Prince: After the summer's drought, Seattle will soak up some (purple) rain

It's supposed to be about the spirit of rock 'n' roll, but the yearly induction ceremonies for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland — always held, for some reason, in New York, this year at the Waldorf-Astoria — are mostly serious, tuxedo-and-gown affairs, enlivened at the end by a jam session featuring the inductees.

But this year, the proceedings were blown all to pieces by one man — Prince, with his incredible, jaw-dropping electric guitar solo of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," a tribute to fellow inductee George Harrison. It was a brilliant interpretation of a rock-guitar classic, and it was a knock-on-the-head reminder that Prince is one of the finest musicians rock has ever produced.

A month earlier, at the Grammy Awards, he had served notice that he was back, big time, when he opened the show with a medley of songs from "Purple Rain," celebrating the 20th anniversary of his rock-movie smash. Handling the vocals was Beyoncé.

Both appearances were part of Prince's PR plan for his new album, "Musicology," which represents a return to the rhythmic, sensual, neo-R&B sound of the "Purple Rain" soundtrack, and for his world tour, which plays KeyArena Monday and Tuesday.

Something has happened to Prince — or maybe it was a lot of things — that has brought him back to his full powers, after years of squabbling over his recording contract (which is why he wrote "Slave" on his cheek, and changed his name several times) and a bumpy ride trying to establish his own label and independent, online distribution network. As prolific as ever, he regularly released albums, including "Emancipation," "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" and "The Rainbow Children," but they were sub-par and attracted little attention (Jay Leno dubbed him, "The Artist Who Formerly Sold Records"). He wasn't quite written off, but his great years seemed behind him.

Then came "Musicology," which is mostly a fun romp through Prince's technicolor world. It's teasing and sexy, but not raunchy, like his '80s albums. It's full of joyful rhythms, clever wordplay and stinging guitar solos. It's Prince at his best.

Reportedly, his 2001 marriage to Manuela Testolini (who, at 27, is 19 years his junior), and their shared faith as Jehovah's Witnesses have something to do with his newfound energy and rambunctiousness.

But maybe he just wants to be a big rock star again.

After all, nobody plays the role better than he does. He dresses the part (he's never been seen in public without full rock-star regalia, from head to toe), talks the part, acts the part and — most importantly — backs it up with great musicianship and good songs.

After excoriating major labels for years, he made a pact with one of the biggest, Columbia, to distribute "Musicology," and is negotiating with the label to reissue the "Purple Rain" soundtrack and some of his other early albums on digitally-remastered CDs. His reconnection with the recording business has helped a lot — "Musicology" has been in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 album chart for 17 weeks and sold more than 1 million copies (counting those distributed to every concertgoer on the tour, as part of the ticket price).

On the tour, Prince and his eight-piece band, New Power Generation, have been playing shows that last two hours and more — after making audiences wait from 35 minutes to two hours past the scheduled showtime (after all, he is a rock star!). He says this is the last time he will play his hits (after all, he is a rock star!), so the shows have been heavy with them, including "Little Red Corvette," "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy," "Baby I'm A Star," "Controversy" and, of course, "Purple Rain."

He also plays most of the songs from "Musicology," a big helping of lesser-known songs from his 25-year career, and some surprising covers, including ones taken from the current Top 40. Most of the shows have sold out, and his grosses have been extraordinary: $4 million for three shows at Madison Square Garden, $3.6 million in St. Paul, $2.8 million in Chicago and $2.3 million in Detroit, all for three-show runs.

Now those are good reasons for making a comeback.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com