http://www.miami.com/ente...114551.htm

The Miami...um, something...review of TRC:

"With each new release, The Artist Known as Prince Again continues his long and bizarre slide into irrelevance. It's hard to imagine it now but Prince, along with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Lionel Richie, dominated '80s pop. But, surprisingly, only Madonna has crafted viable and provocative new music into the '90s and beyond. (Check out her engaging new collection GHV2 Greatest Hits Volume 2 ).

Prince, on the other hand, slaps a sticker on his new CD declaring it ``controversial'' but don't believe him. For something to be controversial someone has to care enough about it to raise a fuss and it's doubtful anyone will bother with Prince's G-rated The Rainbow Children.

Rainbow Children is an impenetrable concept album with some sort of religious philosophy tale. When Prince is not coming off as sanctimonious he's merely incomprehensible, hamstrung by ill-conceived devices like a narrator between tracks, which is merely Prince's voice (we assume) slowed down electronically. Insufferably silly lyrics abound, with Prince's grade-school affectation for numbers and single letters standing in for words. (One cannot serve 2 masters. U r either ``this'' or ``that'' which is not ``this.'' The opposite of NATO is OTAN. Thinkin' like the keys on Prince's piano will b just fine / So there it is -- 4 all 2 c.)

Prince has a point 2 make here but if only he can understand it, 4 goodness sake, what's the point in having 1?

More's the pity because Prince came up with some decent funk-jazz here. The musicianship is top-notch with drummer John Blackwell and soprano saxman Najee standing out. The jazzy title track, the calypso-styled She Loves Me 4 Me, the funky 1+1+1 Is 3 and the soothing Mellow deserve to be on a better album.

HOWARD COHEN"

(and so I don't have to post it...14-6...lol)