Missed getting new music from Prince in 2008? This year he will be making up for it with two new studio albums of his own as well as a third that he is heavily involved in. According to the L. A. Times, the first album will be called MPLSOUND and is reported to be trippy and experimental. I’m really interested in hearing this as I think the Purple One is at his best when he gets all experimental. His two best records, in my opinion, are Around the World in a Day and Parade, both firmly fitting the criteria of trippy and experimental. Although, both those earlier two benefited from the collaboration with Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman and his music has suffered from lacking that vital creative component.
The second album, Lotus Flower, focuses heavily on the guitar, an instrument Prince honed his skills on while touring with singer Tamar Davis in 2006. A few tracks from Lotus Flower were recently previewed on L. A.’s Indie 103.1 to very favorable response. My other favorite Prince sound is when he tears it up on the guitar so I am also very interested in hearing this one. Whatever you may think of him, the man knows his way inside and out of a guitar. It truly is a crime he isn’t on everyone’s list of greatest guitarists.
Lastly, this year will see the release of Bria Valente’s debut album, Elixer. Valente is the latest in a long line of Prince proteges to release music. Now, what you should understand is that usually means Prince does all the “demo” work for the album, with his voice later removed and replaced by the protege. I can’t say for certain that’s the case here, but I don’t see why he would change to formula now. Regardless, the end product usually results in some fine music, so this one will probably be a disc worth getting. Said by the man himself to be created because “We got sick of waiting for Sade to make a new album,” that alone makes it worth paying attention to.
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably now wondering where nad when you can pick up these discs. At the moment, Prince is still working out a physical distribution point for this new music, which sounds like it may be another Wal-Mart or Best Buy exclusive deal. Alternatively, he’s just launched a new website where I’m guessing these three albums will be available for digital download. So far, the site only consists of a front page containing a couple of streaming songs and the promise of more content soon. Given his track record with the last two websites that have had downloadable Prince music, I’m inclined to wait. Personally, I’d prefer to pick these up at my local “wrecka stow.” As always, more details will be passed along as they are available.