contrapposto said:

I'm not too fond of the version of "A Case of U" on this cd, especially since his live version from 8/8/83 concert where he debut most of the Purple Rain tracks is simply MAGICAL.

And never count in front of the children
lest they die of old age

THAT COULD VERY WELL BE ONE OF MY FAVE PRINCE LYRICS-EVER!

on a par with"i just hate to see an erection go to waste"

It's got highs and lows for me. I hail the title song as one of my favourite Prince songs ever, with it's freestyle form and intense vocalisation.

But is also has extreme lows, with indeed Pearls Before The Swine, which, as a live instrumental piece does not bother me that much. So it's the lyrics. I mean "Can I offer U baklava or a bagel with cream cheese?" still irks me as one of the most horrid, bland lyrics he ever committed to tape. Young And Beautiful does almost the same to me. Skipperdeeskip.

When it comes to lyrics, Prince was heavy in his Rainbow Children-mode, so some of the lyrics do not make so much sense to me. Where as I could tap into his spiritual side before, with Lovesexy and Purple Rain, that open-mindedness was over with TRC and this album.

Some people dislike the use of synths, but that just adds to the mood of the album for me. I've always loved it.
[Edited 1/22/09 0:22am]

a "conflict" between Prince and his fans. It might be whiny, though. But it's one of the rare songs where Prince shows he's acutally touched by criticism.

calldapplwondery83 said:

There's a lot of those critisism's in his music. I also like the "I'm a slave cuz you don't pay me enough"-songs and the "Laywers are the devil"-songs. It totally shows he is in touch with, ermmm, sumthing.

When Prince whines, I always have to think about Kevin Smith's experiences with Prince and his elephant (or was it a camel?) remark. Classic.

HamsterHuey said:

:camel:

contrapposto said:

"Thinkin' like the toes on Prince's camel will be just fine"

calldapplwondery83 said:

There's a lot of those critisism's in his music. I also like the "I'm a slave cuz you don't pay me enough"-songs and the "Laywers are the devil"-songs. It totally shows he is in touch with, ermmm, sumthing.

When Prince whines, I always have to think about Kevin Smith's experiences with Prince and his elephant (or was it a camel?) remark. Classic.

TheEnglishGent said:

haha yeah pearls is one of my all time fave prince songs-but yep its aimed at"fams" who slagged off his output and friends after the celebration

so even prince hates on "FAMS"!!!

Sdldawn said:

YOU HIGH?? pearls b4 the swine is one of the beatiful songs that man has ever put down on wax

Arboretum is my favorite

I've been pulling this album out quite a bit...

I admire this piece of work. I think the title track is one of the best songs he's written out of the 00's era. I value the experimentation of it, not to mention his piano style.

Overall, it isn't as solid as his older albums, but I catch drifts of improv throughout some of the songs, and that's usually where he drifts into interesting territory, lyrically and with his chord progressions. I also am thankful that he was sitting on a real piano. There are some prince tracks that simply bother me to no end because it sounds like he is sitting on a cheap keyboard, but not this time.

The only track that sticks out of the bunch is "Pearls Before the Swine". I don't dislike the song, it's just that the song doesn't simply fit with the flow of the album. The only song with a keyboard, it just felt thrown in.

anyone dig this album?


[Edited 1/21/09 23:20pm]

I wish Prince would release this album in a store also..I'd like 2 have it.