Prince & The New Power Generation - [Love Symbol]
Prince was at a crossroads in the 1990s; he was a behemoth of an artist in the 1980s, but the 90s were a time where music was changing. A lot of new styles of music were being created and popularized, such as hip-hop and new jack swing, and a lot of popular artists either got with the times or became irrelevant. Prince was an artist that never stayed in one sound for too long, and when new sounds got popularized, he tried to utilize them and experiment with them. Iām not the biggest fan of Prince, but if there is one thing I could respect and admire about him, itās his ambition. Thatās why I picked up a copy of 1992ās [Love Symbol] at Half Price Books recently. I was curious enough, especially for $3.99, but I havenāt listened to much Prince from decades other than the 1980s. I didnāt totally know what to expect, but I had a good feeling.
Prince was always one to modernize his sound with the times, and just as Michael Jackson did the year before with 1991ās Dangerous (which Iāll be talking about soon enough as well), he went into new jack swing, hip-hop, and modern R&B, versus keeping with 80s sounds, so these albums brought these artists to the modern era. This album isnāt just a Prince album, either, itās the second to feature his backing band The New Power Generation. Because of that, there are a couple more vocalists here, namely another rapper, as well as a singer that ended up being married to Prince for a few years. Truthfully, I kind of tune out when Prince isnāt doing his thing, because the other vocalists arenāt as interesting. Prince sounds great, but this isnāt totally a Prince album, for better or worse.
I think I mainly like the music here, as it has such a diverse style of sounds and ideas, but everything else comes second; the vocals are good, especially Prince, but a lot of the lyrics arenāt great. Apparently this album is a rock opera about Prince as a rock star, and thatās all I know. From what I read, the album had way much segues that explained the lore of the album, but the album would have been insanely long, so he was forced to cut them all but two. They donāt explain much, but you get some kind of backstory. Itās just a confusing story, but the album itself is more or less standard fare when it comes to Prince. In that respect, I appreciate the consistency, but Iāve never been a fan of his lyrics, at least outside of certain songs or albums. Here, they donāt offer anything I canāt get on other albums, but theyāre not horrible.
This album is mainly just way too long, as well as too stuffed with ideas. The diversity is cool, but itās 75 minutes with 18 songs (two of them are segues but still), so thereās a lot of music to sink your teeth into. The album did relatively well, especially having a top ten hit on it, so if anything, Prince wasnāt irrelevant or out of touch. A lot of artists ended up falling to the wayside, but Prince kept going. He kept making music until he passed, and thatās insanely admirable. I like this album, but I donāt love it. I might need to dive into it more, but itās a cool album, nonetheless. Itās interesting to hear, as itās a 90s Prince album, and by this point, a lot of the 80s bands and artists were starting to lose popularity for new genres and artists. Iād recommend this if you want to check out Prince stepping into the 90s, so itās cool in that respect.
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