Prince: The Purple Experience
Prince is in London. To
quote the man himself, “All the critics love you in London”, and with a press
conference come sound check and a couple of dates at Camden’s Electric Ballroom and Earls Court already played there is more to come.
As we await tour dates and those oft mentioned “iconic venues” it’s time for some funky music. And, as most will be aware, there is little that out funks the Purple Yoda himself. Talking of wisdom, some would have it that the perfect Prince album is yet to come. Just how true that is depends how you like your Prince, but there are many gems in his discography and #srcz chooses some of its favourites here.
As we await tour dates and those oft mentioned “iconic venues” it’s time for some funky music. And, as most will be aware, there is little that out funks the Purple Yoda himself. Talking of wisdom, some would have it that the perfect Prince album is yet to come. Just how true that is depends how you like your Prince, but there are many gems in his discography and #srcz chooses some of its favourites here.
The Gold Experience (1995):
We’ve had many forms of ‘Experience’
from Prince over the years, including most recently The Breakfast Experience, The
Living Room Experience and more besides. But the first album experience we
received was The Gold Experience, the funk-rock statement of his TAFKAP period
that is still as thrilling a listen almost two decades later. Critics would have you believe it’s his best
of the 1990’s and it certainly comes close to the cream of anything in his
entire catalogue. With the statement
that ‘Prince is dead’ uttered on one occasion you’d be forgiven for thinking he’d
been reborn as he blows away the cobwebs of satisfactory but hardly essential
last couple of releases and blows out an opus that stands tall in its sheer
funk nerve. Opener P Control sets the scene with a feminist thumbs up to the woman who
worked for her money despite the odds. Those high octave choruses screaming out
‘Pussy Control’ are the first of many standout moments. Add on Shhh, with its
slow burning funk-rock erotica verses, Dolphin and the dream state murder
fantasy of Shy and you have a record that keeps giving and never stops.
The Rainbow Children
(2001):
When Prince became Prince
again he did it with this surprising and very potent album. With a distinct
jazz edge to it alongside some funk and those distinctive riffs The Rainbow
Children is a listening experience like no other in the Prince catalogue.
Infused with the influence of his then recent conversion to Jehovahs Witness,
it is not the overly preachy record it implies. With an epic title track, the slowed
down, almost robotic voice of Prince opens proceedings before the tight band
assembled for the album start the groove in just the right way. With the tone
just on the right side of The Watchtower , were it a funk bible of course, we
get an album that speaks more of the human experience than anything
outlandishly religious in nature and keeps you coming back more. The excellent
title track aside, there is much here to impress from the Larry Graham
featuring The Work (Pt 1) to the closing
multi-genre experience in itself Last
December.
Purple Rain (1984):
Dirty Mind (1980):
The album that many found
to be the beginning of his mid period sexual odyssey is one that is still eye
opening now. With just eight tracks, the majority of which present our favourite
Purple funk master with some deliciously sexy in that grainy way scenarios you’d
be forgiven for forgetting that Prince has done a lot more since. The title
track mixes some poetry and elegance into the dirty mind scenario and is a
treat. Indeed, one track Head allegedly caused a band member to leave after
balking at the song’s lyrics. Indeed, from the perspective of the time it was a
radical turn from the more innocently put suggestions of ‘For You’ and ‘Prince’.
Oh, and the cover art is a rather excellent statement of intent as well!
The Love Symbol Album
(1992):
When Prince announced The
New Power Generation band formation, it was received with much rapture. But
their first official appearance for Diamonds and Pearls was somewhat disappointing,
featuring some of Prince’s most dated work from the modern perspective. The
Love Symbol Album though feels like a band release rather the more P centric
Diamonds and Pearls. Opening with the delightfully egotistical My Name is
Prince and featuring the still listenable ‘Sexy M.F.’ , ‘7’ and others it’s not the best album ever
produced by Prince but it’s one the better efforts of the 1990’s.
This is of course, not a
definite list – with such a varied catalogue of released and bootlegged gems it
would impossible to pick a definite selection of essential Prince albums. But
with Prince once more in action, (to be honest though, when isn’t he?) and a
huge variety of choice it’s time to jump into some listening yourself…and try to catch him in action with 3rdeyegirl!
Love41another, Live4Love,
FixurLifeUp and the usual felicitations…
SRCZ Magazine