Is it just me, or are you missing 'proper' reviews of 20ten? I would really enjoy reading some well written, thoughtful responses to this album. All I find, however, a blogs and 'unofficial' websites reviewing the album. As far as I can see, only The Mirror (and it's Scottish sister paper) and NME have reviewed the album, the Guardian have written about its release but not reviewed.

Am I missing a load of reviews that refuse to show up under a google search, or are music papers and magazines refusing to review the album because of the nature of its release?

Journalists only review stuff that they get for free from record companies.

it would get a proper review if it got a proper release, Q magazine haven't had an album to review since 3121 4 years ago, if you read that mag and and no other you wouldn't know he's still about, they hold it against him now, around the O2 tour they did a buyers guide and were a bit cruel about his dealings at the time.

Eh, Prince is reaping what he has sown. Heck, the album hasn't even been released in the United States.

To your point I would appreciate more reviews. Also, a ban on referring to the purple yoda line. Seems like every review mentions it and has the same thing to say about it.

It wasn't released through the "proper" channels, so there's no reviews. Not saying it's good or bad, but it's expected.

The only thing I miss regarding 20Ten is a good album...

i totally understand why people enjoy reading reviews, but i never bother with them

guess i'm just not that interested in what other people think lol

robinhood said:

i totally understand why people enjoy reading reviews, but i never bother with them

guess i'm just not that interested in what other people think lol

Allmusic did a review (and they do a review of everything), they didn't like it.

NouveauDance said:

It wasn't released through the "proper" channels, so there's no reviews. Not saying it's good or bad, but it's expected.

Yup

squirrelgrease said:

As someone above more or less stated, Prince didn't distribute promotional copies to reviewers. Jon Bream, Prince's home town champion since day one didn't even get sent a copy.

http://www.startribune.co...89894.html

CD reviews: Prince

Reviews of "20Ten" from Prince

Last update: July 31, 2010 - 1:35 PM

POP/ROCK

Prince, "20Ten" (NPG)

While Prince tries to secure U.S. distribution for his new CD, I landed a copy from England, where the disc was distributed in Sunday's Mirror and other European publications. This album is misnamed; "Nineteen80" might have been more appropriate. Sonically, this disc exudes the kind of synthesizer minimalism the Purple One purveyed in the early '80s. As for the lyrics, Prince doesn't have a dirty mind, but he says mortgage bankers do, in the gospel-funk social commentary "Act of God."

Back in 1980, Prince was all about getting frisky; now he's singing about friendship, freedom and fulfillment. Oh, he wants to be your lover, too, judging by the cooing, falsetto ballads "Walk in Sand" and "Sea of Everything." Still, he has bigger, more universal goals here.

However, Prince comes up short. This is his slightest effort since 1996's contractual obligation

"Chaos and Disorder." He reaches his nadir on the closing "Everybody Loves Me," an artless wad of sprightly synth bubblegum. The ensuing hidden track (Track 77, of course) is the treat. On the slow funk "Lay Down," Prince uses a talk-sing delivery that borders on rap, declaring "from the heart of Minnesota/Here come the Purple Yoda." It's a much-need slice of frisky fun from sexy Purple funkytown.

JON BREAM, Star Tribune

Bream is a bitter old jackass with an axe to grind.

I fully appreciate that Prince didn't release his album through 'proper' channels, but would also ask the question, what's a proper channel these days? Are the music press expecting people to pander to them or should they, like other journalists not actually go out and find material to write about? It sort of comes back to Prince's comment about the 'internet being over'. One form of musical distribution has been usurped, and so now has its replacement. Records/CDs are obsolete and so now is i-tunes/official releases through fansites or record company sites. Musicians release music via myspace and other shared sites all the time. I would have thought that a journalist worth their salt would go investigating. In actual fact Prince has made their job a lot easier by releasing the material via a paper in the UK and magazines across Europe, and this has, in turn, found its way onto the internet. The Guardian managed an article about the album, without a review; the Mirror gushed (I do hope Parsons' thirty pieces of silver for his soul was worth it)... but nothing else. That's lazy and not professional. Prince is a musician of stature and his music should be worthy of review irrespective of the manner of its release... and then I stop talking arse and return to something that has been hinted at by NouveauDance above... because he didn't give it free to journalists, they won't write about it. That's poor.

It reminds me of the Emancipation launch. There we were, in Orange Park, listening to journalists - informed journalists - wondering whether we should point out that the song they'd referred to as Joint to Joint was in fact Joy in Repetition... and all we could hear... all I could hear... was bitching and moaning about how hard it was to listen to Prince now... how Chaos and Disorder was a decent record (ease of access) and how godforsaken it was to be up at this hour... needless to say, we left them thinking Joy was Joint and they would have looked like fools with their copy, fools I tell you!

dreamshaman32 said:

squirrelgrease said:

As someone above more or less stated, Prince didn't distribute promotional copies to reviewers. Jon Bream, Prince's home town champion since day one didn't even get sent a copy.

http://www.startribune.co...89894.html

Bream is a bitter old jackass with an axe to grind.

Actually, most of the articles in the StarTribune by Bream have been unexpectedly positive during Prince's gradual slide into obscurity. CJ was given the unholy task of writing about Purple And Gold. After years of Bream getting shown the door at Paisley Park concerts, he was actually let in to the Oct., 2009 show at PP. So it seems he's not on Prince's shit-list anymore.