The Wiz: Prince Pt. 2
The genius of the little Prince #2
A confession: I always heard people calling him a genius. Perhaps because my early childhood unfolded in the 1980s, surrounded by the synthesizers and electronic drums the grown-ups listened to, I developed a certain aversion to those sounds.
Even as I grew older, I struggled with them, including Prince's music from that period. That feeling followed me, apart from the occasional song. I never quite connected. Like a carried-over error in a math problem: you get something wrong at the beginning, even though all your subsequent calculations are fine.
Sometimes you need to slow down and return to the beginning to see the bigger picture. Some say great artists reveal themselves in quieter settings, without the noise, feathers and fireworks. Think, in a different context, of "Nirvana" unplugged, and how many listeners they won over once the distortion came off.
At least, that was how it happened for me with Prince. The moment his genius truly clicked: as a singer, instrumentalist, creator and consummate professional. There is another aspect I will discuss in part three to complete the picture.
Around two years after his death, Prince's estate released an early bird from its cage, the legendary Vault, which we will explore next time. And this was the piece that opened it.
The album: "Piano & a Microphone 1983". The song: "17 Days", later released as the B-side to "When Doves Cry".
Prince settles into the mood and gets going. He asks for the lights to be dimmed, lets out a priceless James Brown-style "Good God!", and launches into a brisk gospel-flavored groove, tearing into the piano. The intensity, the changing rhythms in his playing and his voice are simply breathtaking. Even as a practicing Jew, I felt like the most devoted member of a church choir, waiting for the chance to accompany him.
At least I got to return to the beginning and correct that carried-over error to some degree!
The piano version from the album:
The synth-pop studio version released as a B-side:
Live: the quality is far from great, but even if this particular style or arrangement is not your thing, there is no denying the full effect of the carnival, the bling and the spectacle onstage.
Enjoy! O.Miz
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