Whoops, meant to go with the thumbs down icon.

so if 3121 is a middle-of-the-road P album, [b] then 2.5 stars out of 5 is about right

SlamGlam said:

Not necessarily. Middle-of-the-road Prince could mean exceptional to some folks.

whodknee said:

so they should compare him to other acts?

If you knew critics and reviewers as I do, you would not give a damn. There are good critics out there, those that do listen to records carefully and have the musical knowledge and artistic depth to assess new work, but they are a rare breed. The majority are just as enslaved to their own personal tastes and moods of the moment as we are.

When it comes to Prince, I mostly trust reviewers that have followed him regularly in the past, such as Bream and Christgau. I'll even dismiss extremely positive reviews because so many of them show only limited knowledge of Prince's work.

Things that need to be put to rest:


3121 reviews
trc yay or nay
prince is gay
i want to fuck prince

and the newly discovered;
AI means he sold out

origmnd said:

Co sign....twice.

Graycap23 said:

Is Prince gay?

Rebeljuice said:

Like we said.....this question needs to be put to REST!

Is it really anyone else's business other than Prince's if he is gay or not? If he is, then big whoop, get over it. The music is still good.


Critics are going to say bad things about people all of the time. Maybe they really didn't write the album, andthat's why they gave it a not so great rating. It is the writers opinion after all.

MrPalmisano said:

I agree. It's a played out question.

Graycap23 said:

But is he?

MrPalmisano said:

he puts himself in the public eye so he gets the scrutiny that goes with it... personal or not... he CHOOSE to become famous. He choose to present a somewhat ambigious persona... prince WANTS people to speculate.

SlamGlam said:

I think so. An artist's worst record should still get 4 stars if it's good.

I am really not a big fan of 3121. Musicology was a much better album.There are a few okay tracks, but no real creativeness. I've been waiting on Prince to put out more live oriented stuff. It almost seems as Prince is using the sequencing like a crutch and counting on just his fanbase. He is so much bettere than 3121. He really needs to do a live album.

hinkie270 said:

I like 3121 better than Musicology, but I agree with what you say about the live stuff. At least as far as drums are concerned. That's one thing I don't think anyone had a problem with on TRC. If he could make an album as accesible as 3121 and as musically rich as TRC I think he'd have a classic on his hands.

I'll drink to that!! TRC was hot. There again creative!

Rebeljuice said:

yes of course.

Imago said:

Phew! Settled then...

2 1/2 stars is about right...

Great comments. I totally agree with you on TRC and 3121 being combined for the best of both worlds. TRC is my favorite P album since the Gold Experience and then Lovesexy, SOTT, Parade and 1999 before that. Although there is some good funk on 3121, I don't think any of the grooves are as solid as 1+1+1 is 3 or Family Name. Everlasting Now is pretty much on par with Get on the Boat, but I do like Black Sweat better than The Work. I think I also like Mellow better than any of the slow tunes on 3121. TRC is full of great songs and musicianship, but even I get annoyed by the narrator and the divisive lyrical content.

NDRU said:

"If you're gonna steal, steal from the best." - Woody Allen