{{{Hey, just read this incredible review from Berliner Zeitung. The writer is completely blown away. Sorry for those of you without German-knowledge, but the article is way too long to translate (and my English wouldn't be good enough to translate this because the language is brilliant). For those of you who understand: Enjoy.

Sex mit Gott http://www.berlinonline.d...86325.html
Prince & the New Power Generation feierten eine Messe im Berliner ICC
(Jens Balzer)

Prince heißt wieder Prince, und es geht ihm gut. Mit einer Reihe von Wiederauferstehungszeremonien feiert der Künstler, der früher "der Künstler, der früher Prince hieß" hieß, gegenwärtig seine wiedergewonnene Identität. Der allmächtige Gott und Jesus Christus, sein Sohn, haben ihm den gottlosen Zweifel am Selbst ausgetrieben - all die hoffärtigen "Bin ich Prince? Bin ich’s nicht?"-Spielereien, mit denen er das vergangene Jahrzehnt zugebracht hat. Nur als Prince, so Gott unlängst in einer Erleuchtung, könne Prince seine wahren musikalischen Talente zwecks Lobpreisung Gottes entfalten.}}}
Und was soll man sagen? Gott sei Dank! Die musikalische Messe, die Prince Rogers Nelson mit seiner achtköpfigen New Power Generation am Sonnabend im ICC zu Berlin feierte, war nichts Anderes als eine Epiphanie, ein ganz großer, seltener, kostbarer Moment. "No more war! No more fights", war die Botschaft, die Prince seinen Zuhörern gleich am Anfang des gemeinsamen Abends predigte. "Just real music. By real people." Die Bassistin solle ihren Bass spielen und der Schlagzeuger sein Schlagzeug; die Hornbläser sollten ins Horn blasen und er selbst, Prince, wolle eben tun, was er am besten kann: alles zugleich - singen, kreischen und keuchen; die Gitarre zum Singen, Kreischen und Keuchen bringen; am Klavier sitzen und singen; keuchend und kreischend den eigenen Körper am Klavier reiben und sich darüber hinweg und dahinter hinunter ganz gottergeben räkeln.

Was für ein Musiker! Was für ein Entertainer! Wie schade, dass er vor dieser Erleuchtung satte zehn Jahre mit sinnlosem Herumstreiten vertrödeln musste. Anfang der 90er hat sich Prince ja mit seiner Schallplattenfirma überworfen, er gab seinen Namen auf und verwarf seine Identität, weil er kein Markenartikel für die Musikwirtschaft mehr sein wollte. Erst nannte er sich "der Künstler, der früher Prince hieß". Dann wollte er nur noch mit einem unaussprechlichen Symbol bezeichnet werden, das so unaussprechlich war, dass man ihn am Ende gar nicht mehr ansprechen durfte. Er kappte alle Verbindungen zur Kulturindustrie und den sonstigen Teilen der irdischen Welt, konvertierte zu den Zeugen Jehovas und veröffentlichte seine neuen Werke nur noch als Dateien im Internet (www.npgmusicclub.com). Allein dort kann man auch seine letzte LP "The Rainbow Children" beziehen: eine Art breitwandorchestriertes Funk-Rock-Konzeptwerk über das Volk der Regenbogenkinder und dessen Suche nach dem gelobten Land.

"Das Gesetz muss neu ausgelegt werden", herrscht Prince den Hörer hier gleich zu Anfang mit tiefer gelegter Vocoderstimme an: "Wir müssen eine neue Nation errichten." Eine Nation unter einem Groove gewissermaßen, denn während die Regenbogenkinder in den folgenden vierzehn "Kapiteln" dem Ruf ins gelobte Land folgen, die Fesseln der Knechtschaft abstreifen und allerlei Versuchungen widerstehen (Niedertracht, Teufel, Frauen), musiziert das Prince’sche Ensemble so klangsatt und zugleich mit so ausgehungert knallenden Rhythmen, als habe George Clinton oder sonst ein Funk-Meister sich zum Orchesterleader bekehrt. Big-Band-Funk mit einer (wie es beim Funk ja öfter vorkommt) gewissen Vernachlässigung der Song-Dramaturgien: Zwar sind die Arrangements - die Verzahnung von Gesang und Begleitung, das Wechselspiel zwischen Solisten und Rhythmussektion - so vertrackt und zugleich luzide wie selten im bisherigen Schaffen von Prince. Aber bei allem gibt es nur wenige wirklich prägnante Melodielinien; nur wenige Strukturen, die sich im Gedächtnis des Hörers rückwirkend zum Song verdichten könnten.

Im Konzert wurde das Album fast ganz durchgespielt. Der Auftritt begann mit dem Titelstück und endete vor den Zugaben mit dem vorletzten Lied, dem jubilierenden "Everlasting Now". Wer da Längen, Verläpperungen und Verdudelungen fürchtete, wurde freilich angenehm überrascht. Nicht nur gönnte man den treuen Hörern zwischendurch ein paar dramaturgisch klug eingestreute Evergreens: "Pop Life", "Raspberry Beret", schließlich als Zugabe eine wirklich atemberaubende Viertelstundenversion von "Purple Rain". Nein, auch die neuen Stücke erschienen im Livearrangement musikalisch eingängiger und präzisiert; nur gelegentlich gestattete sich einer der Solisten, am Ende eines Stücks dessen Leitmotiv zu zerdehnen.

Das war nicht so gut, wenn es sich um einen der drei mitspielenden Saxofon- oder Posaunenbläser handelte. Es war grandios, wenn Prince das Zerdudeln persönlich an seiner Prince-Gitarre besorgte. Was er zerdudelt, wird ja nicht zerdehnt (und umgekehrt): es explodiert vielmehr in eine Vielzahl von Klang- und Tonsorten, in herrliche Harmonien und reinen Krach. Und wenn Prince die instrumentale Hauptstimme führt, übernimmt auch noch einmal der alte mothafucker die Herrschaft über den neuen Christen. Dann bricht aus dem ruhigen Prediger-Habitus plötzlich die alte hysterisierte Motorik heraus, das manische Herumzucken und Sich-selber-Anfassen, aus dem sich seit jeher der Sexappeal von Prince, seine Furcht einflößend erotische Unnahbarkeit speist.

Es gab aber - und das war das eigentlich Interessante an der Performance von Prince - zwischen dieser schweinigeligen Popstar-Auratik und dem neueren Prediger-Ethos, zwischen Eros und Jesus, keinen Unterschied zu erkennen. Beides hat sich vielmehr im Bewusstsein verbunden, dass nur der entrückt Verehrte, der perfekte Entertainer einen erfolgreichen Prediger abgibt. Oder anders herum, gewissermaßen von der gottlosen Seite betrachtet: Erst in der gottesfürchtigen Unterwerfung unter das Glück und die Freude des von Gott geschaffenen Publikums hat Prince zur Größe und Vielgestalt des wahren Entertainertums gefunden.

Und dann dieses unfassbare Gitarrenspiel! Wie alle großen Rockgitarristen betreibt auch er sein Geschäft ja seit jeher wie eine Masturbation. Aber während man masturbierenden Gitarristen ansonsten schon wegen ihrer Schweißproduktion nur ungern zusehen mag, schwitzt bei Prince immer noch ausschließlich die Gitarre selbst. Das liegt an der Coolheit des Meisters: Nie liegen seine Hände eine Sekunde länger als nötig auf dem gekneteten und gewalkten Gitarrengriffbrett. Erregung und Versagung sind hier eins; einen Moment wird das Instrument hart herangenommen, im nächsten hängt es schon wieder herzlos missachtet hinter dem Rücken des Künstlers. Wer würde da, wenn er eine Gitarre wäre, nicht selber zur Raserei getrieben? Jede Berührung reißt ein neues kreatürliches Geräusch in die Höhe, ein unweltliches Schreien und Flehen, als konkurriere hier ein ganzes Ensemble von Gitarristen um den durchdringendsten Sound.

So viel geiler Lärm, so viel Sex - und das alles im Dienste des Herrn? Das war die große, alles überwölbende Frage, mit der man nach Hause ging. Den Gott, dem dieses gottlose Treiben gefällt, würde man jedenfalls gerne kennen lernen.

it`s more than cooolll. what kind of review... someone should translate it. sorry my english isn`t that good...
i love the last line... see you all in oberhausen
i can`t wait anymore after all this positiv reviews


www.swamprecords.com

Please please please will someone translate it? Now I'm too curious for words!

Can someone please read this post & translate
it the best way you can?!
The title alone is driving me crazy!
I need to know!!!
pretty please?

chachalila said:

hey i will try 2 translate this this or 2morrow evening (with the help of a english/german speaking friend of mine) so yes indeed the report is just incredible, so was the concert! time of my life...

ps. i thought 2 myself 2 start a "initiative" 4 the musicclub - they should release berlin as a 2nd live ona album, the europe part, cos it was just off the hook - what do u think of that? i will try 2 get a list from all members and non members and send this 2 npgmc - mailto:prince@futurebytes.ch and let me know ur opinion in this case...
this concert has 2 b released.. it was too good 4 just keeping that in memories... DVD would be ... u know... still under funk narcose so long... afraid of landing in real life... please email me on this! okay?

purplefab said:


Thank You Thank You Thank You!

Here you are non-german readers!

Prince is called again Prince, and is he well. With a set of reon purchasing ceremonies the artist, that celebrates in former times "the artist, who was called in former times Prince" was called, at present his recovered identity. The all-powerful God and Jesus Christ, its son, drove it the Godless doubt out about - all the hoffaertigen "I am Prince? Are ich.s nicht?"Spielereien, with which it course-broke the past decade. Only as Prince, so God recently in an illuminating, can unfold Prince its true musical talents for praise praising of God. And which one is to say? God is thanks! The musical fair, which celebrated Prince Rogers Nelson with its achtkoepfigen new power generation on Saturday in the ICC to Berlin, was nothing one but a Epiphanie, a completely large, rare, precious moment. "NO more was! NO more fights ", was the message, which preached Prince its listeners equal at the beginning of the common evening. "Just material music. By material people." The Bassistin is to play their bass and the schlagzeuger its schlagzeug; the Hornblaeser should Prince in the horn blow and it, wants evenly do, what he can do best: everything at the same time -, kreischen and keuchen sing; the guitar to singing, Krei and Keuchen bring; at the piano sit and sing; keuchend and kreischend the own body against the piano rub and over it God-result in themselves away and behind it down completely raekeln. Which for a musician! Which for a Entertainer! How it harms that he had before this illuminating full ten years with senseless Herumstreiten vertroedeln. Beginning of the 90's has itself Prince with its record company ueberworfen, it gave its names up and rejected its identity, because it did not want to be a branded article for the music economy more. Only it called itself "the artist, who was called in former times Prince". Then it wanted to be only named an inexpressible symbol, which was so inexpressible that one was not allowed to address it at the end no more. It cut all connections to the culture industry and the other parts of the terrestrial world, converted to the witnesses Jehovas and published its new works only as files in the InterNet (www.npgmusicclub.com). However there one also its last LP can refer "The Rainbow Children": a kind breitwandorchestriertes radio skirt concept work over the people of the rainbow children and its search to the praised country. "the law must again be laid out", prevails to Prince the listener here equal at the beginning with deep put Vocoderstimme on: "we must establish a new nation." A nation under a Groove to a certain extent, because while the rainbow children in the following fourteen "chapters" follow the call in the praised country, which from chains the farmhand shank strips and resist all kinds of temptations (despicableness, devil, women), makes music the Prince. ensemble so sound-fullly and at the same time with so flared out slamming rhythms, as if George Clinton has or otherwise a radio master bekehrt itself to the Orchesterleader. Big volume radio with (like it with the radio occurs more frequently) certain a neglect of the Song Dramaturgien: The arrangements - the teeth of singing and company, the interrelation between Solisten and rhythm section - are as vertrackt and at the same time luzide as rare in the past work of Prince. But with everything there are only few really concise melody lines; only few structures, which could consolidate themselves in the memory of the listener retroactively to the Song. In the concert the album was played to the end nearly completely. The appearance began with the piece of title and ended before the additions with the next to last song, the jubilierenden "Everlasting Now". Who was afraid lengths, honing-lapping run gene and Verdudelungen there, certainly pleasantly one surprised. One did not only goennte the faithful listeners occasionally a few dramaturgisch intelligently interspersed Evergreens: "Pop Life", "Raspberry Beret", finally as addition a really breath-robbing quarter of an hour version of "PUR-polarizes Rain". No, also the new Stue

Just go to this site for translastions. http://babelfish.altavista.com/ It doesn't pick up every word but you can figure it out most of the time.

Luckily I attended the show.
Prince was in excellent mood despite the whacky Berlin crowd - standing still in disbelief like Beavis & Butthead.
However Hamburg´s audience last wednesday really teared the roof...
During the soundcheck he was quite talkative, cracking jokes about that woman looking like Ozzy´s wife, who got up on stage and on everybody´s nerves... horrible.

Translation:

Berliner Zeitung:
SEX MIT GOTT
Monday, Oct. 21, 2002
Author: Jens Balzer

Sex With God

Prince & The New Power Generation celebrated a mass at Berlin’s ICC

Prince is called Prince again, and he is doing fine. With a new series of resurrection ceremonies, the artist that was formerly called The Artist Formerly Known As Prince currently celebrates his regained identity. The Almighty God and His Son, Jesus Christ, eliminated all his sinful doubts about his ego- gone are all those arrogant “Am I A Prince Or Not?”-games he used to spend time on in the past decade.
Only as Prince, he was told in a recent revelation, would he be able to unfold his true musical talents for the praise of The Lord.

And… what do you say? Praise The Lord! The musical mass that Prince Rogers Nelson and his “New Power Generation” of 8 celebrated last sunday in Berlin’s ICC, was nothing less than an epiphany, a very great and rare and precious moment. “No more war, no more fights,”- was the message of the lecture Prince gave to his audience at the very beginning of that evening to be spent together, - “just real music by real people.” The bass lady should go and play her bass, and the drummer his drums; the horn players should blow their horns, and he himself should be doing whatever he was best at: Everything at once- sing, scream and moan; make his guitar sing, scream and moan along; sit at his piano and sing,while rubbing his body against, across and over it, screaming and moaning, and piously sprawling behind it.

What a musician! What an entertainer! What a pity that before this realization he had to waste the fat chunk of ten years with futile squabbles. In the early 90ies Prince got into a quarrel with his record company, gave up his name and identity, because he no longer wished to represent a brandname in music’s industry. He called himself “The Artist Formerly Known As Prince”. Later he requested to be represented by an unpronouncable Symbol, so unspeakable, that in the end he refused to be addressed by any name at all.
He cut off all connections to the cultural industry as well as all other earthly parts, converted into a Jehova’s Witness, and commenced to release all of his new work via internet (www.npgmusicclub.com). Only through there his new LP “The Rainbow Children” can be obtained: It’s some kind of broadly orchestrated Funk-Rock theme-related work, about the tribe of the Rainbow Children and their search for the promised land.

“The law must be interpreted anew”, Prince starts, bawling at his listeners in a lowered Vocoder voice: “We must build a new nation.” One nation under a groove, so to say, for while in the ensuing fourteen “chapters” the Rainbow Children follow their call to the promised land, break their chains of slavery and withstand a variety of temptations (Wickedness, Devil, women) , the ensemble around Prince perform their music in rich, saturated sounds, yet at the same time with such famished whipping rhythms, that George Clinton or some other master of Funk might very well have acted as their orchestra leader. Big Band Funk with some (as often happening with Funk) negligence to songs’ stagecraft: Although the arrangements- that is, the overlap of vocals and instrumentation, the interaction of soloists and the rhythm section- are complicated and yet lucid as rarely a former Prince creation, there are overall only few really terse melodic lines; few structures, that could intensify themselves into a song in the memory of the listeners.

At the concert the album was performed almost completely. It started with the title track and ended, before the encores, with the second to last song, the jubilant “Everlasting Now”. Whoever was fearing for straining stretches in lenghts and variations, was in for a pleasant surprise, though. Not only was the audience occasionally treated to some dramaturgically smartly inserted evergreens: “Pop Life”, “Raspberry Beret”, and finally for an encore a truthfully breathtaking 15-minute version of “Purrple Rain”, but, on top of all that the new songs seemed to be musically more comprehensible and precise in their live arrangements. Only once in a while, one of the soloists took the freedom to stretch the end of a song with it’s leitmotiv.

This was not so grand coming from one of the three sax- or horn players, but it was outstanding, whenever Prince himself provided for the lenghtenings on his Prince-guitar. Whatever he dilates is not being strained (and vice versa), but rather explodes into a multifariousness of all sorts of sounds and keys, exquisite harmonies or pure noise. And when Prince takes over the instrumental leading theme, the old mothafucker takes reign over the new Christian yet one more time. Then his serene preaching habit is suddenly overcome by the old motorial hysteria, the maniacal convulsions and the self-handling, from which his sex-appeal and his awe-inspiring erotical inaccessibility are nurtured.

However, -and this was in actual fact most interesting about Prince’s performance- there was no visible distinction between that smuttyish popstar-aura and the newer preacher- ethos, Eros and Jesus. On the contrary, both sides have combined with the awareness that only the ecstatically adored, the perfect entertainer, can make a successful preacher. Or, back to front, so to speak viewed from the unholy side of the matter: Only through the pious submission to the happiness and joy of his God-created audience, Prince has found the greatness and versatility that makes the true entertainer.

And then this incredible guitar playing! Like any great Rock guitarist, he has always been going about his business as in an act of masturbation. But while one would not like to watch other masturbating guitarists if only for the amount of sweat they emit, with Prince the only sweating participant is his guitar itself. Reason for that is the coolness of its master: Never do his hands linger for one second longer than necessary on the kneaded and milled fingerboard.Excitement and denial become one: One minute the instrument is worked exceptionally hard, the next it dangles from the back of the artist, heartlessly disregarded by him. Who of us, being a guitar, would not be driven into a frenzy? Each touch tears out another creature-like sound, an unearthly screaming and begging, as though a complete ensemble of guitarists was competing with each other for the most penetrating sound.

So much horny noise, so much sexuality- all of this in the name of the Lord? That was the one big, all-encompassing question that you took home with you. The God that is pleased by such ungodly activities you really would like to meet.



***
Way-ell, that article made my day when I read it, I simply had to do this, even though I should have busied myself with something else. (More serious? NOT so! Hahaha…humphhh.)
Hope some of U appreciate & enjoy just as much! J LOVEJ

P.S.: Don't I wish I could have been there! Dreaming again...