Music
A previously unreleased set of Prince demos show once more what a massive talent the late star was
Album reviews, plus Jim Gilchrist on Edinburgh Jazz Festival up and comers
Prince: Originals
(Npg/warner Brothers)
Lizzo: Cuz I Love You
(Atlantic) Phillip Bailey: Love Will Find A Way
(Verve Records)
St Christopher Medal: Hoof!
(Stereogram Recordings)
His name was Prince and he was funky. Even when he was custom writing for other artists (Kenny Rogers excepted). Following the release of the live studio demo Piano and a Microphone 1983, Originals is the second compilation of material to be exhumed from Prince’s vault – an actual vault to which he had exclusive access in his lifetime – and comprises completed demo versions of songs he gave to other artists, including global hits such as The Bangles’ Manic Monday, Sheila E’sthe Glamorous Life and The Family’s Nothing Compares 2U , which received a whole new life when Sinead O’connor covered it, alongside connoisseur cuts he produced for his Minneapolis muses Apollonia 6, Vanity 6 and Jill Jones.
The recordings mostly date from Prince’s purple period of 1981-85 and demonstrate his diversity as a songwriter, from the luminous ballad Noon Rendezvous to the funky hip-hop jam Holly Rock, both destined for Sheila E, as well as his ability to shapeshift vocally in order to showcase his song to the
artists in question. Just try spotting the difference between the Prince and Martika versions of the sultry smooch Love Thy Will Be Done and hear him in a new light reflecting Kenny Rogers’ range with his baritone croon on You’re My Love.
While Originals does not quite hang together as one of his own albums would, it is a fascinating document for completists. But if you want to hear a more satisfying missive in the Prince tradition, proceed directly to Cuz I Love You, the full-length debut from Detroit diva Lizzo.
This irrepressible singer/rapper/ flautist is a more recent beneficiary of the Prince touch, having guested on his 2014 Plectrumelectrum album with 3rdeyegirl, but this confident funk-fuelled stew of sounds is entirely her calling card, from the melodramatic title track to the pop R&B of Soulmate via the infectious soul funk of Juice. She celebrates the female form with Missy Elliot on hiphop/electro funk mash-up Tempo and outlines her taste in men on Boys. Even on such an instantly appealing collection, the sharp, testifying funk of Exactly How I Feel stands out. Janelle Monae may finally have a match for her all-rounder artistry.
You might think Earth, Wind
& Fire frontman Phillip Bailey would be fully occupied in touring with the veteran funkateers but, in the studio at least, he has been fraternising with the great and the good, the young and the old on the US jazz scene to produce this serene solo album. Bailey has secured guest appearances from jazz young guns Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper on spiritual space jazz odyssey Sacred Sounds and saxophonist Casey Benjamin on the slow jam title track, while his peers Chick Corea and drummer Steve Gadd also make classy contributions. Bailey himself is on sublime form, delivering the quiet storm of Curtis Mayfield’s Billy Jack, the dreamy conscious soul of We’re A Winner and a breathy smooth jazz version of Talking Heads’ Once In A Lifetime, while the limpid, chiming instrumental Brooklyn Blues and funky Long As You’re Living vary the texture.
The members of Leith’s Life With Nixon scattered to the winds two decades ago but came back together in Perthshire as St Christopher Medal, a grown-up pop/rock outfit with a big, warm, rootsy sound reminiscent of The Hold Steady, The Decemberists and other ambitious 21st-century outfits who don’t fear The Eagles. Their second album Hoof! offers slowburn songs which take their time to unfold – among the best here are the cosmic country prog rock of Wayne, Moon Pilot ,the unapologetic chiming guitar workout Family Tent and Those Nights ,a resonant requiem for the victims of the Bataclan and other attacks.
The recordings demonstrate his ability to shapeshift vocally to showcase songs