I think its suitable for framing.









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[This message was edited Tue Jun 29 1:58:10 2004 by THREEnineTEEN]
[This message was edited Tue Jun 29 12:08:20 2004 by THREEnineTEEN]

COVER STORY 06 29 04

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Comeback From Where?
His name is Prince again, and he's still funky, but did he ever stop?
By Alex Rawls

In "Musicology," Prince himself seems to be looking back: "Wish I had a dollar / 4 every time they say / don't U miss the feeling / music gave ya / back in the day?" In May, Anthony DeCurtis' Rolling Stone cover story included a few quotes from Prince admiring his band and a version of "D.M.S.R." the band played that night...The initial flurry of writing about Musicology hailed it as a comeback, and for good reason. MTV's playing a video of the title song, and the record is in the Billboard Top 10, neither of which has happened to a Prince album in a while. It also sounds like a return to the musical values that were Prince's hallmark from Dirty Mind (1980) through Parade (1986) -- classic funk, immediate pop songs, guitar flash and New Wave synthesizer textures (think the beginning of "1999"). If there's any justice, the catchy "A Million Days" will follow "Musicology" on the charts and become one of his most popular ballads.

Calling the album a comeback gives order to what had become an unwieldy career. The word "comeback" suggests a story, and stories help shape events. But almost as soon as one set of writers dubbed Musicology a comeback, another set jumped to his defense. As Slate's Douglas Wolk writes, "Prince never genuinely went away. He tours regularly, and he's still a stellar live performer. The years 2002 and 2003 were the only ones since 1977 that he hasn't appeared on Billboard's album charts." Prince's longest gap between recordings was the two years between 1999 and Purple Rain...

"I would ask people who want to call this a comeback, where they think I'm coming back from?" Still, it's hard to imagine him generating the kind of controversy he did with "Darling Nikki" anymore. Parents aren't terribly worried about their kids listening to Prince albums. Besides, now that Prince is a Jehovah's Witness, it's unlikely he'll make songs that would lead kids astray. He has even sworn off live performances of songs like "Erotic City" in accord with his religious beliefs.

He didn't go away, but by publicly fighting Warner Bros. in the mid-90s, he ended up in the same place Pearl Jam ended after fighting Ticketmaster. The band survived, but its momentum dissipated... He wanted to own his master tapes and he wanted control over his release schedule...he wanted to put out music when it was fresh rather than waiting a year or so... Warner Bros. shares a promotional template with other labels. Such a schedule left Prince with a backlog of material, some of which came out on Crystal Ball and The Vault Š Old Friends 4 Sale. As collections...never meant to come out as they did, both releases are unfocused and make him seem like less of an artist. Leaving Warner Bros. meant that Prince was free,but...a basic problem arose: If you work outside the system, how do you reach the people? In the end, he partnered with a number of labels to put out his albums, but because they had no long-term commitment to him or from him, he wasn't a priority. His records came out with minimal promotion and erratic distribution. It's no surprise that Prince's music from the 1990s was largely overlooked. ....

In all fairness, Prince didn't help. Once his changing looks and haircuts became news, he felt ephemeral. His unhappiness with his contract seemed odd coming so quickly on the heels of signing a $100 million contract with the company. He began appearing in publicwith "Slave" written on his cheek, and though he was at the mercy of Warner Bros.' it was hard to think of a millionaire as a slave to anybody...

The problem is that we don't understand weird, and that messes up the relationships we've conjured in our minds with our favorite stars. Fans believe they know their favorite artists. But being weird screws up this identification. It's hard to understand someone whose name is something that can't be pronounced. Prince's comeback, if it's a comeback, is to a more affable Prince, the one who smiled a self-deprecating smile after "Baby I'm a Star" in Purple Rain. Like at that point in the movie, he doesn't seem to be fighting anymore. He's having fun. All accounts of Prince's performances on the current tour sound like a man enjoying being onstage..... And that's something we all understand.

Prince at the Essence Music Festival
Friday, July 2
Louisiana Superdome, 522-5555

This article is actually MUCH longer. I just wanted to share the juicier parts. You want the rest? Go to: http://www.bestofneworlea...story.html
Peace.





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