The artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince is at it again. His new album - get this - is a TRIPLE CD SET. Only for sale at Target. For $11.98. And the cover is Prince's chin in a perfume bottle. WTF. Clearly unsatisfied with the controversy surrounding his last CD release, which was distributed for free in the United Kingdom, Prince seems hell-bent on living up to his reputation as pop's resident weirdo. Maybe he's just tired of fellow 80s icon Michael Jackson stealing the freak-show limelight.
The set's first CD, "Lotus flow3r," is apparently made up of guitar-driven rockers; the second, "MPLSOUND," is described as "experimental" (uh oh); and on the third disc, "Elixer," Prince is steps out of the limelight, letting protege Bria Valente take centre-stage. Silly, purposefully misspelt names aside (Prince, the innovative thrill of text language wore off at least a decade ago), I have to admit my expectations for the record are low. "Planet Earth," his last album, very much deserved to be given away free, and "F.U.N.K.," his latest single, was perhaps the worst thing he's put his name to, and that's saying something. Not only was the track an anaemic slice of pop-funk that sounded like a Prince tribute band rehearsal, but the singer made the disastrous decision of slathering his voice in Alvin and the Chipmunks-style vocal effects. Maybe Prince just got it confused with auto-tune in the studio, pressing the wrong button; because a tragic mistake is really the only way to excuse the song. He sounds like a desperately randy choirboy on helium, and I very much doubt that's what he wanted. Wow..."When Doves Cry" has never felt so far away.
Anyway, I guess it's good to know Prince is still out there, forging his own wild and wacky path without giving a damn what anyone else thinks. And track-listings do show a guest spot from A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip on one song. So at least there's that. [AXT]
1 comment:
Post a Comment