Publication: The Hartford Courant [US]
Date: September 13, 1997
Section: Connecticut Living
Page Number(s): E1
Length: 917 Words
Title: "Free At Last, The Artist Goes It Alone"
Written By: Roger Catlin

It's been a decade of personal downsizing for The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.

Once he was a multiplatinum, internationally known rock Renaissance man, parlaying a combination of soul, pop, and R & B into a prolific string of albums, a few movies and memorable concert tours. All the while he remained mysterious about his own persona while locked in a perpetual battle between religious and sexual ecstasy.

When last Prince played Hartford nine years ago, he filled the Civic Center with his big "Lovesexy" tour. This year, finally freed from the recording contract that had him painting the word "slave" on his face for years, he set a pair of dates at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, putting them on sale just 10 days in advance.

Last-minute notice not only adds to the spontaneity of his touring schedule but helps prevents scalping. (Although there's some question how much more scalpers would charge for tickets that are already $100, $85 and $75 -- the highest prices for a non-casino, non-charity concert in Connecticut history.)

The Artist, as he now prefers to be known, is not out to make a financial killing. Unlike almost every other major artist on tour, he has neither support from a major record company nor sponsorship from a corporation.

Reflecting the title and intent of his last commercial album, "Emancipation," he is freed of all corporate baggage.

So he sells his own merchandise, releases his own material on his own label, and bypasses record stores by making his recordings available only through the Internet or at live shows.

"My success is no longer defined by others," The Artist typed to USA Today in an e-mail interview earlier this week. "I pay no agent, no manager, no merchandiser and sometimes no promoter. These R some of the things that make one feel born again. Never again will I be slave 2 a system I had no part in designing.

"Being unsigned 2 a major label is the most rewarding, least constricting way of life I've led in 20 years. Everything I do now is on the spur of the moment, which allows me freedom 2 better follow my own divine design."

He conducts his life in such a spur of the moment way, he postponed at the last moment his two shows at the Oakdale Monday and Tuesday, citing a need for rest -- and to finish up an impending 3-CD set, "Crystal Ball," that he is marketing entirely himself.

"I suggested to him, take a couple weeks break to finish up the record," says Billy Sparks, The Artist's road manager. "The pace this guy's on, doing a 2 1/2-hour show, and then doing club shows at night many times after that -- the man's exhausted."

So the two Oakdale shows were postponed --and combined --to make the single performance Sunday at 8 p.m. Tickets are still available.

The show emphasizes songs from "Emancipation," such as "Jam of the Year" and his version of the Joan Osborne hit "One of Us." But it also covers his best-loved classics, including "When Doves Cry," "Raspberry Beret" and "Little Red Corvette."

In a tour that's expected to run until New Year's Day 1999, the Artist is leading his modest band through a funky show, partying like it's, well, two years from now.

The Artist had a distribution deal with EMI before that company dissolved earlier this year. Now he's concentrating solely on the Internet and personal appearances to sell his next album, another 3-CD epic called "Crystal Ball." Orders for the $50 album are being taken by phone (800-639-3865) and at the Internet site, http://www.love4oneanother.com

For those who reserve a copy, the Artist will throw in a couple of bootlegs, "Hide the Bone" and "Sexual Suicide," and a copy of his acoustic album, "The Truth."

Once a recluse in his purple- painted Paisley Park studio near Minneapolis, The Artist seems to be everywhere these days. He's a guest on "Muppets Tonight" in its season premiere tonight at 6:30 on the Disney Channel, in which he cavorts with Bobo, who identifies himself as "the bear currently known as Not Amused."

He's gotten a lot of great reviews for his 1997 shows with a band that includes Kirk Johnson on drums, Morris Hayes on keyboards, Rhonda Smith on bass and guitarists Mike Scott and Kathleen Dyson.

"The set is virtually nothing, just gear," the Artist said in his July press conference outlining his touring and charity plans. "It's a jam session with real musicians -- for now!"

At the press conference, he also announced that his Love 4 One Another Charities is joining Muhammad Ali's campaign, the World Healing Honors, which plans a benefit concert next month in Los Angeles.

The Love 4 One Another charity was founded last year to aid children. One plan involves purchase of land in Minneapolis to build a school, clinic and day-care center.

"Without sounding too rambunctious, I didn't learn much at school. The first time I encountered black history, I saw people hung on a tree, and that's wrong. The cool thing about America is that we represent all cultures and should teach that all people are beautiful."

The Artist's review of his own history in concert, by playing a lot of his old hits, has confused some people, who see it as a return to the past. But as he said in an e-mail to a writer for the Dallas Morning News, "Contrary 2 most of your analysis of my career and personality, I am a progressor and by no means wish it was 1984 again, 4 reasons 2 numerous 2 mention.

"As far as my career is concerned," he said, "this has been the best year of my life!"