Chaos And Disorder

【孤高の天才=プリンス】1996年に発売された当時の所属レーベルからの最後の作品『カオス・アンド・ディスオーダー』

2016年4月21日に惜しまれながらも57歳の若さで急逝、全世界のアーティストや音楽ファンに多大な影響を与え続けている孤高の天才=プリンス。1995年以降に発売され、廃盤後は入手困難となっていた作品をCDやアナログ・レコード等のフィジカルで発売していくカタログ・リリース・プロジェクト＜LOVE 4EVER＞。プロジェクトの第4弾として今回発売される3タイトルのうち『カオス・アンド・ディスオーダー』は、1996年に発売された作品で、当時所属レーベルとの"契約消化盤"と一部メディアやファンの間で囁かれ、最も不当な評価を受けてきたアルバムだったが、実際はレコーディング時期が1993年から1996年の4年の間に渡っており、他のアルバムに収録された音源と遜色ない佳曲ばかりが収録されている。

これまで自由に聴くことのできなかった孤高の天才の作品群が再発プロジェクト＜LOVE 4EVER＞を通じて次々とフィジカルで復刻。多くの人へ影響を与え続ける非凡な才能と数々のマスターピースが、時空を超えて現在、そして新しい世代へと受け継がれていく。

Spin - "...the finest ex-Prince album you never heard. If some unknown had released this much rock and soul, bruise guitar and gifted trash talk, fans would rave. 'I Will' is the miracle power ballad with winged solo, 'I Rock, Therefore I Am' a defiant shout..." Musician - "...his best in nearly a decade....Prince seems to have found his former self and his sense of humor. He's also recalled how to rock. On the title track he plugs in his guitar, fires up the Hammond organ, and sounds genuinely pissed off that the world has gone awry..." Q - 3 Stars - Good - "...a sarcastic kiss-off to the banality, the corruption and the tragic lack of funkiness of the corporate caucasian world....As a guitarist, Prince is at his foxiest in some time..."

Like Come before it, Chaos and Disorder is a contractual obligation album for Prince, a way to get himself out of his contract with Warner Brothers. Unlike Come, Chaos and Disorder doesn't sound disjointed and pasted together -- it's a fun, offhanded throwaway. For the first time since 1987's Sign 'O' the Times, Prince has made a pop/rock album, complete with squealing guitars and sighing melodies. None of the songs qualify as major songs in Prince's canon, but that's part of the record's charm -- Prince sounds like he's having a good time, and he could really care less what anyone else has to say. Or, as he puts it in one of the album's best and most careening tracks, "I Rock, Therefore I Am." Chaos and Disorder sounds immediate, like the songs were recorded the same day they were written. While that might mean there's a handful of throwaways scattered throughout the album, there are wonderful moments like the stuttering jazz-funk of "Dig U Better Dead," the scathing "Had U," the psychedelic clashes of the title track, the heavy rock of "I Like It There," and the beautiful "Dinner With Delores," a rough gem that ranks as one of Prince's simplest and most charming singles of the '90s. So, Chaos and Disorder isn't Prince's best or most important work, but it is a really fun listen, especially if you're willing to accept it as what it is -- a record that does nothing more than rock. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine|