(Columbia)
Technically, it isn't really a comeback. is Prince's ninth album in 10 years, not counting collections of unreleased material. But numbers are misleading. Quality-wise, Prince has been inconsistent at best, releasing a series of albums that range from tired contractual obligations () to instrumental jazz fusion (). Combined with his eccentric tendencies and elusiveness it seemed like Prince was gone forever, a victim of his own obsession with constantly reinventing himself. So it was all the more surprising when he stole the show at the Grammys last February
with a best-of- medley with Beyonce.
is Prince's most accessible album ages. In usual fashion it's produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince, although the New Power Generation helps out in some spots on backing instruments. Even if it's no or Sign O' the Times, it's also the best Prince album in quite some time, a more mature effort that relishes in Prince's strengths rather than desperately trying to break new ground.
's lead off track of the same name is probably the strongest track on the album. Featuring an infectious James Brown like groove, the song is a tongue-in-cheek sermon on the importance of funk bands such as Earth Wind and Fire and Sly and the Family Stone. The album goes on to give Prince a chance to show off his guitar skills on tracks like \A Million Days"" and ""The Marrying Kind,"" as well as his penchant for ballads like ""Call My Name."" This is Prince's first major release since he became a Jehovah's Witness, and it shows. Gone are his usual odes to sexual acts, replaced with songs mainly about marriage and romance (although some subtle innuendos still sneak their way in). On the soul filled ""On the Couch,"" Prince makes his case for going to bed, as he pleads ""Oh come on baby, it's undignified to sleep alone tonight/ that's what all the people who ain't got nobody do."" Abandoning his largely sexual lyrical content doesn't hurt Prince, as this record proves he has the ability to shine without sensationalized lyrics. A good thing, as it would be downright disturbing for a 45-year-old man to still be writing songs as risqu?? as ""Darling Nikki.""
There will probably be no smash singles from . As inviting as the album is, there is no ""Little Red Corvette"" or ""Let's Go Crazy."" But what is there is something that Prince hasn't done for quite some time, and that's produce a record that successfully captures his strength as a musician and songwriter.
One can only wonder why Prince has returned to his rock/soul/funk roots. Maybe he's tired of trying new things. Maybe he knows he's alienated all but the most fanatical of fans from buying his new material. Whatever the reason, is a welcome return from the Purple One.
(Zoe)
The BoDeans have made a career of pumping out wave upon wave of catchy rock ditties that translate smoothly to their reliably energetic and joyful live performances. Since 1986's , the BoDeans, lead by high school pals Sam Llanas and Kurt Neumann, have constructed hundreds of endearing, if somewhat uninventive and safe,
pop tunes.
sticks to that reliable ""safe and poppy"" platform on almost every song, but the resulting album is less than endearing. The disc doesn't just lack the innovation it would be unwise to expect of the Waukesha rockers. It is forcefully bland. Worse, much of the lyricism and songwriting is so clich??d and silly, you can't just nod your head and enjoy the harmless pop riffs the BoDeans are so capable of turning out.
The album starts its opening track with the lyrical pass ""These are the dreams that we dream/These are big and special things."" Unfortunately the first song's ludicrous beginning is only a momentary nadir for the album's lyrics. Indeed, the murderous chorus of ""Wild World"" informs listeners that ""It's a wild world you know/People change their lives every day.""
The disc is made of unmemorable pop-country jams and badly executed attempts at real rock 'n' roll. Even the experimentation is safe, as ably evidenced by the unwelcome introduction of a drum machine on ""Nobody Loves Me,"" a song whose title asks the question ""Have you told them about the dreams that you dream or perhaps the big and special things?""
On ""Two Souls,"" among other tunes, the BoDeans ruin the unique potential for an accordion to make this album's instrumentation interesting by wrecking the polka-fun with guitar and vocals that recall Santana's incomparably annoying Supernatural.
Songs like ""Marianne"" and ""Said 'Hello'"" will remind listeners why people buy BoDeans albums and attend their concerts. These part '90's rock/part corporate country tracks mix classic BoDeans harmony with the driving, danceable tempos that drunk people at Summerfest will never stop digging. They also explain why the BoDeans have enjoyed only moderate success-even the good songs are instantly forgettable and so unsubstantial on wax that no one but the BoDeans and BoDeans fan site Web masters will remember them next year.
Surely, this disc will lend a few new numbers to the BoDeans' extensive live set. But unmemorable concert fodder is all is good for. Without gaudy stage lighting and four-dollar beers to reinforce the music, the album itself is underwhelming.
