Prince Ranks First--Among the Underdogs

Prince isn’t the kind of artist that you’d expect to find championed in a ranking like today’s Alternative Top 10, designed to salute underdog recordings that deserve wide pop exposure.

Along with Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen, Prince has been the toast of the music world in the ‘80s, an artist enjoying both enormous critical and commercial support.

Something, however, has happened to the pop’s foremost provocateur. Neither of the first two singles from his latest album, “Lovesexy,” has shown near the strength of such past hits as “Purple Rain,” “Raspberry Beret” and “Kiss.”

“Alphabet Street,” the first single from the LP, only spent two weeks in the Top 10, while the recent “Glam Slam” failed to break into the Top 100 .

Industry observers disagree over Prince’s problem. Overexposure? A backlash against the semi-nude photo of Prince on the “Lovesexy” album cover?

Whatever the reason, it’d be a shame if “I Wish U Heaven,” the third single from the album, doesn’t get extensive radio exposure. It’s a tender, spiritual-tinged expression of love that may be the most endearing track Prince has recorded since “When Doves Cry” in 1984.

“I Wish U Heaven” tops the October edition of the Alternative Top 10, a monthly look at singles or album tracks--culled from pop, rock, country and soul--that deserve special attention.

While the list doesn’t exclude established artists, the emphasis is on newcomers and/or artists whose music isn’t normally embraced by Top 40 radio stations.

1--Prince’s “I Wish U Heaven” (Paisley Park Records)--Where Prince often mixes messages of salvation and love with erotic fantasies that turn his records into elaborate puzzles, this is an unusually straightforward and revealing statement.

2--U2’s “Desire” (Island)--After the success of “With or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” this Irish quartet, too, might seem like an odd choice for an Alternative Top 10. But this intense, blues-driven look at the intoxicating side effects of ambition and cravings represents a dramatic break from the gentleness of those earlier hits. Like the heart of the band’s “Rattle and Hum” sound-track album (due in stores Oct. 11), this is 100% rock ‘n’ roll--a tenacity not always welcome these days on Top 40 stations.

3--The Primitives’ “Crash” (RCA)--This slice of Blondie-esque pop-rock vitality, already a hit in England, was on the last Alternative Top 10. While the single is doing well on college and alternative-rock radio stations, it has failed to win much support on mainstream stations. It’s simply too appealing a record to let die and its reappearance here is to underscore the point.

4--Public Enemy’s “Don’t Believe the Hype” (Def Jam)-- Chief Enemy Chuck D’s defense of his outspoken politics (an aggressive black awareness doctrine that has been branded everything from exploitative to racist) and his music (hyperactive rap) recalls the anger and assault of punk’s early days.

5--Broken Homes’ “Seeds I’ve Sown” (MCA)--The L.A.-based band sometimes goes too far in reaching for the snarl of the early Stones, but this tune captures brilliantly the weary, sentimental feel of the Stones’ most evocative country-blues excursions.

6--Michelle Shocked’s “If Love Was a Train” (Mercury)--A teasing, sensual slice of fireball blues-folk from an album (“Short Sharp Shocked”) that is a recommended next musical stop for anyone enthralled with Tracy Chapman. Shocked’s style is more raucous, but the observations are equally warm-spirited and eloquently detailed. Shocked opens for Billy Bragg tonight at the Wiltern Theatre.

7--Siouxsie & the Banshee’s “Peek-a-boo” (Geffen)--A wonderfully playful and dynamic dance-minded track that weaves in echoes of everything from a trace of Spike Jones zaniness to vaudevillian charm.

8--Was (Not Was)’s “Spy in the House of Love” (Chrysalis)--A near-perfect dance-rock-funk record that should be a dance club staple through New Year’s, and beyond.

9--Waylon Jennings’ “The Devil’s Right Hand” (MCA)--Jennings’ taut rendition of Steve Earle’s tale about guns and violence first appeared on a 1986 album, but it has resurfaced in the film “Betrayed,” so it may get a second chance at the charts.

10. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians’ “What I Am” (Geffen)--Another Texan with a Shocked-like individuality, Brickell also exhibits a Rickie Lee Jones-ish feel for streetwise barbs: “What I am is what I am/Are you what you are or what?” A hot ingenue.

LIVE ACTION: New Edition will be joined by Al B. Sure and Bobby Brown on Nov. 20 and 23 at the Forum. Tickets on sale now. . . . Tickets go on sale Monday for three Wiltern Theatre shows: Blue Oyster Cult, Oct. 29; Leonard Cohen, Oct. 30, and 10,000 Maniacs, Nov. 2. The first two 10,000 Maniac appearances at the Wiltern are already sold out. . . . Jackson Browne headlines a benefit for the Christic Institute on Nov. 6 at the Shrine Auditorium. . . . Hothouse Flowers makes its local debut Oct. 31 at the Roxy. . . . Zachary Richard will be at the Palomino on Friday, while Book of Love will be at the Strand on Oct. 31.