4 Paisley Park’s Consideration: The NPG Era Needs Its Own “4Ever”

In my guest post last week, I made the case for a more definitive compilation of Prince‘s Warner-era material, combining the best qualities of the new set 4Ever (and yes, contrary to some of the Prince fans who have been yelling at me on Facebook, I do think 4Ever has some good qualities) with the best of earlier collections like The Hits/The B-Sides and Ultimate. But I also promised I’d take a slightly different tack this week and pitch another compilation analogous to 4Ever, this one covering the years after his departure from W.B. As I noted last time, such a collection is arguably even more needed than a deeper dive into the already well-covered territory of 1978-1993. The last two-plus decades of Prince’s career were certainly more vexing and uneven than the first decade-and-a-half, but they were very nearly as prolific; and somewhere amidst all that for-hardcore-fans-only chaff is a killer “Best-of” just waiting to be discovered.

So where to start? Well, that’s easy…

Step 1: The Singles

One thing about my previous post that I probably deserved to be yelled at about was the obvious fact I glossed over: that 4Ever is, at its heart, a singles collection. Even less-frequently-compiled tracks like “Gotta Stop (Messin’ About),” “Mountains,” and “Batdance” were released as singles in the ’80s. Now, in some ways, this actually hurts the argument in support of 4Ever: if Prince/NPG/Warner wanted it to be strictly singles only, they should have gone all-in and released all the damn singles from the period in question (B-sides, too!). But a singles-first approach is, frankly, a better idea for the years 1994-2016 anyway: Prince released a ton of singles as an independent artist (some of them even hits!), and shockingly, none of them have ever been collected in a “Greatest Hits”-style compilation. Hell, I probably hear 1994’s “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”–one of his biggest hit singles ever–on the radio more frequently than any other Prince song, and the damn thing is out of print: the only place you can buy it at the moment is digitally on TIDAL, or as some vinyl picture disc of questionable provenance.

So our imaginary NPG-era comp would absolutely have to include “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”–hell, make it disc one, track one. But there were plenty of other singles from the ’90s and 2000s that deserve to be heard by a wider audience. Come had “Letitgo”; The Gold Experience had “I Hate U”; hell, even Chaos and Disorder had “Dinner with Delores.” Granted, Prince struggled commercially during the “Symbol” era, which means many of the songs released as singles during the time aren’t going to be greeted with the same level of nostalgia as, say, “Little Red Corvette”: I’m pretty sure no one in 2017 will be clamoring to hear his 1996 version of “Betcha by Golly Wow!” But some of his post-name change, pre-comeback singles absolutely deserve another chance: like the bluesy title track for 1997’s acoustic album The Truth, which failed to chart but presented a totally different side of “the Artist” to the public; or “The Work, Pt. 1” from 2001’s The Rainbow Children, which very clearly signposted the 21st-century James Brown revivalism of 2004’s much more successful Musicology. Part of the reason why compilations exist (other than to line record executives’ pockets, of course) is to offer fresh context for previously-issued material; and few catalogues are more in need of fresh context than the singles Prince released after his departure from Warner Bros.

 

Step 2: The Landmarks

But the singles aren’t the only “late”-period releases that could benefit from recontextualization; as I tried to argue in my post last week, even in his most dependable years as a hitmaker, Prince’s singles only ever told part of the story. So why not use this opportunity to put 1994-era live favorite “Days of Wild” next to The Gold Experience tracks where it belongs–or, for that matter, to highlight some of the gems that got buried in the three-disc excess of Emancipation in 1996? Another reason for a compilation to exist is to tell the story of an artist’s development over time–something that 4Ever probably does better than any of Prince’s earlier collections, simply by virtue of it being (mostly) chronological. But we also mostly know the first arc of Prince’s story; an “NPG era” compilation would provide an excellent opportunity to tell a story that a lot less listeners know, one that Prince himself seemed at times to delight in obscuring. Hell, there are whole swathes of Prince fans who have never even heard important late-period highlights like 2014’s self-eulogizing “My Way Home” or 2015’s “June,” either because they’d given up on buying every new Prince album when it comes out or because they couldn’t be bothered to subscribe to TIDAL. A comp like this would be a great opportunity to bring them back in the fold.

Step 3: ???

Look, I’ll be the first to admit: this period of Prince’s music isn’t my wheelhouse, which is one reason why I really want to see it collected–unlike 4Ever, which I bought pretty much as an act of charity to support the estate, a selection of the highlights from 1994-2016 would directly benefit my musical education. I know a few tracks from the period that I would consider hidden gems–“Shy” from The Gold Experience, “The Human Body” from Emancipation,  the aforementioned highlights from Art Official Age and HITnRUN Phase Two–but I would much rather hear other people’s recommendations. So what do you say? Aside from the obvious singles, what songs from the “NPG Era” do you deem worthy of compilation? Let me know in the comments, or just yell at me on Facebook. And if you want to read my writing about Prince from an era that is at least somewhat more in my wheelhouse, check out my song-by-song chronological blog dance / music / sex / romance. I’m hoping to finish 1978 by the end of the year.

Prince’s (Minneapolis Sound) Summer: “Play” by Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez,that Bronx born Nuyorican “Jenny from the block”,had a fabulous career as an actress in the mid 80’s. Her fame skyrocketed when she stared in the title role of the biopic Selena,the story of the murdered Latin pop pioneer. When she began her musical career a couple of years later,she still held fast by her Latina heritage in that medium as well. Over the years,Lopez’s music has drifted further into hi NRG techno pop territory. In the beginning of her musical career however,she developed a creative team who helped her fashion danceable music that became popular by being pretty daring musically.

Racially speaking,I tend to culturally identify with my own Nuyorican back around-though it was my mother who was born in Brooklyn,NYC. So even though I never followed Lopez’s career intently,songs such as “If You Want My Love”,”Let’s Get Loud”,”Love Don’t Cost A Thing” and “Jenny From The Block” were always around on the radio and TV video shows during my early rising adulthood. Many celebrities get abbreviated nicknames. And  Lopez set her’s up very early on-as the title for her sophomore album J.Lo in 2001. This album had a huge hit with what’s probably my favorite song of hers, entitled “Play”.

A deep choral synthesizer starts off the jam,essentially playing what becomes the regular bass line of the entire song. Than the drum machine kicks in playing an ultra funky, kicking shuffle. The lead synth and bass line are accompanied by a higher pitched trumpet like synth accent,and another that resembled a barking dog. A thick chicken scratch rhythm guitar introduces J.Lo’s vocal choruses and refrains. After one of the longest calculated musical pauses/breaks I’ve heard in modern music,that instrumental groove plays out the song as it fades out.

In the end,what does this song have to do with Prince? Obviously,he’s not creatively involved. But the musical approach,from the synthesizer arrangements to the rhythm guitar,are based in his approach to stripped down electro funk. With it’s fast tempo and heavy emphasis on danceability,this song also furthers the collaborative nature of the Minneapolis sound by taking a nod to the sound Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis got with Janet Jackson in the late 80’s/early 90’s. “Play” showcases the durability of Minneapolis funk during the synth dominated early aughts. And is strong pop/funk for it’s time as well.

 

Andre’s Amazon Archive 4/4/2015- ‘Experience: Jill Scott 826+’ by Jill Scott & Fatback Taffy

Although originally inspired by jazz and funk’s incorporation into hip-hop the neo soul movement of the early/mid 90’s had certainly taken some interesting and unexpected turns by the beginning of the millennium. And no question this was part of that. After her debut Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 rocked the music world in such a huge way she released this album independently and at a reduced price. It did pretty well with fans who’d stuck by her before her years of recording I’m sure and likely did the same with those who’d been wowed by her debut. All the same this album was almost set up to be a nonevent in other ways. It disappeared off a lot of record store shelves shortly after release and is probably not her biggest seller. But it does present a wonderful and sound musical concept that has a strong appeal.

Basically what one gets here is a double album;one disc of a live concert featuring her band Fatback Taffy and another of demo level unreleased material. The live set on the first disc stands out the most. For one thing her band has a rich,creamy sound overall. Fatback Taffy have the advantage of being about to get that retro soul thing down to a tee while retaining much of hip-hop’s brooding spareness. She moves in and out of extended pieces such as “Love Rain”,”Do You Remember”,”It’s Love” and “Gettin’ In The Way” almost effortlessly as the songs thick,shuffling jazz styled funky soul textures flow from one tune to the next.

Musically the most fascinating and funky cuts is the high octane uptempo Latin percussion styled “He Loves Me” which brings to mind,of all things Stevie Wonder’s classic “Another Star”. Her overall attitude in the between song banter is one of confidence and wit. Retaining hip-hop styled musings regarding people “with naturals always supposed to be positive” she also adds she sometimes is,other times not while explaining away some easily misinterpreted lyrics from “Gettin’ In The Way”. The song titled after the band is done in a great old fashioned gospel styled rave up.

The studio disc is a whole other matter. Focused far more on the hip-hop side of her “Gotta Get Up” finds Jill having one of her self dialog about the world of duty versus personnel need. Of these tunes the chunky funk of “Gimme” and the uniquely vocally chorded “Be Ready” are the most individual of these songs but for a disc of unreleased music at this early point in a recording career,one really can’t expect complete musical evenness. That being the case one thing this album definitely isn’t lacking on is Jill’s type of self expression. She doesn’t possess the in-your-face attitude of many female hip-hop/neo/retro soul type artists. Instead she comes more from the 70’s OG era in terms of keeping her actual feelings just slightly guarded-choosing to express a more worldly outlook than an inward one. Her internal dialog is only occasionally expressed and that makes it an important element of her sound. The moody rhythmic and melodic side of her music also expresses this well. Even though she started out with a bang this album represents her intent on focusing on her music as art more than as a commodity.

Originally Posted June 24th,2011

Link to original review here*

Stay tuned to Andresmusictalk for a new weekly feature,inspired by friend and blogging partner Rique,called Anatomy of THE Original Super Heavy Funk. This will be focused on classic funk/jazz/soul songs from the early 60’s up through the disco era. And for now will be posted the first and last Monday’s of every month. Thank you!

Anatomy of THE Groove 4/3/2015- Put It Where You Want It (Extended Version) by Larry Carlton

Considering how many times they’ve been reinterpreted from within their own catalog of songs? Band members who have come in and out of the Crusaders over the years seem to able to find ways of expanding on the elasticity of their own compositions. And even styles of soloing with other musicians. In 2001 Larry Carlton,always a very reliable album maker over the years,released his seventeenth solo album entitled Deep Into It. As was usually the case? Larry surrounded himself with a small group of jazz/funk session players both old and new. And included two remakes of the Crusaders classic “Put It Where You Want It”-one of which was an extended version that really caught my ear in particular.

It all starts with a burst of organ from Ricky Peterson,which burns hot and cold by turns over the intro as Larry plays a subdued bluesy guitar solo with an equally subdued percussive back-round from Paulinho Da Costa-while Chris Potter joins in with a like minded sax solo. Each of the main refrains of the song have this exact same flavor-subdued and slowed to a crawl. While on the main chorus the drums of Billy Kilson drives home the other musicians to higher musical power.On the third refrain,Potter drags out his sax solo into the same grits ‘n gravy attitude as Larry’s funky guitar.

This pattern extends itself through the remainder of this song-each musician taking a similarly themed solo over the stripped down musical backup. From the grooving Wurlitzer of Rick Jackson to the hiccuping slap bass of Chris Kent-all for the final five minutes of the song. By that time? Each musician are all playing the main melodic theme in a subdued whisper of an instrumental conversation with each other-really throwing on the strong,down home bluesy gospel/soul style melodic orientation of the composition to it’s fullest possible affect.

One of the things that strikes me instantly about this interpretation of the song is the fact it takes down an entirely different attitude than the 1972 Crusaders original. Both have a rather tight flavor-with the solos all taking equal presidents over understated unison playing. This version truly embraces the idea George Clinton coined that any groove slowed down to a bluesier crawl makes it funkier. Now this song was already as funky as one could get to start with. But this amazing sextet of musicians just take it directly into the pocket of the song. It’s almost as if to say that,by the time of the new millennium,each musician who’d been a Crusader at one point was able to bring that groove to any other musician they played with. And if you ask me? That’s a pretty amazing musical feat for the funk!