Publication: Addicted To Noise [US]
Date: July 12, 1996
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Title: "More Mystery From That Guy We Once Called Prince"
Written By: Gil Kaufman

Symbolman?

While Prince has made a career of leaving people guessing, his latest album, his last offering of "original" material for Warner Brothers, ups the ante on the freak scale. It's hard to say if the lyrics contain any carefully-coded barbs at his former bosses, but it certainly seems as if the enigmatic artwork on the CD insert is loaded with (not-so hidden) meaning. The most obvious icon is laid out across an entire panel, a syringe full of money with blood dripping off the end onto a Polaroid with a reel-to-reel machine and what looks like racks of master tapes. I'm not going to touch that one. But, here's a stab at figuring out the rest: the heart in a toilet? How about the feeling of having his heart and soul stepped on (check the boot marks all over the cover and the teary-eyed figure inside a broken record) by the big, bad media conglomerate. The five photos of awards, gold records, custom guitars, a secret vault and other career-defining accolades? How about a blast through and burying of his past and a nod toward a fresh start with a new label and a rejuvenated career? Same with the matchbook containing one burnt match and the title Chaos and Disorder printed in red, burn the past, look towards the future. The burning roses with razor blade and Bible with his initials, "P.R.N." burned into the cover? Hey, it wouldn't be Prince if we knew what the hell he was talking about all the time.