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Entertainment Weeky Reviews Planet Earth Entertainment Weekly
July 27, 2007 Purple Heart BYLINE: CHRIS WILLMAN HIGHLIGHT: Prince delivers his best album in years...by partying like it's 1980-something again. Prince Planet Earth (NPG/Columbia) R&B/Rock Has Prince's genius ever been in fuller bloom? Ever since he came up with that gambit to offer free CDs with concert tickets in 2004, he's been on a roll. In 2007 alone, he's given us a Super Bowl triumph, highly publicized residencies in intimate Las Vegas and L.A. venues, and the controversial giveaway of his latest CD (2.9 million of them!) with a London weekly. Clearly he's at the peak of his powers that is, as a wily survivor willing to try any new model of getting music out. Oh, you thought we meant his songs? Yes, there's...that. With recent albums like 3121 and Musicology sounding like affably goofy outtakes collections, Prince's brilliance as a self-marketer has grown in almost inverse proportion to his confoundingly shrinking ambitions as an artist. But there's a change in the winds with Planet Earth. It's evenly split between melodic rock and classic soul, minus the daffy, George Clinton-type jams that've lately stood in for actual songs. You say you want the Revolution? Weh-ell, you know, he's finally doing what he can to recapture some of that peak-era vibe. Ex-Revolutionaries Wendy & Lisa, long estranged from the maestro, make cameos; real drums mostly replace canned ones; and he unleashes all the guitar eruptions he's been bottling up for years. Though we'll never get another Purple Rain, it still feels right, in a lavender drought, to settle for something at least approaching another Parade (to name a late-'80s work only now regarded as unapproachably awesome). There's a sense of patience rewarded, hearing the feathery tremolo guitars and female backing coos in "The One U Wanna C" a slice of pure pop cut from the same pie as "Raspberry Beret" or the return of his Delfonics falsetto on "Somewhere Here on Earth" and "Future Baby Mama." Of all his attempts at rapping, "Mr. Goodnight" is the first that works, because it could pass for an early-'70s bedroom recitative. And the one time he lays down serious funk on "Chelsea Rodgers," sung by band member Shelby J it isn't 3121's formless party improv but a terrific, full-on disco stomp. Prince continues to get his lothario moves on, with the notable exceptions of the album's bookending tunes, "Planet Earth" and "Resolution," which go for globally conscious, peacenik profundity. The title track combines God and going green about as effectively as Evan Almighty. Still, when he cements that number's anthemic aspirations with a "Purple"-colored solo, it's thrilling to know one of pop's indisputable greats is really trying again and might be taking the recording process as seriously as he takes disseminating his music. B+ >DOWNLOAD THIS: "The One U Wanna C" PERSON: PRINCE | |
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"Prince delivers his best album in years..."
kiss of death | |
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Not 2 bad coming from Entertainment Weekly. Looking forward 2 the upcoming edition |
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>DOWNLOAD THIS: "The One U Wanna C" <<<<
i take it thats really just a 30 sec streaming clip and not an actual song download? | |
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minus the daffy, George Clinton-type jams
Hmmm, these are the Prince songs I gravitate towards the most. 3121 was my favorite song because of it... Of all his attempts at rapping, "Mr. Goodnight" is the first that works...
Whatever, "Gett Off" worked when Prince rapped, as did it's b-sides "Violet the Organ Grinder"... Other than that, I mostly agree with this. However, reviews are mostly useless... "New Power slide...." |
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Wow! Shocked to see EW give him such a positive review!
Very nice The greatest live performer of our times was is and always will be Prince.
Remember there is only one destination and that place is U All of it. Everything. Is U. | |
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newpower99 said: >DOWNLOAD THIS: "The One U Wanna C" <<<<
i take it thats really just a 30 sec streaming clip and not an actual song download? No - this only their recommendation not an actual link The greatest live performer of our times was is and always will be Prince.
Remember there is only one destination and that place is U All of it. Everything. Is U. | |
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I've been so good at not reading revies now ones gonna show up in my mailbox 2day! This is gonna b really hard 2 not read cause its gonna sit there in front of me 4 days!
I guess I'm gonna have 2 rip out the page! No can't do that! This is gonna take some bigtime willpower not 2 read till after I have heard the CD @ least 5 times. @ that time I'll dive in and read all I can. | |
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a B+ 
 best review he's got in a long time 
didnt 3121 get a C+  | |
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"With recent albums like 3121 and Musicology sounding like affably goofy outtakes collections" <<<< wtf??!?! 3121 and Musicology are great albums! And didn't he get another grammy for Musicology along with 5 nominations for 3121? "So shall it be written, so shall it be sung..."  | |
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2020 said: Wow! Shocked to see EW give him such a positive review!
Very nice Didn't EW give him pretty positive reviews of both Musicology and 3121 only to shit on them now  | |
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