Chicago Sun-Times review of TRC
Credit: Jim DeRogatis

http://www.suntimes.com/o...ins04.html

Prince, "The Rainbow Children"
(Redline Entertainment)
***1/2 (out of four) Rock-funk

Arriving in stores on Nov. 20, but already available as a download on the Internet via Prince's NPG Music Club, the latest from his Purple Majesty is being compared by many of the faithful to the sweeping epics of the mid- to late-'80s--absurdly ambitious but often successful albums such as "Around the World in a Day" and "Graffiti Bridge."

There is certainly an element of lush, "Sgt. Pepper"-style psychedelic pastiche here, as well as a fluid, jazzy vibe, and of course the ever-present Prince groove. But at long last, the crazy-quilt musical mixing and matching isn't a result of the man simply cleaning out the vaults of old studio jams. "The Rainbow Children" is a concept album, albeit one that, in typical Prince fashion, is a bit hard to suss out or synopsize.

"We were always meant to be in paradise eternally," a heavenly choir croons at one point, and at heart, "The Rainbow Children" is another of Prince's hippie-ish visions of utopian society. He rails against organized religion and shakedown preachers while urging us to reconnect to a deeper spirituality; he samples the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and he sings in the full variety of Princely voices about how we all really ought to love one another.

But the artist also laughs at himself, which is always a welcome development. (At one point, he apologizes for being late at an after-party attended by Macy Gray and Common--this would seem to have been after his recent show at Chicago's Riviera Theater--because he had to do his hair.) Songs such as the title track, "The Sensual Everafter," and "The Everlasting Now" all merge into one another, connected via funky bridges and fiery guitar solos in the manner of the best Parliament-Funkadelic discs. It all adds up to make what is easily the richest and most rewarding Prince album in a decade.

Jim DeRogatis