Yesterday I said I wanted something funky to break us out of this slow jam streak and I got it. Today’s song comes from Prince’s final release during his lifetime, 2015’s Hitnrun Phase Two.
This song was recorded in early 2015 and proves that even at 56 years old Prince was the funkiest man alive. The lyrics are mostly nonsense and don’t really add anything special or take anything away from the song. “Stare” is simply about the funk. Lyrics don’t really matter. It’s impossible not to move while this song is on. As usual, Prince plays all instruments except horns and the second it starts he’s laying down one of the nastiest bass lines of his career. The drums, guitar, and horns follow, but the foundation of “Stare” is that bass.
As great as this song is, it kind of bums me out. Look at what this man still had to offer the music world while entering his late-50’s. I just burned through Morris Day’s wildly entertaining autobiography On Time: A Princely Life in Funk. When he spoke of Prince’s death he said:
“My man eats health food. Don’t even eat no meat. Healthy as a horse. Hates drugs. Drinks a gallon of water a day. Looks twenty years younger than his real age. Got another forty, fifty years to live. Got another hundred albums to cut, another thousand songs to write, another ten thousand shows to perform. He’ll outlast us all.”
I believe Morris was speaking for all of us. I know he was speaking for me. A song this good from Prince at that age made me think he still had decades of great music left in him. Still growing as a songwriter and musician. He was invincible. As much as I enjoy this song, I can’t shake that thought when I listen to it, especially when I’m writing this after reading the touching final chapters of Morris’s book.
So, enjoy “Stare,” one of the final songs released during Prince’s lifetime. He never lost the funk. I give “Stare” 3 out of 5 stars and reading Morris’s book made me miss Prince even more. Thanks for the amazing read and all the entertaining trip down memory lane, Morris. RIP Prince.
mookiefantana 