Publication: Cleveland Plain Dealer [US]
Date: May 17, 1997
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Title: "There Is Just No Mistaking Unique Artistry of Prince"
Reviewed By: Michael Norman

It doesn't matter what you call him- Prince,the Artist Formerly Known as Prince,or simply The Artist.When Prince Rogers Nelson steps on a stage to perform,as he did Saturday night at the Cleveland State University Convocation Center,there's no mistaking him.

No other performer in popular music today mixes it up the way he does.His two-hour-plus concert was a musical tour de force,a sprawling celebration of rock,funk and soul with a song list that spanned his fabled two-decade-long recording career.

The 38-year-old Minneapolis native is undeniably one of the great creativ forces in 20th-century pop.Since releasing his debut album in 1978,he has established himself as an American original-an artist who can takethe whole history of R&B,funk,rock,jazz,dance and pop and fuse it into something exciting,new and innovative.

All of his talents were on display Saturday night.He rocked with the fury of the Rolling Stones,jammed on the keyboards like Stevie Wonder,played guitar solos worthy of Eddie Van Halen.He's got James Brown's soul and George Clinton's funky groove.And his deep techno and dance beats and grooves make modern-day electronica stars such as the Chemical Brothers and Prodigy loolike the knob-noodlers they really are.

The show started more than 90 minutes late because of problems caused by the complex ticketing system used for the concert.Concertgoers were given vouchers at point of purchase,then had to show the vouchers and photo identification to pick up their tickets at the Convocation Center.The idea was to thwart scalpers.But the box office opened more than an hour late,and lines stretched around the arena.

Once the music started,the mood improved dramatically.Prince arrived at 9:30 p.m.,dressed in a long green shirt,green pants and sunglasses and carrying a diamond-encrusted scepter.He kicked off the show with a dance-party rendition of "Jam of the Year," the funky,kick-out-the-jams opening track of his sprawling new 3-CD set,"Emancipation".

From there,it was a non-stop dance party,with Prince and his five-piece backing band,the New Power Generation,mixing it up with funky dance numbers,full-out rockers,and elegant ballads.There were plenty of old classics to go along with the new tunes, including early set renditions,of "Purple Rain" and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" that had lovers in the crowd swaying and crying.

The band tore the roof off the Convocation Center with the new hip-hop-spiced "Face Down",conjured the rock'n'roll spirits with a heavenly version of "The Cross" and gave Joan Osborne's "One of Us" a soulful New Power Generation twist.

The encore started out with a blues jam and ended with a sing-along version of the new "Mr. Happy"which Prince spiced up by asking several audience members to join him on stage to dance.

The show,at $40 a ticket,was a benefit for Prince's "Love 4 One Another" charity.More than 5,000 fans were packed into the back third of the Convocation Center,which was set up for a theater show with the stage in the middle of the floor and half the arena curtained off.

The diversity of the crowd was a testament to the reach of Prince's music.No other contemporary pop artist draws fans from across such a wide spectrum of American society.