http://slate.msn.com/id/2099827/

Prince's "Comeback"
Debunking the critics' take on Musicology.
By Douglas Wolk
Posted Thursday, May 6, 2004, at 11:50 AM PT


[Illustration by Keith Seidel]
The press for Prince's Musicology has almost all emphasized the idea that he's back. Musicology "feels like a comeback," David Segal writes in the Washington Post. The Boston Globe says Prince has made "a welcome return to form" while the Daily Telegraph, reaching for new adjectives, calls the album "a copper-bottomed, no-caveats return to form." Jeff Jensen, in Entertainment Weekly , proclaims, "Through it all, there still existed the hope that a talent called 'genius' time and again could return to form. That moment finally seems to have arrived."

In fact, Prince never genuinely went away. He tours regularly, and he's still a stellar live performer. The years 2002 and 2003 were the only ones since 1977 that he hasn't appeared on Billboard's album charts. Yet his albums have been increasingly overinflated and wobbly, the last 10 have missed the Top 10, and he's cracked the Top 40 pop-singles charts only twice since 1995. Hence, it's comeback time. But we've seen precisely this rhetoric about Prince before. When 1999's Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic was released—the last time that one of his new albums appeared on a major label—the headline of a review in Salon read, "Call It a Comeback." The headline of Anthony DeCurtis' Rave write-up for the New York Times countered, "The Artist Is Back—But Don't Call It a Comeback." Going further back, Melody Maker called Diamonds and Pearls "a major return to form" as long ago as 1991.

It's worth analyzing what all these appraisals presuppose: the idea that, at some point, Prince fell off and that there's some kind of Platonic ideal or perfect form to which he can return. Where did his decline begin? Probably with 1989's Batman soundtrack—the slapdash "Batdance " may have been a No.1 hit single, but you don't exactly hear people yelling for it at his shows. The excitement about his new records since then has been more about what he's already done than what he might be up to next. Understandably, he both does and doesn't want to spin his new publicity blitz as a return to his prime. (In 1999, a Fresno Bee article reported, his publicist called journalists covering Rave Un2 to make sure they weren't writing a "comeback" story.) Given his legendary ego, Prince can't declare that his indulgences of the past decade or so were missteps; on the other hand, he has to do something to woo back former fans who've gotten burned to one extent or another by Come, Chaos and Disorder, Emancipation, Crystal Ball, The Vault ... Old Friends 4 Sale, Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, The Rainbow Children, N.E.W.S—and let's not even get into the New Power Generation discography.

So, he's making a sideways move: presenting Musicology as a master's educational return to the values of the "old school"—that ideal form from which pop music has strayed (and, only by extension, his own work). "I see it as my duty to school young people coming up," he told Entertainment Weekly a few weeks ago. ("My voice is gettin' higher and Eye ain't never had my nose done," goes a much-quoted line from "Life 'O' the Party ." No, Prince, of course there's nothing eccentric or vain about anything you've ever done.) The chief virtue of the new album is that it sounds pleasingly like the records that made Prince famous. But those same records didn't reprise the sound of his earlier successes. From 1982's 1999 up through 1987's Sign O' the Times, every album he made was an enormous surprise and a dramatic departure from what he'd done before. "When Doves Cry" and "Raspberry Beret" and "Kiss" and "U Got the Look" were nobody's homage to the old school: Each overturned received ideas of what a hit single could sound like.

The essence of Prince's art was shock—not, primarily, sexual frankness. (He's certainly blatant—"I sincerely want to fuck the taste out of your mouth," he murmured in "Let's Pretend We're Married"—but it's "sincerely" that's the really jolting bit.) In his mid-'80s prime, he tweaked the instruments and voices on almost every song he released to sound unlike anybody else's. His lyrics and singing were full of electrifying flashes of weirdness and lust; his mixes were so spare that every element prickled the skin when it arrived or left. Who pulls off that kind of shock on the radio these days? OutKast's "Hey Ya!" and Missy Elliott's "Work It" both come to mind, and Missy and OutKast's André 3000 are both unmistakably in Prince's debt.

But their hero, sadly, has an embarrassing blind spot where hip-hop is concerned—he once argued that "the rapper's problems usually stem from being tone-deaf." Michaelangelo Matos remarks in his new book on Sign O' the Times that Tony M, the rapper in Prince's group in the early '90s, "sounded like something Prince won at an arcade." The title track of "Musicology " claims that "if it ain't [Public Enemy's] Chuck D. or [Run-D.M.C's late DJ] Jam Master Jay … they're losin.' " That may be part of the reason Musicology is so un shocking: Hip-hop took over the make-it-new impulse in pop music around the same time that Prince lost his capacity to surprise, and its best artists and producers were inspired by Prince himself, but he's not paying attention. ("Take your pick: turntables or a band?" he asks. Why not both?) Musicology 's call for a return to "the feeling music gave ya back in the day" is actually nostalgia for the moment before hip-hop stole his crown. He's returned to the form of that moment—but his original greatness came from never retracing his steps.

Douglas Wolk's book James Brown Live at the Apollo will be published in August 2004.
Illustration by Keith Seidel.Audio excerpts from: Batman © 1989 Warner Bros.; Musicology © 2004 NPG/Columbia; Music From the Motion Picture Purple Rain © 1984 Warner Bros.; Around the World in a Day © 1985 Warner Bros.; Parade: Music From the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon © 1986 Warner Bros.; Sign O' the Times © 1987 Warner Bros. All rights reserved.

all i can say is thank jehovah he's finally matured to the point where he can publicly comment on beyonce's inability to play piano scales, take a jab at micheal jackson's nose - then deny it, and 'school the young people' coming up. kudos, prince!

Cute Pic.Kinda Sinister though.
[This message was edited Thu May 6 16:45:24 2004 by Zelaira]

Anyone know any infor on the book that was mentioned? "Michaelangelo Matos Sign O' the Times"

Nice comment that from 1982 to 1987 the albums were like nothing ever before. Hmmm the dynamic duo's influence maybe?

This article is exceelent except for the fact that what it boils down to is just another person who wants Prince to be MR. 1980-1988.

Matos' book is in the 33 1/3 series. It's available online. A really good read.

that illustration's rather....nightmarish.

skywalker said:

Like many others I think Musicology is a both a decent record and sterile. I don’t see

how thinking that Musicology is sterile, suffering as it does from being inspired almost

entirely by Prince’s own music, is synonymous with wanting a return to the 80’s!? If

anything, it’s the exact opposite. We all want to see Prince growing and changing up his

style…we want to Prince being Prince. I got this feeling that he’s one or two records

away from something worthy of the name Prince.

Wolk said:

The author also has a blind spot; if Prince had lost the ability to surprise albums like TRC and NEWS wouldn't garner such vehemently wide-ranging reactions among his fans, both positive and negative. I've noticed there's not too much evidence of a middle ground with TRC, people either love it, or hate it - because of how much of a 180 degree turn it is in comparison to what he used to do. But it's not on a major label, so the pretentious critics aren't going to give it nearly as much of a chance as a Sony pushed disc.

The author also has a blind spot; if Prince had lost the ability to surprise albums like TRC and NEWS wouldn't garner such vehemently wide-ranging reactions among his fans, both positive and negative. I've noticed there's not too much evidence of a middle ground with TRC, people either love it, or hate it - because of how much of a 180 degree turn it is in comparison to what he used to do. But it's not on a major label, so the pretentious critics aren't going to give it nearly as much of a chance as a Sony pushed disc.


pleassssse, only the retard prince "fams" like TRC, goofball backwards stuff like this is Prince moving backwards, every year till about 87 Prince kept moving forward suprising everyone with every new dics, then, PUFFF, he lost it,
WHY? Because he STOPPED moving forward!
Now Play that stupid ass Rainbow Childern next to ANY Madhouse album, and seriously tell me hes moving forward,
Give it up already.

homeandmantel said:

prince still owns you. you are aware of this, right?

homeandmantel said:

gee, you're such a sweet person

LOL.....He made a comment about Beyonce's music abilities?? When? Where?

Um, why isn't Lovesexy not included in this stream of forward-thinking albums?

The thing is, there have been plenty albums since Lovesexy that have looked forward and sounded new for Prince (Come, Gold, The Truth, Rainbow Children, ONA, NEWS)- but they have been surrounded by albums where Prince was just going through the motions (NPS, Rave, and Emancipation to an extent). And because of the sheer volume of work he has released since the early 90s, some of his really good work has fallen through the cracks. On top of that, the general public and/or critics will never notice Prince's great work after 1992 or so because they weren't pushed into the public's consciousness by a major label pumping money into the various projects. Truly, only the diehard fans that have stuck with him know of the brilliance of his entire catalog, and not just 6 years of it.
[This message was edited Thu May 6 19:18:49 2004 by jtgillia]

homeandmantel said:

Thank you for proving my point - apparently without knowing it.


I'll give up when you fams in denial stop being so easy by giving tons of ammunition. GTFOOHWTS.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Precisely.

jtgillia said:

congratulations...you just made a quotable quote. great points!

homeandmantel said:

jtgillia said:

Amen to that !!! (What jtgillia said) I couldn't have said it better if I had a couple weeks to put somthin' together. I Totally agree.

>congratulations...you just made a quotable quote. great points!<

>Amen to that !!! (What jtgillia said) I couldn't have said it better if I had a couple weeks to put somthin' together. I Totally agree.<

Thank you! I feel honored.

Hey, somebody's gotta talk some sense in the midst of all the anal criticism when it comes to Prince's catalog.

jtgillia, EXACTLY!! Brilliant post.

[Illustration by Keith Seidel]


Looks more like Dave Chappelle as Prince. "...It looked like something a figure skater would wear.... What are you angry about? You know where you got that shirt from -- and it damn sure wasn't the men's department..."

XxAxX said:

skywalker said:

but how can you seperate the man from his impressive backcatologue? you can't.

and every journalist IS saying--whether truthfully or not--that 'musicology' is a decent album.

purpleone said:

I am SO SICK of this BS. If "Purple Rain" had not been a commercial success these so-called "journalists" (really advertisers for paying record companies) would have never given him props for it.

There are so many GREAT albums that he has recorded since the '80s as others have mentioned here. The bottom line is that Prince's career is looked at through the lense of commercial success. None of that has anything to do with his actual work but how the work is PERCEIVED.

This man is a genius our pop Miles Davis and if you know Miles was looking at Prince not that corny Wynton Marsalis. The only reason people "respect" hip-hop is because it sells. There was a time when record companies thought hip-hop was a fad.

All of this is about money plain and simple. Prince chose not to deal with the machine and they want to punish him for it. But if he died tommorrow they would reexamine the music after "Purple Rain" and say things like "he was ahead of his time."

I am really sick of it because he has done some really hot stuff that's slept on because he's not in his '20s anymore and he is so diverse in his output. I hate the majority of the press he's been getting too. There is no f&^%$#( comeback. Come back from what? Tearing a hole in the a&^^%$# of lesser people like R. Kelly, Beyonce and a host of other fake losers. The majority of people on the music scene today suck. This industry is not about talent but how well an individual can get their hustle on. Most of these people interviewing him don't even know what they are talking about. Prince deserves way more respect than what he is getting. This man is the heir to James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Sly Stone and so many more masters. I saw the MI show on June 21 and he ripped it. I saw him in the '80s too. Us Detroiters understand the man. At the show on the 21st he played "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin then straight up channeled Jimi Hendrix with his guitar!!!! The wack suburban audience did not totally understand it until he went back into commericially successful songs like "Kiss."

Notice that none of these so-called writers talk about stuff he's done like "She's Always In My Hair" even when they talk about the great '80s.

This man is NOT a relic he is very much alive and doing hot stuff. Musicology is not my favorite but it has its merits. It's like these stupid marketing plans say that an artist can only release an album once every year year and a half. Why should he slow his roll because these other fools don't have the talent to be so prolific?

Again I am sick and tired of all these sorry articles about him. The only good thing is that they mention him but people still don't get it.


People can't accept you when you choose to go your own way and do it well.

I LOVE PRINCE. And music would not be as wonderful as it is without him. And I so glad that fans gather at places like this board to tell it like it is.

I actually had a conversation with some fool who said "Yeah he was a genius back in the day but after that his music got too weird. A lot of his music was for a "cult following" after that."

I told this fool no Prince's music is not weird it's just that your dumb A*& can't think outside of a commercial and r and b paradigm. I told him to buy Come, Chaos and Gold to get started then get back to me FOOL. I also reminded this idiot that most of what you hear today is connected to him; Alicia Keys, Missy, Andre 3000, Timbaland, Eminem, TLC, Lenny Kravitz, Detroit Techno, and rock n roll in general.

Something else I don't like is the comparisons to Michael Jackson or when that evil snowman Tom Joyner said "I thought you would be the one caught up in a scandal." What kind of question is that? Prince and Michael have nothing in common but race and success in the '80s.

If you will notice Prince does not trash hotel rooms, have a history of drug problems, jail proceedings, beat women or put them down on records. He does not have a string of kids by 60 women that he hasn't paid for either.

Even after all his success he is still humble to God. This is something to think about when many of the top "artists" of today get more play for their scandal rating than their talent.

So what if he has emotional problems and an ego to boot. These are all things he has addressed in his music. Try "lady cab driver" or "papa."

This whole tour and album is being misunderstood because it's all being reviewed in the context of sales.

fiveorange said:

2 months later you responded?

Uh FYI I don't come to this board everyday. If that two month comment was directed at me.

And SO WHAT if I did respond two months later if you didn't like it you didn't have to respond to me at all.

Furthermore considering all the crap surrounding this topic it doesn't matter when someone responds so long as I do.

fiveorange said:

preach on bro/sis. i feel the same way. Prince is the real thing.

fiveorange said:

So tell me exactly where I said I didn't like what you said. I just think it's odd that this old ass conversation came flying back to the top. Reading is so fundamental.

Your rant was actually somewhat entertaining.