KingSausage said:

Dude!

OK heard the album 4 or 5 times now & I've put my thoughts below
3121:Love it, very Clinton influenced, but reminds me of the great grooves P used to producce in the 80's. Funky bass, great guitar, wiggy vocals & I can see why people have mentioned Crystal Ball.

lolita: nice, if slightly cheesy, but nothing wrong with that.

te amo ..... Well I always liked this & still do & sounds good in the album context.

black sweat : surely his first hit for a long time in the UK. Like it a lot.

incense and candles: Very contemporary & I like the use of the Vocoder & the girls vocals too. I think another poss single.

love: also like this a lot. Love is whatever you want it to be.....

satisfied: Don't like this, Prince ballad by numbers, but second rate. Will prob skip this in future.

fury: as never gonna live up to the live rocking versions, but like it all the same. Sounds like live drums (Sheila? Prince?)

the word: Nice guitar touches & arrangement. Only track sounds like a religious message.

Beautiful, Loved and Blessed : It didn't blow me away, but now seems to work on the album & the extended Sly like jam at the end is good (also typical of Prince funky jams in the 80s again)

the dance:Don't really like this in the original version or this one, doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the album. I'll give it a few more listens cos I do like the strings, but guess I'll skip this one too in future.

get on the boat: Would've liked a more explosive ending to the album, but this is good, nice horns (Maceo & who else?).

Looking forward to seeing the credits. Obviously a lot of prince solo stuff, but lots of girl vox too & want to know if any 'old friends' are around. It's not obviously apparent.

I'll go for 3.5 out of 5 & I still think his best album for years (then again I'm still totally into all the 80's albums).

I hate that there are already copies out there! You guys spoil the excitment!!!

bkw said:

nice catch@

bkw said:

That pretty much goes without saying...

Wow, this topic really fell off.

well after being wrongly temporarily banned for no good reason I am back and

3121 is BRILLIANT!!

I really feel sorry for all the people that dont like it

I've been listening to this guy since '82 and this ranks amongst his best work


Get On the Boat People!
3121 Dont U Wanna Come

Well welcome back 2020! I don't remember if I posted on this very long thread but I "LOVE" this CD. It's now in my favorite Prince albums of all time list. I love not having to skip a tune on a CD. That right there gives me reason to celebrate. I prayed that I'd get a Prince album that would excite me again and to my surprise I got it, thank you Jesus! A great birthday present for me this year. In all of my celebrating, I'm open to my mind changing but right now, things are great for me with this CD. I can't wait to buy a few copies on the 21st!
[Edited 3/9/06 9:36am]

purplecam said:

VenusBlingBling said:

Then don't read a thread about the album. Then when you reach the arbitrary release date it will be significant for you.

2020 said:

I have heard several tracks from the album. I hate to say this.. but for me, after "the rainbow children" and "one night alone", this is a MAJOR step backwards muscially. sounds like pop drivel that price so often scorns


where is the band? where is the live sound then, of musicians?? Prince must firmly stay away from producing virtually all the album. bad idea. Definately an Emancipation sound to the producing.. that was 1997, nearly a DECADE ago.

He needs a band's input. His best albums for me, were any albums recorded with a band. What this album is, is an attempt to be radio friendly and no offence, but sounds like forgettable pop slush.. to b Simon Cowell about it.

After having heard a few songs, im not even inspired to hear the rest of the album.

Listen to a song like "love" for example. Those synth sounds.... man, dated is not the word. it sounds like he hasnt updated his Korg synth sound module since 1997! Damn look what he did musically with the Come album, even the sounds on that still sound more modern than this "bedroom producing" feel of 3121, and that was back in 1994!!!

One night Alone live, album, and TRC had a theme.. a story, songs that linked, an album. This sounds like ome wierd hotpot.


To me, the lyrics, the producing, everything, is a step backwards towards selling out, and becoming pop.

Its just my humble opinion/preference that prince albums were best when he recorded them with a band.

PurpleRain
Sign of the Times
Diamonds and Peals
Symbol Album

Man, even "the vault" was a superb, highly underrated album

Maybe if he re-recorded this album with a live band, it would bring this album and the songs to life. Even the kick-drum sounds irritatingly dated.

Sorry prince, and sorry orgers. Really.. dont be mad, dont mean to slate, but im just being honest with what my ears tell me. A lot of it to me sounds like forgettable pop slush.. i cant believe im typing this about a new prince album..


then again, i remember when Come was released. I remember thinkin.. man Prince has finally lost it. A couple of years later, i couldnt get enough. I hope that happens with this album, but pop stuff, like 90% of it, is quickly forgotten. t not a masterpiece. To me, TRC was a musical pop masterpiece.

thats me done. Sorry. hopefully i will listen some more and like it more, but im not even inspired to hear them again. I get the songs. most are very accessable, and dont take muh time to digest, unlike prince's more complicated, deeper stuff.

peace out.

OK ok!! I just heard Get on the Boat..

now THATS what im talkin about.. THAT for me is a true Prince sound.


Few!! ..... prince u had me worried there fella!




I still think some of the album is what i said though

mmm.. im restless... apologies for 3 in a row.. maybe i was being harsh. its good stuff. just not amazing. all those hyping emails from npgcm got me down some wrong path of expecation.(an excellent album btw, pardon the pun!)


I think most reviews are on the nail actually, giving it about 3/5.

its that kind of album. nothing mindblowing, but some ok tracks. nothin amazing musically.

PurpleHouse said:

I agree with much of what you say about 3121 and the lack of musical ideas on the record but I certainly think Prince can jam just fine by himself when he wants to, he just took, as you said, a few steps back towards pop tripe with this record.

Also, Sign O The Times was pretty much a one man show and some of the tracks on Purple Rain were as well. Diamonds and Pearls I thought was pretty mediocre though that certianly was a good live band, but all his live bands are good.

Purplehouse, this is a grower. I'm willing to bet that by the time you hear this another 5-6 times you'll raise that rating to 4 out of 5.

Wall said:

Yeah, I think he has a fantasic live sound to his records, another one I like is Chaos and Disorder... the sound on that album, the producing/recording.. it sounds like the band is there with u in the room as it booms out my hifi separates!!

But this lastest album.. i am struggling to be overjoyed, when prince has taken me personally anyway, to some deep, deep places, and taught me so much about true good music, musicianship, and music commercialism

maybe this is prince just having some fun. I still miss that live band recording though, save the dodgy 90's Korg synth sounds to the remixes.

PurpleHouse said:

Gold.. theres another one that sounded absolutely amazing to me.. u can blast that stuff.. 319.. still gives me shivers!

bkw said:

I hope so.. but this isnt a flowing album feel for me. its a hot pot type album. this is specifically designed to have a pleaser for everyones tastes.

I personally love prince's themed albums, that flow, eg lovesexy, come, symbol album, gold etc.. they tell a story. the album is as one.

this is a "dive in and listen to what u fancy" u could mix the order up, and it wouldnt make a difference. they are stand alone songs.

an obvious, intentioned decision by prince. fair enough. but we all have our preferences.

I have to say, I prefer listening to this album if I just imagine other fans hearing it. If i imagine my mates, or teenie popers out there listening to this, i just know they wouldnt like it, and it peeves me off inside. same way someone said dj's wouldnt play blacksweat in a club

i wouldnt play blacksweat if i was a DJ. i just know it just wouldnt gell with today's real RnB, well produced puffy stuff.

U play Nasty girl, and u know what, I take my hat off to puffy. its a slammin track, and would leave a song like Black Sweat in its wake. No offence, but just my opinion. If I think of this album as a private listen, and not imagining the commecial market buying it, for some reason it makes me feel a bit better about it.

I think there is a definate theme to this album and the tracks make perfect sense in the order that they are in. You just got to listen a little harder to the lyrics.

The album traces the break-up in his marriage to Mani and his salvation again through god.

Follow the tracks closely and it is revealed.

bkw said:

Could you outline this ephihany a little further?

PurpleHouse said:

This just goes to show how tastes differ because GotB is one of the two least enjoyable tracks from this album for me (the other being B,L&B)

Wall said:

Okay, but I'm going to do this briefly as I dont have the time.

3121 -- The event/party where it all began.

Lolita -- The temptation/seductress (not mani)

Te Amo -- His love for Mani, a history, their destiny.

Black Sweat -- He only gets hot for Mani.

Incense and Candles -- See above.

Love -- They are having troubles, she suspects him of infidelity.

Satisfied -- A deeper examination. He accuses her of infidelity.

Fury -- She's left him and is scorned. He declares he's still her man.

The Word -- Salvation through God.

BLB -- The joys of God's love.

The Dance -- He still loves her but fears her rejection. He wants all or nothing.

The Boat -- Encouraging others to seek salvation through God before it's all too late.

bkw said:

That actually makes a lot more sense. Good stuff.

PurpleKnight said:

We're pretty close in interpretation.

The difference is that I think he is claiming he never fell for the seductress in Lolita. Therefore, the next few songs are about how he only loves his wife. Prince always declares his innocence in his songs even though he is a renowned player.

Let me throw this little piece of scuttlebutt in the ring.

Lolita is definately Hispanic from her voice in the song.

Could Lolita be Selma Hayek?

bkw said:

Or her sister Salma.

bkw said:

To be fair, I only have heard some of the album randomly. reading this analogy however, is impressive and undisputed. nice work guys,

When I actually buy the album and listen in it's entirety, im sure I will have a more up to date opinion. Im just contributing what i thought i knew, and already those last 2 posts were superb, and already im more impressed and intregued about the final version when its in my hands, and i can just press play.

Good response to my post guys, seriously.. u have left me standing!!

i feel a bit of a twat now! but in a way im glad i posted that msg, or else i would never have probably seen the album in that way.

OK - now im feelin more excitment about when i get my copy.

Damn good work, there's some smart ppl in here! I love the org!

I didnt like the album 2 days ago. Now the songs are growing on me.

Synth-pop-funk-prince cannot go wrong.

It´s like a dirt mind mood with a little latin vibe.

New ratings after nonstop listening over the past few days...

3121 (A)
Lolita (A-)
Te Amo Corazon (A-) *big mover*
Black Sweat (B-)
Incense and Candles (B) *big mover*
Love (A)
Satisfied (A)
Fury (A)
The Word (A)
Beautiful, Loved & Blessed (B+)
The Dance (A)
Get on the Boat (B)

This album smokes. 12 cohesive, beautifully written and played songs. From tracks 6 to 9 + 11, Prince shows his true genius. No one can make music this varied and at such high quality. A nearly perfect album.