Prince in 2013: what the purple rain didn’t wash
away
After shamelessly taking over the 80s with masterpieces of the size of "Sign O the
times" (1987), Prince's career started to get in troubles in the 90s, despite major
albums as "The Gold Experience" (1995) and "Emancipation" (1996). At the end of
the decade, his name was very low in the world of music. In this article we will have
a look at his evolution since 2000 to this 2013 which, seemingly, is going to be a
great year for him, including an homage from "Billboard" and three shows at the
Montreux Jazz Festival, among other events.
The hangover after Rave un2 the joy fantastic
The year 2000 surprised Prince in low shape: his project Rave un2 the joy fantastic
had failed, despite the enthusiasm deployed by Clive Davis –then, head of Arista- to
try another star resurrection, like he had done with Santana. In this case, the idea –
an album of collaborations with stars of the moment- didn’t work. So Prince was,
possibly, in the lowest point of his career: the big labels turned their back on him,
and the future of the superstar of the 80s appeared very dull.
The “independent” phase: The Rainbow Children / One Nite Alone
Due to either strategic reasons, or to real conviction, fact is that Prince turned his
regard to his hardcore fans, and focused his attention on them. He took a piooner
rabbit out of his hat: he created in internet the “New Power Generation Music Club”
(2001-2006), where previous subscription, his fans had access to different materials,
provided directly by Prince without any middle man. The “independence” hour had
come. In the NPGMC, several full albums were released (Rave in2 the joy fantastic,
The Rainbow Children, One Nite Alone, One Nite Alone... Live!, N.E.W.S.,
Xpectation, The Chocolate Invasion, The Slaughterhouse, Musicology; some of them
were also released out of the club), besides a series of “NPG Ahdio Shows”, songs,
videos, pictures... straight from Paisley Park. Besides, he offered the best songs in
his shows, something very appreciated by the many fans hooked on his shows.
In 2001, the album “The Rainbow Children” was released, followed by a tour in 2002
through USA, Europe and Japan, “One Nite Alone”, planned for middle auditoriums,
where Prince exhibited his instrumental powership with an extraordinary band, which
was very appreciated by the attendance. His trust in the band and in the repertoire
made him shout, produly, “If you came here for your Purple Rain, you’re in the wrong
house”, while he chose setlits widely mixing songs from his neverending catalogue,
avoiding the massive hits. Thus far, there is great consensus among Prince
connoisseurs in considering this his best recent tour. Prince possibly felt similarly
proud, since he released his first live album in his career: One Nite Alone... Live!, a
beautiful box with a luxury boocklet and three CD.
Musicology: the return to the premier league
After the tour, 2003 was a transition year, with the release of another two albums in a
jazzy vein (Xpectation y N.E.W.S.), preparing a new attempt to return to the
mainstream. 2004 started strongly with a stunning appearance at the Grammys,
where Prince performed a medley with Beyonce. Some weeks later, Prince joined
the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; during the event, he closed a performance-homage to
George Harrison of “While my guitar gently weeps” with a mindblowing tuitar solo.
But the main dish came with the edition of Musicology, whose tour became a huge
success, with almost 100 shows in the USA (the tickets included the CD) and a total
income of almost $ 90 million. The figure of Prince had recovered his prestige, after
being neglected for many years.
3121, the failed attempt
The return to the premier league led to another album, prepared with care during
2005 and released in 2006 by another big label, this time Universal: 3121. The
album was announced together with another album of the protegee Tamar Davis, for
whom he composed “Milk & Honey”. However, after a number 1 in the USA sales
charts reached in the first weak, the evolution of 3121 was disappointing, helped by
a sudden stop in the promotional activities which never received an official
explanation. The history had a surprising turn when Prince announced a residency of
shows in the Rio Hotel & Casino at Las Vegas, from November 2006 to April 2007,
on weekends, in an intimate environent, which helped to rehearse a band who was
going to star in many big moments in 2007.
21 Nights in London / Planet Earth: the legend, live
The starter was the appearance of Prince, on February 1st, 2007, in the Super Bowl
2007 halftime show, the final of the American football, with stratospheric audiences.
Prince performed a medley of songs, some from other bands, ending with an
astonishing rendition of Purple Rain, where he received the unexpected help of a
downpou, which helped to enhance the dramatism of the moment. This appearance
was unanymously acclaimed, being considered by many as the best in the history of
the Super Bowl.
But there were many more things ready for that year:
On July 15, 2007, Prince did the first of his appearances at the very reputed
Montreux Jazz Festival, demonstrating that, besides a massive success artist –at
least onstage-, he continued keeping the label of cult artist in selected shows.
On May 8, 2007, Prince officially announced a residency of 21 shows in London
during the summer, inaugurating a 20,000 seats auditorium, the O2, with reasonable
prices. Despite this, and despite offering again his new album, Planet Earth, with
each ticket, it seemed a bet of impossible success. However, the idea worked,
receiving very good critics, and fulfilling the expectations both of generic fans (with a
concert focused in his hits) and also of hardcore fans, with a series of aftershows in
a smaller venue, in which he played an heterogenous repertoire. After the end of the
residency, the balance couldn’t be better, receiving the acclaim of other figures of
rock, as Brian May, who published an article full of praises. The success was so big
that it inspired future (and unfortunately, failed) achievements in other superstars, as
Michael Jackson, in the same auditorium. In 2008, a large format pictures book was
released, containing a live CD from two aftershows.
Lotusflow3r.com
After the apotheosis of 2007, 2008 was a quieter year, with some scattered shows.
And in March 2009, a triple album, Lotusflow3r, is presented with three shows in the
same day, each of them with a different band, performed in different venues in Los
Angels. Besides, he opened the page http://www.lotusflow3r.com, in which he
promised to release exclusive material upon subscription. The project was damaged
because it was distributed only through the US chain Target, and also due to the lack
of interesting contents in lotusflow3r.com. As in many other occasions, the lack of
success provoked a rapid loss of interest from Prince, who turned page (leading to
the disappointment of fans who had paid the subscription, receiving little in return).
The European tours-20TEN
Only a few weeks later, Prince appeared by second time at the Montreux Jazz
Festival, this occasion with two shows, which were warmly received by the public
and by the Festival founder, Claude Nobs.
In 2010, Prince released a minor album, 20Ten, distributed by some magazines in
several countries, as promotional item for the summer Europe tour (in fact, it was not
released in the USA, and few of its songs were performed during the shows. The
tour is well received, since Prince had not toured Europe since One Nite Alone,
although in this case the shows are focused on his old hits. And this idea continues
in 2011 and 2012, two of the few years along his career in which he did not release
an album, although he keeps usy with shows in Europe and North America. In
summer of 2011, he did a few shows for hardcores (North Sea Jazz Festival,
Amager Bio, Melkweg), with an extraordinary reception. And at the end of 2012,
against expectations, his last protegee, Andy Allo, releases Superconductor, and
appreciable album with two great songs (Yellow gold y When stars collide), in which
Prince is much more involved that the credits suggest.
Despite the irregular album releases, Prince keeps a high creative rhythm, far above
other stars from the 80s who were forced to slow down their album releases due to
lack of ideas. And precisely for being so prolific, the lack of new material becomes
remarkable. Although the cause is unclear, some speculations suggest there is lack
of interest in labels, after the failed 3121. On the other hand, Prince stated that he
doesn’t want to release material in iTunes and similar outlets. In fact, after the
disappearance of lotusflow3r.com, and despite being one of the pioneers in the
music distribution through internet, Prince lacked an official site in the net.
Two years without album and…”2013 will be big"?
In this situation, 2013 starts and very soon, some insiders start suggesting that “2013
will be big for Prince”. And Prince announces in January a series of “rehearsals” in a
club of his hometown, performing very diverse material with two different bands: a
small one composed mainly by women, and another, bigger and composed mainly
by men, including a 10 horns section. In both there are new members, suggesting he
is preparing a new ensemble of musicians for big scale projects in the coming
months, which remain undisclosed. And few weeks later, Prince surprises with a new
tweetter account 3rdEyeGirl, where he uploads several videos for new songs,
followed by two websites: Prince2013.com y 3rdEyeGirl.com. The later sells songs
that are being uploaded without previous notice, at the reduced price $ 0,88 dólares.
However, there is no preview, and there are few promotional devices allowing to
listen to them elsewhere, restricting their possible impact –at this time, at least- to
the circles of Prince fans.
Today, there are just a few hints on the big plans for 2013, although it has been
already confirmed the third appearance of Prince at the Montreux Jazz Festival
2013, this time with three shows; Billboard will do an homage show after awarding
him the Billboard Icon, and a tour along the West Coast of the USA has been
announced in April. It remains to be seen whether 2013 will eventually be a big year
for Prince, although the quality of the first songs released in 3rdEyeGirlc.om, and his
effervescence in the last weeks, seem positive signs.
Looking with some perspective, Prince’s career seems to have overcome the abyss
in which it had fallen at the end of the last century. However, his erratic trajectory,
and his obvious aversion to plans, provoke the incertitude on any forecast. What
seems clear is that we are not going to get bored following his evolution in the next
years. And that, regardless of the quality of the new albums, his superlative prestige
as live musician is out of question. The big question is whether this artist with
musical superpowers will mature at some point, to deal adult topics with the
corresponding sonic vision, or whether he will keep on trying to get a number 1 while
singing the zillionth horny song… more or less moderated to avoid trespassing the
boundaries of his religion.
Selected albums:
The Rainbow Children (Red Line, 2001)
After becoming Jehova Witness, Prince melts a new sound in jazzy vein, with voices
in the Darth Vader style in some songs. The album contains controversial lyrics with
a strong religious accent, with a splendid musical elaboration, including some
aspects of experimentation in the sound that were missing in previous albums.
Although it lacks extraordinary songs, the sound quality of the whole is exceptional
and marks a turn Prince’s career. The critics had a moderate view of this album, but
there are many fans who consider it his last masterpiece.
Musicology (Sony, 2004)
In a strong effort to return to the premier league, Musicology includes a collection of
songs with commercial ambition, and mostly with the goal of reminding the American
fans that Prince was alive and kicking. And it succeeds, with the homonimous song
and with obvious singles for all publics, as A million days or Cinnamon girl. The freak
side remains in jewels as Illusion, coma, pimp and circumstance. Without being an
essential album, it fulfills its goal to perfection, reinstating Prince as a reference
figure.
3121 (Universal, 2006)
After the return with Musicology, the ambitions with 3121 are even higher, and
Prince exhibits vigorously his large music palette: traditional (Get on the boat) or
mutant funk (3121, Black sweat, Love), slow songs with the household strings, with
the collaboration of the disapeared Clare Fischer (Te amo corazón), or ballads with
complex production (The dance), spiced with a latin touch. A compendium of big
potential, which incomprensibly was left to fall after reaching the first number 1 direct
of Prince in the US charts.
Lotusflow3r (NPG Records, 2009)
Three years are enough for writing a lot, and Prince came back to his uses with a
triple album containing a rock CD (Lotusflow3r), another more centered on pop/funk
(MPLSound) and Elixer, of his protegee Bria Valente, whose inexpressive voice was
unable to remove the charm of quiet pop songs, more creative than those released
under the name of Prince. The set, irregular, included an appreciable amount of
great songs, as Feel better, feel good, feel wonderful, Colonized mind or Something
U already know.
3rdEyeGirl.com (2013)
After announcing “I don’t do albums anymore, now I do songs”, Prince starts selling
them in his own web. And the balance is mixed: there are from minor pop songs
(Rock & roll love affair) to strong rock numbers (Screw driver), purple boutique
finesses (Breakfast can wait) or embroided in horns (Boyfriend), ballads in voice &
guitar (That girl thang)...Further, he even leaves the main role to the girls in his band
in Live out loud, with an apparent simplicity enabled to hook you up on first listen. It
is still early to get conclusions, but the inspiration seems to be back and the story is
promising. Although it's still early to get conclusions, the inspiration seems to be
back and the story is promising. Although it’s unclear whether this web is a carrot to
attract a big label, or a serious attempt to sell his music without middle men.