The Story of Madhouse: “Syncopated Strut” by Miles Marshall Lewis

We are Prince addicts. Period. As such, we are constantly on the lookout for anything related to him, his music, related artists. Pretty much anything. So, when we came across Wax Poetics’ 50th issue celebrating the career of Prince, our knees became week. Sure, we already know the stories, having read several Prince biographies and also, well, having lived it in real time. However, our aforementioned addiction could not keep us away. One incredibly thorough piece of work was this article written (and reposted by permission) by Miles Marshall Lewis. Enjoy.

WARNING – This article is long, which is perfect for a nice Sunday read.

SYNCOPATED STRUT
by Miles Marshall Lewis

The DJ at Le Réservoir spins nothing but 1980s vinyl loaded with LinnDrum beats and synthesizers for Parisians packing the smallish dance floor, but nobody minds. The NPG Party is the only fête in town where gorgeous French women gladly fall into step with the mechanized drum programming on Sheila E. rare grooves like “Too Sexy” and “Shortberry Strawcake.” The infectious blend of funk-rock, new wave, and R&B music once known as the Minneapolis Sound prepares everyone for tonight’s main event: Rad, featuring saxophonist Eric Leeds.

You see, Rad is an alumna of the New Power Generation, class of 2004. And Leeds famously spent years in the Revolution during the mid-’80s. Both groups have flanked Prince, architect of the Minneapolis Sound, stretching back over two decades (the Revolution from 1983–86; various lineups of the NPG from 1990 to now). So Rad—born Rose Ann Dimalanta—will be preaching to the converted this springtime Sunday night, having played keyboards in the NPG once upon a time.

Rad, a petite forty-year-old Filipina in a sleeveless sequined top with white slacks, stands center stage behind her bank of synths at the stroke of nine. Fronting a five-piece band, she powers through many original funk numbers from her own records for over an hour before dipping into the catalog of the man whose genius has been the purple elephant in the room through her whole show.

“Mutiny! I said I’m taking over,” Rad sings, atop James Brownish staccato horn blasts from Eric Leeds.

“You gotta give up this ship. You should’ve been a little more hip.”

Tall, lanky, and bespectacled, suited in all black, fifty-seven-year-old Leeds eyes trombonist Greg Boyer (another NPG alum) as a quick signal before blowing the house down. Leeds approximates his own original solo from “Mutiny,” recorded back in late 1984 for the eponymously titled album of Prince protégé band the Family.

Read full article here:

http://www.soulhead.com/2...all-Lewis/

Thank you for posting.

Yeah--thanks for posting this. Glad to see it.

This is the same article published in Wax Poetics some years ago.

BartVanHemelen said:

This is the same article published in Wax Poetics some years ago.

yes

"...Prince layering his piano and keyboards on top of his own bass, on top of his own drums, continuously reacting to himself as a stranger from a musician’s point of view, is Prince earning his musical genius reputation."

Notice that there is no guitar in it.

That's what makes the albums so unique, imho.

That, and badass sax tracks by Eric Leeds.

nayroo2002 said:

"...Prince layering his piano and keyboards on top of his own bass, on top of his own drums, continuously reacting to himself as a stranger from a musician’s point of view, is Prince earning his musical genius reputation."

Notice that there is no guitar in it.

That's what makes the albums so unique, imho.

That, and badass sax tracks by Eric Leeds.

Absence of guitar is very common in jazz. Much less in P's music, though.

nayroo2002 said:

jdcxc said:

nayroo2002 said:

"...Prince layering his piano and keyboards on top of his own bass, on top of his own drums, continuously reacting to himself as a stranger from a musician’s point of view, is Prince earning his musical genius reputation."

Notice that there is no guitar in it.

That's what makes the albums so unique, imho.

That, and badass sax tracks by Eric Leeds.

P's drumming on Madhouse 8 is ridiculous. M8 is truly underrated. Critics got too caught up in the Jazz Purist notion of instrumental music to give it a fair play. It has finally found a cult audience. The musical ideas are so vibrant...so Prince.

Agreed! Same with The Flesh sessions.

jdcxc said:

nayroo2002 said:

"...Prince layering his piano and keyboards on top of his own bass, on top of his own drums, continuously reacting to himself as a stranger from a musician’s point of view, is Prince earning his musical genius reputation."

Notice that there is no guitar in it.

That's what makes the albums so unique, imho.

That, and badass sax tracks by Eric Leeds.

P's drumming on Madhouse 8 is ridiculous. M8 is truly underrated. Critics got too caught up in the Jazz Purist notion of instrumental music to give it a fair play. It has finally found a cult audience. The musical ideas are so vibrant...so Prince.

I think jazz critics pretty much ignored it at the time and only here have I read people complaining that "Prince can't play jazz", which isn't really a point when it comes to the quality of his jazz-funk records because they are what they are and they stand on their own. So I don't think 8 is so underrated, it's obviously a fan favorite and I'm pretty much certain critics would rave about it today if it was to get a proper remaster/rerelease treatment. Actually in the context of the jazz scene of the 80's 8 and 16 are extremelky strong albums: back then u basically had 3 jazz movements: some who were doing good ol' hardbop (they're still here), those who were into the arty-farty, highly experimental free-jazz scene that had its headquarters in NY and those who tried to incorporate electronic 80's elements into their jazz, often in a somewhat clumsy way. Prince, who had been a few years earlier a forerunner in the use of eletronic gear, managed to avoid this trap and came-up with organic jazz-funk records that avoided a gross inclusion of electronic instruments without trying to imitate classic hardbop either, basically he just did what he usually did, only instrumental and with a more pronounced jazzy approach. As a consequence, 8 and 16 are pretty unique for their time and haven't aged much, they're "out of time" albums.

databank said:

He was trying to impress Miles. He was a fan of Weather Report. This is WR lite. With Princey ideas in dribs.

2freaky4church1 said: