http://www.stltoday.com/s...igns+again

Prince reigns again

By Kevin C. Johnson
Of the Post-Dispatch
04/29/2004


Purple reign is in the forecast these days, and it's really about to pour.

Prince is back. It's official. After a period of confusion, it's OK to call him Prince again or to want to hear "I Would Die 4 U," "Kiss" or "Purple Rain" in concert. Prince appears on pop music's radar again after nearly a decade when his weirdness got the best of him, when being a Prince fan wasn't so cool.

Much of that was thanks (but no thanks) to lackluster CDs that suffered at the hands of Prince's quirkiness, questionable treatment of past hits, obsession with jamming till it hurts and hastily scheduled concerts. Who can honestly say they fondly remember his 1998 Collinsville concert at the Gateway Center?

Prince may not be overtaking the music world the way he did with the perfect mix of pop, rock and soul on "Purple Rain," but the spotlight on him has an intensity he hasn't experienced in years:


* Prince's new CD "Musicology" is earning some of his best reviews in years. "Musicology" is certainly better than the impenetrable "N.E.W.S.," the contrived "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" or the overwhelming "Crystal Ball" (only "The Rainbow Children," in spite of its religious undertones, hinted at the old Prince).

* Prince's film debut "Purple Rain," a series of exquisite performances draped around a dopey story and light acting, is scheduled for a 20th-anniversary reissue on DVD with several extras not featured on the older, bare-boned DVD.

* Prince paired up with Beyonce at the Grammy Awards during his show-opening medley of hits and more than held his own in spite of Knowles' showboating ways.

* Interest in Prince's induction into the Roll and Roll Hall of Fame this year trumped that of fellow inductees George Harrison, Bob Seger and ZZ Top.

Much of the activity, however, is centered around the "Musicology" tour, which comes to Savvis Center Wednesday night. On this latest arena tour, Prince performs in the round, and he has pledged to play the hits all nights - for the last time.

Prince has been kicking off his two-hour "an evening with" concert with the old-school funk of "Musicology." Despite this being a greatest-hits show, the opening choice works as a statement of where Prince is today before he reminds us from where he came.

"Purple Rain" hits such as "Let's Go Crazy," "I Would Die 4 U," "When Doves Cry" and "Baby I'm a Star" get fans hooked good and early, as do more obscure nuggets such as "D.M.S.R.," "A Love Bizarre," "God" and "Sometimes I Snows in April." Song selections go as far back as "Let's Work" and "Controversy," and they include his crossover breakthrough of "Little Red Corvette" and songs others made famous such as "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "I Feel for You."

Gone from his show is the raunch - there's no Prince cavorting in a bathtub or on a bed. Songs like "Darling Nikki" (the one that got Tipper Gore upset), "Do Me, Baby," "International Lover" and "Sister" don't appear, and lyrics in other songs are discreetly altered to reflect his spiritual growth. He has offered the steamy ballad "Insatiable," performed from within a cage made from strands of pearls.

Throughout the show, he interacts with his fellow musicians: Candy Dulfer (saxophone), Maceo Parker (saxophone), John Blackwell (drums), Greg Boyer (trombone), Chance Howard (trumpet), Renato Neto (piano and synthesizers), RAD (vocals and keyboards) and Rhonda Smith (bass).

"We don't believe in lip-synching. This is real music by real musicians," he said during the tour's March 29 opening night in Los Angeles, making a likely reference to Britney Spears, whose heavily lip-synched show was broadcast on Showtime the night before Prince's show.

That Los Angeles show was simulcast in movie theaters across the country, including the Regal St. Louis Mills Stadium 18. Isis Jones, air personality at WFUN-FM (95.5), was among the many in the two packed theaters there.

"It seems like he's a lot more focused on the music as far as the performance," Jones says. "The musicianship is at the forefront. We're seeing him mature as an artist. He was able to go from tight paisley pants to nice tailored suits and still rock a guitar like Jimi Hendrix."

"He's coming of age now, maturing," says musician Tracy Mitchell, who was also in attendance, "and he feels it's time to express different things, more spirituality than sexuality, though he has always combined the two." The first song Mitchell learned on guitar was Prince's "Lady Cab Driver."

Floyd Boykin Jr., a local poet/musician known as Impakt, was at the show as well. "My highlight was the acoustic set because it was just Prince with his guitar," he says. "That's a different side to him I'm not used to seeing."

Starlite, a poet whose writings have been influenced by Prince's use of metaphors, says it's a show families can attend. She liked the way the song selection mixed up the popular with the obscure. "The show was phenomenal. He only gets better."


Prince
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday 5/5
Where: Savvis Center, 1401 Clark Avenue
How much: $47.50-$75
More info: 314-241-1888


Critic Kevin C. Johnson
E-mail: kjohnson@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 314-340-8191

Nice to see this in the Post!
Why won't Majic play "Musicology"? When I called they said they didn't have it, wtf.
I thought this tour was promoted by Clear Channel and it would seem to me that they would lean on their stations to play the new stuff a little!

I have a copy of this edition..Prince graces the front cover....good article...I have many friends that say Prince tickets are the hottest thing on the street here....