We may never know why Prince chose not to release this album recorded before his tour. Welcome 2 America, who made two stops at the Metropolis in the summer of 2011. Perhaps he found his texts too biting? Militant, denouncer and sometimes cynical (on the title song at the opening), this album is now good to hear, its themes – racism, the consumer society, information-spectacle – seeming even more glaring. topicality. Musically, it’s pure Prince merging pop (on Hot Summer, the valve of lightness in this serious album in its themes), rock, jazz, funk, gospel and soul (suave Born 2 Die, almost a tribute to Curtis Mayfield), with the help of a trio formed among others by the Australian bassist Tal Wiklenfeld, then 21 years old. A posthumous record all the more appreciable as it fully bears the vision of Prince, unlike the demo compilations Piano and a Microphone 1983 and Originals published since his death in 2016.
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