Songwriter, producer, guitarist, and one of the hardest-working men in modern music, Prince, this week released two powerhouse albums, the solo Art Official Age (reviewed in a companion piece) and Plectrumelectrum, with his band 3RDEYEGIRL.
Plectrumelectrum is more rock-oriented than Art Official Age, and richer as well — a crowd-pleasing arena-rock binge.
“Wow,” with its grand refrain, is a lesson on the right way to open an album and sets the bar for the rest of Plectrumelectrum. Its subtext of a beautiful drug addict in denial is an unexpected twist. “Another Love” also weaves a venomous message. As he cries out, “The greatest living soul, you’ll never know,” Prince is defiant in his bitter testament to lost love.
The hard-rock hooks on the title track gain-momentum and power when Prince riffs a bit off the first half of Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean.” Monster ’80s guitar chords and rhythms, including roiling chunks of hot funk, all dominate the collection’s master-blaster sound.
The album also showcases Prince’s ability to conjure sensitive, beautiful melodies. The country-tinged female vocals for “Whitecaps” float effortlessly on a contemporary wave, while “Stopthistrain” is a delicate love duet set to a reggae beat. Prince’s vocals sound just as good as they did 15 albums ago, but now he’s got an educated edge to his messages of sensual love and social awareness.
Plectrumelectrum proves beyond doubt that Prince is indeed his “royal badness,” the crowned boss of dance, pop, funk, and rock.
Songwriter, producer, guitarist, and one of the hardest-working men in modern music, Prince, this week released two powerhouse albums, the solo Art Official Age (reviewed in a companion piece) and Plectrumelectrum, with his band 3RDEYEGIRL.
Plectrumelectrum is more rock-oriented than Art Official Age, and richer as well — a crowd-pleasing arena-rock binge.
“Wow,” with its grand refrain, is a lesson on the right way to open an album and sets the bar for the rest of Plectrumelectrum. Its subtext of a beautiful drug addict in denial is an unexpected twist. “Another Love” also weaves a venomous message. As he cries out, “The greatest living soul, you’ll never know,” Prince is defiant in his bitter testament to lost love.
The hard-rock hooks on the title track gain-momentum and power when Prince riffs a bit off the first half of Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean.” Monster ’80s guitar chords and rhythms, including roiling chunks of hot funk, all dominate the collection’s master-blaster sound.
The album also showcases Prince’s ability to conjure sensitive, beautiful melodies. The country-tinged female vocals for “Whitecaps” float effortlessly on a contemporary wave, while “Stopthistrain” is a delicate love duet set to a reggae beat. Prince’s vocals sound just as good as they did 15 albums ago, but now he’s got an educated edge to his messages of sensual love and social awareness.
Plectrumelectrum proves beyond doubt that Prince is indeed his “royal badness,” the crowned boss of dance, pop, funk, and rock.