THE ALT POP RIGHT

To get you ready for the weekend, Green Room put this playlist together for you to download and burn or load into your devices!

Even pop music has alternatives these days and we thought we'd share some pop with you we've enjoyed recently and it's a bizarre blend so take it for what it's worth.  It's quite a ride!

Click this pic of a finger spinner that's only one spine short of looking like a Nazi star and you'll get Green Room's first playlist and a chance to possibly here some new music from new and exciting bands!

Oh and have a great weekend!

IT'S AN ELECTRIC SIX-A-PALOOZA!!!!!!!!!!

Wow!  Well, boys & girls, Electric Six is back on tour and not a minute too soon!  It's like something erupted in their camp!!!  It's an Electric Explosion!!!

This month saw the release of the band's last Kickstarter campaign.  "You're Welcome" arrived in all of it's various assorted packages (depending on what you purchased during the campaign)!  But that's nothing really.  The merchandise is great and fun to have but nothing compares to the absolute coolness of the album itself.

"You're Welcome" is comprised of two discs.  The first is a covers disc and sees Electric Six taking classic tunes from popular artists like Duran Duran & Kim Wilde, more eccentric and obscure artists like Boney M and Warren Zevon, and legendary pop sensations like David Bowie, Don Henley and Iggy Pop and transforming them into pure Electric Six gold.

That's something I really have to give these guys...  They can take a song I absolutely hate or can't stand and make it into something I'm blaring full volume in my truck driving around.  A wonderful example of this would be their cover of 'Last Night I Had A Dream' by Randy Newman.  I've never given this track a second thought in my entire life.  I've heard it before, but it's not a song I'd play over and over or really get into.  The boys in E6 take it and change it from a sleepy ballad into full tilt Rock & Roll.  You just can't go wrong here.

David Bowie is the only artist who gets double dipped on this record.  'Magic Dance' from the "Labyrinth" movie and 'Young Americans' appear.  In so many ways, it's a fitting tribute to the artistry of this amazing talent we so recently lost.  You can tell the guys have a great deal of respect for him and it shows in the effort they put into doing his music justice.

The second disc is a live performance recorded this year.  It features some deep cuts from the band and represents a desire among their fans to hear some more obscure cuts in their live shows.  I think the song I was most excited to hear had to be 'MC Sucka DJ'.  From the band's first "album" and I say that loosely as it was released under the band name The Wildbunch and was only printed in a limited run.  This disc is impossible to find.  Trust me, I'm looking.  But you can find bootleg copies online to download.  And that track is phenomenal.  It's too bad the band don't reissue the disc.

Seriously, if you missed out on this Kickstarter, you've missed out on one of the coolest Electric Six records!  It's really good.

You also missed out on the Electric Six Karaoke disc!  But if you're feeling blue, don't worry!  Cause the boys are still at it!

E6 guitarist, The White Wolf (John Nash), just released an EP as a precursor to his full length solo album.  "Futility" is Nash at his very best!  His voice is clear and the songs are absolutely brilliant!  I've been waiting for him to do more solo work and I'm here to tell ya, I'm not disappointed!  His solo album will be something to look forward to, but in the meantime, you can buy this EP on Bandcamp and encourage him to continue writing and recording!

The band's other guitarist, Dave Malarsh just finished recording a live CD with one of his side projects!  He published this photo of the group on Facebook.  I've heard some of the music he's done on the side with bands like Wolfbait and he's super talented!  He's also co-writing a lot of the newer E6 tracks I'm loving the most.  'When Cowboys File For Divorce' is still one of the best rock numbers out there right now.

Keyboardist, Tait Nucleus has a side project going I'm excited about called Belle Ghoul, but I haven't heard anything from them in awhile.  Hopefully, they'll put an album together soon.  The singles and EPs they've been releasing are fantastic!  This group deserves a full length album.

But fear not, sixers, because Dick Valentine himself is also doing his part to keep you rocking during recent weeks.  He's just released a new solo album called "Robocalls"! 

In addition to your double album, you can enjoy Dick Valentine not singing covers or live, but brand new material he wrote especially for you!  Getting your hands on this disc may be a bit of a stumper as he's only selling physical copies at the band's live shows right now, but every once in awhile if you check his facebook page, he'll do a mass mailing and ship a bunch out.  If you're really desperate, try messaging him and see if he'll do you a solid!

As is usually the case around this time of year, E6 has a new album scheduled for release.  "How Dare You" is on Metropolis Records release schedule for Oct 13, 2017, but the band is already selling copies of the album at their recent live shows.  So if you're smart, you'll find a way to get to one of those events and snag yourself an advance copy of new E6 music!

I haven't heard a great deal about this new record, but I'm excited to hear it.  If anyone on the east coast wants to do me a huge favor...  I'd love to get my hands on a copy.  Consider....

The band have also released another quarterly download for fans who participate in their subscription service.  This time, they included an outtake of a track called, 'Meat Grindin'.  Certainly a tune that could offend people.  Probably the reason it was left off the record.  Nash also included a mix video with some music mixes playing over a video mix of people dancing from a local Detroit dance program.  It's highly entertaining and enjoyable.

Dick Valetine recently put a mix CD together for The Green Room of music he was listening to and some of his favorite songs in that moment of time.  His Electric Mix is both revealing and adds a great deal of insight into his musical mind.  And frankly, that's one of the reasons I like this group so much.  They're a fluid non-conforming sound that goes wherever inspiration takes them.  Even if it sounds Country Western at times or like something from the 80's New Romantic movement.  The music they record is absolutely free.  And the energy and excitement these musicians share with each other is infectious.  We feel it!  

As a special treat and in celebration of the arrival of so much new Electric Six material, here's the mix CD Dick Valentine put together for us!  You can download it and enjoy all of the cool music he's enjoying right now!

Just click on the cover and you'll be able to download a Zip file of the disc.  Here's the tracklist:
01. The B-52's - Private Idaho
02. The Black Opera - No Water
03. Fischerspooner - The 15th
04. Detroit Grand Pubahs - Sandwiches
05. The Dirtbombs - Shari Vari
06. DJ Assault - Yo Relatives
07. Vince Staples - Norf Norf
08. Justice - Valentine
09. Ssion - My Love Grows In The Dark
10. Donnie Iris - Ah Leah
11. Bitchin' Bajas - Apui Koh Mai
12. Ty Segall - Orange Color Queen
13. Unrest - Can't Sit Still
14. Love And Rockets - No New Tale To Tell
15. Tame Impala - Apocalypse Dreams
16. Funkadelic - Hit It And Quit It
17. Van Halen - Hot For Teacher

I've really enjoyed this disc and I hope you do too!  Discover some new music and get your ears prepped for more Electric Six music coming atcha on the horizon!

LAUNCHING THE US LEG OF DEPECHE MODE'S GLOBAL SPIRIT TOUR

It's no secret my love for Depeche Mode has waned greatly over recent years.  And that's saying quite a bit.  Back in the day, I was a hardcore follower.  If they released a disc, I'd buy it.  Even if I already owned all of the music on other releases.  I was a DM completest.

I mean, I was so into them, I used to have re-occurring Rookie dreams...  You know, the ones where you're sitting in the stands at your favorite game supporting your favorite team and right at that pivotal crunch moment, the coach stands up, points to you and pulls you off the bleachers to join the team on the field and lead them to victory!!!  I would dream I'd get pulled aside right before the start of a DM show and they'd ask me to play one of the keyboards for the show!  The rest of the dream would be me on stage playing the songs with the band.  It was usually from a show I'd seen before.  But it was always uplifting and put me in the best moods when I'd wake up.

So where did it all go wrong?  

For a lot of fans, "Songs of Faith and Devotion" was too much of a change.  I think if you asked most die-hard fans when the band jumped the shark, they'll say that record.  

Watching a band who spent most of the 80's on the forefront of electronic music pioneering new forms of sound engineering and design, suddenly trying to catch up to the sound of younger grunge bands seemed like a death knell.  But for those of us who embraced the journey, we witnessed something extremely mind-blowing.  

The first time I saw the Devotional  Tour I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  David Gahan, who up to this point, was actually extremely embarrassing to watch perform (and we're talking cringe worthy like watching The Office cringing), was SEXY!!!  The young kid who's entire dance repertoire centered on spinning around with his mic stand was replaced with a longer haired, calmer, more commanding performer.  It was like someone took him out back and taught his some moves.

I was flabbergasted.

And the show was visually and mentally challenging as well.  They really delivered.  And I was re-hooked.  I saw this tour and the extended Exotica portion a total of 5 times.

The subsequent material was hit and miss with me.  "Ultra", another greatest hits package...  the company coffers were continuing to siphon off my excess income.  I got really excited about "Playing the Angel".  I loved that record and I loved the tour.  I was momentarily reinvigorated.  And that, my friends, is where everything went so 'Wrong'.

I...  actually hated a new Depeche Mode track.  Literally hated it.  And as I listened to other tracks from the disc, the glaring reasons for my waning interest were suddenly right in front of me.  I felt like the song writing was getting too predictable and they weren't putting out any new ideas or doing anything challenging musically.  They were just releasing a new record to tour behind.  

Something inside snapped and I quit.  I stopped.  I haven't bought a single record more.  I just crossed them off my list.

No more dreams.

So...  I got invited to see them for this tour by an old friend I haven't had contact with in some time.  To be honest, my motivation in going was mostly to hang with her and reconnect.  She'd never seen them live before and although none of their subsequent tours have matched the masterpiece of "Devotional" I know a band that can work a crowd and DM does put on a good show.  That's how I ended up at the USANA Amphitheatre to catch the opening show of the US leg of their new Global Spirit Tour.

Of course, there's a new album; which I've never heard nor had any intention of hearing.  But I wasn't going for that.  I was going for the hits.  For the older songs I knew they'd play.

And I was prepared!  And then this happened:

Dave come out on stage in front of a rainbow colored modern art piece that is continually shifting as the visual plays out.  'Going Backward' was the song and the painting indeed went backward until it was a blank canvas with Dave telling us there's "nothing" inside.

Wow

A few more new songs rolled in with some hits and then, BAM!

Nothing prepared me for the musical onslaught of this track.  I was dancing, singing, jumping, laughing, crying and completely caught up in the show.

Martin's impassioned performance of 'A Question Of Lust' and the wonderful under-rated song, 'Home' had me utterly emotional.

Suddenly, I wasn't watching a band I'd given up on years ago, I was with old friends who'd waited patiently for me to come around again.  And when I finally did, they welcomed me back and embraced me back into the fold.

I stopped worrying or thinking about my critical thoughts on their new music and instead, I simply let myself get caught up in the moment and feel it.

Even when they played the dreadful 'Wrong', I didn't lose interest or walk away.  I was part of something so much bigger than myself, my friends, Martin, Dave or Andy Fletcher.  I was "home".

If Depeche Mode are playing near you or you have the chance to see them on this tour, don't hesitate.  You won't be disappointed.

Here are Depeche Mode performing 'Home'.  One of my favorite moments from the show.

PRINCE: GOING FORWARD...

As a lifelong Prince admirer, I'd given a lot of thought to what would happen if he died.  Many of you who are die-hard Prince fans can relate.  By now, his legendary vault is household knowledge; whereas just a couple years ago, it was the worst kept secret in the entertainment industry.  Sure, Prince talked about it in interviews - but it was generally in passing and almost always a segue to another topic.  A casual viewer wouldn't think much of it or even remember it later on.  

The Fams are another story.  There are a large number of us who would buy entire albums by other artists, (even ones we didn't care for), just to get a single Prince song.  We knew the vault existed.  We had an idea what was in there and we knew we'd probably never hear any of it while he was alive.

On the day he died, I was flooded with conflicting emotions.  A very important voice in my life was suddenly gone.  Even though I didn't see him everyday, or talk to him, hang out with him or have a deep personal relationship with him, Prince was a real person in my life.  He celebrated my triumphs, shared my heartbreak and stayed by my side all through the years.  Ever a presence reaching out to me with new music.  His message of love was a sounding bell in a dark and lonely existence.  I truly believe this world is diminished by his passing.

At the same time, I kept thinking about the vault material and how I'd finally be able to hear some of it.  Of course I felt like a jerk for thinking that...  But I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it numerous times before as a "what if..." type scenario.  And I think many of his fans did the same.  We all thought about it, but none of us were prepared for it to happen so soon.  Perhaps that's why everything is in turmoil with his estate.  No one saw this coming.  Including Prince.

With the absence of a will, Prince's musical legacy is suddenly adrift in a sea of hands grabbing desperately for a share and seeking for a way to capitalize on the treasure trove of his released catalog and unreleased material.  The soap opera of heirs coming forward was irksome and annoying for those of us who want the dust to settle and work to begin.  I think it's fair to say most of us believe Prince would want his family to benefit from the estate and his musical legacy.  They are the true beneficiaries of his passing and deserve to be given control of this material.  No doubt, he wanted to make sure they were taken care of.

That being said, he also had some strong opinions about record companies and ownership of his music.  He spent years learning how to navigate the contracts and relationships record companies develop with their artists.  His understanding of these aspects prompted him to pioneer multiple methods of product distribution and the way artists are compensated for their work.  All of the progress he had made is now at risk because less experienced hands are in control and deals are being made without addressing the concerns Prince had.  The evidence speaks for itself.



The first posthumous Prince release appeared in the form of a greatest hits set made up of song edits and leftover photos from previous album shoots.  The die-hard fans already had this material and most only bought it for the single vault track that was added.  Even though many of them already knew the song and had heard it many times before, 'Moonbeam Levels' inspired us to buy because it represented something we'd all been waiting for.  A chance to hear studio quality versions of widely circulated outtakes and demos with terrible sound quality.  

For the record, this is where Warner Bros. dropped the ball for the second time.  The sound quality is definitely superior to any copy circulating, but it doesn't hold up against the quality of the other tracks on the album.  Many assumed it was because Warner Bros. didn't actually have the master tape from the vault.  More likely it was sourced from an in house cassette of outtakes or some other format the company had lying around.

From my  perspective, "4ever" represented a fear growing in my heart when I accepted he was gone.  Seeking to capitalize on the onslaught of sales Prince's music would inevitably experience after his death, they manufactured a cash cow.  We know Warner Bros. and Prince were working together on a couple of projects at the end of his life, and I think they leveraged their access to these songs to put together a definitive package they could sell to the casual listener looking for their favorite single tracks and the long time fans who they knew would re-buy music they already had just to get the one new vault track.  It felt disrespectful somehow.  And horribly greedy.  It's also indicative of the way record companies have milked the unreleased recordings of other artists.  Every year, a new greatest hits package with one or two unreleased tracks hits the store shelves and the fans will end up spending the cost of a double album for one or two songs they want to add to their collections.  In my opinion, this is corporate greed in action.  I'm worried this is exactly what will happen with Prince's vault.

To this day it's not even clear if Warner Bros. had the right to release the track.  Fortunately for them, oversight of the vault and its contents is still under the jurisdiction of the court responsible for disseminating his estate among his heirs.  Although it may appear irresponsible for the court to allow any unreleased material to come out until the case is settled, the judge definitely is of the opinion that the estate should continue to generate income.  In order to make that happen, he appointed executors who are essentially making business decisions on behalf of the estate.  And they are not motivated by artistic and creative freedom, artist rights or any one of the many things Prince believed in.  They are motivated by money and how the estate can be continue to be viable.  They want to see the coffers flush with cash and the estate generating a steady stream of income.  Now to be certain, Prince's legal heirs should have some say in decisions made about the property they'll inherit.  However, if they do have influence, the full extent of their control is unknown.

Evidence points to Paisley Park becoming a steady stream of revenue for the estate, and yet whoever is in charge has been picking battles and making some decisions that are absolutely ridiculous.



I'll use Ian Boxill's recent attempt to release an E.P. of vault material as an example.  "Deliverance" would've essentially been another cash cow payday for the estate as Boxill had already handled everything from producing, mastering and even manufacturing the physical CDs.  He scheduled a release date and even stated publicly the estate would receive the bulk of the profit earned by the project.  "Deliverance" would've generated income without costing the estate anything in production, marketing, manufacturing or even distribution.

And yet, the message they're sending to the public is utterly conflicting.  They're suddenly concerned about ownership rights and Prince's right to control his legacy.  With such mixed messages making their way into the public arena, my faith in the estate's ability to handle Prince's back catalog and legacy work has completely vanished.

Warner Bros., for their part continue to pump out new vault tracks as they recently did on the Deluxe Expanded Edition of "Purple Rain."



Still, the same complaints made against "4ever" are being made here as well.  First off, the packaging is similar to "4ever".  Digipacks offering little protection for the discs inside and photographs taken from earlier photo shoots.  Instead of offering a definitive version or ultimate edition of the album, "Purple Rain" was issued with two options.  You could buy A) a two disc set including the disc containing the vault tracks, or B) a four disc set including the vault disc, a singles disc and a DVD of a "Purple Rain Tour" show.

The compilation is getting mixed reviews.  On one hand, it's wonderful to have the unreleased tracks on a disc you can purchase and listen to at your leisure; however, once again the quality of these songs is questionable; indicating that the source material isn't the master tapes languishing in the vault but rather some other format the record company had lying around.  Warner most likely had a number of unreleased tracks in their possession on "in-house" cassettes or "test pressings" of vinyl albums and used them as the source recordings for this compilation.  Hence, the sound quality varies dramatically from track to track and the overall production value is less than the remastered first disc and the singles collection third disc.  Unfortunately, and this is another sticking point, most of these tracks have absolutely nothing to do with Purple Rain.  Using misleading, incorrect liner notes to validate their inclusion, Warner Bros., attempts to justify the outtakes on the disc.  Because the tracks were from the same period and sound similar to the music from the "Purple Rain" soundtrack, it's easy to see how people would be fooled.



Over the past few decades, die-hard Prince fans have researched and documented virtually every aspect of his career and creative output.  Recording sessions have been meticulously chronicled and investigated.  The origins of these vault outtakes, their recording dates and intended purpose has been thoroughly vetted and documented.  Now to be fair, there are four songs on the vault disc that are arguably part of the "Purple Rain" story.  'Father's Song', the lovely piano instrumental based on a melody written by Prince's father, John L. Nelson, was included on early configurations of the "Purple Rain" soundtrack, but was eventually scrapped.  It does appear in the film, but this version would've appeared on the album if it'd been lucky enough to survive the editor's knife.  'Electric Intercourse' was also intended for the album.  It doesn't show up on early configurations because it was dropped fairly quickly in favor of 'The Beautiful Ones'.  An instrumental bridge of 'Possessed' did appear in the movie as background music or score, so it's cool to see it included.  And finally, the piece de resistance...  The full length version of 'Computer Blue' appears on this disc.  The version you actually hear on "Purple Rain" is an edit of this track.  So in these four tracks, you do get to hear some of the music that was surrounding the film and might've been a part of it if things had gone differently.

There's another legitimate outtake that made some configurations of "Purple Rain" and that track is 'Wednesday' sung in the film by Jill Jones; however it's left off entirely.  Both the scene and the song were deleted from the final cut, but it should have been included here.  And what about The Time's "Ice Cream Castle" or Apollonia 6?  Both of those records contain songs featured in the film and are built around the film's characters.  As far as I know, Apollonia 6 never had a US release on CD.  It was released in Japan and copies of that disc sell now for hundreds of dollars.  Unless you're extremely wealthy, getting your hands on one of these would be next to impossible.  Warner's had an opportunity to add these adjacent albums to this collection making it a true film Deluxe Edition, but they passed it up in favor of including a 3rd disc of single edits, extended versions and b-sides.  The thing that really makes this disc utterly annoying is the fact I already have everything on it on other releases.  It provides little value except to those who don't already have the edits or b-sides.

Offering the Syracuse show on DVD was a great bonus, except they missed out on the opportunity to charge a few more bucks and offer a Blu Ray release.  

I'm left with the distinct impression someone dropped the ball.  The packaging, although attractive and inviting, doesn't offer the discs inside a lot of protection and weren't manufactured to high quality standards.  It reminds me of the Disney release of Wall E in those cardboard boxes that were almost instantly destroyed once your kids handled them.  What I'm saying here, (and I'm sure I'm not alone), is that fans are disappointed and concerned about the way Prince's legacy is being managed.  I also realize these opinions don't matter to the suits in charge.  Still, I feel the need to speak out and make a couple suggestions.  I hope the estate will read them and take them into consideration.

To begin, let me say it's impossible to know what Prince actually thought or intended for much of the vault music.  But there are ways to get a fairly good idea.  Even though Prince recorded by himself, he would also work with the musicians comprising his various bands at any given time.  His relationships with these musicians vary greatly, however one thing is certain...  They all influenced him.  Because of this, they were an integral part of the musical projects he'd work on while they were around.



From The Revolution to The New Power Generation and all the way to 3rd Eye Girl, Prince worked with a rotating roster of musical talent.



These people were actually there during the creative process.  Even if they don't know everything he was thinking, they did know what direction he wanted to take the music in.  And they know this because they were playing it!  Either live, in rehearsal or in a recording studio...  They were intimately connected to the music.

Most of these bands are well known and easily identified.  His attachment to specific band members became more fluid as he got older and it seemed musicians would come and go on their own accord, but during his younger years when most of the vault material was written and recorded, he was usually entrenched with small groups of very select people.

Take Wendy & Lisa for example.  Their musical collaboration lasted roughly three years and in turn spawned one of the most creative, productive and successful writing streaks Prince has ever had.  Even at the end of his career he was drawing tracks from this time period to update and use on newer projects.  

As the three of them worked together, ideas would pour out of them.  Lisa would play something that would inspire Wendy and she in turn would play something that would inspire Prince and so on.  Their ability to work together creatively is one of the most genuine and real examples of musical collaboration in modern time.  The sound he created was at its peak while he worked with them.

Their process was fascinating and continues to captivate the minds of fans even years later.  Prince would develop a rough song idea, bring it to Lisa & Wendy and they would add to it and embellish it with their own unique stylings.  The level of trust these three shared is something I don't think Prince ever experienced again.

The Revolution as a whole would often record songs as a band.  Many of the classic tracks from "Purple Rain" are live band recordings.  Coupled with the writing and production work Wendy & Lisa were doing with him outside of the band make them uniquely qualified to interpret Prince's intentions and thoughts about the music he created during this time.  Can you think of anyone who could manage The Revolution vault material better?  Lisa & Wendy would know more than anyone if 'Wonderful Ass' was intended for a certain album or if it was a one off track without a home.  They would know about the various album configurations and the reasons why songs were added or subtracted.  More than anyone, they would know about abandoned or incomplete projects that never came to fruition.  This insight alone allows us to form a reasonable assumption about what Prince ultimately would or wouldn't want.

If the estate/heirs/court really wanted to A) remain true to the artistic integrity of Prince's music and B) make releases that were historically accurate, offered further insight into Prince's artistic vision, had strong earning potential and created value for the fans to whom they would be sold....  They would plan or schedule releases of music based on specific Prince periods and bring in the band members to help finish tracks that aren't complete, provide context for the material and correct information about his intentions and projects as well as put the albums together in a way that would actually honor Prince's original intention.

I've heard people say things like, "Prince would get bored with a record and move on to another project."  I don't believe that's entirely true.  I think each of these projects he created, (whether he abandoned them halfway through or completed and shelved them), had a purpose and was intended to send a message.  Why else would he write these songs and record them?  I don't think he would get bored, I think he simply had so many ideas, he couldn't release them or get all of them down.  So he'd take one as far as he could and then move on to something he could do more with.  But every single one of them, from "Dream Factory" & "The Flesh" to Tamar's "Milk & Honey" had a reason for existing.  They were intended and now they have a chance to see the light.



Around the time Warner Bros. released their "Purple Rain" Deluxe Edition, The Revolution were reunited and playing shows around the country.  I promise you, they were as amazing today as they were back in the 80's.  Of course they're older and some things have changed.  The clothes aren't as colorful, flouncy and trimmed in lace as they once were, and watching Wendy during a funky guitar solo reach up and push her glasses back up her nose is a far cry from the 18 year old standing onstage in a stadium filled with thousands of screaming fans wiping the floor with her sizzling guitar riffs.  But the talent, the comradery is still there.

In a recent interview, Lisa actually talked about the vault material and how she would like to be involved in releasing some of it.  She flat out offered her services!  Frankly, I think this is the smartest move the estate could make.

With simple scheduling, you could have various Prince associates working on different projects simultaneously at Paisley Park and plan releases on a regular basis.  Former Paisley Park associates with unreleased albums could be enlisted to finish those records.  They could update the material if they wanted or add new songs along with the Prince tracks to create full albums.  The potential to continue the promise of Paisley Park lives on and many of the artists who worked with him during his life would jump at the chance to step back into that magical world and finish work they'd been part of so long ago.

While he was alive, Prince was always who he was at the moment he was in.  The "Purple Rain" revolution Prince, the slave scrawled gold experience New Power Generation Prince, the symbol Prince, the God-fearing Rainbow Children Prince or the three eyed intuitive 3rd Eye Girl Prince.  He was that Prince in that moment.  And those of us who went along for the ride lived in those moments too.  We all have our favorites.

Right now we stand on the edge of that glorious career and looking back, for the first time, we can see all of those Princes existing together at once.  All of those unique Princes and those unique bands still have messages to deliver and things to say.  In the right hands, each of those Princes will still have time in the world to come forward again and touch lives.  

I encourage the trustees of Paisley Park to create a five year release schedule.  Either with a major label or without.  Bring back the musicians who worked closely with Prince and allow them to fulfill the potential of his unreleased work.

It's time to pull back the curtain and see the wizard.  It's time for the world to discover and appreciate Prince as the artist he truly was.

And through his musical legacy...  continues to be.