Although many artists have paid tribute to Prince by drowning themselves in his influence (i.e. Beck Midnite Vultures) few have actually released covers.??If I Was Prince: The Tribute Album gives a few young indie/electro bands a chance to live up to Prince's incredible catalog. Conversely, though, the chance is also there to slaughter a legendary song, which is the case for a few of the bands.
If I Was Prince opens with a version of \Sexy Dancer"" by Peaches with 7 Hurtz Peaches and Bitch Lap Lap. It is about as hard to listen to as the band's name. It only gets worse for Prince fans once they hear the ""cover"" of ""If I Was Your Girlfriend"" by Op:1 Bastards.??They completely ignore the clever verses and only sample the title line, lacing it through synthesized sounds that an inexperienced fifth grader could make on a cheap Casio keyboard.??Only rarely do the sounds resemble the actual melody, and that's not a good thing.
If one can make it through the first four tracks, things become slightly more palatable with Simian's mediocre version of?? ""Under the Cherry Moon.""??Then comes the album's true bright spot with Hefner's beautiful trip-hop version of ""Controversy."" Coming after the only tough act to follow on this album are two decent tracks by Bronze Age Fox and Blue States who cover ""The Most Beautiful Girl In the World"" and ""Alphabet Street,"" respectively.
Next comes Misty Dixon's ""The Beautiful Ones"" which begins with promise, but then, being the closing track, threatens to ruin any favor the album had built up thus far.??The original is a heart-wrenching ballad from Purple Rain, but the cover version fails to deliver any emotion. His Purpleness himself would surely be yawning by the end since Misty Dixon's singer seems to be incapable of screaming, even to a point of slight heartache.
Minus a few worthwhile tracks, this album does not deliver.??Maybe it is high expectations, or maybe it just sucks, but if you're curious, find it used.??Those not interested in Prince's obscure tracks should stay far, far away.??The album has a clever package design, but that stands as its only selling point, because pretty is about all that it is.
'Rosa Kozub
