CD Review - Prince, LOtUSFLOW3R/MPLSound and Bria Valente, Elixer

Prince is making a big play to gain ear-share again. He had achieved a big boost after his Superbowl Halftime performance in 2007. At the end of 2008, he started performing new material promoting a new Lotus Flow3r project which has been released as a triple CD set, available at Target for $11.98. Sure, you can pay more to join his site and get some additional stuff but this move has pulled some press and gotten a lot of people to buy a big chunk of Prince all at once. It will be interesting to see if this was a good investment for pulling in new fans.

Of course, getting three discs means that he has plenty of room to indulge his various musical interests with abandon. In a nutshell, Lotusflow3r is his rock/guitar god side, MPLSound is his dance music side, and the Bria Valente disc shows off his R&B side and his role as mentor yet again. Anyone who's a Prince fan will find something to enjoy (and something to ignore).

LOtUSLOW3r

Many people are not used to thinking of Prince as a big rocker. They've focused on his persona as a hedonistic singer buried in funky little grooves. But throughout his career, Prince has demonstrated his ability to shred a guitar. Lotusflow3r spends a fair amount of time making that point. His guitar tones are reminiscent of Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix, with licks branching out into Clapton and Zappa. Personally, this is my favorite of the three discs.

The opener, From the Lotus starts out a lot like Riders on the Storm by the Doors but kicks into a nice Jeff Beck groove (shades of Freeway Jam), maybe with a touch of Robin Trower. The keys and bass carry the rhythm, driving a jazzy blues jam. This melts down directly into Boom, a psychedelic song with a sweet Jimi Hendrix style chord melody behind the verses. The chorus more of a power rock sound with a lead a little like Steve Vai era Frank Zappa.

This leads into his cover of Tommy James' Crimson and Clover. Like the original, the guitar is drenched in tremolo. To make it his own, he throws in the bridge from Wild Thing. This is not a medley I would have predicted, but it works very well. Picking a song like Crimson and Clover to cover is an interesting choice. Throughout this disc, Prince is looking back. He pulls out that Jeff Beck tone several more times (Love Like Jazz, Wall of Berlin). Colonized Mind is built on a Robert Cray influenced sound, much like Clapton's Old Love. Aside from referencing his influences, he also pulls out some of his own sound from the Sign o the Times and Lovesexy sessions (4ever, Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful). Despite being rooted in the past, the music is lively and fun.

My favorite song of them all is Dreamer. With a heavy retro hard rock sound, this could have easily appeared on a Cream album or maybe Bad Company. This is some of the same ground that Lenny Kravitz has mined but he can't sell it like Prince. Nice wah wah work and wailing distortion. This is a great foot tapper.

MPLSound

Minneapolis Sound. This is more of Prince's dance/party music persona. Lots more keyboard, falsetto singing, funky beats, and low key rap. This brings up a lot of his Diamonds and Pearls period crossed with Batdance or Housequake. While Lotusflow3r was pushing the guitar, MPLSound works the keyboards and drum machine. There's still some guitar but it generally fades back.

Prince tries for a more modern sound on Chocolate Box, one of the stronger tracks. Taking a page from T-Pain (who's standing on Cher's shoulders), he throws some Auto-Tune on his vocals and gets a more electronic sound. A funky piano groove pumps energy in.

Valentina brings in some guitar, with a Santana influenced lead. This kicks off with an '80s keyboard rock sound and then lurches into a funk groove. The lyrics are typical Prince ego/erotica.

On the softer side, U'r Gonna C Me and Here each stir up memories of When 2 R in Love and Wendy and Lisa, respectively. So, despite having some updated touches, MPSound plays on the retro side, too. I don't mind that it's familiar ground, though. Prince does a good job at this sort of thing.

Bria Valente - Elixer

Prince has had many proteges over the years: Vanity, Apollonia, Wendy and Lisa, Cat Glover, Rosie Gaines, and others. Like all of those, Bria has good singing voice. She's sultry and reminds me a bit of Brie Darling from Boxing Gandhis or Wendy Melvoin from Wendy and Lisa. On the downside, her voice is fairly tied down, which comes across as detached and impersonal. On the other hand, her job here is to sing some Prince songs the way Prince wants her to.

Most of the songs are smooth jazz/R&B with a taste of Simply Red's Forever. Again, it's more of a retro sound, bringing '70s easy listening to mind, albeit in a sexier mood. Both Here Eye Come or Something U Already Know hit this target, with steamy vocals that slip the slightest hint of moan at the end of the lines. But these songs also have some very slick playing and arrangements. Prince is a perfectionist when he sits in the producer's chair and these tight arrangements show it.

The sweetest moment of this disk comes on Everytime. The voice, the arrangement, even the lyrics and melody -- this is perfect Karen Carpenter moment. It actually reminded me of some of the good things about the Carpenters, besides the schmaltz and bad anorexia jokes. It starts with strings and a Brazilian beat. The reverb adds a distance to the vocals and the acoustic guitar provides a scaffold for the tight collection of parts.

He takes my breath, cause he takes his time
He takes my soul, body and mind
He takes what he wants, and that's okay
He takes my breath...everytime

For some, this might be overstepping into camp but I really think it's the standout song. Unfortunately, it jumps from there to the busy faux-disco of 2nite, which kills the mood.

Immersion is the other high water mark, with a surging moodiness. There are a lot of little pieces that fit together behind the simple piano focus. This song is crafted like most of the others but you can't see the seams from here. The lyrics have a sweet flow, with some well turned phrases. If more of the album were like this, I'd be listening a lot more.

Summary

As I said, something for almost everyone. This shotgun approach might garner him some newer fans or they might be put off by the parts they didn't like. Since I don't recommend a single sitting for these disks, I'll suggest vodka shots, vodka and Red Bull, and a Vodka Collins. Choose your poison.