A CELEBRATION: WELCOME TO THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE

Welcome to The Slaughterhouse. Once again a series of tracks that take me back to the first years of the NPGMC.

I remember hearing that electrobeat of Silicon (silly con) and just smiling, there is a way that Prince can work a drum machine like no other. And all the fritzed synth lines make it sound like a machine short-circuiting. Never the treatment to his vocals gives us this detached feel as the lyrics flow. For me this is a dark song, with a fair bit of anger dripping in the groove. Powerful and edgy, it reminds me of some of the highlight tracks from Rave.

S&M Groove was a song I remember blasting one summer in my car. In fact when I made a compile of all the NPGMC downloads I called it S&M Groove. This is just one of those classic Prince tracks that makes you just get into it from the first beat. At first listen it sounds fairly sparse, but repeated plays rewards you with the little gems of samples playing under the main groove. This reminds me of some of the harder songs from Emancipation.

Y Should Eye Do That When Eye Can Do This? Just hit me and has never let go. As if teaching class, Prince tells the newbies of samples and “interpolations” about how original work is played… with the emphasis on played! Although there is a strong electronic vibe to the track, you know Prince has the musical skills to back up the claims. The early seeds of the thought that would blossom into Musicology.

If there was an instant should have been hit on here Golden Parachute is it. A song smooth in its lament for the passing of the music and the rise of the business. It just floats in an ethereal way that sinks into your mind and gets you singing along before you realise what it is the words say. Debate aside about if it is about Clive Davis or not, it certainly is targeted at the suits who purchase music as a product and not as an art. Such heavy words just float down like the symbolic parachute and hopefully get a great safe landing.

Hypnoparadise never did it for me. It sounded like a bad remix of what would have been a good track. For some reason I see ballroom dancing when I hear this track, and that in itself is a bad association.

Thankfully, backing up HP is Props and Pounds, this easy does it funk track lays out the legend that is P without being too self involved and then underplays it with the idea of giving credit and love where its due. Sounding like a TRC track, this has always been a fave with me, especially the midsection. And every time I hear the quote “he knows when to stop….. usually” and the music kicks off to a new level I just laugh and love it. Who said the man didn’t have a sense of humour?


Northside reminded me more of a NPG track than a P song. Like it would be something from Gold N****. A little bit of by the book song writing here but still Prince manages to lay a hook in the track. It’s an ok track but compared to some of the other gems on here it feels like filler,

Peace starts off as filler, admit it now, and then builds into a classic funk groove with a dash of gospel added in for good measure. Reminds me of the finer moments on Graffiti Bridge.

I had never heard 2045:Radical Man until this release. And I can still remember sitting back after the download and anxiously pressing play. With a preacher inspired rant, P delivers his argument for music and masters and the current state of play of the music business. Jazz tinged, this shuffle funk groove was well worth the wait.

The first time I heard The Daisy Chain I just played it over and over for about half hour. It was just too funky for a Prince starved guy to handle. I love the whole distorted effect on the guitars, bass and occasional vocal line, and the Stevie inspired synth lines near the end of the track. I have to admit, hopes were high when I heard this and The Work Pt 1, thinking we might get a return to funk form. They were just where I wanted Prince to be, of course they weren’t where he was going. But maybe that’s the way he likes to play it. Lead em thinking this way and then open their mind with something new and unexpected.

As a set, I think TSH is a stronger collection of tracks than TCI, they seem to be more cohesive and in synch. And maybe it’s because they seem to hit more of the songs I remember downloading. Either way, when the vault doors sneak open you can beat I’ll be there to sample whatever we can get our hands on.

Swa

I can't really say much more than what I said about The Chocolate Invasion. To me these tracks have always felt like leftovers. Now, when you're talking about Prince leftovers is not necessarily a bad word. However, in the case of these particular tracks I was left unimpressed. I find that each song has some good musical ideas but not enough to make for a compelling whole.

Many of these tracks, as well as tracks from The Chocolate Invasion, are from two aborted albums: High and Peace. Does anyone know if there was ever an "official" tracklist for these albums?

I do think these albums should still be in print. If people want to hear them it would behoove Prince to make them legally available.

rialb said:

How many more semi official albums are u doing, I am waiting for you to post 3121, better yet do all the semi official bootleg stuff after the official ones. I have never heard the Choclate Invasion or slaughterhouse or any of these other limited release albums.
[Edited 7/16/09 22:39pm]

Huggiebear said:

I love Peace!great track! even the intro is good, but the question is, is it Mr hayes or Johnny Blackshire saying the "artist, you gots to get yo peace in"...?

Thibaut said:

Y Should Eye Do That When Eye Can Do This? Just hit me and has never let go. As if teaching class, Prince tells the newbies of samples and “interpolations” about how original work is played… with the emphasis on played!

Well It's funny cause the whole track is kind of built around a Sly & the Family Stone sample.!
[Edited 7/17/09 0:50am]

Swa said:

Imago: "You look You know, that kind of super-hot, cuteness that gets a guy raped in prison. "

My cover of the "Crush" by Smashing Pumpkins: http://prince.org/msg/15/314710.

Swa said:

Swa said:

Thibaut said:

Well It's funny cause the whole track is kind of built around a Sly & the Family Stone sample.!
[Edited 7/17/09 0:50am]

Which track?

Swa

Huggiebear said:

BorisFishpaw said: