Article on Prince, by Brendan Shanahan, in the Sunday Telegraph November 11th... in Australia.

"Prince crowned pop's rightful ruler"

The great thing about Prince is you can get half his albums in discount bins, and even the crappy ones are guaranteed to have at least one killer track on them.

Anyway, as I was listening to Rasberry Beret, from the below-par Around the World in A Day album. I found myself wondering: "Why is it thst this song still sounds so fresh?"

Then I had an aesthetic epiphany. As the bass reverberated through my headphones, I realised that there seemed to be not one, not two, but three separate bass lines, all playing a little out of kilter and harmonising to create the kind of symphonic magic you'd have to look for Phil Spector to find.

At that moment, Prince became my all time favourite artist. If I had to nominate one superstar I'd take to a desert island, it'd be the Purple One.

I can think of six Prince albums everyone interested in the history of pop music should own: Dirty Mind, 1999, Purple Rain, Parade, Lovesexy and the double masterpiece Sign O'The Times. Not a single one repeats the other, none has a dud track and all are relentlessly innovative. From Kraut-rock to hair metal, there's nothing he can't do.

But not only is Prince a genius pop composer, he's also a producer who invites comparison to some of the true greats, and a performer whose live shows are equalled only by James Brown and Michael Jackson. There's no-one else I can think of who can claim that musical hat-trick.

Mind you, Prince has many many faults. For starters, his program of innovation at all costs has led to some of the most laughably inept, tortuosly self-conscious rubbish ever released by a major talent. His lyrics likewise, are often ludicrous.

Yet I cling to Prince's silliness with a desperate affection because, like all great confessional artists, he's willing to run the risk of being plain embarrassing - if only to reassure us that our own inadequacies are legitimate. Prince's artifice is his own form of sincerity.

Prince is often credited with "bridging the gap between rock and funk", yet his influence is far greater than that. I can think of no other artist who has influenced current pop sets more than he has.

Britney's new single could be a lost track from Graffiti Bridge, Missy Elliott's last album could have been a Parade out-take, and everyone from J-Lo to Nelly is simply treading water compared to the orginal maestro of hip-pop.

In addition, Prince has broken down more image barriers than any of his contemporaries: he's a white black man, a gay straight man, a religious sex fiend and a sane nutter.

He deserves a constellation named after him, and for rock 'n' roll sages from here to eternity to proclaim him The Artist Formerly Known A The Greatest Of All Time.

Brendan Shanahan (The Sunday Telegraph)