Publication: MusicWeek [US]
Date: July 22-28, 1996
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Title: "'Prince' Cranks Out Disappointing Filler Tunes"
Reviewed By: Neil Strauss

The artist formally known as Prince seems to be in a hurry to get out of his six-album contract with Warner Bros. Records. In less than a year he has put out three albums, the latest of which, "Chaos And Disorder", concludes his relationship with the label. As if the title and lyrics like "I wish i had nothing to say" don't lower the expectations of fans enough, the album comes with an apology on the back of the cd booklet that notes that the music was "originally intended 4 private use only". "Chaos And Disorder" is essentially a rock album, with Prince wailing away on electric guitar as if he were a funky Jeff Beck. It is also, for the most part, an album of throwaways. But even throwaways from Prince can have their moments of pop splendor. "Dinner With Delores" a '60s-style psychedelic ballad in which Prince for a change criticizes a woman for being too wanton, is one of the album's saving graces, as is the minimal "Had U". On "Zannalee", Prince and his group, the New Power Generation, turn into a bar band playing a 12-bar blues in which police officers spy on his erotic adventures with two sisters. The album's weakest link is the six-minute inanely titled "I Rock, Therefore I Am", which combines the kind of raps that marred his 1991 "Diamonds And Pearls". Prince should know by know that he doesn't need to update his sound, since so many pop stars still copy it; he just needs a better screening process for the songs he releases.