The Artist formerly known as prince

Soul (BMG)

WHATEVER YOU want to call him, Prince is back, with The Power Generation. And the artist who was originally advised to sing about SEX and court CONTROVERSY, if he wanted to make even a temporary name for himself, is still at it.

The cover of the album has him holding a phallic-shaped mic and the back sleeve, of course, has all the credits placed between a woman’s legs that are wide open. But what’s occupying that space in between? Pastiche? Parody? A vain attempt to recapture those days of glory when albums such as Sign O’ The Times really did shoot from the hip of black culture, both lyrically and musically? Yes and no.

In fact, though many people will approach this album prejudiced in this respect and find evidence to feed such prejudices, the man is at least trying again. He may have pulled back from the politics and, in the opening cut, stupidly tell “bruthaz thretenin’ 2 jump off buildings” that all they need is “New Power Soul”, but at least the track is funky, insistent, sinuous and sexy. Soul rooted in jazz rather than hip-hop or rap. Same with tracks like ‘Push It Up’ and ‘Funky Music’ where, as he explains, on the album sleeve, “keepin’ the crowd movin’ is my 1 and only duty.”

But, yeah, it’s Prince we’re talking about here, so sex is bound to rear its head. Most conspicuously when he sings about a “mulatto girl” who “go down” in ‘Mad Sex’ and, in ‘Shoo-Bed-Ooh’, a woman who is “spittin’ out the aftertaste/Of a boy who might not call again”. But, cancelling out the more crass elements on this album, the same song, as with ‘Until U’re In My Arms Again’ and ‘When You Love Somebody’, has Prince being left helplessly dangling by some obviously powerful female. Even better, ‘Come On’ has his royal lowness begging a clearly bisexual female to forget her “young-ass fools” and her “girlfriend who ain’t even been straight” and hop back into bed with him after “20 days in London” where she “gimme no lovin.” It’s here that he also delivers a truly classic pay-off line: “If there ain’t gonna be no show/I’m better off sleepin’ with my guitar.”

Doesn’t your heart just weep for the poor boy? Probably not.

Overall, there may not be much that’s new about this album, but to have the artist formerly known as the crown prince of sex-music now humbled and on his knees begging for love is surely a sound that should be required listening for all young-ass rockers, in particular.

Joe Jackson