http://www.projo.com/musi...a27f2.html

Prince cleans up his act, but his funk remains pure

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, August 18, 2004


BY RICK MASSIMO
Journal Pop Music Writer



BOSTON -- There aren't a lot of acts out there who could play their own records as pre-show music, open a show with a current hit single, release the confetti from the ceiling on the second song, and take the energy level up from there. But Prince managed it last night at the FleetCenter.

Some of the most memorable songs of Prince's 25-year career have been his "slow jams" -- he's a masterful balladeer. But last night was a pure funk throwdown, from the opening "Musicology" through the final "Kiss." If, on record, Prince has fallen victim to the Van Halen syndrome (whereby one starts to sound like one's imitators), in performance he and his matchless band, the New Power Generation, cemented their reputation (with James Brown and George Clinton currently out of commission) as the world's prime funketeers.

After "Musicology," Prince blazed through versions of "Purple Rain" hits ("Let's Go Crazy," "I Would Die 4 U," "When Doves Cry," "Baby I'm a Star") that were not so much abbreviated as thrown into a blender. A verse was trimmed here, a solo there, turning the sequence into less of a maybe-you-remember-this medley than a distillation of a period.

"Controversy" merged into "A Love Bizarre" (a Prince song that Sheila E. had a hit with); "Sign O' the Times" melted into Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" (don't ask how). Even more surprisingly, early-'80s nuggets such as "DMSR" and "Let's Work" came out of the closet. In this party atmosphere, they lost the chilly, hermetic feeling of their recorded versions (on which Prince sang and played all the instruments). That has its positives and negatives; the sense of alienation and weirdness was much of the appeal. Oh well; there's always the records.

Bassist Rhonda Smith and drummer John Blackwell were inseparable, a living, breathing, just-right-behind-the-beat unit that recalled the best work of the classic rhythm sections of R & B and early-'70s funk, such as Brown's and Clinton's.

Prince gave himself plenty of chances to work out on guitar as well. As he has said previously, he gets tagged as a Hendrix disciple mainly because he's black; his main influence is clearly the sweet-but-piercing sound of Carlos Santana, most apparent on the encore, "Purple Rain."

Performing in the round can leave a singer looking like he's running ragged trying to cover all bases, but with Prince it looked more like he was unleashed. He cavorted with his musicians, particularly his horn section (led by saxophonist Maceo Parker, famous for his work with James Brown), and showed his dance moves, some of the best since (maybe including) Michael Jackson.

The centerpiece of the show was the acoustic set, during which Prince, in a revolving chair, showed the classic songwriting roots of such synthesizer-driven hits as "Little Red Corvette," "Cream" and "Alphabet St.," as well as more obviously guitar-based songs such as "Raspberry Beret," "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover." He threw in a rap about his dissatisfaction with his former record company, Warner Bros., but capped it with his inimitable braggadocio: "They keep getting older, and I just look the same." The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" was a curveball -- if not necessary, an interesting sidelight. Then the funk returned -- gently at first, with "Pop Life," then full force with "Sign O' the Times."

Some of Prince's more notoriously explicit lyrics were cleaned up for this show, a reflection of his recent conversion to the Jehovah's Witnesses. For example, in "I Feel for You," "It's mainly a physical thing" became "It's mainly a spiritual thing," and of course "I'm your messiah" became "He's your messiah" in "I Would Die 4 U." These were a little jarring, but mainly unobtrusive.

This tour is the first time Prince has run through his hits in years, and supposedly the last time ever. That could be, but if the treatments he gave them last night, and the way they went over, are any indication, he can pretty much do whatever he wants from here, including go back on his word.

AGAIN, Prince has been singing "HE's your messiah" on "I Would Die 4 U" since the Purple Rain Tour. Check out the Syracuse VHS to confirm.

braggadocio?

Will someone please tell me what the HELL this word is supposed to mean?

E

I'm wondering what the current hit single is that Prince opened with? "Musicology"? It didn't even break the Hot 100 did it? Doesn't take much these days to have a hit single then, does it?

EROTICCITYNPG said:

Fool, get real !!

poetbear68 said:

braggadocio:

noun: vain and empty boasting

Snap said:

Don't be an ass. It doesn't matter if the song cracked the hot 100 or not, Musicology (the concept, the album, the tour) is still a hit. If you can't appreciate the flavor we r (us Prince fams) groovin 2, why r u in our kitchen?

just a re born Prince fan .... he's got IT and IT was funky...Great show

Reece said:

co-sign

prodigalfan said:

I have waited 20 yrs to see my very favorite artist (PRINCE) until last night at the Wachovia center in Philly. He is everything i had ever expected him to be. The band was really great, but remembering the first original "NPG" band they we're highly missed (especially "LISA").
I am so glad i finally got a chance to go see him perform. I have followed his music and career since day one. Being a former Jehovah Witness student myself I truly understand why he would choose "the truth". Good luck and god bless, but most of all thank you for the great years you've given me and all your faithful fans.
Love you "PRINCE" >.....