prince has been as I really want to ruminate on where he possibly may beheaded. It seems as if something is brewing at Paisley Park, a rumbling of which we have not heard in quite a long, long time. For me and my musical sensibilities, the creative run that Prince demonstrated between the years of his debut album "For You" (released April 7, 1978) all the way though his untitled, unpronounceable "Symbol" album (released October 13, 1992) is one of the greatest musical runs I have ever heard. It was something akin to the prolific and astonishing output of The Beatles, Rundgren, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder and others of their creative ilk where musical boundaries were challenged, broken, re-contexualized and revolutionized over and over and over again. It was like Prince was re-inventing the wheel with every new release and due to how quickly and constantly he worked, by the time he did release a new album, he was already at work on the next one, as well as a slew of B-side singles, side projects (like The Time, Vanity 6, The Family), material created for other artists, material created under pseudonyms (Madhouse) and then there's his vault of ever increasing unreleased songs. No matter what he was doing, Prince was forever remaining completely ahead of the curve.
In my post celebrating the 46 anniversary of the release of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (released June 1, 1967), I expressed how I wished that I had been able to have experienced that particular album when it was first released. In the case of Todd Rundgren, I was also born a tad too late to have had that cultural first impression of his classic and stunning run of albums during the 1970s. But, with Prince, I was right on time!
Like so many of you, my mind was blown with the release of "Purple Rain" (released June 25, 1984). The album and Director Albert Magnoli's explosive film completely converted me, as I just could not stand him before I stepped into the long defunct Evergreen Park theater during that long ago summer night when I was 15 years old. Not only did I wear that album out (so much so that I haven't listened to it in years and years), I grew obsessed with "1999" (released October 27, 1982), with its elongated, darkly synthetic textures. I purchased every new album from that point on immediately, scratching my head increasingly as I tried to figure out where he was coming from. How intoxicating and unlike anything else taking this specific musical journey was, as some of my fondest musical memories rest within sitting in my parents' basement, drum sticks in hand and dreaming away to whatever musical stratospheres Prince wanted to take me to.
Since his incredible run, Prince's has taken some increasingly difficult twists and turns. Of course, there was the time in 1993, when he pronounced himself "dead," which then sprouted the politically/spiritually influenced period when he wore the word "Slave" upon his face during his bitter battle with Warner Brothers, his former record label. Hit singles eluded him despite the fact that great music was still being created. With the arrival of the internet, Prince has had a long conflicted relationship with the medium as personal websites and on-line music clubs have opened and closed to mounting fan frustration (including mine).
Even the prolific nature of his album releases began to slow down, hit singles evaporated and the creative greatness seemed to become more sporadic. For every complex and challenging release like the three disc/three hour album "Emancipation" (released November 19, 1996), the vault collection "Crystal Ball" (March 3, 1998) and the religious fundamentalist fueled concept album "The Rainbow Children" (released November 20, 2001), the once ferocious quality control seemed to dissipate with decent but unremarkable albums like "3121" (released March 21, 2006) and "Planet Earth" (released July 15, 2007). His last album "20Ten' (released July 10, 2010), given away for free in a bundle with European Sunday newspapers, was never even released in the United States.
Granted, Prince's musical legacy is completely secure. He is one of those rare artists who has done it all and then some and truly has absolutely, positively, undeniably nothing left to prove to anyone. He doesn't have to musically re-invent the wheel anymore and I couldn't even begin to blame him if he never wanted to climb that mountain again. But all of that being said, you can never, ever completely count His Royal Badness out.
During some stages within these last ten years or so behind the "purple curtain," it seems as if Prince's best music has occurred just when it seemed that no one was looking or listening. In 2001, Prince's brief on-line music club contained albums worth of music (including songs like "The Daisy Chain," "Golden Parachute," "2045 Radical Man," "Judas Smile," "Gamillah," and "Y Should Eye Do That When Eye Can Do This?") that, I think, would have easily continued to make the public's and critic's collective heads spin in circles. There was a 26 minute Gil Scott-Heron sounding epic released in 1998 entitled "The War" that would have blown everyone's minds. In 2007 and 2011, respectively he released two internet singles entitled "F.U.N.K." and "Extralovable" that, frankly were better than most of his recent full albums. Like the music from his wonderful first decade and change, Prince operated, at that time, as if he hadn't a care in the world with musical trends or even with whatever anyone thought of anything he composed, recorded and released. The sheer audacity and brilliance of the music would speak for itself. Songs and albums just seemed to appear out of the ether, fully formed and delivered like musical curve balls and he dared us to keep up with him the entire way. I am having a feeling (and I am hoping, hoping, hoping) that he just may be gearing up to blow us all away all over again.
2013 has seen a small handful of new Prince material mysteriously arrived upon a new website located at www.3rdeyegirl.com. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that Prince had also formed a new all female band with the moniker "3rd Eye Girl," consisting of Hannah Ford (drums/vocals), Ida Nielsen (bass guitar,vocals) and a ferocious six string shredder, Donna Gratis (guitars, vocals). The group has recently completed an extremely well received tour of the West Coast this Spring and also gave a pulverizing performance on the Billboard Music Awards telecast that included a Led Zeppelin sounding remake of his signature rave up "Let's Go Crazy."
But, what of the new songs? Well, I am quite excited, dear listeners. Very excited! For the first time in many, many years, I have been snapped to attention by new Prince music and I have played the songs on repeat in my car so often this year, the music has made me anxiously anticipate new material in a way I have not felt in far too terribly long. In short, the new songs remind me very much of his classic material.
Not before any of you out there happen to get a bit carried away, I must explain that previous statement. It is not as if the new songs remotely sound like his classic material but the new songs feel to me as if they were all carved from the same musical spirit, the one where he would lock himself away from the world and just...create. The songs are all complex, yet fully accessible. They are tightly written and melodically top shelf while always leaving room for audible surprises that just tickle the eardrums. Nothing meanders, feels out of place or even superfluous. It feels as if Prince's songwriting skills have re-sharpened and re-focused and they are all more than ready to re-engage with everyone who chooses to listen.
The story song "Rock And Roll Love Affair" and the rough and raw "Screwdriver" (performed with 3rd Eye Girl) are two selections that feel very familiar, but in the best possible way. Prince is not repeating himself but has somehow discovered a way to take the feel of the past yet make it sound as if the songs could not possibly happen other than right at this point in time. The horn driven pop/soul of "Boyfriend" is described as being a demo version, thus again showing how Prince's supposedly unfinished songs are better than most artists' complete albums! "Live Out Loud," a garage rock song of positivity and affirmation places 3rd Eye Girl firmly at the forefront with Prince contributing guitar and backing vocals only and the most recently released single "FixUrLifeUp" defiantly showcases the four piece band as musical soldiers in lockstep as they blaze through a hard charging groove with walloping drums by Ford.
My personal favorites are the dreamy solo acoustic track "That Girl Thang," which demonstrates that Prince's spellbinding falsetto and stunning nimble guitar work have not diminished even a minuscule while he has increased with age. But the lusty, frisky, jazzy and damn fonky "Breakfast Can Wait," with Prince's syncopated vocals, warm keyboards, bob and weave guitars, bass and drums and sonics that truly just made me laugh out loud in amazement, is the song that has become my go-to track every time I slide the CD into the player.
And so...here we are on June 7th, Prince's 55th birthday with a new band, a highly regarded recent tour, new music and just last week, the announcement arrived that he has just signed a deal with Kobalt Label Services to market and distribute new music produced by himself as well as new Prince material, all the while retaining control of all master recordings, the main point of contention between himself and Warner Brothers.
At the beginning of this year, Prince teased his fan base that 2013 would be a special year, which did elicit understandable scoffs from those who have felt burned in the past. Even I, the "Prince scholar" felt extremely skeptical. but, it seems that the signs are indeed pointing towards something special. Let's hope that Prince's birthday and new year of his life brings a bounty of musical gifts for all of us.
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