I got my answer last week from another Tweet from Pitchfork, this time with two video clips of Prince performing on Jimmy Fallon, and when I saw that one of the songs was "Bambi," I had to check it out first because "Bambi" is not only a classic cut from his eponymous 1979 sophomore album, it's also got some raunch on it. Prince and his all girl backing band tore it apart; Prince's new band is heavy and their sound is pleasingly dense, and Prince ferociously shredded that killer riff fourteen ways til Sunday while visibly luxuriating in the salaciousness of lyrics like "Bambi... don't you understand it's better with a man?" "Screwdriver," his latest single unfortunately doesn't feature Prince's best melody but again it had a killer guitar riff and some of the most obvious Prince nastiness that I've heard in fifteen years. This, was Prince.
But the goodness didn't stop there because Monday night reclusive r&b mastermind D'Angelo teamed with ?uestlove Thompson for a secret show at Brooklyn Bowl. It's been twelve years since Voodoo, and I've been following D'Angelo's long march back with keen interest. When Brown Sugar landed in 1995 it was like lightening in a bottle. Prince had kind of artistically lost the thread around that time consumed as he was with battling with his label Warner Brothers and changing his name to a glyph, something in retrospect he was actually ahead of the curve on (take a look at your text messages, and Twitter), but D'Angelo exploded on the scene and looked like an heir apparent. Five years later the aforementioned Voodoo seemed to confirm this; meticulously curated and produced by The Roots' ?uestlove Thompson, it fulfilled every expectation... but then it all went wrong.
I'm not getting into the Behind The Music part of D'Angelo's bio; he had issues, but now he seems to working his way back, ala Brian Wilson, and this is good news for music fans because like Brian Wilson and Prince he's a musical genius with things to say. His third album, also produced by (Prince aficionado) ?uestlove is apparently finished and hopefully will be released this year, and after a few live shows in Europe and the rapturously received show the other night it looks like there might even be some live shows in the future. The show the other night even featured a spectacular Prince cover, 1986's "New Position:"
2013, which is already shaping up to be an excellent year for music, could be seismic, with the return of not one but two musical geniuses from the wilderness of life to potentially once again achieve relevance. I'm obviously rooting for them, and with the emergence of the new r&b the time is right for Prince and D'Angelo to be properly appreciated. Stay tuned.
Also, because I keep hearing a terrible cover of Sheila E's Prince produced "A Love Bazaar," I feel compelled to share the original, and a "performance" on the French version of Solid Gold no less. Yes, it is a feast for the eyes I admit, but check out this brilliant groove, and the sublime harmonies. This is what it's all about.
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