A Prince Among Mortals
Imagine the music we could have had in the last 9 years...
Note: I wrote this essay the day after his death in 2016.
Even watching Prince’s more commercial videos being played on an MTV tribute on the night of his death shows the stunning brilliance and unparalleled diversity of his music. What an amazing body of work from a totally singular artist.
I’m finding it really hard getting my head around this. I’m no crazy super fan who knows every single bootleg, but he and Paul McCartney have been my two favorite artists since I was a teenager.
I’ve always imagined what it must have been like to be around as those mid to late Beatles albums came out — each one radically different and totally game changing.
What makes Prince so special to me was that I was there for his magical mystery tour — one of very few times in modern music history when an immensely popular artist released a string of groundbreaking, distinctive albums whose influence simply cannot be overstated.
The new wave sexual funk of 1999. Who had ever heard anything like “Let’s Pretend We’re Married”? It’s as musically brilliant as it is lyrically raunchy.
Then the superstar breakthrough of Purple Rain — a dirty test tube baby of Jimi Hendrix, James Brown and Devo.
A number one song with no bass line? Why not.
To then follow that totally new amalgamation with the psychedelic pop of Around the World in a Day? Amazing. I vividly remember listening to that album and being blown away that someone would release something so radically different with no regard to commercial success. He was CHALLENGING his audience to follow him. I knew with that album that he was totally unique, and I was totally in for the long haul.
Parade followed. Another 180-degree turn to sparse funk, beautiful strings, and jazz flourishes. “Kiss” is a classic now. But then? It was like no song on the radio.
Then came the masterpiece — Sign O’ the Times — a stunning summation of everything he had done to date. I remember hearing the title song for the first time while working at Tubby’s sub shop and being as intrigued as I was confused. Who would release something like this as a single? It was probably one of the least commercially viable songs meant to sell an expensive double album. I can only imagine execs at Warner Brothers when he dropped that little bombshell on them.
Like I said, that string is one of the most singular runs in pop history, matched only by The Beatles, and Stevie Wonder’s early 70s output. Offhand, I can’t think of any other example, but I know they are few and far between.
But, it’s not like the great music began with 1999 or ended with Sign O’ the Times. I mean, who ever released a single as bat-shit crazy as “Batdance”? Or a number one single with the main chorus of “Cream, get on top. Cream, you will come.”
The commercial success eventually went away, but Prince never did. I have virtually everything he’s released, and even up to last’s years HITnRUN Phase Two there have always been at least a handful of amazing songs that stand shoulder to shoulder with music from his creative peak — a rare feat for someone so incredibly prolific.
I thought Prince would be releasing new music for years and years to come and had no doubt that he had any number of true masterpieces left to share. For those more casual fans, I urge you to dig deeper into his wonderful catalogue — you’ll discover some great music that encompassed nearly every style imaginable.
As for Prince as a live performer, there was no equal. I saw him seven times and he was breathtaking each and every one of them. I wish that number were double or triple. If money weren’t an option I would have travelled around the world to see him as often as possible.
All that said, being a Prince fan always came with a certain amount of frustration given his sometimes-baffling career moves. He kept up the pattern of making odd single choices. Once he was past his commercial peak, this really hurt sales of some otherwise great albums. And of course, there was the whole symbol/slave thing. That probably hurt his career more than anything — even if it was a worthy stand and has inspired artists ever since.
But it was that same enigmatic individualism that took him on so many twists and turns and made following him such an ultimately rewarding adventure.
Thank you, Prince, for your beautiful, strange, and dazzling musical journey. And for challenging me to come along for the ride. I wish it would have lasted longer, and I wish you heaven.
…. Now let’s bust open that damn vault and see how many more gems you had hidden.