Rico said:

what? i wholeheartedly disagree

i had to turn off both bria's record and mplsound. lotusflow3r is alright...except for 77 beverly park, wall of berlin, love like jazz, feel good feel better fell wonderful, and 4ever. the other tracks will make it to my jPod...and the dreamer might be some of the best shit he's done in years. seriously, that one song is worth the 12 bucks to me.

sassybritches said:

i had the same experience on first listen. i had trouble getting all the way to the end of basically any track on 'mplsound,' and several on 'lotusflow3r.' which is the first time i've ever actually turned off the stereo while listening to a prince album for the first time. sure, the last ten years have not been my favorite period, but usually i can get all the way to the end of an album before filing it away.

but, i kept trying to listen to them and, dammit, i'm starting to like both of the new prince albums.

i liked bria's stuff on first listen, but i can see how the lyrics are going to irritate me over time.

from my experience the best P stuff usually takes many listens,,it is like info overload. Parts of Lovesexy and TRC were alot to handle at first, but now are 2 of my faves.....

thepope2the9s said:

when i first got 'sign o the times' i was a little disappointed because it seemed so soft. i had just come off hearing 'atwiad' and 'parade' and then 'lovesexy' in a very short period of time. now 'sott' is one of my favorites. on the other hand, i loved the other three albums mentioned above on first listen.

i don't think any of this new material comes anywhere near touching that older stuff, but i do think it's stuff that will have to grow on me over time. i have this problem with a lot of pop music because it's just so predictable. if i can get over the cliches sometimes i can appreciate stuff that sounds totally played out and bland on first listen.

with prince it's generally worth the effort. i wouldn't put this many listens into most pop records if they didn't strike me right away.
[Edited 3/31/09 12:04pm]

I think this album's closest relative is The Rainbow Children but it also gives me a bit of a Dream Factory vibe. I'm glad not every track was an outright rocker.

Another great album.

From The lotus 8
Boom 9
The Morning After 8
4ever 9
Colonized Mind 9
Feel Better, Feel Good, Feel Wonderful 9
Love like Jazz 9
77 Beverly Park 8
The Wall Of Berlin 9
$ 9
Dreamer 9
Back To The Lotus 9

Overall 9/10

any chance we can get a tally on how sales are going ?

thepope2the9s said:

Exactly. If I went by 1st listens, I would have told you SOTT and Lovesexy was dog shit. It left me puzzled and disappointed. Now they are in my top 10 Prince albums. All 3 CD's are growing on me and I couldn't be happier.

This is a good album with a nice attempt at being different/alternative, but it wasn't psychodelic enough... he didn't really reach with LotusFlow3r like we know he can. After the first three songs, I was hearing some Jimmi Hendrix/Sgt. Pepper type of uniqeness, but then it leveled off. Prince's inspiration seems different now. Maybe it's because every since he was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, he's gone all Hollywood on us, and it's showing in his music?

LotusFlow3r grade: B (good, but not great)
[Edited 3/31/09 12:48pm]

Lotusflow3r is the best of the three albums. The only cuts I would drop from this album are "4Ever", "Love Like Jazz", "77 Beverly Park", and "$". They just seem out of place to me.

MPLSound - I like Ol'Skool Company. No More Candy 4 U sounds like he drank two triple shot tall lattes and went into the studio...I like it.
The rest sounds like Emancipation/Rave leftovers.

Elixr - music on this is for the most part ok for background music. But I still don't like this girls voice. Too generic.

I'll be doing some creative editing before I load anything to my iPod.

TPvision said:

it started way before that. he hasn't really experimented with rhythms and song construction on a released album since 'lovesexy.' since '95 or thereabouts he doesn't even seem interested in different sounds. with few exceptions, all the songs released since '97 have either the 'emancipation' sound or the 'rainbow children' sound. 'planet earth' gave us the 'new demo' sound. all of these sounds can produce good songs, but they are very consistent across multiple albums.

i think '$' is the greatest leap forward in his song writing in the last two decades.

this is going to sound weird, and believe me it feels weird saying it, but i'd like to hear an album of prince ball room dancing tunes. wtf it's just so weird. like 'graffiti bridge' weird. i like it.

ehuffnsd said:

...of course....after TRC

stanleylieber said:

this is definitely not the first time i've disliked a prince record immediately...i don't even own planet earth, at least i bought this.

that said, the stuff on mplsound is just not anything i can get into. i find it incredibly awful, i'd rather listen to top 40. seriously. some of it (like "here", for example) sounds like emancipation outtakes. yuck. and he made "u're gonna c me" even worse!! (i mean, who knew it was possible!)

luvsexy4all said:

this makes me sad, lol.

sassybritches said:

believe me, i understand. i do not own 'musicology.' but i did make it through the whole album at least once before turning it off. i got about halfway through each track on 'mplsound' before hitting skip on the first pass through.

i think there are some decent melodies buried in the horribly equalized distortion of the songs on 'mplsound.' the production 'sheen' (if you want to call it that) almost completely masks the good that is there.

i could be deluding myself.

I know that I am considered a ‘hater’ on this site (which is not true in reality) … BUT ...With a lot of Prince releases for the last 15 years for me it always feels like a missed opportunity ….. This is another project that falls into that mix (it was supposed to be ‘retro-Prince' sounding… but it’s kind of half way there for me)

Here’s what I think would have worked better….. (A single album)


From the Lotus – (it’s not the greatest instrument … but it sets the vibe ok)

Boom – (nice verses to the song… even if it is a little 'Darling Nikki' sounding ... but where’s the killer chorus or hook… just saying “boom” seems a little half arsed. The song needs more developing for me)

Dance 4 Me – (would have been better with some live bass in there… not crazy enough musically …. Maybe an Eric Leeds ‘Housequake’ style horn riff)

4Ever – (Prince has been recording these ‘Broadway musical style’ songs for years …. I guess I can live with one more)

Colonized Mind – (sounds cool)

Feel better Feel Good – (Not a huge fan of the song, but it’s ‘ok’ …. But how cool would it have been if he had bothered to write and play a super cool bass line for it, instead of just playing a non-descript keyboard bass ….(with an ‘Irresistible Bitch’ or ‘Lets Work’ style bass going on it would have taken off musically)

Better With Time – (sounds a little ‘limp’ to me, I kind of think it would have been better if it had more of a Mavis Staples ‘Time Waits For No One’ vibe … the keys on the Mavis tune have that classic Prince sound ...the idea of this record was to sound like Prince ... not run-of-the-mill R&B.

Ol' Skool Company – (sounds cool …. Although again it misses a cool live bass line … The Black album was full of great bass lines, mixing live instruments with programmed Linn Drum was what made it so cool)

$ - (sounds cool)

Dreamer – (it’s ok …but just so it did not sound like a total 100% Hendrix steal I would have preferred to hear something ‘Prince Sounding’ in the mix .... It’s been compared to the 86 outtake ‘Witness’ … I wish it had incorporated some more of that vibe …. A few horn stabs and female vocals. …otherwise I may as well put on a ‘Band Of Gypsies’ album and hear the real thing.

Back to the Lotus – (works ok)

okay, so i got my copy of Lotusflow3r and thought I would share my 2 cents.

I was plesently suprised that 2 out of the 3 CD's were pretty good, pretty darn good at that. Loutusflow3r hit the ground running with it being the best disc in the package, followed with Elixer (is it just me or does it sound like she says "he licks her"?...lol Then MPLsound comes in a chilling 3rd.

Its a f***** shame Bria will be snubbed @ radio, as I feel she has some really catchy tunes that can ezly catch the ear of top 40 radio, while a few tracks off Lotusflow3r can catch fire at rock stations.

I think MPLsound should have shevled (sorry but after severl listens, i just cant get into it....maybe I am just getting old ; ). In its place he should have had several remixes off Lotusflow3r, a video or 2 and a sample/tease of what becoming a member will get you. He also, should have pulled a 3121.....by this I mean the cd should have been released in advance of the 3 shows he did in LA and tickes should have been given away in the cd, creating buzz and sending high foot traffic toward Target. And for the non LA folk...he could have included x-number of all access memberships passes to Lotusflow3r.

He could have done a ton a fun and cool stuff with this release but think he missed the boat. Oh well, at leat I have 2 really cool cd's to listen to.

i'm glad that with this xperience i stayed away from reviews and the threads about this album cause i wanted 2 make my own xperience enjoyable without hearing this song is great this song sucks type of deal.

GLAD I WAITED!!!

this album clearly removes the bad taste of planet shit from my mouth. i was worried about this album being a rock album cause frankly, i was tired of the rock cries from fans where i wanted the funk..got my funk on the mplsound album review over there ..but this is what happens when u bring in musicians that can rock out like michael and sonny!!!

i feel this album was made 2 shut all those that were proclaiming prince's studio guitar work wasn't up 2 par with his live playing..now what do y'all say after hearing this album?

From the Lotus. . .reminds me of the undertaker video
Boom - very pyschodelic verse leading in2 a thumbing chrous
Crimson and Clover - always liked the original version
The Morning After - another psychodelic trip
4EVER - loved this ever since the radio show
Colonized Mind - it's growing on me, the moment i start singing the chorus of a song means i'll start digging a tune and this is growing!
Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful - 1st listen i was mad cause he added the hornz 2 it but loved how the vocals were intact. but it's all good cause this track is slammin!!!.
Love Like Jazz - cool track
77 Beverly Park - nice spanish guitar licks..perhaps 4 selma?
Wall of Berlin - loved it from 1st listen on the radio show
$ - through me off at 1st since i was xpecting a dance track/funk track so after the readjustment i'm sure it will grow
Dreamer - voodoo chile meets witness 4 the prosecution
. . . Back to the Lotus - seriously channeling axis bold is love on this track

one just hopes that with proper promotion and doing these songs live it will make me want 2 c prince live again ..but after the 1st show in LA i'm still skeptical

I really dislike the way Boom goes into The Morning After/C&C. It's way too abrupt and sounds like bad editing. I want to make a compilation for someone and this is f-ing it up! I will have to fade it out.

johnny2000 said:

for my money the album version is far superior to the demo. the horns help. it approaches the '93 live sound. needs a rosie gaines guest vocal to be complete. this is the kind of almost-rap that would have sounded really good in '91.
[Edited 3/31/09 18:44pm]

L4OATheOriginal said:

the best answer to that would have been to post 'the undertaker' album on the website.

NouveauDance said:

i kinda like the way the songs all sort of run into each other.

NouveauDance said:

I remember having the same issue with Eye Hate U's sudden end before going into a segue.

...Back then it was mix tapes!

1817 said:

You are so right about the Bria part, I think her cd is pretty cool. It doesn't sound all "Princey", by that I mean corny! 'Cause his shit is down right corny these days!

TyphoonTip said:

don't take me back to '95.

we were all so excited about the new songs, and then... it came out. it all sounded like he'd put about 2" of shimmery studio coating on everything. 'eye hate u' sounded AWESOME on the american music awards. (who knows, maybe it was the same instrumental track, but something about the acoustics made it sound RAW.)

stanleylieber said:

That album was EQ'd and compressed within an inch of it's life. Probably a little too much for my tastes.

I'd love to hear that album remastered with a little more obvious dynamics. But that ain't gonna happen.

TyphoonTip said:

I remember mixtapes well, I still do them only now it's mp3 compilations for people's ipods

I like the tracks running together, but the Boom/Morning After or C&C cut is really abrupt. Reminds me of Girls & Boys into Life Can Be So Nice.

TyphoonTip said:

sadly enough, the stuff he's put out since '99 is eq'd and compressed to such a greater extent that it makes the released version of 'tge' sound like a sony classical recording. i have tried many times but i still can't sit all the way through 'musicology' without wincing in pain. the cymbal crashes in 'if eye was the man in your life' are excruciatingly dissonant.
[Edited 3/31/09 19:31pm]