The Rundown: Prince, Art Official Age
Check out the latest from his Purple Highness.
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The Rundown: Prince, Art Official Age - Prince is back and offering an update of the keyboard-heavy music mastery that made him a pop icon in the mid '80s. But this is more of a trip to LP's like Controversy and 1999 than to Purple Rain. Monster funk collides with steamy slow jams and conscious-raising party cuts. Look on to this cut-by-cut breakdown of Prince's latest. (Photo: NPG Records)
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"Art Official Age" - Art Official Age begins with Prince's twist on the Euro dance party: shooting sythn notes accented with funky guitar licks and funky futuristic drums. But since Prince loves playing the irony card, the bacchanal is really about the unreal state we're living in. (Photo: Splash News)
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"Clouds" - Since most R&B artists today are just reviving the dancable funk of the late '70s, the Purple One has no problem offering his own updated version... as he does with this sexy cut, which taps the sound of SOLAR Records' late '70s heyday. "You should never underestimate the power of a kiss on the neck," he advises. And you should heed. (Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for NPG Records 2013)
Photo By Kevin Mazur/WireImage for NPG Records 2013
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"Breakdown" - "I used to walk the house with the biggest pool," Prince sings on this ballad. "Reminiscing now, I just feel like a fool." The music legend — who's also a Jehovah's Witness — gets retrospective and spiritual as he reflects over the decadence of his former life and gives thanks to a higher power for humbling him back to normalcy. (Photo: Berner/Dalle/Landov)
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"The Gold Standard" - This cut is pure Prince funk: wah-wah guitar with his signature accent at the note's end and a butt-bumping down beat. And Prince commanding you to shake that rump with a house-shaking hand clap. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel)
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"U Know" - Prince eases the tempo down to a sensual bump for this sexy and swagalicious track where he lets a lady know he most definitely wants her. (Photo: than Miller/Getty Images)
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"Breakfast Can Wait" - "This early morning [I] need something else on my plate," Prince proclaims to a new love. "I think I need another bite of you — breakfast can wait." The tempo is mild and contemplative, but the message is self-explanatory. (Photo: WENN.com)
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"This Could Be Us" - For Prince followers this track is a revisit to his classic mid-'80s love song sound: a sauntering drum track highlighted by a piston shooting steam hit and shimmering synth work. (Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images for Samsung)
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"What It Feels Like" - Prince meets his match on this sparse but luminous cut as he vocally spars with a female singer whom he's trying to woo. By comparison this track feels like Prince's interpretation of Zapp's 1985 classic "Computer Love." (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images/NPG Records 2010)
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"Way Back Home" - Another introspective track which finds Prince reflecting on the artificiality of celebrity culture, "I never wanted a typical life," he croons. "A scripted role (chuckles), a trophy wife. All I ever wanted was to be left alone." (Photo: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
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"Funk Roll" - The title says it all: this is Prince's gift of mega-funk. Towering rhythm sprinkled with keyboard accents and brash horns and his Purple Majesty demanding his congregation to get down and party. (Photo: Stuart Wilson/Getty Images)