Top-shelf Prince
Master musician brings newly minted sound to first E-town show

By MIKE ROSS -- Edmonton Sun

We may never again hear Prince perform some of his hits recorded before he became a Jehovah's Witness - "If you've come to get your Purple Rain tonight, you're in the wrong house," he declared last night - but even finding God can't stop the funk.

Resplendent in purple suit and in perfect form, vocally, musically, and in all the gifts of a master showman, Prince delivered an incredible show at the Jubilee Auditorium last night. It was an evening filled with devastating torch songs, sweet blues jams, rousing singalongs, thrills and spills, but mostly, funk. Lots of funk. A crowd of nearly 2,500 was administered the maximum recommended daily allowance of funk, more could be dangerous, old school, new school, whatever you wanna call it. "I'm so funky I can't even sleep with myself," Prince told the fans who turned up for his first Edmonton appearance. "Can you feel the funk?! Surrender to the funk!" and so on.

Some have described this One Nite Alone tour as a jazz show - if that means 15-minute jams featuring impeccable musicianship, tons of rock and one fascinating but unfamiliar song after another, I guess it was. It was a kind of jazz that would blow most of the Jazz City headliners into the stratosphere.

Prince focused heavily on his latest album, The Rainbow Children, an album as cryptic as it is beautiful. The title track launched the show, with the star speaking into some sort of machine that made his voice sound like God, talking about God knows what. Something about how we're all the Rainbow Children. At one point, he inserted a rap into a song: "Edmonton, it's there for you to see, what's beyond you and me." Crowd was baffled, but delighted.

It was nearly 90 minutes into the show before Prince and his amazing five-piece band ripped into an oldie, in this case, Raspberry Beret. More would come in an encore that lasted nearly an hour, including a set with Prince alone at the piano. That's something you don't see every day.

This was not the Prince your mama knew. Then again, mama was a stripper who took up the drums and ran off to join a touring funk band. While there was just a touch of the sort of bump 'n' grind that makes female fans scream, the concert was pretty well free of sexual innuendo. Needless to say, songs like Sexy Motherf---er did not make it into the set. Instead, we got angular jazz numbers like Xenophobia, its melody - or "head," since we're talking jazz - as memorable as any standard. We got powerful love ballads like Mellow and old-school covers like the Ohio Players's classic Roller Coaster. That got the crowd going. Strange jams evolved from humble beginnings. A song called Family Name turned into a chaotic circus of sound - he'd brought out his magic purple guitar by then - as Civil War documents flashed on the screen. Prince is clearly more interested in making political and spiritual statements than writing steamy songs like Little Red Corvette, which is on the subject of ... well, you know. Read between the lines. That wasn't in the set, either.

Overall, it was a real thrill to watch a man who obviously lives for making music. You could feel the easy joy with which Prince plays the guitar. He solos as if the instrument is an extension of his body. It's really quite something. He showed equal expertise on keyboards and, of course, on vocals. This guy has the best falsetto in show business. Much of the time, he let his band do the talking. With Maceo Parker - a real jazzman - on saxophone, they were terrific, capable of enhancing any mood or whim of the bandleader and in any style he chooses. Each musician was allowed generous time for solos. This was a jazz show, remember?

"You like this band?" Prince asked the crowd. "I love this band. You know what else I love? Real music. What about you? When was the last time you heard real music on the radio?" General discontent was noted.

Scrolling down the video screen behind the stage, meanwhile, was a list of multi-national corporations that own all the radio stations in North America, which explains "why all the funk is off the airwaves," he said.

Prince did a great job of righting that wrong - if only for one night. Hopefully, it won't be another 20 years till we can get the funk out again.

By the way, he did end up doing Purple Rain.

Also go to th "Edmonton Sun" entertainment section to see a report on Prince jamming at a local music store.

It was a damn good concert. I thoroughly njoyed the evening from bginning to end. I do hope he cumz back 2 Edmonton again. . His voice has not changed, and he has not aged and his bod is still in fine form - totally an ageless man. I sho got my purple rain.

Awesome.