http://www.calendarlive.c...e-channels


March 29, 2004


POP MUSIC REVIEW
Prince's palace coup
The purple one ably reclaims his throne, injecting old and new material with fun (and funk) in a high-energy show.

By Robert Hilburn, Times Staff Writer



RENO- This is turning out to be quite a year for someone much of the pop world long ago declared was pretty much toast. However brilliant Prince's music once was, his albums over the last decade have been as unreliable as the average tech stock and his career momentum all but nonexistent.

If his name change and the symbol business didn't seem goofy enough, his decision to largely release his albums himself was taken by most record executives as a sign that some of his beloved doves must have been flying around in his head.

Through it all, however, Prince remained so captivating whenever he stepped on stage that even the most committed skeptic realized he could snap back and regain his royal position in pop at any time.

As Prince opened his first arena tour in six years on Saturday at the Lawlor Events Center, the question was whether this was that time.

Better believe it.

Backed by the latest edition of his well-drilled New Power Generation band, Prince delivered a knockout of a performance that relived some old times with style yet felt forward-thinking and fresh.

There are lots of nights in pop when you sense a star being born. This was one of the few where you felt a star was being reborn.

Besides razor-sharp versions of tunes from his back pages, Prince brought a warmth, humor and passion to his work that reminded us how one-dimensional most pop performers are today, in an era where some of the biggest stars have their music designed for them by producers, their dance steps outlined by choreographers and their vocals often enhanced by backing tapes.

Prince's opening number, "Musicology," even poked fun at the lack of personality and heart in so much of contemporary pop.

In the song, which is also the title track of Prince's upcoming album, he asks the audience teasingly, "Don't you miss the feeling music gave you" in the old days.

He's not talking about his own glorious '80s pop reign, when he gave us more than a dozen inventive Top 10 hits that mixed themes of sex and salvation with a provocative edge, but the legion of funk-minded musicians who inspired him, including Earth, Wind & Fire and Sly Stone.

Throughout the two-hour-plus concert, Prince also saluted the richness of live music, generously showcasing the members of his band in solo and jamming roles.

But it's Prince's own music the audience came to celebrate, and he wasted no time in helping them do just that.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today," he declared in the opening line of one of his most delirious tunes, "Let's Go Crazy," and the audience went a bit bonkers itself — cheering, as it did often through the night, with such intensity and joy that Prince touched his heart and expressed thanks to the crowd at several points in the show.

As he also demonstrates on the new album, which has the feel on first listening of easily being his most engaging CD in a decade, Prince seems to be reinvigorated and refocused. In a novel marketing move, the CD, which will be released next month by Columbia Records, is being given away free to everyone who attends a concert on the tour.

It's as if this veteran pop strategist knows that at age 45, this may be his last chance to recapture the public's attention, and he's not about to let the opportunity slip past him.

Prince certainly set the stage for this comeback well. In recent weeks, he was showcased at the Grammys, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and named one of the 50 greatest figures ever in rock by Rolling Stone (finishing at No. 28, ahead of the Who, Johnny Cash and fierce '80s rival Michael Jackson).

Perhaps most revealing of all, Prince also went on Tavis Smiley's PBS talk show and spoke about his music and fans with such humility and purpose that anyone who was ever touched by his music must have taken heart.

"I give them a lot of credit to be able to hang with me this long because I've gone through a lot of changes," Prince said of his fans during the broadcast. "But they've allowed me to grow and we can tackle serious subjects and try to be better human beings, all of us."

Well, being better human beings is nice, but the 12,000 fans who packed the arena Saturday were mainly interested in a good time.

Prince made that easy.

He came on stage, which was set up "in the round" fashion, after a tape was shown of Alicia Keys' inspired speech inducting him into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this month. In some circumstances, the tape might come across as pretentious, but the sincerity and accuracy of Keys' words made it especially effective.

Besides being an expressive singer and guitarist, Prince remains a master showman. He can do dance steps as fast as James Brown in his prime and he knows how to accentuate the sensual and humorous strains in his music.

He was in such a playful mood Saturday that he slipped in a touch of OutKast and Sam & Dave.

Though the emphasis was on the stabbing, horn-driven funk foundation of his music, Prince traded his electric guitar for an acoustic during an engaging sequence late in the set. It gave Prince, whose liberating music has a vulnerable, sometimes spiritual undercurrent, both a chance to reach out in a more intimate manner and the opportunity to be a philosophical, then bawdy, bluesman.

Prince also brought an element of drama to the tour, which continues tonight at Staples Center, by announcing he will be playing some of his biggest hits for the last time. That injected an extra sense of occasion Saturday whenever Prince and the band went into one of his old favorites.

Even if history tells us that no one really retires the old hits for long, just the possibility that you'd never be able to hear, say, "Controversy" or "Little Red Corvette" again live gave the numbers added resonance.

So which old numbers is he doing on the tour?

To give the answer would be like revealing the final plot twist in a movie review. Part of the fun of the concert is guessing what's coming next.

Here, however, is one hint about Prince's most celebrated song, "Purple Rain": He had a purple guitar in his hand at the end of the night.


Prince

Where: Staples Center, 1111 S. Figueroa St., L.A.

When: Today, 7:30 p.m.

Price: $49.50 to $85

Contact: (213) 742-7340

This is very revealing; for people who do not know, Robert Hilburn, who is easily in his mid 60's, is a classic Prince hater of late. He even did a review of a Prince album, where he said that he gave up on Prince. Odd, that he would even go to see his concert. Must mean the new album might be better than we thought. He did say it was the best album in ten years. Hilburn usually doesn't fall for something this easy. Hope springs eternal, eh?

Co-sign, 2freaky...this is a serious accolade. Robert Hilburn is one of the top three critics in the entire American press corps, and he calls it like he sees it. He's not one of the modern "ET" type of fake journalists. He's old school, and he's torn Prince a new one on more than one occasion.

For Robert Hilburn to come out like this, at this particular time, in the LA paper that shows up on the doorstep of every home and office in the entertainment industry's capitol, is a serious stamp of approval. It will be NOTED and NOTICED by all the players in the entertainment biz. Which, in turn, will raise the acceptance, the hype, the stakes and ultimately the success of Prince's 2004 "comeback" to the mainstream.

I gotta hand it to Prince. He has played every PR note brilliantly, and every domino is falling right into the next. Who do you think invited Robert Hilburn to the Reno show and made sure he was taken care of? You better believe it!!

At this point, nothing can derail the mainstream "comeback" because Prince has kissed all the right rings and showed all the proper respects to the gatekeepers - IN ADDITION to performing at an unbelievably high level. He is stroking the tastemakers that he once shunned, and in return, they are dropping their reservations about his past "persona problems" and evaluating him on the basis of his amazing talent.

Well-played, Prince...absolutely brilliant.

Robert is right!!!

Easily Ps best record since Lovesexy!!! Overall strength of both (there is a second record The Chocolate Invasion)records not since Lovesxy I'm telling you!!

I am smiling ear to ear right now!!!
[This message was edited Mon Mar 29 16:39:03 2004 by Alexandernvrmind]

Temptation said:

Good post!

Alexandernvrmind said:

Oh my God! The Chocolate Invasion is probably even better!!!

The Chocolate Invasion is hot...both CDs have very very very radio friendly hot tunes...Prince style!!!

EROTICCITYNPG said:

WOW!! Prince, you GO!

Temptation said:

As Shaq would say..CAN U DIG IT!!!!!

Hello??? The Chocolate Invasion????? What is this??? Did I miss something? Please, enlighten me!!

Cheers

Krid said:

Yup, you missed something. It's available for download as well as Musicology and other stuff. it's essentially tracks that have already been made available as downloads at the club in years gone by, plus a new song The Dance.

It was going to be some massive 7 cd set or something. Now it's just a standard sized album.

I can tell you something for free - it's nowhere near as good as Musicology. three or four outstanding tracks and a whole load of poo.

TheFrog said:

Thanks man, will steer clear of that (also, got most of the songs anyway... and share your opinion on their quality - some really cool, but mostly fillers).

Looked at the website - good lord I am tempted to download the songs from Musicology - but then again, I could also wait until the record hits the streets... I have not missed one Prince album ever, and would feel strange having only a CD-R in my collection...

Well, tough decision,..

The Chocalate Invasion has no more filler that Musicology in my opinion

Its strongest songs just like on Musicology make up for the one or two fillers

Jasda Smile, Sex me/Sex Menot, VaVoom, the re-worked U make My SUnshine are all very strong

Just as on Musicology the CD has a stretch were there are 4 or 5 just absolutely killer songs in a row

I often find that many fans of Ps pop and rock music often don't like his Rb and dance records. But those fast songs would be played in Night clubs and radio stations catering to that format. They are that strong

Again in my opinion

2freaky4church1 said:

I was thinking Robert Hilburn was like, eleventy. Cuz I remember his review of Prince at the Rolling Stones concert in '81!

Thing is, he has his faves too...Bruce Springsteen & U2 can do no wrong. Which means, it's not odd at all that he'd go to see this concert. I was surprised to see that he went to Reno but now I realize why Prince did those shows and chose 3/29 for the opener...

Hilburn falls for what he likes quite easily...as everyone does. He doesn't try to be "objective" and if you follow him long enough (even for just a year...having not read him in awhile, I picked up one of his reviews and I can still tell what he likes and doesn't like) you'll see it.

Believe me, Hilburn is ecstatic about this.

Temptation said: