(Symbol) [PA] - Prince (CD 1992)

Prince came on the scene in the late 70 s and brought with him his unique blend of music. Prince is best known for taking ballads and infusing his own flavor of funk into the grooves. In the early 80 s he was all the rage with Purple Rain. After some contractual disputes with his label at the time Prince recreated himself again and released music under a new name, an unpronounceable symbol. That was the in the early 90 s and Prince has since been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. An interesting personality, to say the least, Prince has produced some amazing tunes. Prince and the New Power Generation's Symbol album is one of my favorite Prince albums.

The Album

The Symbol album was produced at the height of Prince s conflict with the media over his name change. Feeling as if he was enslaved to his label and Prince changed his name in protest. This action caused backlash with the media that treated the change as nothing more than a publicity stunt.

Released in 1991 under Prince s label, Paisley Park Records and distributed by Warner Brothers Prince takes the angst and pressure he was feeling at the time and crafted the album that is now commonly called the Symbol album. The 18 track (2 tracks are verbal, talking with a pretend interviewer) album is a wide swath of Prince s talent with several love songs; a few dance tunes and some tracks that feel more like jam sessions than anything else. All of the tracks on the album are distinctively Prince tunes. Some songs carry subtle overtones while some are funked out as far as they will go.

The first track, My Name is Prince is a party tune. This song is dripping with everything that Prince has come to be known for. There is a driving dance beat backing his vocals while the background singers support him with what sounds like gospel vocals. There are flashes of horns, harmonizing vocals, screeching guitars, organ notes, and Prince s trademark Ohyah s. A rap towards the end of the track dates the music that otherwise still sounds surprising fresh.

The second track is actually the first I heard on this album and what led me to buy this record way back when. Titled Sexy Mother F@%&*er it is not for the faint of heart. The song is set to the background of organ tones and jazzy horns. Prince sings the vocals in a breathy undertone making the song more sensual than sexual. The song is explicit but it is done in a playful way.

The third song is Love 2 the 9 s. This starts off as an old school love song with airy vocals set to that late 70 s R&B ballad tempo. It breaks down to a jazzy jam session with a short rap and some turntable scratches before coming back to where it started.

The Morning Papers is the fourth track of the Symbol album. This song is much more traditional in the sense that Prince left out the overly dramatic bass line. You have a piano, horns and the obligatory guitar solo giving this tune that late 80 s early 90 s feel. The Morning Papers is one of the softer tracks on the disk.

Fifth to come up is The Max. This is a very electronic heavy dance tune that compared to modern dance music is very dated. Repetitive lyrics are set to a heavy bass line and are infused with Prince s normal cat calls and hoots. A piano is brought in to make the track a little funkier but the track just seems to drag on a little too long.

The sixth track is a little blurb of some pretend interview. It is meant to be a slap in the face of some of Prince s critics. This is one of the two that are on the album and take away from the front to back enjoyment of the Symbol album.

Blue Light is the next one on the playlist. This track has heavy reggae influences in the drums, cadence, and in the mood. Prince still makes it jazzy with a few well placed horns and some soulful vocals. The song is very playful and enjoyable. It has that feel good spice to it that makes it stand out on this album. It feels raw and closer to the real Prince than the persona.

The eighth track on the Symbol album is one called Wanna melt with You. This is sort of a funky dance tune. I would call it a booty call song because that is all that the song talks about. Towards the end of the track Princes pushes the P.C. envelope a little with lyrics like Yeah, do that baby, just like a dog with a woman playfully barking in the background to the beat of the song.

In a polar opposite to the previous tune, the next song, Sweet Baby is an extremely tender love song. Think of Prince singing a Temptations tune gently, with a soft drum beat keeping pace and you will have a sense of the mood of this track. This is one of the best crafted songs on the album.

The Continental is the tenth song. This is another dance tune but is much funkier than The Max. The track is still a little dated but is much more Prince than the other dance tunes on the Symbol. The New Power Generation kicks up the pace and the funk with this one. The downside, like all the other dance songs on this album they carry it out a little too long.

The eleventh track is Damn U. Wow, you will not believe that it is Prince singing this song! This is a very groovy love song. This one has bedroom eyes! Damn U is very soft and sensual.

Switching gears again the tempo picks up with the twelfth, Arrogance. This song sounds like a high energy funked out jam session.

The Flow is the next track and is written in response to some of Prince s critics. The song s background is a drum machine in a loop that sort of gets under my skin after a few seconds. Add the horns with some record scratches and I just hit the button for the next track. The lyrics and the music are a little corny and it makes it all a little too much for me.

The fourteenth track is 7. This is one of my favorite Prince songs. 7 is very well crafted with harmonizing vocals and great lyrics. It is one of those songs you just find yourself singing along with. An Indian guitar is used as well as finger symbols to add a very distinctive feel to this song.

And God Created Woman is next and is also an outstanding song. The mood of the song is very tender and caring. This is a classic Prince ballad and you will find yourself listening to this one over and over again.

The sixteenth song on Symbol is Chains o Gold. This song features dramatic guitars tones drawn out with a piano accompanying it. This feels way too much like Prince covering a Meatloaf tune to me. Rock opera Prince style, I will pass, thank you anyway.

Next comes another fake interview blurb.

The final track on the Symbol album is the Sacrifice of Victor. It is another dance tune. It is very funky and upbeat. It is a lot easier to listen to then the others on the album. Prince puts his stank all over this one! Brassy horns blast notes to broken segments of vocals all the while the bass thumps and beat keeps moving. It is 100% Prince.

Personal Impressions

I am not a huge Prince fan by any stretch of the imagination. I do own this and one other Prince album. I enjoy jazz, R&B, and some of George Clinton's stuff and Prince brings all of it to the table. The Symbol album really highlights some of Prince s strongest characteristics and talents. Prince composed all the tracks for this album (he got some help on a couple) and he really writes some beautiful music. Vocally, lyrically and musically this album is among his best work.

Prince is able to take all of his past influences and put them together on the Symbol album is such away that makes it unmistakably Prince. You can feel the jazz and the funk all over this album. Somewhere inside of me I really believe that the Prince is a by product of a wild night with George Clinton and Barry White.

If you like slow grooves that make you want to warm your partner up for some adult time then you will find a lot to enjoy about the Symbol album. There are also several dance tracks that are definitely Prince, driven and very funky. It has the party tracks to dance to and the private party songs to, well, you know.

The insert has all the lyrics and some band photos. This will serve only to validate how dated the album is with the guys sporting fades and holding 80 s style guitars but hey, who cares?

All and all the Symbol is a pretty good album. Prince missed the mark for me on a couple tracks but is still funky and it is still fun.

Thanks for reading
Christian921

Playtime: 1.2 hours, 18 tracks

Add to your playlist: 7, And God Created Woman, and Damn U

Skip burning: Both of the segue tracks (fake interviews), Chains O Gold, and The Max.




On another note: I stole a little of speeddemon531 s review style here. He writes some very strong reviews and I like how he ties things up at the end. So I sampled it from him!

I hope you don t mind. I gave you the props so I hope you don t hold it against me!