I haven't reviewed Prince's last disc, "Art Official Age", yet; and the reason for that is I haven't found the way to express some of my feelings about it. There are songs on that disc I think are highly personal to Prince and they resonate very strongly with me. Especially 'Way Back Home'. But that's another review. So let's talk about this disc and how I've responded to it.
First off, although I wasn't looking for it, I found a lot of information on the disc prior to its release. I have enough Prince friends on Facebook that it was impossible to avoid posts people were making about it. I learned one song in particular, '1000 X's & O's' was going to be on it and I was a bit skeptical about it. I originally heard this song years ago as a demo for another artist. Prince had written it for someone else and I can't remember where I heard it online, but I've run across it a few times. At one point, I had a CD a friend had burned with the track on it and I have to say, it was far and away one of my favorite songs Prince has ever written. I was a little nervous to hear it updated as I loved the demo. Many artists update older songs with new arrangements and sounds. Especially for live performances. Sometimes they're exciting and other times, they're a let down. It's a dicey business. Before I tell you what I thought about this song, let's go over the rest of the disc...
The album starts off with samples from a bunch of older Prince songs like 'For You', '1999' and 'Let's Go Crazy' before morphing into 'Million $ Show'. Singer Judith Hill duets with Prince on this number. Prince has this ability to write the most energetic and amazing opening tracks and this one falls right into that category. It's a party track aimed to get your spirits lifted and your body bouncing. It succeeds on all accounts! It's followed by 'Shut This Down'. This is a rather frantic number. The music tempo slows a bit, but there's an intensity in the vocal delivery that hypes the pace and makes it seem almost manic. Prince has done music like this before and I usually like it when he does. This one is no exception.
'Ain't About 2 Stop' is up next and when this one starts, watch out. Rita Ora is the guest vocalist on this track and I have to be honest, the first time I heard it, I didn't like it. Not until the the first time Prince comes in and sings, "I come from North Minny and I never run from any and I ain't about to start right now". That line, just by itself changes the direction of the song. Using that line as a jumping off point, most of the strong musical direction in the song occurs. It's the launching point for changes. It's because of that line I gave the song a chance to grow on me and grow it did. Now, it's one of my favorite numbers on the entire disc.
'Like A Mack'... Well, when I read the word "mack" I was a little concerned. Wasn't mack a slang term from back in the 90's? I always think of that Mark Morrison song, 'Return Of The Mack' or 'Mack The Knife'. Prince is the undisputed king of making some funky workout numbers and this track ends up being one of them. This is the one song on the disc I could actually hear going on for at least two more minutes. The funk is just all over the place! 'Like A Mack' is like "The Walking Dead" except instead of finding yourself surrounded by zombies, you find yourself surrounded by a groove you can't escape. It's absolutely rockin'!!!!
The next number is the one track I think fails on this album and is also the one I just don't understand. 'This Could B Us' originally appears on "Art Official Age". The version on this disc is a remix or a newer version. Compared to the original one from last year, it sounds cluttered. Forced. It feels like someone kept working to make it better and eventually quit. It was perfect as it was and it didn't need to be updated. Plus, I don't understand why it would show up here a year later when so many other tracks we've heard in recent days didn't. Like 'Stare' or 'Free Urself'. Both of those tracks were bonus tracks you could listen to on Tidal if you streamed the album there. 'Baltimore' was another recent song Prince released as a digital single and would've been nice to have on a disc. As would other tracks like 'Groovy Potential'. I honestly feel like this track on this disc is a waste. And I hate to say that because I love this disc. But it's a waste of my money. I already own a superior version. If I wanted a mix, I would buy a single with mixes on it. I sincerely think inclusion of this number was a bad call. The wrong choice.
That being said... 'Fallinlove2nite' is the next number and it made its debut on the Zoey Deschanel television program, "New Girl' during the Prince episode. On that version, Zoey actually appears as a guest vocalist. Her vocals don't appear on this version, but that's almost beside the point. From the moment I heard this track, I loved it and I've wanted to own it in my collection. The fact he released it on this disc is so wonderful I can't even describe my happiness. 'X's Face' is another great number and sounds like a song he's done with 3rdEyeGirl, but I could be mistaken. It's not the best song on the disc, but it's a good one and I love singing along with it. 'Hardrocklover' follows and these two songs kinda appeared online around the same time as digital singles of sorts. 'Hardrocklover' is the superior of the two songs. I guess that's not entirely fair because I like them both.
'Mr. Nelson' is a musical collage including elements of songs from "Art Official Age". You can hear 'Clouds' and 'Way Back Home' in this song. It's mostly an instrumental with an interesting progression. It kinda builds like a train gathering speed. It reaches a climax and explodes into the beat for the next track, '1000 X's & O's'. Remember my little rant about this number at the start? Well, the first time I heard this version I was horrified. I absolutely hated it. And yet, after subsequent listens, I've grown to love it more than the original! This is my favorite cut from the entire album! I absolutely love this song!!!! I love the sentiment, the lyrics, the music, the vocal delivery... Everything conspires to bring your heart to a very specific place; a place where love of your partner is the most beautiful thing in the world. It's like glimpsing paradise and knowing you want to live there. Knowing this is the place where happiness... True happiness is found. I cannot praise this song enough. It's one of the best sentiments expressed in music ever.
'June' is the final number. It's like an abstract musical painting. It captures a single moment in time in one song. Listening to it is like solving a logic problem. You follow the clues, the pieces until you construct a bigger picture and see how it makes a whole. I know that's a vague way of describing this song, but follow the lyrics when you hear it. Follow the journey of the pasta and see if it doesn't make more sense. Personally, I think Prince was born right on time.
With a single exception, ('This Could B Us'), I love this record from start to finish. Some bands/artists lose their edge when they get older. There have been times during Prince's career when I've thought he was headed in that direction. But every time I think he's starting to get washed up, he releases something like this and the brilliance of his mind, his talent puts him right back up at the top of my musical list. This is a great record! Unfortunately, I think Prince has reached a time in his life where young people aren't discovering him. His core audience is where his sales will continue. I may be wrong, but I don't see the youth of today latching on to someone of his musical talent and intelligence. He's beyond the modern sound. Even with an updated techno feel provided by Joshua Welton, Prince is ahead of his peers.
My final words on this album are: A GLOWING, BRILLIANT RELEASE REAFFIRMING PRINCE'S TALENT, ABILITY AND MUSICIANSHIP.
PRINCE - HITNRUN PHASE ONE
01. Million $ Show
02. Shut This Down
03. Ain't About 2 Stop
04. Like A Mack
05. This Could B Us
06. Fallinlove2nite
07. X's Face
08. Hardrocklover
09. Mr. Nelson
10. 1000 X's & O's
11. June
No comments:
Post a Comment