A star is reborn
By John Aizlewood, Evening Standard
2 April 2004
A star was reborn at this year's Grammys. Many of the audience at the back of Los Angeles' cavernous Staples Center at February's ceremony failed to recognise the tiny figure in a garish suit who opened the show alongside America's sweetheart, Beyoncé Knowles.

When the familiar strains of Purple Rain echoed across the arena, there was no mistaking the identity of the stick-thin man with the body of a boy. Prince treated the crowd and primetime US television to a blistering medley from his 1984 album. Knowles joined him for a smidgeon of her Crazy in Love, but only for courtesy's sake. The artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince was back.

A world tour and a "proper" album, Musicology, due out on 19 April, indicate a renewed focus and understanding of his many gifts. After a decade of swinging a wrecking ball through his career, Prince has finally stopped sulking.

Rock moves so rapidly that the memories are almost sepia-tinted. In the mid-Eighties, Prince was the world's most popular solo artist. More to the point, he was an extraordinary talent who wrote, produced, arranged, composed and (mostly) performed his material.

During his golden period, that material was ground-breaking and magnificent. Prince embraced the contradictions of being God-fearing and unashamedly lascivious, although, as a Jehovah's Witness since 2001, he rejects his incest-and masturbation-based pieces such as Darling Nikki, Sister or Dirty Mind. He utilised funk, rock, disco and whatever suited him at any given point and harnessed the power of great melody more successfully than his musical forefathers, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone.

Then he blew it. Having already changed his name to a squiggle, he

fell out with his record company, Warner. The row concerned contracts, percentages and the remarkably prolific artist's desire to release almost everything he recorded at the very moment he had mislaid his quality-control faculty.

Scrawling "S-L-A-V-E" on his cheek stated his case simply, although it was never quite clear exactly how Warner had enslaved him, other than by selling 50 million copies of his records and paying him royalties.

But Prince picked his ball up and took it home. After the Warner contract expired, he became a cottage industry, releasing what he wanted (everything) when he wanted (all the time), mostly via his website.

Without proper distribution, and with his creative powers on the wane, the move was a commercial and artistic disaster, culminating in last year's N EWS, which consisted of four instrumentals (North, East, West and South), each lasting 14 minutes. This was, indeed, bad NEWS.

Now, at 45, Prince Rogers Nelson has finally come to his senses. We've missed him. A month after the Grammys, Prince was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York, a rite of passage for the rock aristocracy. His behaviour, even by the standards of a man who refused to sanction the original release of the "evil" Black Album, was mercurial.

Another glorious medley (Let's Go Crazy, Sign O' The Times and Kiss) established the groundwork. Later, during an ensemble version of George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps, his extraordinary playing reduced Tom Petty and Harrison's son Dhani to the role of overwhelmed spectators.

MORE interesting still was Prince's dignified and reflective speech at the ceremony, perhaps a result of the calming influence of Manuela Testolini, whom he married in 2001 after his union with backing singer Mayte Garcia was annulled. He thanked Warner for giving him his start and in expressing "a word to the wise, to the young artists: without spiritual guidance, too much freedom can lead to spiritual decline", came as close as he ever has to mea culpa.

Decks cleared, he can move on. Prince has rejoined the world of major labels. He has signed to Columbia, but only for manufacture, distribution and marketing. Prince owns his music and, seemingly, the label has no artistic input.

Columbia so far refuses to allow critics to listen to the whole of the forthcoming Musicology, which is usually music business code for "it's not especially good", although it cites spurious fears over downloading.

I was permitted to hear three tracks. Columbia's caution is laughable, not least because Prince is keen for fans to download the tracks (for as little as 66 cents each) and, when Musicology is released, he plans to give away copies to those who buy tickets for his tour.

"Musicology has no boundaries or formats," he says. This is arrant nonsense, but the new tracks are unquestionably Prince's best work since his last great single, 1991's Gett Off. No wonder he has started behaving properly.

Further evidence of his rebirth is that tour, which began in Reno, Nevada, last Saturday (no UK dates are yet announced). He has, of course, toured extensively during his exile, but this one promises to be different. When he played the Carling Hammersmith Apollo last year and announced, "If you want the hits you've come to the wrong place," the groans could have been heard in Kew.

A dreary funk set helped nobody's mood.

This time, though, he is playing much of Musicology and many hits. He also claims it will be the last time those hits are played. Prince watchers understand this to mean it's the last time those hits will be played until he feels like playing them again.

The album's first single, also called Musicology, released in the UK on 12 April, is a watertight collage which harkens to the Prince of Kiss, 1999 and Gett Off. It even mentions Earth Wind And Fire's Let's Groove, but manages to sound invigoratingly contemporary. As a return from the wilderness, it is a masterstroke, especially the final few seconds, which feature snatches of Prince hits.

Call My Name, meanwhile, is multilayered and full of musical wiggles. It begins as a gloopy ballad and mutates into an epic tale of instant seduction. "I know it's only been three hours," he trills, "but I love it when you call my name." And there's a joke, which it would be churlish to ruin by revealing.

The jewel, though, is A Million Days. It has an almost identical lyric to Call My Name. "You've only been here an hour, but it feels like a million years" (presumably his observation is fuelled by lust rather than boredom). Chorally symphonic and with coruscating guitar-work, this is Prince stretching himself and delighting those of us who have been waiting for his talent to blossom once again.

It's been a long time.

cool! i just don't agree with the NEWS-part if it...NEWS is great NEWS!!

Cool. Little bit surprised at Columbia. But can't the Evening Standard stretch to $9.99 for expenses though so this guy can listen to the lot? That's a fucking Pret a Manger sushi box and a latte!

Also, did anyone see the following from the Metro this morning (The Green Room - Neil Sean's column):


"New pictures of Prince, 45, show him looking youthful. His secret is a soft fruit-only diet until 6pm when he eats a dinner of fish and vegetables."

Riiiight.

Full of mistakes like;

The jewel, though, is A Million Days. It has an almost identical lyric to Call My Name. "You've only been here an hour , but it feels like a million years" (presumably his observation is fuelled by lust rather than boredom)

How stupid is that !!

UK Coverage at last.

The comments about the London ONA shows indicate that the writer isn't a major fan. I was there and the roof was blown off. I for one was glad to see a group of musicians at the top of their game not conforming to expectations.

Anyway, I suppose this makes the positive Musicology comments more favourable still.

Just can't wait for the tour to get over here. Shame we won't be privileged enough to experience it at the (relatively) small Apollo again though!

MattUK said:

I totally agree. The Apollo show (i was only there on Saturday) kicked ass. It was a thousand times better than the last couple at Wembley.

Again the press only likes u when u play the game. If its outside the game then the music must suck. The only difference between right now and last year is that its suddenly cool to like Prince again. Whether all of the things prince has done has hurt his career is questionable. His popularity was decreasing anyway. I rather Prince the man follow his heart than do what hacks like this reporter want as not to offend the corporate honchos and the masses. In the long run Prince wins by being the maverick. Its the rebel people remember.

Right, it's chock full of musos and no-one has heard that Prince rehearsed for hours with Beyonce and is opening the show!!!


If only that were true!!!!


He's writing this from memory - left his notebook in the pub!!!


Clearly, the writer never attended the shows but was sitting in Kew, and misinterpreted hearing the collective thud of jaws hitting the floor each night


He is?


They understand that not least because Prince has said in public that he is just giving the hits a bit of a rest.

Hence the title ... er ... A Million ... whatevers.

Perhaps what is most ironic is the mention made of 'Call My Name' - overlooking the fact that its musical basis is an instrumental piece the writer previously slagged off.

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[This message was edited Fri Apr 2 7:38:46 2004 by langebleu]

"Prince picked his ball up and took it home."

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[This message was edited Fri Apr 2 7:35:06 2004 by langebleu]