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A Purple Day in December: The Truth Review

As most of you are no doubt aware, Erica Thompson has been a great friend and supporter of the blog since we met for a podcast to discuss her presentation at the University of Salford Purple Reign conference back in 2017. We’ve been talking for a while about my writing a guest post for her own blog, where she shares updates and research from her own work writing a book about Prince’s spiritual journey. Tomorrow’s special Record Store Day release of the 1998 album The Truth finally gave us the excuse we’d been looking for. So, here’s my review:

A Purple Day in December: “‘What if Half the Things Ever Said Turned Out 2 Be a Lie?’ – One of Prince’s Richest, Weirdest and Most Intimate Albums Gets a Limited Reissue”

While you’re there, you should check out the rest of Erica’s blog, and follow along with what is shaping up to be one of the most compelling projects in the burgeoning world of “Prince studies.” And yes, I’m still writing on here, as well: “Darling Nikki” will be available for patrons by the end of next week. Have a great weekend, and good luck snagging a copy of The Truth tomorrow!

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Prince Track by Track: “Pearls B4 the Swine”

Amidst all of the excitement of actual d / m / s / r content last week, I also quietly made another guest appearance on Darren Husted’s Prince: Track by Track podcast (“quietly” in the sense that I didn’t promote it on the blog, not in the sense that I didn’t talk–we definitely talked for over 20 minutes). If you got through my three-hour podcast on Prince’s second album and somehow still aren’t sick of the sound of my voice, you can subject yourself to it here:

Prince Track by Track:
“Pearls B4 the Swine”

I’ll be back later this week with another, mercifully audio-free post. See you soon!

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Prince Track by Track: “Crystal Ball”

My recent run of guest appearances on Prince: Track by Track has taken me out of my comfort zone, into some albums that I frankly don’t care much for. But now we’ve finally reached Crystal Ball, allowing me to return–however briefly–to the warm embrace of 1986. But first, Darren Husted and I had to address the elephant in the room that is Crystal Ball’s disastrous 1998 release. As I note, there may be a lesson to be learned in this for those who want Prince’s estate to be run “the way he would have done it.” Listen to both episodes below:

Prince Track by Track:
Crystal Ball Album Introduction

Prince Track by Track: “Crystal Ball”

I’ll be back on Track by Track to discuss another epic from Crystal Ball later this month; before then, you can expect another track or two from Controversy. It’s taken some time, but I’m finally getting back to the grind!