Follow author Erica Thompson as she completes her book on Prince's spiritual journey on "a purple day in December." She provides updates on her writing and research, interviewing, networking and progress on securing a book publisher. And there are extra interviews, essays and pieces just for the fun of it! Cheer Erica on as she follows her dreams and the life of an extraordinary musician.
I've been listening to Prince's 1996 contractual obligation ... er ... album
Chaos and Disorder this week. I don't think it's an essential listen,
but it's certainly better than its reputation. And it's always nice to hear
Rosie Gaines singing with Prince. Honestly, there are gems on all of
his albums.
Chaos and Disorder is commended for its rock sound, but I think Prince
has better material in that genre on other albums. My favorite rocker on here
is the bluesy "Zannalee," which was originally slated for
The Undertaker, a much better project that I wish had been released in
Guitar World in 1993 as planned. (Psst! Prince Estate, there's still
time to partner with the publication to do this, and a dope writer can
interview musicians Sonny T. and Michael Bland about it again.) Additionally, you would expect a song
like "I Rock, Therefore I Am" to smolder, but it's underwhelming.
A lot of people prefer the only single, "Dinner with Delores," and it's a
pleasant song. However, I never find myself playing this unless I'm purposely
engaging the entire album. It's better live; Prince gave a great performance of the track and "Zannalee" on the "Today" show's
"Summer Concert Series" in 1996. The audience was really diverse and I
actually teared up watching some of them cry. And I always love to see Bryant
Gumble and Prince interacting; you can tell they had a lot of respect for each
other. (Try not to wince, though, when Katie Couric calls the superstar Prince instead
of his new name.)
My favorite song on the album is "The Same December," because of its catchy
chorus, full sound and gospel outro. Also, the lyrics are very thoughtful:
"You only see what your heart will show You only love when your soul
remembers We all come from the same December And in the end, that's
where we'll go"
Prince often talked about perception, and people's habit of projecting their
own beliefs or desires on things they witness or consume.
“If you looked at that picture [on Lovesexy] and some ill come out your mouth, then that’s what you are—it’s looking right back at you in the mirror.” - Prince, 1990
There are also spiritual concepts running through the song, including
reincarnation and the theory of returning to the Source (God or absolute,
eternal reality)--which were in line with what Prince was studying at the
time. Similar themes are also found on Chaos and Disorder's "Into the Light,"
which was inspired by author Betty Eadie's book, Embraced by the Light, about
her near-death experience. (Influenced by Biblical text, Prince often used
"light" as a symbol for God and/or Jesus throughout his career.)
The last track on the album, "Had U," is a popular topic of discussion; it's
rumored to be a thinly veiled kiss-off to Warner Bros. It's interesting to me
because I can hear all of the opportunities for Prince to elaborate on the
melody and elevate the song to something great, but that's not the point. He
was done giving the record label his best material, and the frustration I feel
at the abrupt ending is something I'm sure he anticipated. Like he says on
"Dinner with Delores," "No more, that's the end."
What are your favorite tracks on Chaos and Disorder?
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If you're a fan of this blog, you know I often stress the importance of
engaging writing and research on Prince by Black writers. Last year, I wrote
about the excellent, special Prince issue of the Howard Journal of Communications. I've also had the privilege of participating in professor De Angela L.
Duff's symposia on Prince. (You can read my recap of one of her most recent
academic events
here.)
This week, I'd like to share some brief opinions on the special Prince issue
of the
Black Magnolias Literary Journal, edited by C. Liegh McInnis, a professor at Jackson State University, and
author of
The Lyrics of Prince: A Literary Look at a Creative, Musical Poet,
Philosopher, and Storyteller. In addition to being a lovely person, McInnis is a passionate, compelling
speaker, who has inspired many audiences of Prince fans with his
presentations.
This issue of Black Magnolias, released last spring, features Black
scholars and others who are clearly interested in centering Prince's Blackness
in analyses of the artist's work, life and legacy. It's troubling that many
Prince fans are hostile at the thought of talking about Prince as a Black man
affected by and concerned with systemic racism, and I don't expect a lot of
them to come around. But for fans who say they are interested in understanding
all aspects of Prince's humanity, I would recommend reading collections like
this one. There are a lot of people, including Black writers, who are putting
in work.
I haven't finished reading each piece yet, and I am still unpacking what I
have read, but I wanted to share some thoughts. One of McInnis' goals for
studying Prince's work is to gauge "the full realm of Black diversity," and
thus the "full realm of Black humanity." Prince is a perfect subject for this,
and the writers worked diligently toward this end. I also appreciated that
McInnis stressed the need for Black musicians to be taken seriously ("Unlike
the Beatles or Bob Dylan, rarely are African Americans studied for their
intellectual value," he writes). Lately I've been thinking about the ways in
which my research on Prince was minimized by some when I was working on my
master's thesis (thank God for the professors who did believe in what I was
doing). It's good to know I am not alone in this struggle.
I've singled out a few essays/papers that stood out to me so far.
"She's Always In My Hair: Jill Jones--The Unheralded Muse of Prince" by De
Angela L. Duff
This piece provides the most comprehensive look at Jones' contributions to
Prince's work that I've seen to date. It unpacks how Prince's obsession with
creating mystery and being in control had a detrimental effect on Jones'
career, and demonstrates her absence from Prince's narrative, even after his
death. I was very intrigued by the impact of race (Jones is biracial and
fair-skinned) on Jones' marketability for both Black and white audiences. As I
read Duff's piece, I thought about Mariah Carey's struggles with racism as a
biracial artist in the music industry; they are outlined in her new memoir,
The Meaning of Mariah Carey. Though Carey achieved international
superstardom, I think her story is an effective companion piece to this paper;
I wonder if she and Jones had similar experiences.
"The Purple Avatar: A Brief Discussion of Prince's Guitar Greatness" by
Darryl Pete
We need more scholarship breaking down Prince's guitar playing. Pete's essay
is based more on his personal experience as a guitarist than strict musical
analysis, but I appreciated his comparisons of Prince's music to work by
everyone from Chuck Berry to Ernie Isley. I also enjoyed reading about
Prince's guitar work on "Lady Cab Driver," a song I would not have immediately
singled out as an example of his impressive technique. Speaking about "Let's
Go Crazy," Pete writes, "That heavenly note climaxing at the end of (the song)
seemed to sustain forever! The note wasn't just sustaining itself but the
possibility of what Black music could be, what it had been, what had been
taken/stolen from it, and what it could reclaim." I thought that was the most
powerful passage, and it made me hungry for more analysis about Prince, race
and rock 'n' roll.
"How the Exodus Began: Prince and the Black Working Class Imagination" by
Robert Loss
This is one of the best papers I've read on Prince, and it should be required
reading for all fans and scholars. It's a long one; Loss put in an incredible
amount of work in this nearly 60-page piece. Ever since Prince's memoir,
The Beautiful Ones, came out, I have been thinking and writing about
the order, discipline and utilitarian spirit found in Prince's work. Those
attributes come not only from Prince's father and funk conventions, but a
longstanding tradition in Black life. It's something that Black people know
innately, but it's always important to have it articulated on paper. For
example, I knew I got extremely emotional seeing Prince wearing a scarf at the
Super Bowl halftime show--one of the most prominent stages in the world--but I
didn't really know why until I unpacked it with a Black friend and
wrote it down. Loss's essay adds even more context for Prince's signifiers of Black
working-class values--like the scarf. Using academic frameworks and citing
work by Black scholars (including writing by McInnis), Loss analyzes relevant
themes in Prince's art, but also explores the ways in which Prince's art was
used by others for social and political gains; for example, his 1995 song "We
March" was played at the first Million Man March, which he also donated
$50,000 to,
according to Minister Louis Farrakhan. And there are numerous examples of Prince donating proceeds of ticket sales
to his concerts for the advancement of Black and other marginalized
people.
"The Spiritual as the Political in the Works of Prince and the Staple
Singers" by C. Liegh McInnis
If you're a fan of Prince, you should know about his musical relationship with
legendary soul and gospel singer Mavis Staples, but you probably haven't
broken down the comparisons between Prince's music and the work of the Staple
Singers in the context of Black liberation theology. No need to worry, McInnis
has done it for us in this excellent paper. Citing specific song examples,
McInnis explains how both artists utilized Christian theology as a means to
liberate Black people from oppression. He also stresses that Black liberation
theology is rooted in African spirituality, which is rarely discussed in
writings on Prince and religion. This piece made me think once again about
innate understanding; as I've noted previously on this blog, some Black people
can listen to songs like "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed," "Black Sweat" and
even "Act of God" and feel that Prince is speaking to their liberation, but
writing about this for everyone to read is necessary. With that, I'll close
with a statement by McInnis:
"For the Staple Singers and Prince, the primary goal of artistry is to
appeal to the hearts and minds of listeners to produce the catharsis that
moves them to evolve spiritually so that their spiritual evolution manifests
itself in the socio-political structure. To do anything else is to be both
ungodly and unartistic."
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journey. Click here.
Each month I will share some brief, personal thoughts on one of my favorite
Prince songs.
"Like this chain around my hip, I want a 24-karat relationship." Me too,
Prince. Me too. Hearing that line reminds me of when my sister and I
re-watched Graffiti Bridge in 2004. We laughed and reminisced about the
movie, which was a major part of our childhood. I remember my sister
emphasizing this particular line when we were watching the "Tick, Tick, Bang"
performance--one of the best in the film. I think I started loving this song
after discovering she loved it; I guess I still want to be like my big sis. We
were cracking up watching Prince do his best choreography as members of The
Time--his rivals--looked bored. For years I assumed that, because my sister
loved this movie, she was a Prince fan; earlier this year, she admitted she
respected him but wasn't into a lot of his music. Anyhow, we'll always have
"Tick, Tick, Bang." I chuckle thinking about how much I gravitate toward the
filthiest song on an album that is largely spiritual and an important part of
Prince's religious journey. It's another song he wrote at the beginning of his career (1981) and
then brilliantly updated; he transformed it from a punk tune to a '90s, hip-hop-inspired ditty. I
love the guitar, and I think the way he arranges the sound effects and vocals
is supremely creative. Thanks to PrinceVault, I learned Prince sampled drums
from Jimi Hendrix's "Little Miss Lover," which reminds me that I really need
to write (or commission) a Hendrix-related post on my blog. I'm also disappointed I didn't know this when I did my samples quiz last year.
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journey. Click here.
I suppose this is my official return to the blog after missing a few weeks
due to, well, have you been paying attention to 2020? In addition to coping
with the pandemic, presidential election (at the time of publication, we still
didn't know who won) and being Black following the death of George
Floyd, I have been hard at work on some lengthy journalism assignments.
As a heads up -- I'll be taking another break in December to have surgery and
recover. But I think I'm going to schedule some "throwback" posts while I'm
gone.
With all that said, I hope everyone is still enjoying the
Sign O' the Times Super Deluxe. I figured I'd share some thoughts on spirituality before I move on to other
things.
When I think about this album and this time period, Prince's father, John L.
Nelson, comes to mind. In fact, I wish he were a greater part of the
narrative. It will take some people speaking up and then actually being given
a platform to share their stories about Nelson, who influenced both Prince's
jazz sound and his religious leanings.
When I hear Prince's famous words in 1986, "We're on the brink of
something ... strict and wild and pretty," thoughts of his father's
discipline, combined with his mother's spontaneity, come to mind. Prince
discusses this dichotomy briefly in his memoir. Specifically, Prince talks
about the ways in which his father's religious principles contributed to his
life of order and self-sufficiency--qualities Prince admired.
"This man read the Bible daily. And if he needed something, no matter what
it was, he would make it himself. ... Religion is about self-development.
That's all it is." - Prince, The Beautiful Ones
It's no surprise that, as Prince and his father were enjoying a period
of camaraderie, Prince's music was becoming more blatantly religious.
Sign O' the Times' "The Cross" was his most direct expression of
Christian faith on one of his own studio albums at that point. I think because
he still didn't say the name Jesus (that would come just a year later on
Lovesexy), it's more digestible for fans who aren't Christians. Plus,
it's a great rocker!
When I was an undergraduate student at Northern Kentucky University, I took a
biography class and wrote about Prince's spirituality, naturally. I ended up
presenting my work via a display in the library, where I set up a listening
station. I included "The Cross" on the playlist, and I'll never forget a woman
crying after hearing the song for the first time.
Printout from presentation (2008)
Prince expresses his spiritual growth through his songs about
relationships on Sign O' the Times; he promotes the joy of
monogamous, love-based unions, and explores some of his shortcomings and
contradictions. I broke this down last month with my
#PrinceTwitterThread
about the song "Forever in My Life."
During the Sign O' the Times era, journalists acknowledged Prince's religion,
but had no desire to investigate it as it was presented on the album. And they
continued to minimize its complexity. The album also failed to reach the level
of success of Prince's earlier projects. We often here that Prince didn't
care about commercial achievement, but it simply isn't true. It wasn't lost on
him that his sales were decreasing as his music was becoming more spiritual,
and we can see his struggle to reconcile that with the Black Album saga
that would play out later that year.
“He’s developed an urge to make big social and mystical statements, which
usually come out confused; Prince is no deep thinker.” - Jon Pareles, New York Times, 1987
"Sex is the door-opener. Once you open the door …” - Prince, 1997
If Prince had released "Walkin' in Glory" or the song "Crystal Ball" at this
time, it would have been the first time people heard the name Jesus on an
official project. That's why hearing him say, "Save me, Jesus" on "Anna
Stesia" in 1988 is so impactful. It's interesting to think about how and why
he made the decision to finally declare his faith in that manner; I'm sure his
spiritual awakening prior to the Lovesexy album played a large role.
The whole concept of "signs of the times" can be found in the Bible, as Jesus
explains the markers of his return. (And we know Prince was obsessed with the
concept of the "Second Coming.") Prince may have even been inspired by the
Seventh-day Adventist publication Signs of the Times, which he may have read
in his childhood church. And his father wasn't the only religious person in
his circle; I interviewed a few people--including Jehovah's Witnesses--who
were sharing their beliefs with Prince during this time. Let's pray I get to
share those, and my book, soon.
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there
shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." -
Matthew 24:7
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The Super Deluxe edition of Prince's Sign O' the Times album is sitting
pretty on my coffee table. I tried my best to ignore all of the reviews,
essays and Twitter commentary around the release because it was important that I experience it for myself. When you're an active part of a fan community,
your opinion of the artist and the art can be colored by perceptions other
than your own. I've been struggling with this internally for a while now. I
wanted to get back to thinking about my personal connection to Prince's work.
It's going to take a long time to process this beautiful box set, so I thought
I'd just focus on the vault (or previously unreleased) tracks. I haven't spent
as much time with these songs as the rest of the hardcore fans. I've been
discovering them over the past few years as I do research for my book. I used to feel bad
about that, but I'm over that guilt. I didn't have a
community or access when I started seriously listening to Prince, and I didn't
immediately know about the NPG Music Club. Also, he'd scrubbed the internet of
his music.
With that said, I wonder if the three vault tracks that immediately stood out
to me are songs some folks are tired of by now. Anyhow, here they are
(ranked).
3. "Witness 4 the Prosecution (Version 1)"
The first time I learned about the 1957 Billy Wilder film, Witness for the Prosecution, I was looking at the lineup of the 2019 "Summer Movie Series" at the historic Ohio Theatre in Columbus, Ohio. Right away, I shrieked, "That's a Prince song!" Because I had just been pondering Prince's fascination with the movie Barbarella and its director, Roger Vadim, I was thinking that perhaps there was a similar connection to Witness, but I don't think so. Now, if some folks out there saw this film on a loop at Paisley Park, let me know!
When it comes to background vocals on Prince songs, I prefer that he sing them, or employ a certain type of soulful vocalist. I'll always promote the underrated 20Ten album because singers Shelby J., Elisa Fiorillo and Liv Warfield created wonderful harmonies for him. So, I was pleasantly surprised that I dug what Lisa Coleman, Wendy Melvoin and Susannah Melvoin achieved on "Witness 4 the Prosecution (version 1)." The thick wall of vocals is one of the best parts of the tune. They worked hard, and it shows.
"I do remember being in the room singing those background vocals and getting up really high, trying to work that vibrato," Coleman said.
The other standout is that haunting bass and horn line that repeats throughout the song.
2. "Rebirth of the Flesh"
"Imagine being so dope you can afford to sit on 'Rebirth of the Flesh.'"
Imagine being so dope you can afford to sit on "Rebirth of the Flesh." #Prince
I tweeted this recently, and it looks like 99 Prince fans agree. This is one of the funkiest jams he's ever produced, but he's so talented and prolific that he could sleep at night leaving it in the vault. Perhaps he knew people would not be able to recover if he put this out on the aborted Camille project, which, to me, is better than The Black Album. I really wanted the Prince Estate to release Camille with his original artwork, but I'll just have to create it for myself. Thank goodness I don't have to go to YouTube and listen to that subpar version anymore.
Prince also brilliantly utilized religious imagery to describe his musical transformation after disbanding the Revolution. According to the Bible, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6). Each human is born into sinful nature, but there is an opportunity to experience a spiritual rebirth and attain everlasting life through belief in Jesus Christ. At this time, Prince was also being more direct about his Christian views, so the title of the song is very fitting. It wasn't the first time he referenced "the flesh," and it wouldn't be last. (I will write a separate blog on Sign O' the Times and spirituality later.)
1. "Love and Sex"
It's the off-beat syncopation for me. The drums are the highlight of this song, which is unconventional and complex in every way. Not only is Prince switching between his lower and falsetto registers, but he has arranged the vocal lines so that they are in conversation with each other instead of harmonizing on a single melody. You have no idea where he's going to go next. Even his guitar solo goes in a direction I didn't initially expect. Finally, the sound is just so massive. Quite simply, it's a masterpiece.
(Going over the lyrics, I came up with a theory about the subject of the song, but I'll keep it to myself because, who knows?)
Prince also created a version for Sheila E., whose commentary, I must say, is glaringly absent from this box set and its promotion. Does anyone know why? I want to hear your valuable input on the music, Sheila!
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