Various Artists – Dearly Beloved: A Prince Songbook (3CD Digipak)

Dearly Beloved: A Prince Songbook, a compilation of Prince covers by a wide variety of artists, proves two things. First, Prince Rogers Nelson was a musical genius (but you already knew that). Second, he was also an underachiever of sorts. What?!?! I can hear you shouting with righteous indignation. Hear me out. As usual, Cherry Red does a magnificent job of annotating each and every one of the fifty-two songs here, collecting quotes from the artists themselves regarding their individual contributions as well as providing detailed musician credits. That’s where the second part of my observation is reinforced. Many of the songs gifted to other artists feature the man himself providing all the instrumental accompaniment. In most cases, it feels as if Prince is so concerned with putting as much of himself as possible out into the universe that the songs suffer from a certain sameness of sound. To make matters worse, the artists providing the vocals over Prince’s pre-fab tracks are trying so hard to emulate their idol that they forget to put their own stamp on his music. But all is not lost. Because when an artist dares to unapologetically be his or her authentic self and/or interpret the music through their own lens, the results can often be glorious. It is those recordings that make this collection worth its weight in plastic.

The three discs in this set are arranged thematically. Disc One consists of songs written specifically for another artist, including various members of his bands throughout the years. Disc Two concentrates on soul, funk and jazz artists exploring the Prince catalogue, and Disc Three features some of the more outré interpretations of Prince’s music. Each disc has its moments of sheer beauty and WTF? But then, the same could be said of Prince’s own recorded output. Let’s go through this a disc at a time.

Disc One features what one might consider the “hit” versions of Prince covers. Arguably the most successful is the Bangles’ rendition of Manic Monday. Originally written as a duet with Apollonia for the Purple Rain film, it was a perfect fit for Susanna Hoffs (with whom he had a brief affair) and company. The extended version included here offers a coda that seems like nothing more than an excuse to pad the back end of the song, proving that the shorter version that saw the light of day was the smart decision.

Sheena Easton’s Sugar Walls was Prince’s first crossover success, and a killer track. This is one of many examples of Prince handing over a complete track, just add vocals. Easton may have replicated what was on the demo, but there is enough of her own personality on this track to win me over. Kenny Rogers’ You’re My Love eschews the Prince demo for prominent Nashville cats who rely on the well-worn Nashville formula, allowing Kenny to be Kenny and ensuring broader appeal. The uniquely irrepressible voice of Patti LaBelle rises above the assembly-line Prince backing of Yo Mister to present her usual force of nature performance. LaBelle bandmate Nona Hendryx also delivers a powerhouse vocal turn on Baby Go-Go, relying on her studio crew (including the late Dan Hartman on keys and ex-Pretender T.M. Stevens on bass) to lay down a more sympathetic backing. Prince bandmate Rosie Gaines (New Power Generation) co-wrote I Want U and used her own band to put her own successful stamp on the Minneapolis sound, while Revolution bassist Brownmark fell into the trap of lending his voice to what is believed to be an uncredited Prince backing track for Shall We Dance?. The vocal has that indelible Prince feel, even though their voices are sufficiently different from one another. Paula Abdul makes the same mistake on the Prince-performed track U, but she ends up swallowed whole by the production.

Disc Two opens with one of my favourite contemporary R&B vocalists, Corrine Bailey Rae, doing a too-faithful cover of I Wanna Be Your Lover. To her credit, Stephanie Mills sounds comfortable in her own skin during her rendition of How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?, bringing her own swagger and skill to bear. The Pointer Sisters are reined in by Richard Perry’s bland production on I Feel For You, sounding mostly disinterested; you can almost hear them wanting to break out and take the song to heaven, but it never happens. Jonny Lang, on the other hand, makes I Am completely his own. Lang’s blues chops and seasoned voice take the song on a whole different journey, and it is all the better for it.

Jordan Knight follows suit, slowing the pace of I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man, turning it into a vehicle of seduction, even with its very of-the-moment production. Princess & Starbreeze submit a rapturous take on the seven and a half minute It’s Gonna Be Lonely. Sultry and confident, Princess’ vocal is masterful and all her own. Even the guitar work of Bokie Coleman and James Killings Jr. is elevated and inspired, making this one of the better renditions on Dearly Beloved. Too bad it had to be followed by Bobby Sparks II featuring Lizz Wright doing Sometimes It Snows In April. For my money, this is the best song on the album. Emotional, passionate, and original in its interpretation of this tune from the overlooked Parade album, this is what a cover ought to be. Prince’s DNA is all over the song, but there is no doubt whose performance this really is. One of the things that make this disc work is that all the instrumentation is performed by musicians other than Prince. As a result, you get a unique reading of the underlying song, not simply the author’s take with someone else’s vocal, as on much of Disc One.

And then we have Disc Three. Quirky, off the wall, and with freak flags a-flyin’, this is the raunchy, sex-centric version of Prince. 7 Hurtz featuring Peaches & Bitch Lap Lap (Feist) kick things off with a club-ready mix of Sexy Dancer, leading into Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings barely recognizable version of Take Me With U. The old school R&B only hinted at in the original is in full flower on the Dap-Kings interpretation; imagine Jones fronting James Brown’s band performing a Prince song and you’re in the ballpark. Processed vocals and acoustic piano feature prominently in Lambchop’s reading of When You Were Mine. If you were only familiar with the Cyndi Lauper recording, prepare to have your mind expanded. Dead Or Alive’s electro-pop version of Pop Life is a guilty club treat. And Robyn’s Jack U Off is the strangest of the strange on this disc. Recorded as if it were sometime in the 1930s, the piano and vocal only tune feels raunchier than ever without any musical distraction. Maceo Parker channels Ray Charles through a New Orleans jazz lens for Other Side Of The Pillow, and the results are spectacular. Ivan Neville’s keys and Derwin Perkins guitar trade licks with Parker’s alto sax, owning every note of the song. Purple Rain is considered by many to be Prince’s tour de force. In the hands of vocalist Amanda Palmer and strings arranger Jherek Bischoff, it becomes an even more sombre chamber piece. Stripped of all rock instrumentation in favour of violin and cello, the song floats and obfuscates, like a heavy morning fog. It is breath-taking in its own way, retaining key elements of the arrangement but inserting them into an alien context, which is perfectly fitting for this compilation.

Disc One feels the most like Prince, in no small part because he is typically the primary (or sole) instrumentalist. As a result, there is a familiarity standing dangerously close to monotony in many of the songs. Disc Two shows Prince’s true genius as the artists bend and shape his music to fit their needs and personalities. Disc Three takes the premise of the second disc even further, exploring new avenues to see where they might lead. On every disc, Prince’s mark is indelible. That his music can not only withstand but absorb so many varied approaches shows the depth and breadth of his talent. This compilation is by no means exhaustive. No Cyndi Lauper, no Chaka Khan, no Sheila E., no Sinead O’Connor, no proteges like The Time or Apollonia 6. However, what you do have is a treasure trove of music from a singular talent who inspired a cornucopia of contemporaries to latch on to Prince’s star and shine it where they saw fit.

TRACK LISTING
DISC ONE
01. Martika – Love… Thy Will Be Done (4:15)
02. Sheena Easton – Sugar Walls (3:39)
03. The Bangles – Manic Monday (4:37)
04. Andre Cymone – The Dance Electric (4:06)
05. Patti LaBelle – Yo Mister (4:06)
06. Elisa Fiorillo – Oooh This I Need (4:02)
07. Kid Creole & The Coconuts – The Sex Of It (3:33)
08. Monie Love – In A Word Or 2 (3:34)
09. Rosie Gaines – I Want U (3:37)
10. Kenny Rogers – You’re My Love (4:07)
11. Mica Paris – If I Love U 2 Nite (4:08)
12. Lois Lane – Sex (5:42)
13. Nona Hendryx – Baby Go-Go (4:09)
14. Paula Abdul – U (4:06)
15. Brownmark – Shall We Dance? (4:41)
16. Van Gogh – Van Gogh (4:34)
17. Ana Moura feat Herbie Hancock – Dream Of Fire (4:24)
18. Shelby J feat Anthony Hamilton – North Carolina (7:49)

Time – 79:09

DISC TWO
01. Corinne Bailey Rae – I Wanna Be your Lover (3:29)
02. Stephanie Mills – How Come You Don’t Call Me Any More? (4:10)
03. Jonny Lang – I Am (5:03)
04. Pointer Sisters – I Feel For You (3:56)
05. Meli’sa Morgan – Do Me Baby (4:03)
06. Crystal Waters – Uptown (3:54)
07. Valerie Carter – Crazy You (4:10)
08. Traces Gospel Choir – Walk Don’t Walk (4:42)
09. Tuesday Knight – Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? (4:03)
10. Joe Roberts – Adore (4:02)
11. Debra Hurd – Gotta Broken Heart Again (3:54)
12. Passion – Gigolos Get Lonely Too (5:24)
13. N’Dambi – Soft And Wet (3:01)
14. Mellow Man Ace feat Geo – Irresistible Bitch (3:39)
15. Workshy – Damn U (4:09)
16. Jordan Knight – I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (4:05)
17. Princess & Starbreeze – It’s Gonna Be Lonely (7:25)
18. Bobby Sparks II feat Lizz Wright – Sometimes It Snows In April (6:08)

Time – 79:17

DISC THREE
01. 7 Hurtz feat Peaches & Bitch Lap Lap – Sexy Dancer (3:40)
02. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – Take Me With You (2:53)
03. Hue & Cry – Sign O’ The Times (5:43)
04. Lambchop – When You Were Mine (5:28)
05. Dead Or Alive – Pop Life (4:14)
06. Robyn – Jack U Off (2:14)
07. The Dirty Monroes – Vibrator (4:47)
08. Dayna Kurtz – Joy In Repetition (4:46)
09. Michelle Mailhot – Love 2 The 9s (6:30)
10. Bilal – How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore? (3:46)
11. Surferosa – Controversy (4:26)
12. Morgan James – Call My Name (4:09)
13. Joe Stilgoe – Partyman (5:31)
14. Maceo Parker – Other Side Of The Pillow (4:49)
15. Anne Marie Almedal – Paisley Park (4:56)
16. Amanda Palmer & Jherek Bischoff – Purple Rain (10:29)

Time – 78:21

Total Time 236:47

MUSICIANS
Prince – All Instruments
Other Instrumentalists – Too many to list

ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Cherry Red Records
Country of Origin: USA
Date of Release: 15^th November 2024