*********************************** AM/FM ***********************************  Prince and the New Power Generation: "Love Sign" Paisley Park / Warner Brothers Playing time: 78 minutes AM/FM rating: *****(*) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AM/FM rating system explained: * = Complete waste of money ** = Might as well pass on this one *** = Ok, but nothing special **** = Good; recommended if you like the genre ***** = Very good; recommended! ****** = Superb! GET IT NOW! (The kind of album you wait for!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prince really is something extraordinary. For more than 20 years (although he's not particularly old), he's been a never drying well of talent. Where does he get it all from? It just never seems to stop. For the last ten years, he's released an album each year, all excellent; and he's supported each and every release with a world tour, and on top of that he's produced movies and acted in them. Ok, so the films he's made haven't exactly been great, but on the music side, he's _never_ disappointed! Obviously, Prince is a musician and should never be thought of as anything else. Prince is, and has been for the last ten years, the most important musician in the world when it comes to mixing black and white music styles, and when it comes to forming new styles. In the record stores, nobody knows under which category to put his albums, so they put one under Soul, one under Rock, one under Rap, and so on. You just can't categorize him. On this new release, you'll find: - Jazzrock - Soft jazz-blues - Funk - Blues - Art Rock, something resembling Queen (!) - Rap - Soul/Disco - Jazz ...plus some strange hybrids of all the above. What's so weird about all this, is that whatever of the above he's doing, he's doing it with brilliance. "Love Sign" is a wonderful trip into a music world where everything goes and there are no rules and each moment is as exciting as the last one. In "My Name is Prince", Prince takes the sh*t out of Michael Jackson by implementing some of his slamming beat and the well known frantic style of singing that Wacko's known for. Only difference is, Prince does it better. Although often misunderstood, it's well known among Prince fans that he's got a lot of humour and he likes to make fun of others as well as himself! Next out is "Sexy MF", and already here I was totally lost in Prince's wonderful smooth jazzfunk. And it's only just begun! There are 70 more minutes - might as well just sit back and take a ride. I raised my eyebrows when I heard "3 Chains of Gold" - this is a new experience for Prince fans - thoughts of Queen's "Bohemian Rapsody" crossed my mind. I never knew it before, but Prince handles "art rock" as well. And of course, he does it with excellence. What's next??! To add it up, this album is nothing but a superb collection of brilliant songs - there's not one weak spot, and there's something for everyone, and for Prince fans, it's Christmas and New Year and Midsummer and Easter all at once. At least 15 different music styles are covered in this colourful trip to Paisley Park. At least 6 or 7 songs on the albums can be megahits if they're released on single and backed up by videos. Prince is the most colourful musician and personality in the popular music world today. And this albums is one of his best ever. GET IT TODAY! AM/FM rating: *****(*) *********************************** AM/FM ***********************************