DEEP DIVES – Album Reviews: Come and The Black Album by Prince

I am doing a deep dive into the work of the musical artist Prince.  Each week until December I will post my thoughts on albums released by Prince (and his bands and side projects) focusing on one year of his career. 

This week I’m focusing on 1994, when Prince released Come, his last album under his birth name on Warner Bros., and the official release of 1987’s The Black Album.

Album: Come
Artist: Prince
Release Date: August 16, 1994
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

• Space
• Loose
• Race

Thoughts:

Someday my Prince will Come.

I’m sure that The Purple One was not thinking of Snow White when naming this album.  In fact, this album was released as Prince’s relationship with Warner Bros. deteriorated so much that neither he nor the record company promoted it.  The dates “1958-1993” on the cover indicate that “Prince” is dead and going forward, his new releases on Warner Bros. would be credited to . I’d like to say that this is a lost Prince classic, but it’s underwhelming.  There are some standouts – the funky “Space,” “Loose!” which has almost an industrial rhythm, and the New Jack Swing of “Race.” Dead or alive, Prince is still unbelievably horny and will let you know about it in great detail from the overindulgent, 11-minute title track, to the closing track “Orgasm.”

Rating: **1/2

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Album: The Black Album
Artist: Prince
Release Date: November 22, 1994 (limited release on December 8, 1987)
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

• Le Grind
• Cindy C
• Superfunkycalifragisexy
• 2 Nigs United 4 West Compton

Thoughts: Prince claimed that Come was a collection of his outtakes although much of that album was made of recent songs. The Black Album was truly from the vault, and album that had received limited release in 1987 before Prince determined it was “evil” and had the album pulled and replaced with Lovesexy.  The album became the stuff of legend and bootlegging until it finally got a legal release in 1994, although even then it was only available for a short time.  Today it is another rarity and I could only listen to it as an upload to YouTube.  It probably sounded dated by 1994, and it’s not a lost classic, but nonetheless it is a lot more exciting than Come.  I imagine it might have made a bigger splash in 1987 with it’s superfunky sounds designed to appeal to the Black audiences that Prince felt he was losing.
Rating: ***1/2

For You	1978		***
Prince	1979		***1/2
Dirty Mind	1980		****
Controversy	1981		****
1999	1982	Prince and the Revolution	*****
Purple Rain	1984	Prince and the Revolution	*****
Around the World in a Day	1985	Prince and the Revolution	****
Parade	1986	Prince and the Revolution	****
Sign “☮︎” the Times	1987		****1/2
8	1987	Madhouse	***
16	1987	Madhouse	***1/2
Lovesexy	1988		***1/2
Batman	1989		***
Graffiti  Bridge	1990		***1/2
Diamonds and Pearls	1991	Prince and the New Power Generation	***1/2
[Love Symbol]	1992	Prince and the New Power Generation	***1/2
Goldnigga	1993	The New Power Generation	**1/2
Come	1994		**1/2
The Black Album	1994		***1/2
The Gold Experience	1995
Exodus	1995	The New Power Generation
Chaos and Disorder	1996
Emancipation	1996
Kamasutra	1997	The NPG Orchestra
Crystal Ball	1998
The Truth	1998
Newpower Soul	1998	The New Power Generation
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale	1999
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic	1999
The Rainbow Children	2001
One Nite Alone…	2002
One Nite Alone… Live!	2002
Xpectation	2003
N-E-W-S	2003
Musicology	2004
The Chocolate Invasion	2004
The Slaughterhouse	2004
C-Note	2004
3121	2006
Planet Earth	2007
Indigo Nights	2008
Lotusflow3r/MPLSound	2009
20Ten	2010
Plectrumelectrum	2014	with 3rdeyegirl
Art Official Age	2014	with 3rdeyegirl
HITnRun Phase One	2015
HITnRun Phase Two	2015