Not many people know that Roger Nelson is one of the most influential musicians of the past two decades. Only the loyal will be able to name his many popular aliases. The ignorant still call him The Artist, but the devoted endearingly call him Prince. (For those who do not know, Prince has gone back to his old name since leaving Warner Bros.)
As a teenager, it was clear that Prince was destined for great things whenhe showed that he could master 20 different instruments — many of which he learned to play on his own. Prince’s unique, sexual style and raw energy has normally created a love-hate relationship among listeners. Some rejoice upon hearing his eclectic sound, and some shy away from the uninhibited suggestions of his provocative lyrics. Fan or not, love or hate, no one can deny the legacy and legend of Prince.
After 24 years, 28 albums and hundreds of unreleased tracks, Prince is finally receiving a reassuring sign of his greatness: a tribute album. If I Was Prince is a new CD that exhibits a variety of relatively unknown electronica, dance and new wave musicians. The album features ten bands, each interpretating Prince’s music, sound and style on one song. In the album booklet, the artists give a little quote as to why they love Prince and why they chose to cover each song. Andy Dragazis of Blue States says what he would do if he were prince. He writes, “I’d surround myself with some of his women, ride around naked on a horse and nick all his equipment before I changed back.” Most men would probably be in agreement with Andy’s response.
The majority of the tracks on the CD have a synthesized sound. The most notable have to be OP: L BASTARDS covering “If I Was Your Girlfriend”and Misty Dixon covering “The Beautiful Ones.” Many of the others are relatively good versions of some great songs. Normally, the main problem with cover songs is the fact that the artists who do them don’t account for their own style and blindly go forth in making a mockery of the original sound. Thankfully, there is nothing of the sort happening on this tribute album. Every artist here has infused its own type of sound along with the unmistakable beats of Prince.
Prince’s independent influence on each artist is clearly distinguishable in each track. Singer Laschelles of 7 Hurtz recalls, “The thing I love best about Prince apart from the songs, is those cheesy keyboard sounds he uses.” As great as it is to have Prince’s keyboard and funky sounds on the tracks, there is something lacking in the overall product. Prince, as mentioned earlier, was a great instrumentalist. He is probably one of the most underrated guitarists, pianists and bassists around. Somehow, the producers and artists of the album have overlooked the instrumental gifts of Prince. Most of Prince’s greatest riffs have come from his own guitar.
The album as a whole sounds like the evolutionary future of Prince’s music. It makes you wonder how his music might have sounded had he been born twenty years later. Prince, named as an influence for artists such as Beck and Basement Jaxx, was clearly an inspiration for the popular late-’90s electronica style. This tribute is a definite must-have if you dig Prince and music with an electronic edge. However, there is an odd backlash for those who are not fans of electronica: this album will make you listen to Prince’s original songs on an obsessive level.
– Eddie Lau
According to the Apple Computer website, after Nine Inch Nails successful Fragility V2.0 Tour in 2000, Trent Reznor worked on putting together a DVD (on an Apple G4, of course) of the experience. To accompany this visual documentation, he also chose to release an album version with the same track listing. The differences are striking. Whereas the DVD gives the viewer insight to the intensity of the band and excitement of the crowd, the CD sticks solely to the band’s performance.
That’s not to say this difference is a bad thing. For the most part, the band is pretty tight and the arrangements are instantly recognizable. But therein lies the disappointment — there is little here to distinguish the live performances from the studio recordings. This is especially the case for songs from the last proper NIN album, The Fragile, which comprise six of the album’s 16 tracks. Apart from harsher vocals from Reznor and a tangible sound of live instrumentation, those songs sound like Fragile studio outtakes.
Earlier material fares better. Opener “Terrible Lie” features loud chorus and crowd reactions that add weight to the anger of the song. “Piggy” rides along on a sparse groove with a prominent but organic bass line, and “Hurt” provides a vulnerable yet vindictive closer. With all the tour dates, though, one would think Reznor would pick better renditions of “The Great Below” (where his voice isn’t up to par) and “Star****ers, Inc.” (which features Reznor protégé-turned-enemy-turned-friend, Marilyn Manson, adding barely audible — or passable for that matter — vocals to the chorus).
The real revelation is in the second disc, Still, which is available in the deluxe 2-CD edition. Recorded live, but without a concert audience, Still consists of nine tracks (five new) in a stripped-down atmosphere. Hearing Reznor’s musical and lyrical work in this setting lets the listener in on the damaged heart beating underneath the industrial crunch, providing a more intimate and thus effective listening experience.
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