Released Oct 13th, 1992
High Level Review
Once again all over the musical map, Prince is bold and confident,
mixing styles together in a way no one else can. There are several
ballads interspersed with immeniently danceable tunes. For the first
time, he brings in a touch of the 70's, some techno, some reggae, and
even some opera to spice the standard fare of funk and jazz. This is
an unique blend of styles, and has become the favorite for many fans.
Lyrics
The underlying theme here is a story about a mideastern Princess who's
father is killed by a group of 7 bad guys. She escapes and Prince helps
protect her. If one had to rely only the album as released, the full
story would never be understood. Collectors have the version of the
album that Warner Brothers nixed, which has many unreleased verbal segues that make the story more clear.
Singles
- Sexy M.F. (66 pop / 5 UK)
- My Name is Prince (36 pop / 5 UK)
- 7 (top 10 pop)
- The Morning Papers
- Damn U
Tour
Act I hit a series of small venues in the US. The first half of the show covered this album, while the
second half was a "greatest hits" collection.
Act II hit Europe, and was very similar to Act I.
The Critics
Most critics liked the music, but thought the theme got in the way of really enjoying the work.
Notes
The symbolic title of the album created minor controversy until Prince changed his name to that of the
album. Many artists release eponomously title albums, but not many have renamed themselves for the album!
This album introduces Mayte Garcia, who danced and played the Princess on the tour. It later became
apparent that she's quite a talented singer as well, but this album was done before she joined the group.
The NPG is largely the same except for the devastating loss of Rosie Gaines. Levi Seacer Jr. (guitar),
Sonny T. (bass), Michael Bland (drums), Tony M. (vocals), Tommy Barbarella (keyboards), Morris Hayes
(keyboards), Damon and Kirky J. (dancers).
Source for the specifics: Per Nilsen, "Prince: A Documentary", 1993, Omnibus Press
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