PRINCE - DELIVERANCE

So I know what some of you Prince fans are thinking...  "Deliverance" release was cancelled by a judge who was overseeing Paisley Park and the Prince family's lawsuit against Ian Boxill claiming he doesn't have the right to release the music on the disc.  According to Boxill, the discs were already pressed and ready to ship.  The disc I have was listed on eBay as an advance promotional pressing sent out prior to the judge's order to cease distribution.  Therefore, I'm counting it as a legit copy.  Quite frankly, I'm not 100% sure it is, but if it's a bootleg, it's the best bootleg I've ever seen in my life.  Of course the only images we were actually shown of the album was the cover so I have nothing to judge the remaining artwork against.  However, it seems to conform and flow together like it was planned.

This is a tricky disc to review right now.  I find my opinions of the music itself is clouded by my opinions of the legal battle going on between the engineer and the estate.  I think it's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.  And I feel highly compelled to discuss my opinion on that battle rather than the musical content of the disc.  

But I won't.  My opinion on that subject doesn't belong here.  So...  Let's talk about the music!

To me, this material sounds very similar to the type of stuff he was doing in the early 90's.  He experienced a writing boost and was recording a lot of material.  I'd say this stuff was probably done around the same time the tracks for "Chaos And Disorder" were done.  All of that material was intensely spiritual but also highly sexual.  It has the sound and experimentation of "Chaos And Disorder" but...  (and this is the reason I'm second guessing myself) ...the religious themes seem more fleshed out and fully formulated.  At the time, Prince didn't have the stable influence of a full time religion to help him define his spirituality and form opinions on a great number of issues.  Still, even with the Jehovah's Witness faith dictating his beliefs, the soulful expression of the music is more in the tradition of a small local African-American church congregation choir.  

And that "freedom" can be felt in his vocal delivery, guitar playing and every small groan, scream and expressive sound he creates throughout the performance.  'Deliverance' could easily become one of my all time favorite Prince songs.  It's just magical.  He sings from his heart and you feel it all through your body.  'I Am' is a slow burning rocker allowing him to build intensity through his guitar and vocals.  I really dig this track!  It's fantastic as well.  The downside is it's actually the opening movement of a suite that is given different titles, but in reality, are they individual songs?  Or just a part of a larger suite like some of the musical movements in a track like '3 Chains O' Gold' from his "Symbol" album.  

This is also one of the reasons the music reminds me so much of "Chaos And Disorder".  He was doing some similar song combining on that record as well.  Just listen to 'I Will' and 'Into The Light'.  'Touch Me' starts off this blurry, ill-defined suite and it moves into 'Sunrise Sunset'.  Now that transition is fairly clear and you can see where one song ends and the next starts.  But from there, the rest is a jumbled mess.  The movement that is mainly considered 'No One Else' makes an appearance toward the end of the 'Sunrise Sunset' track, but the other song reasserts itself and we're right back to it.  But once the tracklisting on the media player shows the song has officially moved into 'No One Else' you get at least two strong transitions back to 'Sunrise Sunset' and it ends with a reprise of 'Touch Me'.  A hot mess.

The final track on the EP is an extended version of 'I Am' which thankfully doesn't devolve into the suite.  It has a strong beginning and end.  This should be the official version of the song.  For me it certainly is.

Although some of these throw away records Prince released in the 90's to fulfill his contract with Warner Bros. aren't considered very good by the majority of his fans, "Chaos And Disorder" has always been one of my favorite albums.  I really enjoy it and the way it's put together.  For me, "Deliverance" is like a continuation of that record.  I feel like I'm getting more music from that time and I'm tickled to death by it.

Normally, I would shy away from such a strong religious theme, but in this case, the soulfulness of his performance makes it redeeming.  For me, it's a homerun hit right out of the ball park and these performances where Prince seems absolutely free and unfettered are the absolute best.  This is some of the finest material I've heard in years and quite frankly, outside of the unreleased bonus disc from the "Purple Rain" deluxe edition, this is the first true posthumous release of Prince music.  It would be an absolute shame not to give it to the world.  This is Prince at his finest!

My final words:  A UNIQUE AND POWERFUL PERFORMANCE FROM A MUSICAL ORIGINAL BURSTING WITH SOUL!  GET IT!  GET IT!!! GET IT!!!!!!

PRINCE - DELIVERANCE

01. Deliverance

02. I Am

03. Touch Me

04. Sunrise Sunset

05. No One Else

06. I Am (Extended)