freedom
7th March 2007, 09:14 PM
1999...when?
So the rumours rumour on. Arista still have hopes of Rave...Fatboy Slim is going to produce the new album...No mention of the remixed limited edition of Rave...Rave 2000 is on the way...Warners are to release another Prince album...
So are we happy?
1999 was a nonentity as far as Prince was concerned. OK, we had a good, old Prince album, a few TV appearances, the odd gig here and there, a few well received Paisley Jams and a PPV concert in the areas lucky enough to receive the transmission. Unfortunately, Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic is a let down. http://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/images/1999nm.gifA let down for two reasons. Firstly, it should not have appeared as an afterthought. 1999 was always the year, the one chance Prince would have to re-establish himself in the eyes of the record buying public and he has, largely, ignored it. Rave should have been in the stores on January 1st 1999 with a single backed by a "1999" remix released the day after. Prince should have been touring, on a large scale, from the moment the clock struck his designated year and he should not have stopped until December was seen through. Europe, Australasia, Japan, North and South America, the Asian sub-continent and Africa should have http://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/databank/images/of4s.jpgbeen treated to a Lovesexy-esque extravaganza that took the breath away and once more placed the Paisley pennant atop the peak of pop. That this did not happen is, I’m afraid, down to bad management. Owen Husney would, if dead, be spinning in his grave. Steve Fargnoli would never have let last year happen the way it did. To be fair, there is not a single Paisley associate of Prince’s first fifteen years in "the business" that would have let the damp squib we have suffered in 1999 occur. It must pain the likes of Madonna to see Prince doing this to himself.
The second reason why Rave has been a let down is, now that he is back with a major label, the manner of its release. The disjointed way in which Arista/BMG/NPG have issued, promoted and sold this album is laughable. I bought the album when the record store in Britain was informed that, yes it could sell the album, but that no, none of the sales would count towards a chart placing. The album was going to be promoted by Arista when Prince came to Britain in the new year and they were going for a "chart release" about this time. The same has occurred with the first single. I have the US import two track single and the US maxi-single. I have seen a copy of the European single and, basically, can someone please tell me why I should buy another CD with the mixes I already own on it? Only now can we see the video for TGRES on MTV:UK. So we have a single we already own, on a couple of formats (with some lame remixes) without a proper release and then passing reference to a proper release by BMG and then the video appears and there is minimal radio airplay - except of one of the lame remixes...and the single is to be released on February 14th. When Prince was young he used to release as a B-side another album track. As his career developed and he became more prolific we used to get original B-side tracks and extended versions of A-sides exclusive to the single. He did go through an awful phase of remixes in the late eighties/mid-nineties though this seemed to heal itself with the wrap around new remix style that would be a new recording of the A-side song (witness Gett-Off, Space and TMBGITW). What is this noise on TGRES single CD? Where are the B-side songs? As Prince’s star waned he released Gold with a B-side song (Rock and Roll is Alive...) and the song charted in the top ten. The interest is still there. Is the genius? Arista say they still have hope, but do they really believe that. Clive Davis, the man behind Prince for Arista, has just over seen the rebirth of one of Prince’s heroes. Carlos Santana’shttp://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/databank/images/rave.jpg new album has only just been knocked off the No.1 spot in the US album charts. But the similarities between the two projects are uncanny. Both Prince and Santana have not enjoyed high profiles, the music success has disappeared. Arista release two albums that, whilst containing some wonderful music, employed the talents of big name guest musicians in both instances and awoke a new market for the titled artist’s wares. Except, in the case of Prince no one bought the strategy, why? Because he came second. Prince needed guests like he needed a boxing glove on whilst playing bass. He also needed cover versions just as badly...just how many songs are there in the vault? Does Prince know?
Back in 1982 a blueprint was initiated that should have rendered all competition useless come the year of the song. OK, so pop success is entirely ephemeral, however someone with the recognised talent of Prince should have been able to stay ahead of the game for this long. Had the singers of the song been a Boyzone, a New Kids On The Block or a Kajagoogoo - to nominate someone contemporary - the transient nature of the pop industry would have http://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/databank/images/1999.jpgjust swallowed the moment up and we would probably been treated to a anodyne cover version of the song this year. It is of some note to realise that no one brought out a cover of 1999 this year, perhaps a mark of regard for Prince’s standing. Nonetheless the absence of Prince has been entirely notable this year and, quite frankly, alarming. His star may have shone its brightest but a man who his supposed to have his acumen should have been able to blaze for one last time this last past year. Unless, of course, the genius is actually only illusory and merely imagined on our part.
NewPowerSoul and the collective offerings of Chaka Khan and His Holiness The Reverend Larry of Graham were nasty in their contempt for Prince’s shrinking band of listeners. There were only one or two moments that reminded how he had seen the whole of the moon. Beyond Madsex, Freaks On This Side, The One and the hidden Wasted Kisses the album was a picture not of a man treading water, as has been the given description of Prince of late, but of man waste deep in quicksand and sinking. Fortunately for those in the know NewPowerSoul reeked of knocked off, tour based, fruitless looped nonsense. The other two albums were just lazy, Chaka Khan’s being the better ofhttp://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/databank/images/npg3.jpg the two - such praise. But the hope was in the air, 1999 was just around the corner and good things were waiting up ahead. The two albums Emancipation and Crystal Ball, with the The Truth and Karmasutra add ons, painted a perfect picture. The inspiration seemed to be back. The wanton waste of the last Warner Years has given way to boundless enthusiasm and, finally, he had his freedom. And that, perhaps, is what we are being left with.
Back in 1988/89, when the first imaginings of Graffiti Bridge were taking shape, I read an interview with Levi Seacer Jnr. In it, as he talked about what Prince had in mind for the coming year, he remarked on the fact that Prince did not seem to care about chart positions any longer. He, Levi, said that the next album would be of music Prince wanted to create, not music designed to appeal to the whim of the consumer. That, as an argument, is fine, except for the fact that Prince had largely been doing this since 1982 anyway. The reason why I mention this is because I think, and yes this entirely subjective, I think Prince is there now. I truly believe Prince is beyond the music industry. I do not mean that in a spiritual, economical or virtuous way. I just think that Prince no longer cares, or rather no longer thinks, about the numbers of units or ease with which people can hear his music. He appears to be in it for the performance. At least he largely does not care. He is, if you will forgive a Princely foray into the world of the Bible, a pharisee or a doctor of the law. He behaves, musically, in a righteous way, but does it in just enough spotlight for people to notice.
Think back to Emancipation. Remember the fanfare of trumpets that accompanied the release? Remember Prince going on television and saying that he was so proud of this album and that he would be touring on this CD for the next three years and that all he wanted to do was go out and perform the album live and that there were eighteen singles on this wonderful new CD...eighteen singles? It lasted barely two. Of course when you think of Emancipation, an album soaked with imagery of parenthood and the anticipation of childbirth, you could forgive even condone the surrender of such ambitions. But Prince, almost, took that album on tour. He continued appearing on TV performing one of three songs from the 36 he had recorded. And then, just as soon as he got bored with the whole project, it was dropped. The Truth was supposed to have a proper schedule of release and promotion. Roadhouse Gardens came and went. The remixed version of Rave, the release of Rave 2000 and the 7 CD sampler set are still to see the light of day. Prince has now moved on. Rave has been consigned to memory, only to resurrect in the form of the odd live performance here and there, and he has new songs to write, new melodies to put down on tape.
I get the feeling that we have entered a new phase in Prince’s career. He has got the freedom he wants. He is still lauded by some members of the music industry, performers and businessmen alike. There are still people out there that would view it as a privilege to work with him. And he will still turn up and perform a gig here and a gig there, betraying the appearance of a commercial pop-star. But Prince is now, sadly, only the artist formerly known.
I could be wrong. I would love to be. I would dearly love to see Prince have another No.1 hit single and an album that wipes away all the bad music memories of the past decade, and on some days, probably, Prince wishes for that too. But mostly I think he wishes to be left to create the music he does, to put it out small whenever he can be bothered and live on the royalties. I sure he would be quite happy for us to go and find him. It would demonstrate that there are some out there who still think him worth the effort. But the tag of Howard Hughes has never been more comfortably worn by Prince and it could all have been different but for one very bad year.
© Simon Williams (simoncwilliams@hotmail.com) 7/2/2000
So the rumours rumour on. Arista still have hopes of Rave...Fatboy Slim is going to produce the new album...No mention of the remixed limited edition of Rave...Rave 2000 is on the way...Warners are to release another Prince album...
So are we happy?
1999 was a nonentity as far as Prince was concerned. OK, we had a good, old Prince album, a few TV appearances, the odd gig here and there, a few well received Paisley Jams and a PPV concert in the areas lucky enough to receive the transmission. Unfortunately, Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic is a let down. http://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/images/1999nm.gifA let down for two reasons. Firstly, it should not have appeared as an afterthought. 1999 was always the year, the one chance Prince would have to re-establish himself in the eyes of the record buying public and he has, largely, ignored it. Rave should have been in the stores on January 1st 1999 with a single backed by a "1999" remix released the day after. Prince should have been touring, on a large scale, from the moment the clock struck his designated year and he should not have stopped until December was seen through. Europe, Australasia, Japan, North and South America, the Asian sub-continent and Africa should have http://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/databank/images/of4s.jpgbeen treated to a Lovesexy-esque extravaganza that took the breath away and once more placed the Paisley pennant atop the peak of pop. That this did not happen is, I’m afraid, down to bad management. Owen Husney would, if dead, be spinning in his grave. Steve Fargnoli would never have let last year happen the way it did. To be fair, there is not a single Paisley associate of Prince’s first fifteen years in "the business" that would have let the damp squib we have suffered in 1999 occur. It must pain the likes of Madonna to see Prince doing this to himself.
The second reason why Rave has been a let down is, now that he is back with a major label, the manner of its release. The disjointed way in which Arista/BMG/NPG have issued, promoted and sold this album is laughable. I bought the album when the record store in Britain was informed that, yes it could sell the album, but that no, none of the sales would count towards a chart placing. The album was going to be promoted by Arista when Prince came to Britain in the new year and they were going for a "chart release" about this time. The same has occurred with the first single. I have the US import two track single and the US maxi-single. I have seen a copy of the European single and, basically, can someone please tell me why I should buy another CD with the mixes I already own on it? Only now can we see the video for TGRES on MTV:UK. So we have a single we already own, on a couple of formats (with some lame remixes) without a proper release and then passing reference to a proper release by BMG and then the video appears and there is minimal radio airplay - except of one of the lame remixes...and the single is to be released on February 14th. When Prince was young he used to release as a B-side another album track. As his career developed and he became more prolific we used to get original B-side tracks and extended versions of A-sides exclusive to the single. He did go through an awful phase of remixes in the late eighties/mid-nineties though this seemed to heal itself with the wrap around new remix style that would be a new recording of the A-side song (witness Gett-Off, Space and TMBGITW). What is this noise on TGRES single CD? Where are the B-side songs? As Prince’s star waned he released Gold with a B-side song (Rock and Roll is Alive...) and the song charted in the top ten. The interest is still there. Is the genius? Arista say they still have hope, but do they really believe that. Clive Davis, the man behind Prince for Arista, has just over seen the rebirth of one of Prince’s heroes. Carlos Santana’shttp://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/databank/images/rave.jpg new album has only just been knocked off the No.1 spot in the US album charts. But the similarities between the two projects are uncanny. Both Prince and Santana have not enjoyed high profiles, the music success has disappeared. Arista release two albums that, whilst containing some wonderful music, employed the talents of big name guest musicians in both instances and awoke a new market for the titled artist’s wares. Except, in the case of Prince no one bought the strategy, why? Because he came second. Prince needed guests like he needed a boxing glove on whilst playing bass. He also needed cover versions just as badly...just how many songs are there in the vault? Does Prince know?
Back in 1982 a blueprint was initiated that should have rendered all competition useless come the year of the song. OK, so pop success is entirely ephemeral, however someone with the recognised talent of Prince should have been able to stay ahead of the game for this long. Had the singers of the song been a Boyzone, a New Kids On The Block or a Kajagoogoo - to nominate someone contemporary - the transient nature of the pop industry would have http://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/databank/images/1999.jpgjust swallowed the moment up and we would probably been treated to a anodyne cover version of the song this year. It is of some note to realise that no one brought out a cover of 1999 this year, perhaps a mark of regard for Prince’s standing. Nonetheless the absence of Prince has been entirely notable this year and, quite frankly, alarming. His star may have shone its brightest but a man who his supposed to have his acumen should have been able to blaze for one last time this last past year. Unless, of course, the genius is actually only illusory and merely imagined on our part.
NewPowerSoul and the collective offerings of Chaka Khan and His Holiness The Reverend Larry of Graham were nasty in their contempt for Prince’s shrinking band of listeners. There were only one or two moments that reminded how he had seen the whole of the moon. Beyond Madsex, Freaks On This Side, The One and the hidden Wasted Kisses the album was a picture not of a man treading water, as has been the given description of Prince of late, but of man waste deep in quicksand and sinking. Fortunately for those in the know NewPowerSoul reeked of knocked off, tour based, fruitless looped nonsense. The other two albums were just lazy, Chaka Khan’s being the better ofhttp://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/databank/images/npg3.jpg the two - such praise. But the hope was in the air, 1999 was just around the corner and good things were waiting up ahead. The two albums Emancipation and Crystal Ball, with the The Truth and Karmasutra add ons, painted a perfect picture. The inspiration seemed to be back. The wanton waste of the last Warner Years has given way to boundless enthusiasm and, finally, he had his freedom. And that, perhaps, is what we are being left with.
Back in 1988/89, when the first imaginings of Graffiti Bridge were taking shape, I read an interview with Levi Seacer Jnr. In it, as he talked about what Prince had in mind for the coming year, he remarked on the fact that Prince did not seem to care about chart positions any longer. He, Levi, said that the next album would be of music Prince wanted to create, not music designed to appeal to the whim of the consumer. That, as an argument, is fine, except for the fact that Prince had largely been doing this since 1982 anyway. The reason why I mention this is because I think, and yes this entirely subjective, I think Prince is there now. I truly believe Prince is beyond the music industry. I do not mean that in a spiritual, economical or virtuous way. I just think that Prince no longer cares, or rather no longer thinks, about the numbers of units or ease with which people can hear his music. He appears to be in it for the performance. At least he largely does not care. He is, if you will forgive a Princely foray into the world of the Bible, a pharisee or a doctor of the law. He behaves, musically, in a righteous way, but does it in just enough spotlight for people to notice.
Think back to Emancipation. Remember the fanfare of trumpets that accompanied the release? Remember Prince going on television and saying that he was so proud of this album and that he would be touring on this CD for the next three years and that all he wanted to do was go out and perform the album live and that there were eighteen singles on this wonderful new CD...eighteen singles? It lasted barely two. Of course when you think of Emancipation, an album soaked with imagery of parenthood and the anticipation of childbirth, you could forgive even condone the surrender of such ambitions. But Prince, almost, took that album on tour. He continued appearing on TV performing one of three songs from the 36 he had recorded. And then, just as soon as he got bored with the whole project, it was dropped. The Truth was supposed to have a proper schedule of release and promotion. Roadhouse Gardens came and went. The remixed version of Rave, the release of Rave 2000 and the 7 CD sampler set are still to see the light of day. Prince has now moved on. Rave has been consigned to memory, only to resurrect in the form of the odd live performance here and there, and he has new songs to write, new melodies to put down on tape.
I get the feeling that we have entered a new phase in Prince’s career. He has got the freedom he wants. He is still lauded by some members of the music industry, performers and businessmen alike. There are still people out there that would view it as a privilege to work with him. And he will still turn up and perform a gig here and a gig there, betraying the appearance of a commercial pop-star. But Prince is now, sadly, only the artist formerly known.
I could be wrong. I would love to be. I would dearly love to see Prince have another No.1 hit single and an album that wipes away all the bad music memories of the past decade, and on some days, probably, Prince wishes for that too. But mostly I think he wishes to be left to create the music he does, to put it out small whenever he can be bothered and live on the royalties. I sure he would be quite happy for us to go and find him. It would demonstrate that there are some out there who still think him worth the effort. But the tag of Howard Hughes has never been more comfortably worn by Prince and it could all have been different but for one very bad year.
© Simon Williams (simoncwilliams@hotmail.com) 7/2/2000