POP MUSIC REVIEW : HIGH-TORQUE SHOW FROM MAZARATI

Mazarati, the latest seven-piece group of Prince-lings from Minneapolis, roared into the Palace on Wednesday night and effectively distanced themselves from the most famous Prince-sponsored band, the influential but short-lived the Time.

But don’t look for Mazarati to have the same impact as the Time, which spawned two solo acts (Morris Day and Jesse Johnson) and one of the hottest production teams in contemporary pop music (Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis). Mazarati may have the power of a luxury import, but it has the class of a subcompact.

The band’s engines were pushing overtime, pumping out a lot of in-your-face physical power (their stage movements were closer to calisthenics than dancing). The group also managed to finish every song with a sustained wall of blustering noise (it helps convince the audience it’s getting a rush).

But Mazarati’s material is all secondhand, either originals that sound like Prince (“Players Ball”) or Prince-penned tunes themselves (“100 MPH” or the group’s encore of the little guy’s “America”).

Add to all this an undistinguished, but busy lead singer and a guitarist who acts like he just saw footage of Jimi Hendrix at Monterey and you have a band that appeals to the basest of audience instincts. Judging from the audience’s base reaction, the predictable funk-thud of Mazarati took the Palace audience for a ride.