The Wiz: Prince Pt. 3: The Legacy & Vision
For happy reasons, I have slowed down a little over the past few weeks, pushing back the third and final installment of my very modest three-part reflection on the little Prince's genius. The immense Prince!
This final part is no longer about the virtuoso and stage animal of part one, or the pure, raw talent that shone away from the spotlight in part two. Links to both appear below.
This time, it is about something shared by great geniuses: a relentless creative surge, with an industry and surroundings that cannot always keep up. Prince added mystery to the mix. Most importantly, he left us something even during his lifetime: a legacy!
Our Prince did not simply create, create and create an unimaginable amount of material. He also documented, documented and documented almost everything, to an exceptionally high standard!
Call it megalomania, mystery, personality, perfectionism, an eye on the future, or all of the above. Either way, he may have left behind a body of original work larger than everything released during his lifetime.
For fans, it is an Aladdin's cave: Prince's legendary Vault. I first discovered it almost by chance, through a talk that was half lecture, half stand-up by director Kevin Smith, perhaps better known as Silent Bob in the films he made alongside his friend Jay.
Here is an edited ten-minute extract from that talk:
Smith describes his experience with Prince, and how asking permission to use a song in a soundtrack, a request that was rejected, turned into Prince persuading him to film a kind of documentary. It covered a gathering and fan questions, focusing largely on religion, a subject close to Prince's heart.
Some time after filming, with the footage in Prince's possession, Smith asked when he could edit the film and how it would be released. He was told it had already been edited and would probably never be released at all.
An astonished Smith discovered, as I did, that Prince's legendary Vault contained an unbelievable amount of material: finished albums, beautifully shot and fully produced videos, singles, films and concerts. Bootlegs had hinted at its scale during his lifetime. How much more we hear will depend on what the estate chooses to reveal.
I mentioned one of the estate's early releases in part two. Its latest release, this past September, is an extraordinary box set of one of his most acclaimed albums, "Sign o' the Times".
As part of the reissue campaign, the estate also released an equally impressive official podcast.
In its first episode, I heard one of the Melvoin sisters, who worked with Prince in "The Revolution" and sometimes contributed to the writing.
The interview emphasized that, for Prince, nothing was ever "just a demo". Everything he recorded was intentional and captured to a high standard, something to keep and treasure forever!
A few details:
The Vault is at Prince's Paisley Park estate in Minnesota, his own counterpart to Elvis's Graceland. He recorded much of his material there during the last 30 years of his life.
The estate includes a first-class professional studio and a large rehearsal space with an enormous stage for preparing tours. During the investigation into his death, a court order authorized the Vault to be opened. The estate now serves as a museum, concert venue and recording studio.
Although he left this world far too young, his legacy may continue to surprise us, perhaps even enlarging his stature through the Aladdin's cave he patiently built throughout his life. How lucky we are!
O.Miz
Links to the earlier parts:
Part one: that burst of creativity and meticulously crafted flamboyance.
Part two: raw talent, professionalism and versatility, even away from the spotlight.
In the image, counterclockwise from the upper-left corner:
Paisley Park, the Vault door, the rehearsal stage, the "Sign o' the Times" reissue artwork, a recording studio at the estate, a small portion of the material found in the Vault, Jay and Silent Bob with Kevin Smith on the right, and Disney's Aladdin's cave in the center.
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