Prince Come CD

Prince & The New Power Generation: Prince (vocals); Mayte (background vocals); Tommy Barbarella, Sonny T., Michael B., Mr. Hayes.
Additional personnel: Eric Leeds (flute); Mike Nelson, Kathy Jensen, Dave Jensen, Brian Gallagher, Steve Strand (horns); Ricky Peterson (keyboards); Airiq Anest (programming); Kathleen Bradford (background vocals).
Engineers: Chronic Freeze, Ray Hahnfeldt, Tom Tucker, Prince (all tracks).
Recorded at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, Minnesota; The Record Plant and Larrabee Sound Studios, Los Angeles, California.
All songs written or co-written by Prince.
Composer: Prince.
Personnel: Prince (vocals, background vocals); Eric Leeds (flute); Dave Jensen, Steve Strand, Kathy Jensen, Micah Nelson, Brian Gallagher (horns); Ricky Peterson (keyboards); Airiq Anest (programming); Jearlyn Steele Battle (sampler); Kathleen Bradford, Mayte (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Ray Hahnfeldt; Chronic Freeze; Prince; Tom Tucker.
Recording information: Chanhassen, MN; Larrabee Sound Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN; Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles, CA; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Mike Nelson; Michael Nelson; Mr. Hayes; New Power Generation.
Arranger: Prince.
Released after Prince announced his retirement and his intention of never using the name "Prince" again, Come is something of a surprise: an album of reportedly all new material, released by "Prince," not "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." After listening to Come, its purpose becomes clear -- it's a record fulfilling a contract, nothing more and nothing less. Some of the songs are good, but there's nothing on Come that Prince hasn't done before; he even sounds bored on certain tracks. On top of that, the album has no obvious singles, making it a nightmare to sell. Not surprisingly, the album flopped. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
For the artist intermittently known as Prince, the notion of spiritual death and rebirth has become the predominant theme in his work. Thus on the track "Solo," with its eerie liturgical ambience, sampled thunder and moody harp, Prince sings a keening falsetto confession: "Solo, my name is no one."
Accepting all that as a given, this richly orchestrated set has the exploratory sound and feel of a classic Prince album, except that COME seems to be an attempt to explicate his legend once and for all ("Letitgo"), to make way for a new...well, your guess is a good as ours.
The title tune mixes carnal and spiritual imagery in the classic Prince manner, as that ecstatic voice testifies over jazzy horns, big-band chord changes and a fat, greasy backbeat ("If you had a chance to see the future, would you try?"). Elsewhere, the sampled waves which open and close COME act as a recurring leitmotif, as Prince explores a series of jumpy dance grooves ("Pheromone" and "Loose!"), a moody tale of child abuse ("Papa"), a strutting R&B/hiphop anthem ("Race"), a brassy gospel-blues confessional ("Dark") and an explicit girl-guitar ecstasy ("Orgasm"). On COME, Prince appears before us one last time, a reminder of things past, a harbinger of revolutions to come.The Source (12/94, p.82) - "...a classic Prince album worthy of FOR YOU, 1999, and DIRTY MIND (which it's most suggestive of)...COME effectively serves as one of his personal diaries....dark, brooding, beautiful and freaky..."
Melody Maker (8/13/94, p.35) - Recommended - "...Like every album he ever made...it's precisely 75 per cent divine..."
NME (Magazine) (8/13/94, p.45) - 7 - Very Good - "...infuriating at times....he's encouraged people to buy into his carefully-manicured mystique....he's unwittingly upheld certain stereotypes--the equation black=sex--whilst trying to burn them down; and COME is fitting..."