Prince Is Better Than You

By Broadside Style Columnist Andy Minor

The world was greeted by yet another album from the artist currently known as Prince. There had been, as is typical with a Prince release, a whole lot of anticipation on the internet about this album. Prince was probably the source of this build up, but nonetheless it was there, and anyone who saw the countdown on his website knew that Prince, at least, was really excited about what was to come.

I waited, and went to pick it up on March 31, a Tuesday—the day when most CDs are released—but for some reason, the almighty Prince had decided his CD was to be released on a Saturday. So I waited four days and headed back to Target and came home with three albums worth of Princely glory.

The three albums were as follows: two from Prince himself, Lotusflow3r and MPLSound, plus one album from his new protégé, Bria Valente, entitled Elixir. The reason I purchased the albums at Target was because that was the only place you could buy them; Prince had a deal running that gave Target the exclusive rights to his CD in the US.

As I opened the tri-folded CD case and popped in Lotusflow3r, I instantly began listening to figure out why this CD was sold only at Target, and if the average Target shopper would listen to any of the songs on this album.

The answer is no. The first track, “From the Lotus,” is a jazz-driven, nearly ambient exploration into the realm occupied by the Steve Miller Band. And, though I can't imagine your average Target-goer really digging it, the track is quite tasteful. It's an excellent lead-in to the intensely Prince-esque “Boom,” which features the sexy groove one would expect out of a Prince song, and the third track: a cover of “Crimson and Clover” with a “Wild Thing” chorus.

The album begins to take shape as a Prince-led genre exploration, proving time and again that Prince can copy any artist in any genre and come out ahead every time.

He perfects the pop-laden songwriting of Maroon 5 with “4ever” and makes it better. He boasts a lazy, blues shuffle in “Colonized Mind” that sounds like a song B.B. King would have written were he fifty years younger. The simply titled “$” is a rock driven, Ike Turner style tune complete with horn hits and a bass line which impels you to dance.

Perhaps the most blatant genre-stealing incident on the album is “Dreamer,” which screams Hendrix from the first note and doesn't let up for a whole four minutes. It's like Prince uncovered a lost Hendrix track, added his own flavor to it and threw it out on his album like it was 1969 all over again.

Normally, I would be against such blatant genre theft, but with Prince, I somehow feel like it's okay. Bands who have tried to do this before usually come across as fake (all fingers point to Jet) and don't enjoy much success, but perhaps it's his over 30 year career which gives Prince enough legitimacy to pull off something like this.

It doesn't feel like he's trying to copy or steal. It’s more like he's trying to pay homage and respect the music that came before him and made him great. Even the second CD in the set, MPLSound, steals a great deal of style from the past (everything from Rick James to Run-D.M.C. to Luther Vandross), but it still comes across as fresh and original.

I don't feel like forgetting Prince and listening to the artists he's nearly covering; his songs still merit the time to my ears. I like that, and I'll go straight back to Target the next time one comes out.