Let's Go Crazy

Are you as big a fan of Prince as I am? Are you a lover of his iconic Oscar and Grammy award winning album Purple Rain as I am? If so then you are in for a little delicious treat for your ears. Okay, who am I kidding, it's actually a GIGANTIC treat. Prince has recently announced that he will be dropping a solo album and an album with his group 3rd Eye Girl in September and has already released the finger popping first single Clouds. Following that up, Prince released a rock heavy version of Let's Go Crazy on the internet, and it's fucking sick.

The drums bring the song in and you are instantly assaulted by the heavy funky groove. Prince comes in not shortly afterwards singing the very familiar lyrics of Crazy and the guitars crank and crunch. He never gets to the second verse, he instead sets fire to the whole thing with a blistering solo which then drags the song into a monster version of the Edgar Winter Group's classic Frankenstein.

I doubt this sound will be on Prince's newest releases coming soon but this definitely reminds everyone just how proficient Prince is on guitar. This kind of playing has been missing from him lately and it's nice hearing him tear shit up again. Enjoy.

Iminluvwichoo

This is one of my favorite Eric Benet songs because it's both playful and funky. The song is called Iminluvwichoo and it's off his 2008 release entitled Love & Life. It's an uptempo groovy cut that is in my opinion the best cut off the album though Love & Life has a far more lighthearted feel than his previous album, 2005's Hurricane. That album was released after his very public break up with a certain Hollywood actress. Love & Life was Eric getting back to being Eric.  

The reason this particular song stuck out and struck me was because of the music track. Back in 1985 a duo named Renee & Angela released an incredible album called Street Called Desire and on that album they recorded a song entitled I'll Be Good. Iminluvwichoo is almost entirely built off the foundation of I'll Be Good and I have no problem with that at all because I LOVE I'll Be Good. So this song makes me smile every time I hear it.

Iminluvwichoo is a duet with Linda Kirally so I am firmly under the belief that Eric purposefully set out to make this song sound like Renee & Angela's classic as much as he possibly could and bravo to him. Not only does it make this song rock but it re-introduces people to (in my opinion) one of the most underrated R&B duos to ever record. If you like this track, check out Eric's The Hunger off the same album, and if you are so inclined, go listen to I'll Be Good, you won't be sorry. Enjoy...and you're welcome.

A Nation Rejects

When I first heard this track by The Art of Noise I immediately became infatuated with it. It's entitled A Nation Rejects and it's on the B side of the 12" single Paranoimia that was released in 1986. Meaning if you didn't pick up that single, you missed out. Since I was and still am to this day a major fan of The Art of Noise I pretty much bought everything they released and I was routinely rewarded with such gems as Nation.

Nation is a dark, mournful song with a sweet hypnotic melody that rides on top of the track. It's a track I kept playing over and over again which drove my mother crazy. It's also a song that inspires hope, as if audibly telling you that while it may be dark today, the sun will shine tomorrow. It's arranged perfectly and it solidified me as a fan of theirs.

I don't need to say anymore, check the song out for  yourself and let me know what you think. It's a blast from the past from me but it may become your new favorite tune, who knows? If you enjoy this then you might want to listen to Legacy the 8+ minute version. It's absolutely incredible the way they layer the sounds one on top of the next never losing the soul of the track. There are two groups I miss from my childhood, the original line up of Pink Floyd and The Art of Noise. Enjoy!