This is part two of my ‘Prince monlogues’ (the first part is here) which I have written in response to a fleeting enquiry by fellow hl’er jez, so you can blame him when you’re all Prince’d out.
Coming right at the end of the 82-88 golden era (and maybe further evidence of the increasing artistic insecurity), The Black Album was withdrawn just as it reached stores. Prince decided that it was just too negative and that if he were to die suddenly in the following years, it was not how he would want to be remembered. It is also Prince at his darkest and funkiest, a return to the rougher, dirtier pre-Purple Rain sound and is the era that seems most referenced by contemporary artists such as moodymann.

I picked up my copy (on tape) from the bootleg stall in Camden Market when you could still get all sorts of illegal delights from there (happy days indeed).

Here is a track from the album, Bob George, which is a bit of a family obsession, so there is bound to be a 12 minute jaksoul/quaid edit at some point. It’s simple heavy electronic funk. Prince has some weird voice fx and takes the role of some pimped out alter-ego, it’s not a love song and is in many ways the antithesis of the previously posted track ‘Adore’, which maybe says something about how far his music had changed within the space of a year.

Prince-Bob George

Enjoy and for more about Prince and this era check out Alex Hahn’s excellent book on the subject.