Prince quit Warner Bros., his long-term label, in 1996. He spent the next 15 years recording an array of overstuffed albums with garish covers and confusing titles. They were then released using sometimes bizarre distribution methods, which ensured they vanished almost as quickly as they arrived. Welcome 2 America is the latest Prince vault find. It was recorded at the end of his run in 2010. This was just before he began to focus more on his live show and shifted his attention from making records. It is easy to see why this lost album might not be popular with Prince fans. Although he did produce some great art in the 2000s his curatorial skills often fell apart.AdvertisementIt is hard to believe that this album can be heard in 2021. Is Welcome 2 America a top f ive Prince record? It is not in the Top 10 but it could be.Reviews Records Reviews Records Welcome 2 America A- A- Welcome 2 America Artist Prince Label SonyRolling Stone recently published an oral history that gives a detailed look at the origins of Welcome 2 America. In a nutshell, Prince hired a new rhythm section (bassist Tal Wilkenfeld, drummer Chris Coleman) in 2010. While jamming at his Paisley Park studio, they recorded several semi-improvised instrumental songs heavily influenced jazz and 1970s Funk. Prince had already called in his touring band members to assist him with these songs. He also added lyrics that alternately were playful and political. They depicted a nation of deluded citizens who believe consumer choice equals freedom.The sequencer for this archival release was Princeor, who also created the opening songs. The title track, which is one of Prince's semi-regular world state of the keynotes (like Sign O The Times and Planet Earth), features pathetic lines about iPhone addicts. It's set to a loose groove with sound effects and piano stings. A tight chorus of background vocals offers slinkily soulful answers to Princes calls. The song is followed by Running Game (Son Of A Slave Master), a stripped-down, softly swinging number that revisits one of Prince's most common themes: the exploitation creative labor by greedy and short-sighted corporations.The rest of Welcome 2 America continues with ten songs. They often combine relaxing, almost breezy music and stinging lyrics. The blaxploitation film soundtrack riffs of Born 2 Die to the cheerful vibes of Hot Summer and Yes to Prince's transformation of Soul Asylum's power ballad, Stand Up and Be Strong, into a song about self-actualization, all have a common theme. They are committed to moments of grace, joy, and gracelessness.In a way, Welcome 2 America sounds like every act featured in the recent music documentary/reclamation project Summer Of Soulincluding the sunshine-poppers, the gospel singers and the revolutionary poetsblended together and given a modern sheen. Although the inspirations are old, the songs still sound new 11 years later. There are some questions about the history and existence of Welcome 2 America. Why did Prince not release this vital and entertaining set of songs in his lifetime? If he had, would his late-period output have been so disappointing for all the critics and fans?AdvertisementThe first question is not something Prince's closest circle seems to have an answer for. He finished Welcome 2 America, although some of his collaborators aren't sure if it was done. Then he began the two-year Welcome 2 Tour. This tour included a concert video that is included in the deluxe edition. Although the tour featured many of Prince's greatest hits, it also included some fan-favorite deep cuts as well as a few cover songs. However, very little was taken from the original Welcome 2 America album which most Prince fans didn't know existed.The second question is impossible to answer. It is hard to believe that Prince wouldn't have released Welcome 2 America in a cumbersome, difficult-to-access way. It wouldn't have been hard to notice that a record so filled with righteous skepticism regarding American values was recorded during President Obama's first termor. The album featured so many songs Obama would probably have put on one his playlists.AdvertisementPrince's self-taught views on politics, religion, and business are often overlooked. Welcome 2 America was his most personal album. He included a lot more of these studies and preoccupations. He then put those ideas to some his most popular music of the 21st Century. This record, more than anything, is proof that Prince's unique genius never lost its shine, even though he occasionally lost sight of how it should be focused, or perhaps, what to do with it after a quick internet search that Prince hated so much.
