USA Today pop music critic Edna Gunderson addressed Prince a couple times in her online music chat today (Tuesday, Nov. 27). Edna's first comment was in response to a P-related question I asked, the second was tucked into a question about gospel music from someone else. Here are the relevant bits:
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Charlotte, NC : Hey Edna, I was thrilled to read your review of The Rainbow Children. (I told you it was great!) My question concerns Prince's legacy. How do you think music scholars of the future -- who have the distance to view his non-music-related baggage and sales decline from an academic rather than a personal standpoint -- will assess Prince's body of work? I think the turn-around will be similar to the one we now see in relation to Miles Davis -- with everybody apparently forgetting that critics and fans panned everything he released in the latter part of his career. Thanks, David

Edna Gundersen: Interesting question. I do think sales and personality can shade or even overshadow an artist's work. In Prince's case, his commercial decline and lower profile probably colored the assessment of his music. I suspect a lot of his recent music will hold up over time and be more fairly judged by fresh ears in the future. His current problem, it seems to me, is a lack of promotion and distribution. I'm not sure that many people outside his devout flock are aware that a new album is out there, which is unfortunate because it's truly a fascinating detour that deserves more attention.
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Nashville, TN : Hey Edna, Any thoughts on what's happening in gospel/christian music? Where's it going?

Edna Gundersen: In one ear and out the other. OK, just kidding. I'm not a huge fan of Christian rock. The piety and sermonzing, not to mention typically weak riffs, turn me off. The current exception would be Prince's excellent The Rainbow Children, which takes religious music to a daring realm. I love gospel music, but I think it will always be a minor league in pop music.

Peace, David