Prince And His Revolution
- 16 Jul 07, 11:00 AM
On a damp Monday morning, it΅―s no bad thing to stay in and listen to the new Prince album. In this case, a free record, given away with the Mail On Sunday. The fella has been throwing stones at the music industry for a long time ¨C famously changing his name and writing ΅°SLAVE΅± on his cheek, but this move is particularly bold.
Prince is taking the new market conditions to extremes. Most artists don΅―t make anything on record sales. The internet has devalued the idea of buying albums ¨C why not simply pay for the best tracks or source an illegal, free version? On the other hand, people are now prepared to pay a premium for seeing a musical legend in concert. It΅―s perceived as the real thing in a virtual, confusing world. And so Prince can play his 21 nights at the O2 Arena and issue a buckshee album by way of a souvenir. He's still in the money.
So how good is ΅®Planet Earth΅―? Well, it΅―s less frantic than ΅®3121΅―, its patchy predecessor. The return of Wendy and Lisa is something to celebrate, and the recent single, ΅®Guitar΅―, still reminds me of ΅®I Will Follow΅― by U2. Elsewhere, there΅―s a tendency to noodle, but when he΅―s focussed, the likes of ΅®Chelsea Rodgers΅― is uniquely great.
The music biz is furious that their function has been bypassed. Me, I can΅―t feel sorry for an industry that still sends out its over-priced products in plastic cases that fall to bits in your hands. So yeah, Prince is excellent value. He΅―s still the great pretender.
Stu Bailie presents The Late show on Radio Ulster, every Friday from 10pm until midnight. See his playlist here.
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