The Rainbow Children

The Rainbow Children
Studio album by Prince
Released November 20, 2001
Recorded September 5, 2000–June 19, 2001
Genre Pop, rock, funk, jazz
Length 68:49
Label NPG, Redline Entertainment
Producer Prince
Prince chronology
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic
(1999)		 The Rainbow Children
(2001)		 One Nite Alone...
(2002)
Singles from The Rainbow Children
  1. "The Work, pt. 1"
    Released: 2001
  2. "She Loves Me 4 Me"
    Released: 2001 (promo)
  3. "Last December"
    Released: 2001 (promo)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(54/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
The A.V. Club(unfavorable)[3]
Billboard(favorable)[4]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[5]
Jam!(favorable)[6]
New York(favorable)[7]
New York Press(favorable)[8]
Q[1]
Rolling Stone[9]
Slant[10]

The Rainbow Children is the twenty-fourth studio album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on November 20, 2001 by NPG Records and Redline Entertainment. It was also released through Prince's website earlier in the year. It is the first album released outside of the NPG Music Club to be released under the name of Prince again, as he had reverted to his previous stage name from his symbolic moniker a year earlier.

This concept album illustrates common Prince themes of spirituality and human sexuality, as well as love and racism, through the fictitious story of a social movement toward a Martin Luther King, Jr.-inspired utopian society. The album seems to allude to his recent conversion to the Jehovah's Witnesses religion, but Egyptian monotheism and New Age concepts such as the Akashic records are used as metaphors as well. Jazzier than any of his previous efforts, fan reaction was divided when this album was released. Some fans saw the album as a musical and spiritual evolution for Prince.[11] Critically however, the album received rave reviews for its originality and "refreshingly natural" sound, with some critics stating it to be Prince's best record since 1987.

Musically, The Rainbow Children marked a shift back towards a more "organic" sound for Prince. Unlike its predecessors, the album featured live drums, and made ample use of horns. Many songs were performed live during Prince's 2002 One Nite Alone... Tour, which became an instant success with fans and critics alike.

The Rainbow Children was released through the independent distributor, Redline Entertainment, and was released with minimal promotion as per Prince's wishes, who wanted to focus more on the music and less on the sales factor of the release. It has sold 158,000 copies in US stores as of summer 2007, and an estimated 560,000 copies worldwide.[12]

The album also had a dedicated promotional website that offered the tracks "She Loves Me 4 Me" and "Mellow" as free MP3 downloads.

Track listing

All songs written by Prince.

  1. "Rainbow Children" – 10:03
  2. "Muse 2 the Pharaoh" – 4:21
  3. "Digital Garden" – 4:07
  4. "The Work, pt. 1" – 4:28
  5. "Everywhere" – 2:55
  6. "The Sensual Everafter" – 2:58
  7. "Mellow" – 4:24
  8. "1+1+1 Is 3" – 5:17
  9. "Deconstruction" – 2:00
  10. "Wedding Feast" – 0:54
  11. "She Loves Me 4 Me" – 2:49
  12. "Family Name" – 8:17
  13. "The Everlasting Now" – 8:18
  14. "Last December" – 7:58
  15. Untitled hidden track – 0:04
  16. Untitled hidden track – 0:04
  17. Untitled hidden track – 0:04
  18. Untitled hidden track – 0:04
  19. Untitled hidden track – 0:04
  20. Untitled hidden track – 0:08
  21. Untitled hidden track – 0:38
  • Tracks 15-21 are all hidden tracks and are all silent with the exception of track 21, which gradually fades in to the repetition of the word "one" being sung.

References

  1. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for The Rainbow Children". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince: The Rainbow Children > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  3. ↑ Phipps, Keith (20 November 2001). "The Rainbow Children". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Billboard review
  5. ↑ Weingarten, Marc (23 November 2001). "The Rainbow Children (2001)". EW.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009.
  6. ↑ Ross, Mike (17 November 2001). "The Rainbow Children". Jam!. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  7. ↑ Brown, Ethan (24 December 2001). "Pop Music: In Brief". New York. Archived from the original on 27 January 2002. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Prince Transcends His Own Genius on Rainbow Children". New York Press (Manhattan Media). 22 January 2002. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  9. ↑ Berger, Arion (2 January 2002). "Prince: The Rainbow Children". Rolling Stone (Wenner Media). ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  10. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (21 November 2001). "Prince: The Rainbow Children". Slant. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  11. ↑ "The Rainbow Children". Prince Vault. 19 April 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  12. ↑ Christman, Ed, "Retail Track: Purple Brain", Billboard, August 4, 2007

External links

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