The Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of TRC:

http://www.accessatlanta....rince.html

"Instrumental hues color Prince's 'Rainbow'
Grade: B-

There once was a time, about two or three decades back, when you just assumed that a Prince album was going to be controversial, in all the good and right and exciting ways. But things have gotten so spotty, so unpredictable, somewhere between 1990's "Graffiti Bridge" soundtrack, the name changes and now, that on his latest release he's resorted to stamping a yellow sticker on it declaring, "The controversial new album from Prince." As if to say, "Hey guys, come on back! This is like the good and exciting old stuff!"

To its credit, a lot of "The Rainbow Children" glows. The opening title track crackles with the limber spirit of the acid jazz projects Prince did under the Madhouse name. "Muse 2 the Pharaoh" feels like the warm, soulful, organ-centered result of Prince and D'Angelo finally teaming up on a song. (If only that could happen!) And with trombones blaring and Larry Graham lumbering up the neck of the bass on "The Sensual Everafter," that almost ill-fitting come-on, "The Work Pt. 1," "1+1+1 Is 3" and "The Everlasting Now" are all legitimate contenders for the most James Brown-inspired workouts Prince has recorded.

Altogether, this could be the instrumental album of the year. The problem is, Prince decided to employ all these wonderful hues to color one very strident, occasionally engaging, album-long story about the "Children's" search for spiritual truth. And that's not controversial. That's simply unfortunate."-- Sonia Murray