Welcome 2 America
Prince's posthumous 2010 album, "Welcome 2 America", delivers a prescient, funk-infused social commentary, showcasing his unparalleled musicianship and urgent vocal delivery over tight, live-band groo
July 30, 2021 · Legacy
Prince's posthumous 2010 album, "Welcome 2 America", delivers a prescient, funk-infused social commentary, showcasing his unparalleled musicianship and urgent vocal delivery over tight, live-band groo
July 30, 2021 · Legacy
This is Prince at his most politically charged and musically direct, a potent blend of funk, R&B, and rock that feels both timeless and eerily prescient. "Welcome 2 America" isn't about pop hooks; it's about deep grooves, sharp observations, and a raw, passionate performance from the Purple One and his band. It's the sound of an artist grappling with the state of the nation, delivering his message with undeniable musicality and a sense of urgency that resonates powerfully today. Own this if you want to hear Prince's critical voice, backed by an impeccably tight band, delivering a message that's as relevant now as it was when he recorded it.
“Welcome 2 America is still a latter-day Prince album, so it’s filled with vaguely baffling turns of phrase, slick jazz-funk, and covers of 21st century Soul Asylum songs. In other words, it’s not a buried gem or a return to form but a snapshot of an excellent musician having a pretty good run in the studio”Read review
“The first full album of unheard material from the late icon’s legendary vault tackles race and injustice through joyful funk”Read review
“If you can put aside any queasy feelings about Prince’s estate being ravaged without his permission, this posthumous release is a fine reminder of just how good Prince could be”Read review
“There are better versions of most of the songs on Welcome 2 America in his catalog already, but if you’re salivating for new Prince music and are open to whatever his vault has to offer, you could do much worse than this”Read review
“Prince’s stock as a recording artist was low in 2010, so it makes weird sense for this work to appear in 2021, getting the posthumous attention it deserves”Read review
“If nothing else, this record is evidence that Prince’s one-of-a-kind genius never really dimmed, even if he sometimes lost sight of how to focus it, or — perhaps more importantly to the quick-take internet area that Prince detested so much — how to package it”Read review
“Recorded in 2010, Prince’s first posthumous album of all unreleased material is a state-of-the-union concept record in which he bluntly broadcasts his opinions on taxes, technology, drugs, religion, and the music industry”Read review
“With stronger songs and sharper messages than much of the music he released during his final years, the album should have come out when he was alive”Read review
“The vault, it seems, really does contain diamonds and pearls”Read review
“It’s a wonderful experience to hear ’new’ Prince music that finds him in rare form once again — it just feels wrong knowing that he probably wouldn’t want us to”Read review
How does Welcome 2 America sound next to the rest of Prince's catalogue?
The production is built around live recording than this artist usually allows.
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