Music review: Prince, Art Official Age / Plectrumelectrum

CD cover image of Art Official Age by Prince. Photo / AP

Prince/Prince and 3rd Eye Girl, Art Official Age/Plectrumelectrum

It's fair to say that Prince has fallen off the radar more than a few times in the 30 years since the mighty Purple Rain, to be re-released as an anniversary edition.

So what better way to make a return splash than to release two simultaneous albums?

Art Official Age is classic Prince, disjointed yet somehow silky smooth funk-pop, full of suggestive oohs and aahs to match the aching and longing evident in the lyrics and vocals, and painted early-80s all over.

Breakdown and This Could Be Us are among the album's standout moments, but it's best enjoyed as a whole. Party like it's 1984.

Meanwhile, Plectrumelectrum sees Prince join forces with 3rd Eye Girl, and it's a powerful combination -- more rock, more fury than Art Official Age.

Album opener Wow is the best track on either album and completely lives up to its title.

Elsewhere the album enters Gloria Estefan territory (your call if that's good or bad) on Whitecaps, and more enjoyably, punk-funk territory on Marz.

But it's on the grungy Anotherlove -- full of guitars, feedback, wah-wahs and emotion -- that the album comes into its own. Two albums at once is a big call -- but Prince has never been afraid of those. May his purple reign continue.