Ladies and gentlemen, a miracle has occurred.
After a lengthy and bitter feud that infamously resulted in “the
artist formerly known as” (because you can’t pronounce a symbol), Prince and
Warner have kissed and made up. It was
on the Warner Bros Records label that Prince released some of his best
material, including ‘Purple Rain’, ‘Sign O The Times’ and his soundtrack to Tim
Burton’s ‘Batman’. But when Warner
refused to allow him to release his music more frequently and own his original
master tapes, he labelled himself a slave.
Somehow, both parties have put aside their differences and
allowed Prince to retake control of those precious masters. And lo and behold, 2014 just so happens to be
the twentieth anniversary of ‘Purple Rain’, just in time for a fancy deluxe
re-release and some extra marketing for his forthcoming album ‘Plectrum
Electrum’. Coincidence? I think not.
Still, you can’t begrudge the legend if it means he can
release more music – just like he’s done here with The Breakdown, the first track to be released under the Warner Bros
label. “This could be the saddest story
ever told”, he begins, lamenting a lost relationship – perhaps that with
Warner. There’s a distinctly 90s feel
beginning with softly chiming chords and a cooing falsetto, perhaps in a nod to
his big 90s ballad The Most Beautiful
Girl In The World. The beat soon
drops though into a slow jam of pizzicato strings, space age effects and an
increasingly manic and high-pitched vocal that reaches an almost orgasmic peak
in the final third.
Now all we need is one more miracle. One I daren’t say. One that begins with G and ends in bury…
4/5
Listen: The Breakdown is
available now.
