Associated Press Review - "Prince's 3-CD set is wildly uneven "

All,
I saw the following review on Yahoo http://news.yahoo.com/s/a...hTsA9xFb8C

Review: Prince's 3-CD set is wildly uneven

By JOSH L. DICKEY, AP Entertainment Writer Josh L. Dickey, Ap Entertainment Writer

Prince, "LOtUSFLOW3R"

Of the 31 tracks on Prince's new three-CD fire sale, only a handful will glint in the eyes of loyal fans who still sift his newer material for rare gems. To those awaiting a free sample on the radio, sorry you aren't going to get one this time around, either.

It's been 15 years since a Prince single cracked the Top 10 ("The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" charted No. 3 in 1994), and nothing from these three discs sounds in danger of breaking that streak.

The rare die-hard who understood "The Rainbow Children," Prince's wildly conceptual Jehova's Witnesses manifesto from 2001, may be able to translate the shifting language of "LOtUSFLOW3R," the central record in this effort. It's heavy and esoteric at times, jaunty and jammy at times, and highly indulgent all the time.

Thing is, if you're going to listen to someone indulge themselves in genre-bending psychedelia, it may as well be this guy.

The best track is "Boom," with its melody that descends like a dazzling meteor shower, ponderous slabs of wet bass crashing all around and light saber-buzz guitar to slice through it all. The song embodies the dark yet delicate surrealism of the new fan site that Prince helped design, lotusflow3r.com, from which "members" can download all three albums as part of a $77 annual subscription fee beginning Tuesday.

The deal includes a T-shirt, dibs on concert tickets, access to a vast archive of concert video footage and other digital geek-out goodies. (The three-CD set is being sold in its physical form exclusively at Target for a much more earthly $11.98.)

On another guitar-heavy highlight, "Dreamer," Prince unabashedly echoes Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" in fact, the better part of "LOtUSFLOW3R" careens around the edges of the bluesy, spacey trail that Jimi blazed. But its unevenness is its undoing; weird mumbling, random atmospherics, dissonant touches and an unnecessary cover of "Crimson and Clover" punch gaping holes in the cosmic seriousness with which the record takes itself.

Thank goodness, then, for "MPLSoUND," much of which may be the artist's greatest gift to fans in many years.

The disc starts out as an old-school romp that sounds as if Prince rolled up the rusted door of a warehouse behind Paisley Park, surveyed the dusty, vintage synth gear, and said to the posse behind him: "Fellas, let's make a funky record today."

The first few tracks could almost be mistaken for "Controversy" outtakes: You'll recognize the dry, flat pop of primitive electronic drums, campy whirl of analog keyboards and wild-eyed vocal stylings that ground an edge on Prince's early stuff. But sure enough, even "MPLSoUND" gets bogged down in throwaway slow-jams and shuffles that suck nearly all the fun energy from a promisingly rowdy start.

A third CD, entirely sung by new protege Bria Valente, is so lifeless and irrelevant as to hardly merit mention here. "Elixer" is a wholly forgettable trudge through generic R&B plodders that would drag down the most dynamic of singers; and Valente is not one. Her breathy whispers and naughty good looks, for that matter are more reminiscent of Ashley Alexandra Dupre than Apollonia.

The good news is that at $11.98 for all three, you can afford to rip the good tracks from "LOtUSFLOW3R" and "MPLSoUND" to your iPod, then use "Elixer" as a mirror to work on your air-guitar face. Because you're going to need it.

Wow, that's quite a bad review...

It's one person's opinion.

I thought I Hate U was in the top 10?

i for one am very excited to hear weird mumbling, random atmospherics, dissonant touches and an unnecessary cover of "Crimson and Clover".

Anxiety said:

i for one am very excited to hear weird mumbling, random atmospherics, dissonant touches and an unnecessary cover of "Crimson and Clover".

Here R a few reasons not 2 worry about this review:

A) He doesn't like 'The Rainbow Children'.
B) He doesn't like "Crimson & Clover".
C) He's likening "There'll Never B Another Like Me" and "Chocolate Box" 2 'Controversy' (album).
[Edited 3/20/09 9:09am]

This dope should go back to reading comic books and listening to MJ

Genesia said:

Prince.org is a cemetery where folks mourn Prince instead of celebrate him and his music. Last time I checked, Prince isn't dead yet.

Graycap23 said:

Prince.org is a cemetery where folks mourn Prince instead of celebrate him and his music. Last time I checked, Prince isn't dead yet.

Anxiety said:

i for one am very excited to hear weird mumbling, random atmospherics, dissonant touches and an unnecessary cover of "Crimson and Clover".

Anxiety said:

i for one am very excited to hear weird mumbling, random atmospherics, dissonant touches and an unnecessary cover of "Crimson and Clover".

Prince.org is a cemetery where folks mourn Prince instead of celebrate him and his music. Last time I checked, Prince isn't dead yet.

ah, posted 4 minutes after i did the same thing. lol.

i'm still excited about it. the reviewer sounds like he has a chip on his shoulder. he could have mentioned how 3121 was no. 1 when that was released ...

I will make my own mind up.

I'm hot and I don't care who knows it...I got a job to do.

purplecam said:

I'm hot and I don't care who knows it...I got a job to do.

purplecam said:

Giovanni777 said:

I'm hot and I don't care who knows it...I got a job to do.

purplecam said:

totheteeth said:

Good thing opinions r like assholes, everyone has one.
Entertainment writer Josh L. Dickey can take this interview and ram it up his own asshole

When we read this review it's normal that we attack the personae of the reviewer.
On the other hand, even the most diehard fans might fear there's some truth in the text.
Let's hope for the best, and fear the worst.

Anxiety said:

i for one am very excited to hear weird mumbling, random atmospherics, dissonant touches and an unnecessary cover of "Crimson and Clover".

I fear that this guy is right.

Giovanni777 said:

newsflash, people.
this is what most people will think about the new album.
and where did the reviewer say he didn't like TRC?
he mentioned that people who UNDERSTOOD the ramblings on that album might be able to translate the ramblings in THIS ONE.

but this isn't reality. it's the Org.
and the purple sheep will lap up Prince's garbage and pretend it's the finest wine in the history of mankind.

I for one, am not expecting much from the new release.
he's released mostly garbage for at least 10 years or so, not counting TRC.

mooseriderrik said:

ButterscotchPimp said:

Anxiety said:

Prince.org is a cemetery where folks mourn Prince instead of celebrate him and his music. Last time I checked, Prince isn't dead yet.

Well I understood the music of the rainbow children, don't care about the lyrics, if it's going to be like trc, i'll be very happy

pennylover said:

Good thing opinions r like assholes, everyone has one.
Entertainment writer Josh L. Dickey can take this interview and ram it up his own asshole

Prince.org is a cemetery where folks mourn Prince instead of celebrate him and his music. Last time I checked, Prince isn't dead yet.