Courtesy of mojo4music.com
Prince has officially announced that come September, he will release not one, but two albums. Both will be released September 30th. The initial, expected album, titled PlectrumElectrum, was first announced early in 2013, and the long wait had fans worried that the album release had been cancelled entirely. This LP is the debut album of Prince’s all-female backing band, 3rdEyeGirl, composed of Hannah Ford on drums, Donna Grantis on guitar, Ida Nielsen on bass, and Prince on vocals of course. Classified as a rock album, PlectrumElectrum was recorded entirely in analog, without separate or digital tracking, which naturally creates more of a live ambience on the recording, as if the band were in the room with you. The singles “Plectrum Electrum,” and “PretzelBodyLogic” have already been released and are available here. If you pre-order the album, you will get a free downloads for your instant gratification and pleasure.
The second, surprise album, titled Art Official Age, does not feature 3rdEyeGirl on it, but is Prince’s first solo album since 2010’s 20Ten. One single released so far, “Broken” was dropped specifically on April 18th, 2014, coinciding with the day Prince announced his return to his former record label, Warner Bros. He had previously left his label in protest of his contract in 1996, wearing the word “slave” on his face. At the time, he told Rolling Stones, “When you stop a man from dreaming, he becomes a slave. That’s where I was. I don’t own Prince’s music. If you don’t own your masters, your master owns you.” Prince’s return to the record label happened earlier this year after working out a deal with Warner Bros. in which he owns the masters to his recordings. This LP, Art Official Age (read “artificial”), reportedly will have more of a R&B, soul, and funk sound to it, more like classic Prince. Check back in with FDRMX after September 30th for a full track-by-track review of both albums on the Encyclopedia of Music.
Track List for PlectrumElectrum:
1. Wow
2. Pretzelbodylogic
3. Aintturninround
4. Plectrumelectrum
5. Whitecaps
6. Fixurlifeup
7. Boytrouble
8. Stopthistrain
9. Anotherlove
10. Tictactoe
11. Marz
12. Funknroll
Track List for Art Official Age:
1. Art Official Cage
2. Clouds
3. Breakdown
4. The Gold Standard
5. U Know Prince
6. Breakfast Can Wait
7. This Could Be Us
8. What It Feels Like
9. affirmation I & II
10. Way Back Home
11. FunkNRoll
12. Time
13. affirmation III