It was with a lot of anticipation that I grabbed my copy of The Rainbow Children when it arrived in the post. The first album of new material in what seemed like a long long time. Studying the cover art I flicked through the booklet and put on the cd.

Sitting back I wondered when Prince was going to take me, now he had reclaimed his name was he freer to explore new sounds rather than try to establish a new identity? Well a new direction it was indeed.

With the effected deep vocal intro of Rainbow Children I was a little “hmmmmm what’s going on here?”. It took little time to discover this was Prince’s concept album. With its jazzed tinged melody line and it seemed stripped back arrangement the thing that grabbed me was how clear this cd sounded. Others felt muddy compared to it. This seemed to be on a less swamped mix, allowing each instrument to fall into its place without overshadowing another. When the chorus hook hit with the aid of a vocoder I just let myself dive into the track and let it wash over me. Part freeform jazz piece, part structured hypnotic groove the song seemed to best place a free man in a new setting of musical exploration. What I was hearing sounded fresh, not tired, not tried and true. Reading along (and ahead) with the lyric book the obvious religious message was ever present if not a little force fed but for now I was willing to let the song just build. By the time the song ended I was smiling with the inclusion of my fave line from “sexuality” and felt that the songs crescendo and breakdown was a climatic clash of a new born artist (and a vocally tweak nod to George Clinton).

Laid out on velvet is how I see Muse 2 the Pharaoh. A song that with its bubbling Rhodes melody line just seduces. I particular love Prince’s lyrical structure here, how the lines run short at times then never seem to stop in a continuous flow. Lights out for this one, just sit and chill.

Digital Garden felt a little too polished and whilst it was interesting to hear him explore a new style it wasn’t a track that instantly grabbed me.

The Work (Pt 1) had been a fave since I first heard it on the NPG site. Funky to the max, and steeped in a James Brown vibe. Its arrival in this mix was on point, reviving the fun from the deeper and mellower feel of RC and M2TP. And how can resist the horn and drum accent breakdowns. The man is back on fire here.

Everywhere reminded me of a Tevin song on Quincy Jones solo album. It seemed a little too joyous and bright and even ballroom dance-esque. At least that was my initial reaction. And over the years, whilst it hasn’t suddenly leapt to be an all time fave, I have grown to appreciate the rapid structure and energy of the track, and hey, it is fun to drum to.

Sensual Everafter sounded too much like Phil Collins Face Value era (check out Drone) and that’s all I could hear it for. Not a bad thing but again not a track that instantly struck me.

Back on the seduction track Mellow is as it sounds. A beautifully lush arrangement and production that just comforts you as you listen to it and makes you feel all toasty and warm.

If there was a classic Prince track on this album it was 1+1+1=3. Borrowing heavily from erotic city this track is just pure funk, heavy and slammin. And who would have thought you could be sooooo funky and still educate and use words like theocratic order. This song had me from the first listen and has had me ever since. I remember looping this song 7 times and just getting lost in it. Once again there is a George Clinton vibe to the song, and while certain lines progressed the overall concept of the album, it wouldn’t have felt out of place on any release.

Ok now many of you will have issue here, but the first time I heard She loves me for me I was not impressed. It wasn’t until several months later I was sitting in a café and the album was being played (it goes extremely well with hot chocolate for those playing at home) that I really discovered this song. And now I view it as a truly beautiful love song that rejoices in acceptance.

Ok who let the showtunes out? Wedding Feast, I’m sorry, I can’t help but laugh and hear Rogers and Hammerstien sitting somewhere say - hey the little purple one is taking us on.

Family Name was obviously a subject close to prince’s heart for many a year. I remember reading an interview he gave with Q magazine that talked about his family name of Nelson – he asked who was Nell? And who was her son? What I love about this song, was that for all it’s thought provoking stimuli he still grounded it in a truly funky song that prob had many singing along without knowing what they were singing. With the whole renaming (government vs family name) of a population steeped in the African American psyche it seems foolish for a white Australian to even comment, but I did find the whole song enlightening and loved the passion and energy contained in it. When he wants to make a point he does convincingly. Doubly so when musically its just as funky.

And to go from FN to The Everlasting Now was a stroke of genius. These two high energy tracks that fit. Breeding funk in the studio (although we are lead to think its live) the powerful tom tom led drum rhythm was one I fell in love with and as soon as I sat on my kit sat there and studied it and didn’t get up til I could play it. It still trips me up and makes me laugh when I play it, and Mr Blackwell makes it look sooo easy. And that fuzzbox bass is just threatening. An instant classic in my books.

Last December was the cool down after 17 minutes of pure funk. Starting off like yet another Purple Rain inspired final track on yet another Prince album, it soon takes its own form, gets wings and soars. And here it really feels like Prince is talking to you rather than talking to a mass of listeners, more intimate than detached. With a similar glow and feel to that of Gold this track moved me with its arrangement and build.

On a whole it was a confronting album. A little heavy handed in parts, a little played out with the vocoder narrative, and a little bit weighed down by its own complexity. Initially I played it for a few days and then let it slide. After a few months I came back to it. Maybe it was listening again without expectations that made me more accepting than I had initially. And from there I feel in love with several of the songs and began to appreciate more what Prince was working towards.

It’s just a shame that the majority of people who were exposed to Prince’s most popular recordings missed out on some of his most powerful, but this was not to be the album that would bring them back.

Swa

she loves me for me
muse to the pharrow
the work
every where
last december

these songs make this album a classic 4 me....

I Love this album.

I was curious to see your comments on this one..and i truly applaud you..I couldn't find what you found in this album..Maybe i need to listen to it again before i trash it like i initially came here to do...

SavonOsco said:

Like I said it took a few listens to get into it and not all appeal, but I was more excited that he was looking forward musically than rehashing or looking back as much.

Swa

This is probably the most polarizing album in Prince's catalog. Either you love it or you hate it. There's no middle ground.

There are no 6 out of 10s

There are no 3 stars.

It's either amazing, or crap.

I'm definitely in Amazing group.

Paris9748430 said:

What makes it Amazing for you?

Swa said:

I think after plastic sounding albums like New Power Soul and Rave, I thought it was a welcome change in direction. Those albums were just grey, and TRC just felt like a burst of color.

The music was animated. The horns were sharp, the bass was popping, there were guitar solos for days. John Blackwell's drumming was a revelation.

I thought it was an extremely personal album for Prince. He wanted to make a statement about his journey, and I thought it was a bold statement to make.

The lyrics have been discussed ad-nausem on this board. I think the lyrics are most definitely personal.

It's definitely one of my favorites from him.

I'm in the "its crap" group, She love me 4 me, 1+1+1=3, Last December, Sensual Everafter are ok jams, but the rest is unfocussed crap, I get lost in the title track after two minutes and the Family name is pure unabashed anti semitism along with racist and potentially homophobic (all this JW shit) garbage. Its not evn very musically complex, just this "jazzique" style crap, absolutely nothing comes close to a radio hit here at all. Wheres the sex, the love and lust that permeates all his other records. This album is so bad it makes "Chaos and Disorder" look like Sign o the Times in comparison

Mark a G (F is too good for it)

ernestsewell said:

Musically I love it.
I'm not at all down with the message of a number of the songs. (something I NEVER thought I'd say when I first became a Prince fan).

One of the best albums Prince ever made and a long-due return to form. This and NEWS are like twins to me and I absolutely love them. I could go through it track by track but I won't since I love everything on it. I just hope with his upcoming jazz concerts will give us something like this again. As for the message I hate it too but it's all about the music here. Not-being a native english speaker helps since I can focus more easily on the music and pay no attention to the religious crap at all. By the way I have nothing against JW, but like any other religion or sect it is annoying and potentially dangerous when taken too seriously.
[Edited 7/12/09 3:51am]

Swa said:

You know, I never really thought about it but you are right. As soon as I read this comment I thought about the sound of the album and it became obvious that it has a very clear sounding mix. I don't know if I would call it his best sounding album but it is definitely one of his best sounding recordings.

One of my favorites.

This is an album that, due to the love a lot of fans have for it, I have really tried to get into but I just don't hear what others do in it. As many of the detractors of this album have said the lyrics and vocal affects don't necessarily do the album any favours but I also find the music to be a bit on the bland side.

I should also say that when this album was released I was probably at my lowest ebb as a Prince fan. Both Newpower Soul and Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic had left me disappointed and I was getting a lot more enjoyment out of Prince's older music. In fact, I did not even know that he had a new album out. At the time I did not own a computer so I was unaware of the NPGMC and it was a co-worker, who knew that I was a Prince fan, who asked me about his "controversial" new album. Of course I was still enough of a fan to want to hear his new album so I quickly picked up a copy and gave it a listen.

Let me start with what I like about the album. For me, the last four songs ("She Loves Me 4 Me," "Family Name," "The Everlasting Now" and "Last December") are brilliant. I think this sequence of songs is certainly one of his best of the last twenty years. "She Loves Me 4 Me" is a relatively simple song but it strikes me as one of the most "Prince-like" songs on the album and for that reason I love it. In the other three songs it seems like Prince is really pushing himself to try some new things and there's also a lot of funk there. "Last December" seems like a great way to end the album and it leaves you walking away from the listening experience feeling very positive.

Since I love the above songs so much you might think that I would enjoy the album overall, right? Unfortunately, they only comprise about a third of the album and that leaves a lot of terrible music. To me, the rest of the album seems very self indulgent and boring. I'm not a fan of the "jazz lite" sound of much of the album. "The Rainbow Children" seems very indulgent and directionless. "Muse 2 The Pharaoh," "The Sensual Everafter" and "Mellow" are extremely boring and lazy songs. "The Work, Pt. 1" (when are we going to get part 2? ) and "1+1+1 Is Three" are a bit more interesting but they don't really grab me and largely recycle ideas he has done before and done better. I'm not sure what to make of "Digital Garden" and "Deconstruction" but I know that I do not enjoy them. That leaves "Everywhere" and "Wedding Feast." These are hardly favourites of mine but I kind of view them as noble failures. Despite the fact that I do not enjoy the results I'll give Prince some credit for trying something outside of his comfort zone.

Having said all of that I will applaud Prince for trying something different. Although I vastly prefer the music he has made circa 2004-2009 I do feel that he is playing it a little too safe and I would love to see him try something a bit more ambitious. He may not deliver something that I enjoy but I would like to see him try for something new and different.

Terrible record. Trying to do something he wasn't willing to collaborate on. Clearly he was listening to some of the great jazz fusion stuff like RTF and Weather REport. But never got that it's a BAND that makes stuff like that work. Bands that CONTRIBUTE to the overall artistry. I liked a few tunes, but none stuck with me no matter how much rotation I gave them. Good idea, poorly realised. Get a band man!

i love it-the breadth of this work is staggering

The Rainbow Children was the work of a musical genius.

I love this album, one of my favourites.

dunno why its hated so badly...

i love how "real" it sounds, partly due to the fact that there are no drum machines on the album. but it does have an organic sound, like it has been grown...

I was disappointed with this album when I heard it, only because it did not sound nearly as good as the songs did in concert. Family Name , Mellow, and Muse were all amazing live.

Love your report on this album Swa.

2elijah said:

absolutely.

I love the song Last December. I just love the way the album holds together so beautifully. I wish he'd try it again ;Keep to one idea and see where it takes him. Personally I don't care where he goes with it, he could write about flirting with atheism for all I care. I just want to here him really put effort into his lyrics again and mix them so beautifully with the music itself.

jiorjios said:

Ernest, all I can say is WOW!LOL

At least it was as unexpected and as surprising as were ATWIAD or Parade in the days, especially after Purple Rain, and yes, it is a look toward jazz...

yankem said:

Agree, after a few releases that seemed to be treading water, he started to experiement and explore again

Swa

ernestsewell said:

that's how i feel whenever planet earth is even mentioned as the best album of the 2000's

at least the rainbow children makes sense ..THERE IS NO SENSE IN PLANET EARTH AT ALL!!

L4OATheOriginal said:

Please explain The Rainbow Children to me because I do not get it.