Prince in 1985.
(approximate quote)
"Everybody was waiting 4 me 2 do "Purple Rain 2" cuz "Purple Rain" was such a huge success. But there was no way i'd do that, i wanted 2 go ahead & there4 made "ATWIAD"."

Prince in 2006.
(imaginary quote)
"Everybody was waiting 4 me 2 do something different than "Musicology", cuz that's what i've always done in the past. But "Musicology" was such a huge success that i had 2 make "Musicology 2", which i called "3121".

Believe me i ain't the "Prince was better b4" kinda guy, i love & support most of what he recorded since 1993 as much as the previous era.

The songs i've heard from "3121" r okay, but in the end, we get another "see all the styles i can play" album, with no identity as a whole...

I wish Prince comes back 2 this "new directions in music" series after he's made lotsa $ with "3121"...
[Edited 3/10/06 7:38am]

shaomi said:

Essentially... every single Prince album is a "" type effort. I don't see this as Musicology part 2. I think it was Boris Fishpaw who said that 3121 would be to Musicology what was to Diamonds and Pearls. Once again you've got commercial albums ... one with an obvious theme (real instruments by a real musician) and one with an abstract theme (house party-time in ethnic clothing).

These days with Prince, if you're not a fan of everything he does then you know it's gonna be hit or miss until he discovers that untapped territory. TRC was that album for me, so I might have to wait another 3 or 4 years before I hear something else like that. As great as technology is, it's pretty much limited Prince from doing anything truly innovative again because it's pretty much been done... if not by him then it's been done by someone else.

While I have the feeling your description for Musicology is 100% correct (see what I can do),

I think 3121 does have a theme. The album has a nice flow, and breathes one type of atmosphere... It really does, if you ask me. Kinda like his best albums (PR and SOTT), they contained all different kind of genres, but yet they all fell in to place very well.

This is not the case with Musicology at all imo.

It doesnt matter what he releases someones gonna complain.
TRC was nothing like Musicology or 3121, and TRC is a masterpeice,,but
people werent having it...