An Olio
a miscellany of thoughts

February 05, 2007

 

Prince Rules!



"...one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows — ever."

I couldn't agree more; it was the best show I've seen in many years.






0 Malfunction as Prince Rocks Halftime

By Douglas J. Rowe, AP Entertainment Writer 2/4/2007

Phew! CBS got through the halftime show without a "wardrobe malfunction." The Artist Formerly Known as a Munchkin of Wardrobe Dysfunction began by singing Let's Go Crazy, but he didn't.

Prince, who became a Jehovah's Witness in the mid-1990s, no longer wears yellow, butt-baring pants as he did at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards (prompting Howard Stern's send-up at the '92 VMAs). The closest thing to a fashion statement Sunday night was an odd kerchief on his head. So the NFL had no repeat of the 2004 Janet Jackson/ Justin Timberlake show, which happened the last time CBS broadcast the game.

The 48-year-old Prince, who rose to stardom in the '80s with his distinctive fusion of R&B, funk, soul and rock, once looked androgynous and produced songs that (lest we forget) drove Tipper Gore nuts (and made her a fat target for anti-censorship types like Frank Zappa).

Musically, the diminutive, erstwhile prodigy from Minneapolis kept it old-school, rockin' the house with Purple Rain and other golden hits.

He delivered one of the best Super Bowl halftime shows — ever. Consequently, he didn't come across as a painfully safe choice — or a has-been, the rap against the previous couple of Super Bowl halftime acts, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones.

Press reviews of Prince's Super Bowl performance

"I once asked Carlos Santana who he thought was the most underestimated guitarist he'd ever played with, and was surprised when he said it was Prince."

"But the Purple One's halftime show was one of the best I've seen in the history of the game. It didn't pander; it wasn't pretentious; it was solid rock, played exquisitely. You could even hear it well, which is unusual for TV, although, for all the money they spent covering it, it was surprising to see the cameras blurred by raindrops."

"Prince really showed how he is much different from the likes of Michael and Janet Jackson, Mick Jagger or Steven Tyler, let alone lesser lights such as Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake."

"Prince showed himself to be a great rock guitarist on a set with two mid-tempo ballads, including the appropriate Purple Rain."

"This wasn't a dancing extravaganza. It was the most musical halftime since U2, and without their sentimental message about 9-11, it was just pure joyful rock and fireworks."

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