Snipped from the Denver Rocky Mountain News:



Do-it-yourself Prince: a user's guide (April 23, 2001)



You think the Prince you knew and loved went away in 1993 when he changed his name to the stupid symbol?



You're wrong. Like Van Morrison, His Royal Badness simply needs a good editor to weed out the good from the filler. He sings better than ever, he plays better than ever, and he arguably writes better than ever.



Whether you loved his sexy ballads, his ripping guitar work or his deep funk, it's all out there in the seven albums he released after adopting the symbol. You just have to know where to look -- thus this handy guide.



Fortunately for you (and unfortunately for Prince), you can find many of these albums in used or cut-out bins at many CD stores or online.



Start with The Black Album. Recorded as a 1987 follow-up to the masterful Sign o' the Times, it was scrapped for various reasons until it was released (and ignored) during the Symbol era in 1994. With hard-edged funk and classic Prince songs (including the hilarious Bob George and the supercharged Superfunkycalifragisexy), it's unbeatable and as dark as its title suggests.



But that's cheating; that's old-school Prince. What's he done since '93 that's worth having?



Plenty. Fire up the CD burner and compile two or three great albums.



You love Prince's rock songs? You can put together an amazing album from his past few releases. Gold, from The Gold Experience, is catchy and has a roaring solo and possibly the most mature look at life Prince has ever given us. The brilliantly self-aware The Holy River, from Emancipation, may be better; again, the theme is growth and cutting away the things that blind you, but it has an even longer, even hotter guitar solo to power it. Other great rock songs: Money Don't Matter 2 Night (from Diamonds and Pearls), The Same December (from Chaos and Disorder) and the gorgeous Dolphin (from The Gold Experience).



For lighter pop, pull Blue Light and Sweet Baby off the "Symbol" album; their sweet, loping beats recall the best of his fluffier hits. Diamonds and Pearls, Strollin' and Willing and Able, from the Diamonds and Pearls album, take a nice romp through frothy fare.



Those sad, touching ballads? Don't Talk 2 Strangers, from the otherwise forgettable Girl 6 soundtrack, will break your heart right in two as a father says goodbye to his daughter. Despite its title, Eye Hate U, from The Gold Experience, is a touching torch ballad. The oft-bootlegged Crucial finally got its legitimate release on the Crystal Ball boxed set. Toss in the hit single The Most Beautiful Girl in the World as well.



If his harder funk gets you hot, What's My Name is hands-down one of the slammingest, sharpest blasts of chaotic funk Prince has made, though it's hidden in the middle of the sprawling, unwieldy Crystal Ball album (which is one, three, four or five CDs, depending on which variation you ordered). The title track on Crystal Ball is no slouch itself, though the album track Calhoun Square slams harder. Otherwise, Sexy MF is pretty unbeatable, as is My Name Is Prince, from the otherwise confusing "Symbol" album. Nearly all of 1998's New Power Soul funks hard.



If the social urgency of Sign o' the Times is your preference, he's kept his pace as well. Papa is a heartbreaking song (from the Come album) warning against child abuse.



Start with those songs and you'll find that the Prince you always loved is indeed alive and well. And then you can use them as entree to the even better, further-from-shore excursions he's taken through all those albums. Enjoy.



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