Rating: NNN
Earlier this year, Prince finally resolved his career-upending legal dispute with Warner Bros. in a deal that saw him reclaim ownership of the masters to his back catalogue. The last 18 years have been an exasperating time to be a Prince fan, as his anti-major-label and anti-internet stance inspired contrarian moves like distributing his last album, 20Ten, exclusively through European print publications.
His 34th album – released simultaneously with his band 3rdEyeGirl’s PLECTRUMELECTRUM – is as easy to listen to as it is to legally purchase in North America. It’s a flirtatious and often funny R&B record full of smooth synth funk and love balladry that has the light-hearted giddiness of a first date.
Once you get past the air-horn headache that is opener Art Official Cage, the album settles into a pleasant rhythm that plays up His Purpleness’s knack for whispery weightlessness and deep grooves. Clouds manages to be both anti-cloud-computing and anti-drugs without seeming anti-fun, while This Could Be Us recalls the sweetness (but not the blunt sexuality) of bedroom ballads like Insatiable. The harder synths and beats on U Know and Funknroll, meanwhile, flirt with chilly atmospherics reminiscent of recent rap and R&B production trends.
That said, Art Official Age is classic Prince and easily the stronger offering compared with the unnecessary blues rock of PLECTRUMELECTRUM. (See review below.)
Top track: U Know