The Hate Experience

After Purple rain the world really began to take notice of Prince.The music critics are used to artists sticking to their own particular styles and genre. Purple rain is generally considered to be a rock album,despite the inclusion of o few pop classics.Indeed ,it was the rock element which sold the album to many fans.The release of ATWIAD and Parade, two very different sounding albums from anything he had made previously, surprised critics and fans alike.Prince confronted their expectations with these albums which contained no real rock songs akin to "Lets Go Crazy" etc.Next came SOTT,which was a musical encyclopedia of popular music past,present and future.The album was the real announcement to the world that Prince was willing and able to embrace pretty much any contemporary music style and thus the critics learnt to expect the unexpected.

Next came "Lovesexy",the album that really polarizes the fans,who either think it is brilliant or one of his weakest albums to date (It was recently described by "Q" as a first rate record and by the NME as one of his most inessential items).Much is made of the fact that it is a personal statement by Prince,a spiritual experience and reaction against " The Black Album" and that you have to understand where he was coming from.None of this is important.The sole indication of how good an album is lies with the music within it.Practically all of Princes best work contains rousing title-based choruses."Lovesexy's" lead off single "Alphabet ST." had a chorus of "Yeah, Yeah,Yeah".Generally,(Glam Slam aside) Lovesexy is full of non-chorus based music.This isn't the first time prince has done this(eg.Darling Nikki or the Sign O the times single).Perhaps an album full of these types of songs was too much for some fans;nonetheless,Lovesexy is a great album. Perhaps the start of the backlash,the real crux of the matter lies with the Batman soundtrack.After a succession of not fabulously successful albums, batman was a concession to commerciality.This riled some critics who had marvelled at his wanton prolificness previously.It was referred to by some as a throwaway album,which in this case meant that it was very catchy but only good for listening to as a companion to the film.The album sounds as great now as when it was released and has a great 'party' feel to most of the tracks.

"Graffiti Bridge " came next.The album had mostly favourable reviews and would have been fine if left at that.Unfortunately there was the accompanying film,the sequel as such to "purple rain" and maybe an attempt to repeat the success of 6 years earlier.The film was universally panned and consequently neither film nor album was very successful. "diamond and Pearls " and "0(+>" followed next,two brilliant albums that sold over 9 million between them.Both contained a wide range of styles,but whereas "SOTT" was hailed as a landmark album,by the time these albums came out,grunge had exploded onto the scene and the critics were jaded and less impressed by Princes creativity-the albums were just another delightful patchwork piece.

1993 saw the release of the "Hits " packages and for once the critics were unanimous,this was a brilliant compilation of a classic artist.All except "Select" magazine,whose review was conspicuous by its absence.A constant derisory force against prince,the magazine obviously decided that rather than print an unavoidable glowing review of the set,admitting that Prince is rather good after all,they didn't publish any review at all,better than a great one where Prince is concerned.

For most hacks "Come"s dark dirty undertones and lack of a feasible single failed to excite,and the "Black" album,widely applauded in 1988,was greeted with suspicion and derision by many when released,people questioning the motives behind its release rather than commenting on the music itself.

Sadly "The Gold Experience" is receiving surprisingly mixed reviews. What was described by one "Q" magazine reviewer as a "terrific piece of work" in May has changed into " a good album" at the time of release.The album is close to a classic,but some of the songs are real growers,especially 319 and Endorphinmachine.Tellingly,Select magazine never printed a review of the album.

So why have the press turned? The emergence of new british pop is definitely a factor in the UK. The down to earth yobbish charm of groups like Blur and Oasis really spits in the face of all the glitz and Glam Slam power that has always been an inseparable part of Princes image. The music of Madonna and Michael Jackson recently has failed to live up to their best 80s work and their mystique has been ripped to shreds by sleazy allegations and actions. Similarly Princes name change was too much silliness for the music critics, stopping them from taking him seriously.All this means that they have stopped looking to America for great pop,instead emphasizing the talent appearing on our own shores.

Maybe the music press are looking for nothing less than a new "SOTT" from 0(+>. Maybe it is true that Prince hasn't produced an album as great as it since 1987,but then again who has? It is the best album by anyone for many years.

Really if all the fine albums he has released since "SOTT" are as the critics suggest,just Prince 'treading water' then the only response is that there must be an incredibly strong current flowing!