spoida said:

GoZero said:

Eclecticali said:

Sdldawn said:

lspear76 said:

roanmairin said:

3121 is tight. Very good album.
3121-10/10 This can stand up against anything Prince has ever done!
Lolita-5/10 okay track
TAC-7/10 always liked this song
BS-7/10
I&C-7/10 nice song but I don't like the vocal effect. Prince you are above that. And Tamar has not earned the right to be on such a hot track. Or has she?
Love-10/10 tight jam. nuff said
satisfied-5/10 OTC is better
Fury 4/10
the word-8/10 nice jam. Yeah I know, I however am not offended.
BLB 6/10 nice hook
the dance 6/10 better than the original
GOTB-10/10 I can't see how anyone couldn't like this song.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

alright, since i didn't type up a super-proper review on the other thread, lemme try my hand at it here:

3121: the sound of this song annoys me. it's probably because of the weird vocal effects used in it; a little goes a long way, but not on here.

lolita: i have a thing for cheesy synth-lines in songs, and this cut has plenty of 'em all around. it does smell of a lot of the songs prince did in the, oh, '78 till '82 era with the synth-cheese. fun little track to listen to!

te amo blablabla: i've never really dug this song; the video i dig more than the song on its own.

bs: same as above.

incense and candles: sounds too much like what most other "urban"-labeled artists are doing nowadays, so this is a big turn-off for me. pass.

love: s'okay, but not much else.

satisfied: hey look, it's "on the couch" trying to get you home from the club and get in them drawerz! i like this track for the vocal arrangements...

fury: it kicked ass on snl, but didn't carry over to the album. yes, songs in this vein are usually carried out better live, but still...it sounds kinna weak to me in its album form.

the word: pass.

blb: s'okay, but i'ma pass on it.

the dance: another song that irks me. i haven't heard the version from the chocolate invasion so i can't make a comparison of the two.

get on the boat: nice way to cap off the album.


OVERALL: 1/2 outta 5 stars. !

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

alright, since i didn't type up a super-proper review on the other thread, lemme try my hand at it here:

3121: the sound of this song annoys me. it's probably because of the weird vocal effects used in it; a little goes a long way, but not on here.

lolita: i have a thing for cheesy synth-lines in songs, and this cut has plenty of 'em all around. it does smell of a lot of the songs prince did in the, oh, '78 till '82 era with the synth-cheese. fun little track to listen to!

te amo blablabla: i've never really dug this song; the video i dig more than the song on its own.

bs: same as above.

incense and candles: sounds too much like what most other "urban"-labeled artists are doing nowadays, so this is a big turn-off for me. pass.

love: s'okay, but not much else.

satisfied: hey look, it's "on the couch" trying to get you home from the club and get in them drawerz! i like this track for the vocal arrangements...

fury: it kicked ass on snl, but didn't carry over to the album. yes, songs in this vein are usually carried out better live, but still...it sounds kinna weak to me in its album form.

the word: pass.

blb: s'okay, but i'ma pass on it.

the dance: another song that irks me. i haven't heard the version from the chocolate invasion so i can't make a comparison of the two.

get on the boat: nice way to cap off the album.


OVERALL: 1/2 outta 5 stars. s'nice, but still there's moments on the album that make my eye twitch.

I took me two days to make some judgement of the new album. I've listening it a lot (made some pause listening to some Bowie) and there are my rating, track per track:

1 3121 (4:31)

One of the best opening tracks from a Prince album. Camille meets laizy vox Prince. Electronic flavour. Catchy as hell. Remember me of Come #2.

10/10

2 Lolita (4:06)

Sounds like an unreleased Time joint...that's not bad! Funky exercise. The "Fellas" Vs. "Lolitas" part is awesome!

8,5/10


3 Te Amo Corazon (3:37)

I love this song. Shame Prince doesn't do more latin tracks like these. Simple but very direct.

10/10

4 Black Sweat (3:11)

It's not bad, but not excelent. Too minimalistic. Remembers me of Kiss.

8/10

5 Incense and Candles (4:05)

The R&B track of the album...would make a great single! I didn't like at first, but it's growing.

9/10

6 Love (5:46)

Plastic Production...gone in the right direction! A new personnal favorite!

10/10

7 Satisfied (2:50)

The weakest track! It's "On the couch" part II. Filler!!!!

5/10

8 Fury (4:02)

Almost perfect...miss Támar 6! I love the raw prodution!

9,5/10

9 The Word (4:12)

A masterpiece!

10/10

10 Beautiful, Loved & Blessed (5:43)

Filler...doesn't Prince feature as much to be in the album. If It was on Támar's album, it would have a better score

7/10

11 The Dance (5:21)

Can a great track be done even better? The answer is YES!

10/10

12 Get On The Boat (6:19)

The Funk track of the album. Sheila and Maceo!

10/10

Conclusion: More focused than Musicology! Great listening trip!

Sdldawn said:

loudawg said:

The 3121 production is fine.

It's slick and digital without being distractingly plastic and flat. It's especially effective on tracks like 3121 and Love.

ImYours said:

Prince's greatest asset and his greatest curse are one and the same; his past catalogue.

The fact that we "know" he can do better limits the enjoyment of a purely fun, good pop record like 3121 for some.

I think the album is getting better with more listens. I wasn't sure about Lolita when I first heard it but it's really growing on me. It's cheesey but it groves.

The only real dissapointment to me is Incense and Candles. I wish he left that one off and gave it to Tamar for her album, or perhaps to Beyonce. It's nice but too generic for my tastes.

Several of these songs are going to kick serious arse in a live setting. We all know how good Fury sounds but I also think songs like 3121, Love, The Word, and get on the Boat are going to be real crowd pleases.

There's one thing that strikes me about this leaked copy and that is that it sounds a little unfinnished in parts. Like it's not been finally mixed or something. There is VERY audible hiss throughout Love, the vocals on Fury just dont sound like they are properly mixed, they sound almost like a demo.

From all reports Fury was the last song added to the album, at the expense of a song called "Streets of Panama". I'm sort of hoping that it was added late and the leaked version isn't the final mix of the album that is released (if it was me I'd release the SNL live version -- but this wont happen).

There in NO comparison to Musicology in any way whatsoever other than the fact that this is a very commercial release aimed at the masses. It's sound is nothing like Musicology. That album was good but this one is much better.

loudawg said:

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loudawg said:

The album is good. The Dance is very good, so LOVE and lolita and get on the boat. Te amo corazon is a pretty song.

The rest of the album is ok. Very far from genius.

I am VERY dissapointed with FURY. His guitar solos there are mediocre compared to SNL, and his vocals too.

As a matter of fact all guitar leads on the album are uninspired.

Sdldawn said:

Meloh9 said:

Alexandernvrmind said:

I stand by every positive post I made about the album. Aside from thinking Incense And Candles was good. I take back that. (listening to it today was painful)

Actually Fury and Beautiful, Loved, and Blessed have grown on me a lot.

I still give it a B+/A-. That could change (for better or for worse) any time though.

What I find so funny is how there are so many people who think this album is just average (including myself, even though I think it does have a certain "flow" to it, if u will), yet we all seem to disagree on what tracks are good and which ones suck (my personal favorites are 3121, Lolita and Love. Honestly, I skip over everything else. At least Ill listen to those 3. I dont listen to anything on Musicology, or hardly any of his 90's albums, with the exception of a few Gold and Chaos tracks. Oh, and In This Bed I Scream)

I guess Prince could never make another album to satisfy us all. Too many people like him for different reasons.

(I cant believe I called 3121 an album, but I did. Yes Nova, I do think its an album now. There does seem to be a cohesive theme to it. P meets Latin chick at party, lusts after her but doesnt want to cheat, realizes he's in love (or lust with her), flies to see her, they go out dancing, they try to fight temptation but do the nasty anyway, start fighting and shit, he goes away on tour or somewhere, she gets pissed, he tries to assure her they are still together, it doesnt work out, he misses her, then realizes he doesnt need her, only God. Yeah, I think its an album, just not his best by a long shot.)
[Edited 3/7/06 15:55pm]

In my humble opinion all the unwarrented bashing of the midget's new album, it's just not that serious....The album isn't among his best, but it certainly not among the midget's low or mediocre points...Just from reading some of the complaints about 3121, a lot of folks (once again, I know it's just opionion and I myself get a little uneasy when I hear "fam" heads praise the album as a work among his best...) seem to be attacking 3121 because of its heavy leaning on R&B...Again, in my opinion, it's a good album with splashes of nostalgia and a comtempoary edge...There's a lot of code words and phrases being thrown around on the Org. ("This track sounds like something Beyonce would do," "I wanted more guitar," "He's listening to the radio too much...") Well, here's a news flash people.....Except for Rainbow Children and Chos & Disorder, the midget has shown a heavy R&B influence since Diamonds & Pearls...

When I hear some of the fans say things like, "Rave and Musicology are a better albums," and "I wish he would go back to the "Chaos & Disorder sound" such statements have no credibility....Let's face it people, there are comments that have been made that show a bit of ignorance regarding the culture and sound of R&B...Whenver someone says "Black Sweat' sounds like Pharrell or the BEP's" it shows that people are a bit lazy with their experience with contempoary black music...The ladder statement holds the same weight as saying "Green Day's American Idiot single sounds like Blink 182..." Did it ever occur to the folks that are calling this album his worst effort to date, that maybe their dissapointment may lie in the fact that they heard three songs before the unreleased material had even been leeked...Not to mention, that they were spoiled with a memorable live performance of "Fury," which takes the air out of listening to the song, which is still a damn good track, on record...If you don't think such a reality has an impact on your opinion of 3121, I don't know what to say...

The bottom line: 3121 is not a top shelf work..but its a good, solid album that shows the old man is still capable of some fine moments...And it's better and fresher than Musicology, that's for sure..Again, just my opinion...but a very fair one (LOL)....
[Edited 3/7/06 16:19pm]

loudawg said:

I saw someone say on another message board that this album pretty much emcompasses and meshes everything Prince has attempted to do within the past decade into one album.

I can see that. I really didn't want to make a review of this album so soon because I wanted to get beyond the "oooh, I've got new Prince music" feeling and give an honest review that didn't cater to my love of being a Prince fan.

Let me say this: 3121 is what New Power Soul would've sounded like had it been a good album. I wouldn't necessarily call that a negative review and it wouldn't necessarily be complimentary. I will say that this album may be a grower for me... because I do hear moments in the production that make me tilt my head to the side and say "Hmmmmm ... I think I likes that"

Ya see, I was digging the laid-back mature Prince. But this album is proof that Prince got paranoid about what some of you still think about him. Hopefully yall see now that when Prince tries to keep up with the mainstream he sounds (and looks) like he's having a mid-life crisis?

But I digress...

Beyond the shit that makes me cringe about this album... I will say that it's still an interesting album. Short... sweet... and to the point. Out of 12 tracks the only ones I truly dig are Fury (a lil weak compared to the the live... but that's always the case), Love, Te Amo Corazon, and The Dance (I wish the original never existed compared to this one). ... and I might come around to "The Word"

But who knows after a couple of weeks those particular moments that made me tilt my head a bit and ponder just might bring me around full circle to loving the shit out of this album.

Either way, I'm satisifed knowing that we got another book for the library. This one might not get read that often but, I'm happy to have it. (I'll still purchase it)

What I find most interesting is that this is the album that some of yall begged for: A predominantly pop album (<-- whether some of you want to admit it not, Hip-hop/R&B is practically what defines popular music today ... yall couldn't handle it when he was doing real R&B ) full of synths and guitars with a shit load of technology mixed in. Well, I'll be damned that here it is and some of yall still ain't satisfied. Go figure,
[Edited 3/7/06 16:38pm]

BSK3601 said:

What I find most interesting is that this is the album that some of yall begged for: A predominantly pop album (<-- whether some of you want to admit it not, Hip-hop/R&B is practically what defines popular music today ... yall couldn't handle it when he was doing real R&B ) full of synths and guitars with a shit load of technology mixed in. Well, I'll be damned that here it is and some of yall still ain't satisfied. Go figure,

It's cool if anyone likes it ya know.. im just confused on those "review quotes" that prince threw up....



hmmm.. I think they got a different album

C'mon now you know that's gotta be the funniest shit about this...

For the past 6 years +, all I've seen is "I'm sick of that Dat Gum Horn Section "

The man adds synths on top of synths and even samples a fuckin saxophone, plays it on a keyboard patch and all of a sudden it's overwhelming and cheesy.