By Miles Marshall Lewis

At this late date in his career—over three decades after his 1978 For You début—the worst thing critics can say about Prince Rogers Nelson is that he’s become a greatest-hits act. Still, what an act it is. During last month’s gigs at the stately Grand Palais exhibition hall in Paris, the only post-1980s songs in the funk-rocker’s set list were “Guitar,” “Cream,” and “The One U Wanna C.” But needless to say, no one beyond Wikipedia-enabled music critics noticed. Without playing a single note from the Lotusflow3r or MPLSound albums that he released back in March (even more recent—September—in France), the 51-year-old wunderkind still left director Sofia Coppola, French pop-star devotee Sliimy, and 5,500 other paying customers thoroughly satisfied.

Billed “All Day All Night,” Prince hastily planned these 5:00 and 10:00 performances at the century-old Grand Palais after taking in a Chanel prêt-à-porter show there. By the end of fashion week, the word was out—tickets went on sale at 100€ and 149€ just two days before the Sunday concerts, and sold out in 77 minutes.

Prince heads to last month’s Chanel show in Paris.

Commandeering a female-heavy eight-piece New Power Generation, Prince charged into “1999” promptly at five and never let up the funk. The green art-nouveau ironwork and glass-ceiling skylight lent an appropriately royal backdrop as Prince—suited in all black, a white flower motif decorating his jacket—playfully chided the sound engineer during a cover of Chic’s “Le Freak.” Prince called French harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet back to center stage when the faulty audio system drowned out his initial solo, and even mocked his own “Sexy Dancer” rave-up as a mere soundcheck.

“All day, all night, you can be my baby, I’ll make you feel alright,” the audience chanted in broken English, quoting Prince protégé Jill Jones’s 1987 single (written by Prince, naturally). As the singer hadn’t been seen in Paris since 2002, he treated his hardcore fans to rarities that would put a smile on the face of a local Minneapolitan. The NPG fell back after a spirited “Raspberry Beret” sing-along, allowing Prince to strum an acoustic “Girl,” a special treat for admirers of the 1985 B-side ballad. Even the elegiac “Sometimes It Snows in April” (from the soundtrack to the commercially doomed, France-based film Under the Cherry Moon) got a solo acoustic treatment. And ten minutes of The Time’s 1980 new-wave funk hit “Cool” also breezed by, staying faithful to the band’s lengthy album version, with Prince making C-O-O-L hand signals for the crowd to copy.

Roadies replaced one leopard-print guitar after another. Apropos of summertime rumors about Prince refusing hip replacement surgery (due to Jehovah’s Witness doctrines against blood transfusions), the singer remained stationery for most of the show. All Sign o’ the Times-era bounding from keyboard to drums to lead guitar is over—at least for the moment. But Prince wore out his guitar(s), blazing supernova solos over and over on “U Got the Look,” “Kiss” and, naturally, “All the Critics Love U in Paris.”

Almost two decades passed in Prince’s storied career before he began covering songs outside his own penmanship, but he rocked several at the Grand Palais. “Le Freak” came early, followed by Sly & the Family Stone’s “Everyday People” and “I Want to Take You Higher,” Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” and the Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Runnin’.” But the crowd went understandably ecstatic when keyboardist Cassandra O’Neal began the unmistakable piano chords to The Jacksons’ “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).” Prince hadn’t played live since Michael Jackson’s propofol overdose, or ever said a word about his one-time rival’s untimely death. Though Prince didn’t sing the lyrics to the Jacksons’ hit, his final cover—Janet Jackson’s “What Have You Done for Me Lately”—made his tribute to pop’s first family perfectly clear.

“These are the days I was looking forward to,” Prince told reporters at the Hôtel Costes the following day. “It’s hard to sleep because the options are so numerous. It was worth the fight, it was worth the struggle… A real free music doesn’t mean that you don’t pay for it, it just means there are no authoritarian figures telling you what you’re supposed to do with it.” The spontaneous singer then went on to announce a day-of show at La Cigale (capacity: 1,200), later attended by French actor Romain Duris and other local luminaries.

Between the Grand Palais shows, the last-minute La Cigale concert, and a live TV appearance on Le Grand Journal that same week, Prince has sparked rumors of a Paris residency similar to his 21 nights at London’s O2 Arena two years ago. Word is that he’s now searching for a Parisian apartment suitable for resting his head for a chain of dates, possibly at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy stadium. And really, why not? The man’s alive and well and making the most of his emancipation from record company bondage, while blessing his fans with the spoils of his freedom.

Chanel . Funk . Paris . Prince . R&B . Soul . The Time Featured