Publication: Philadelphia City Paper [US]
Date: January 17, 1997
Section:
Page Number(s):
Length:
Title: "The Artist Formerly Known As..."
Reviewed By: Neil Gladstone

Tower Theater, Jan. 7

During the ballad "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" he teased, "Is your man fine? Has your man got an ass like mine?"

Twirling his microphone like a six-shooter and striding across stage like a school kid, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince joyously celebrated the release of his creative freedom in a recent show at the Tower Theater.

After a long public battle to get out of his record contract with Warner Brothers -- which included writing the word "slave" on his face to describe the nature of the relationship -- he gushed more than a little about his recently won liberty.

"Freedom is a beautiful thing!" he expounded like a preacher at his pulpit, and asked "Are you emancipated?" in between tunes culled from several different periods of his musical career.

The Artist kicked things into gear with "The Jam of the Year," the call-to-party cut from his new album, Emancipation (NPG/EMI). With the New Power Generation filling out the sound, the crisp funk number was given more room to thump and grind than on record. The punchy horn parts were provided via synthesizers with little detriment to the overall swing.

Filtered lights saturated the stage in red, green and yellow hues, often obscuring everything but The Artist's silhouette. Donning a lime-green fake fur turtleneck, white ski jacket and hip-hugging pants, he was also occasionally lost in the smoky glow.

Sight and sound gelled more cohesively when the band broke into "Purple Rain." The stage of the Tower Theater pulsed in violet while The Artist instructed the crowd to wave their arms from side-to-side, recalling the movie that made Prince a household name. He brought the number to a crescendo with a guitar solo that exhibited a stronger influence of terse Chicago blues than the Hendrix flash of yesteryear. Hammer-ons and trills were used sparingly and tastefully.

A heavy accent on older songs from the Prince library helped get the crowd on their feet and singing along. The set included hits like "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,""Raspberry Beret" and "Sexy M.F.," as well as notable album cuts like "If I Was Your Girlfriend" and lesser lights such as "17 Days." He dedicated Sign O' The Times' pious ballad "The Cross" to Philly luminaries Patti Labelle, Boyz II Men and The Delfonics. Surprisingly, The Artist didn't mention ex-Hooter Eric Bazilian before he played an R&B version of Bazilian's song "One of Us" (After all, Bazilian was at the show).

The show also included several tight jams, most notably on the new song "Face Down," which highlighted The Artist's bass guitar chops. "Play that muthafuckin' bass!" screamed enthusiastic fans. Members of the New Power Generation were allowed to take very brief, almost rehearsed solos. The mix for bassist Rhonda Smith was so muddy it was virtually impossible to hear what she was playing during her moment in the spotlight. Overall, however, the sound of the band was extraordinarily clear.

Without a horn section, back-up singers or dancers, stage theatrics were relatively low-key, but that didn't keep The Artist from chatting up the crowd with repeated cries of "C'mon, Philly!" During the ballad "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" he teased, "Is your man fine? Has your man got an ass like mine?" While The New Power Generation jammed on "Mr. Happy," he was joined onstage by a couple of female fans. Perhaps responding to their young age, he got on top of his baby grand piano and began chanting: "18 and over, I want to bone ya!"

At the beginning of the encore, the singer returned to ruminating about his struggles with Warner Brothers, this time a little more melancholy. The Artist sat at his piano, threw out a lines from "Kiss" and "Let's Go Crazy" and moped: "I don't own that one... I don't own that one either." He surmised things with the pithy pronouncement: "If you don't own your masters, your masters own you."

The show raised money for the Love 4 One Another Charity. According to The Artist, the association had already raised $1 million dollars. With proceeds from his upcoming 15-city tour all going to the charity, there's probably plenty more coming. Besides, $50 for such a great show in an intimate space is a fair deal.