A companion record to the solo effort Art Official Age, PlectrumElectrum finds Prince backed by 3rdEyeGirl, the all-female power trio that is a band for the 2010s. If Art Official Age veered toward revamped soul, PlectrumElectrum, as its convoluted title suggests, celebrates guitar freakouts: it's heavy on fuzz tones and pummeling backbeats, taking digressions into spacious jazz fusion and clean funk. Prince doesn't take the lead all that often -- he steps to the mike for the hardest rockers, the exception being "Anotherlove" -- letting Donna Grantis or Ida Nielsen front the softer, quirkier numbers. The carousel of lead vocalists suits the carnivalesque tone of PlectrumElectrum, which feels casually virtuosic as it slides from thick rockers into slow jams before jolting itself to life with a shot of distortion. There are distinct differences from Art Official Age -- there's an elasticity to the rhythms that contrasts with the precision of the beats, 3rdEyeGirl seize any opportunity to blast away the confines of the song so they can simply jam -- but take away the reliance on guitar rock and this album draws from a similar source of slow smooth soul, pop, and hammy rap that feels deliberately divorced from hip-hop. Perhaps you could call this celebration of traditional musicianship old-school, but more than anything PlectrumElectrum feels like it belongs to its own little universe, a place that not only celebrates all of Prince's favorite sounds but his own kinks and eccentricities. If those eccentricities don't feel as strange or startling as they once did, blame that on the curse of being a veteran: he's not exploring new territory but building upon the ground he's already claimed for himself. And if the songs on PlectrumElectrum don't stick the way those on Art Official Age do, it's nevertheless a quiet thrill to hear Prince spar with worthy partners, as he does throughout this record.A companion record to the solo effort Art Official Age, PlectrumElectrum finds Prince backed by 3rdEyeGirl, the all-female power trio that is a band for the 2010s. If Art Official Age veered toward revamped soul, PlectrumElectrum, as its convoluted title suggests, celebrates guitar freakouts: it's heavy on fuzz tones and pummeling backbeats, taking digressions into spacious jazz fusion and clean funk. Prince doesn't take the lead all that often -- he steps to the mike for the hardest rockers, the exception being "Anotherlove" -- letting Donna Grantis or Ida Nielsen front the softer, quirkier numbers. The carousel of lead vocalists suits the carnivalesque tone of PlectrumElectrum, which feels casually virtuosic as it slides from thick rockers into slow jams before jolting itself to life with a shot of distortion. There are distinct differences from Art Official Age -- there's an elasticity to the rhythms that contrasts with the precision of the beats, 3rdEyeGirl seize any opportunity to blast away the confines of the song so they can simply jam -- but take away the reliance on guitar rock and this album draws from a similar source of slow smooth soul, pop, and hammy rap that feels deliberately divorced from hip-hop. Perhaps you could call this celebration of traditional musicianship old-school, but more than anything PlectrumElectrum feels like it belongs to its own little universe, a place that not only celebrates all of Prince's favorite sounds but his own kinks and eccentricities. If those eccentricities don't feel as strange or startling as they once did, blame that on the curse of being a veteran: he's not exploring new territory but building upon the ground he's already claimed for himself. And if the songs on PlectrumElectrum don't stick the way those on Art Official Age do, it's nevertheless a quiet thrill to hear Prince spar with worthy partners, as he does throughout this record.false0001-01-01 00:00:00PlectrumElectrum20142014-09-302014-09-3088Funk11130822242444a18121d-1a99-4dc7-be1b-9c8b37e6fb52070d193a-845c-479f-980e-bef15710653eb9e21ece-659f-446b-ad4a-d95201ae2ff7/media/data/media4/Music/Prince & 3rdEyeGirl/Plectrumelectrum/folder.jpgPrince & 3rdEyeGirlPrincePrince & 3rdEyeGirlPrince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation, he was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona and wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams. Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound. His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, and hip hop. He often played most or all instruments on his recordings.Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records at age nineteen, releasing the albums For You (1978) and Prince (1979). He went on to achieve critical success with the innovative albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981) and 1999 (1982). His sixth album, Purple Rain (1984), was recorded with his backup band the Revolution, and was the soundtrack to his film acting debut of the same name. Purple Rain continued critical success for Prince and was a major commercial success, spending six consecutive months atop the Billboard 200. Prince won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. After disbanding the Revolution, Prince released Sign o' the Times (1987), widely hailed by critics as his magnum opus. In the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros. in 1993, he changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol (known to fans as the "Love Symbol"), and was often referred to as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince (or TAFKAP) and simply the Artist.The Artist signed with Arista Records in 1998 and began referring to himself by Prince again in 2000. He achieved six US top ten albums over the following decade. In April 2016, aged 57, Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Prince had a prolific output, releasing 39 albums during his life, with a vast array of unreleased projects left in a vault at his home after his death, including completed albums and over 50 music videos. He released songs under multiple pseudonyms during his life, as well as writing songs that were made popular by other musicians, such as "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Manic Monday". Estimates of the complete number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000. Released posthumously, his demo albums Piano and a Microphone 1983 (2018) and Originals (2019) both received critical acclaim.
Prince sold over 150 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. His awards included the Grammy President's Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016, and was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.