SlamGlam said:

Cindy Crawford. Took him 20 years to get over it.
[Edited 3/23/06 5:10am]

EmancipationLover said:

I agree. Other than Maceo's horns, I don't hear anything remotely resembling James Brown (and even Maceo isn't playing in the Famous Flame style, so I'm rather baffled by folks saying that). You nailed it with your "funk comined with mambo and salsa" description.

JediMaster said:

"Get on the Boat" has a similar melody to "Prettyman." To my ears anyway.

padawan said:

Hmmm, may have a slightly similar melody, but the arrangement and overall feel of the song are completely different. Remember, "1999" and "Manic Monday" have an almost identical melody, but those songs couldn't sound more different. The arrangement and overall feel of "Get On The Boat" just doesn't resemble James Brown to me.

JediMaster said:

I agree, i have to question when the last time folk have actually listened to james brown cos the minute prince plays a song like "get on the boat" peeps are too quick to say it sounds like james brown when it clearly doesn't
[Edited 3/23/06 6:09am]

when i said Get on the Boat was the Work pt 2... i was talking about its theam:

This work is not an easy task
But this is the work we must do 4 Revelation2 come 2 pass

then in get on the boat the BOAT is the 'revalation" it is the rapture... so to speak

and looking out the window reminded me of Every time I watch the other people news
I c a false picture of myself, another one of u

to me it is not about it sounding like the WORK but just like it is the contiuation of the same idea.

and i agree other that MP's horns... it sounds almost nothing like the Work.

Love2tha9s said:

I hear the same thing.

JediMaster said:

Agreed. The gospel-tinged lyrics and horns may recall "The Work," but the song as a whole has an entirely different flavor. And there are many examples of Prince recycling melodies. Compare the guitar riff on "ICNTTPOYM" to the keyboard synth groove on "17 days," almost note for note the same, but different feel. It's a testament to Prince's abilities that he can take one melody, one beat, one idea and set it to all sorts of different variations.
[Edited 3/23/06 6:29am]

padawan said:

It's a matter of semantics.....the song reminded me of JB 2 seconds into the track.

this album is great.....even with the cheesy stuff on it.....i love it

Well after another day of listening to it and listening to it, 3121 is sounding better. It is not a great album, but it is a good one. Lolita and Get on the Boat are still my least favorite tracks though.

I had to let this album grow on me and slowly it is. The songs are starting to stick with me, like the melody of the Word, though the lyrics I just can't get with. Nevertheless, I had to re-program my approach to the album. I thought about the world that we are living in and how it lacks inspiration, hope and energy. I also thought about art - music and film in particular. We have been conditioned to not receive anything new. We've been listening to the same music for the last 20 to 30 years, because all the most popular songs of the last decade and a half have been samples of previously popular songs. Even films are just remakes of previous hit films and television shows. Recycling is the order of the day. And if popular songs aren't sampled from hits from previous decades, they are basically musicless. They are simply minimally talented singers and/or rappers backed by a lame tracks. Today's rock music, though not sampled is also pretty lame and uninspired.

So we've just been conditioned to stay in the past. I had to give 3121 a listen in its own space and I am beginning to like it more. I still think Prince sounds a bit uninspired on the album, but that's life - at least at the moment.

Norwayman said:

That just about sums it up for me too.

I just find it amazing that one man's favorite is the other man's least favorite. Some people say 'Get on the boat' is the album's only saving grace, others don't like it at all.

What tells us this? Right!

calldapplwondery83 said:

I don't find it amazing at all. What's amazing to me is when multitudes actually agree on something, like Purple Rain or Thriller, making them fixtures in the popular consciousness.

i had the cd brought 4 me on monday,but cannot have it till sunday - cause its a mothers day gift ! ARGH, its drivin me mad

padawan said:

Good points. Another exactly similar groove in two songs that no one ever talks about much is "If I Was Your Girlfriend" and "Get It Up" (The Time). Completely different songs, themes, and they couldn't feel more different, but the very same descending keyboard hook.

bellanoche said:

Wow. I got depressed just reading this post.

interestingly, although i'm not a huge fan of organized religion, "get on the boat" is, imo, one of prince's bst songs ever. he demonstrates real mastery on this one.

I dig the song Love, but just to ruin it, has anyone noticed the chorus sounds like:

"We are a part of the Rhythm Nation...?"

Fianlly got a chance to post :

Without a doubt this my favourite Prince album in a looooong time.

The first thing that got me was how this is far more musically risky than musicology. Musicology was Prince playing safe - short pop songs, no real jams - no over indulgences which had been putting non fans and critics off for too long. 3121 he's got it spot on - edgy but not too much with a sprinkling of classice riffs and soudns.


3121 is Prince proving he can still cut it playing any kind of music and still sound 'like he used to' when he wants to (Fury) whilst finshing with a proper classic Prince Jam. Can piture the live shows now with that as the final song.


For me though - Love - is the killer track. The production is jaw dropping, the lyrics are sublime - classic Prince and then at the end - pure purple attitude.

Only track which I wish wasn't on there is Satisfied - but in the scheme of the album - I guess it works and i bet it'll end up being one of favourites in a few days time.

This is the first Prince albun in as long as I can remember which genuinely reminded me what got me into him all those years ago. In short - amazing.

"Love" is one of my new favorite songs. I adore it sooo soo much!



Like a bird flyin' over the hilltops
Love is like the sky
You know it never stops
From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks
Love is whatever...whatever...you want it to be

I love all the lyrics!
They're funny and deep. A lot of wisdom seems to come from comparing and combining religious passion with earthly passions.

Who would think that LoveSexy from a 48 year old is actually quite a lot more exciting than a teenager's erotic fantasies (even Prince's )!
.
[Edited 3/23/06 11:38am]

musicolog said:

I was playing this game with myself earlier! I even thought of a couple of the same songs as you. These are the songs that came to me:

3121 – "Rockhard In A Funky Place"

Lolita – "Sarah"

TAC, Black Sweat – I had nothing for these two

Incense and Candles – "Muse 2 The Pharaoh" and "The One"

Love – "Slave" and "New World"

Satisfied – "On the Couch"

Fury – "1999"

The Word – "Shoo Bed Ooh"

BL&B – had nothin'

The Dance – "The Beautiful Ones"

Get on the Boat – "The Everlasting Now" and "The Digital Garden" (only for the flavor of some of the percussion)

I think I'm going to make a mix CD of some of these and see how it turns out.

Here is my association game, though sometimes the association doesn't have particularly musical reasons. And I really think every song stands strong on it's own!

3121 – "Rockhard In A Funky Place", "Cloreen Bacon Skin", "La la la hee hee hee"

Lolita – "Cindy C.", "Mad Sex", "Pussy Control"

TAC - "Blue Light", "Do U Lie"

Black Sweat – "Joint 2 Joint"

Incense and Candles – "Muse 2 The Pharaoh" and "Dorothy Parker"

Love – "Slave" and "New World"

Satisfied – "Slow Love", "Damn You"

Fury – "Raspberry Baret"

The Word – "Shoo Bed Ooh", "Pheromone" for some reason

BL&B – "Round and round", "When 2 are in love"

The Dance – "The Beautiful Ones"

Get on the Boat – "The Everlasting Now" and "The Work pt 1"

Ok, here's my thing. I got it monday before I went into work (God, was that ever one long-assed day!) And after sorting out various problems on the org as well as having my eBay account hijacked (f*ckers!), and sorting that whole mess out, I finally found time to myself to be able to settle down with my 'phones on and let the music flow and the vibe grow.

3121
After hearing a brief snippet of this from American radio last month, and reading the lyrics that had been posted online, I have to say I wasn't impressed or indeed, enthused. I guess the old adage of 'never judge a book by it's cover' hits home here. Lovin' the minor-key guitar licks, they're funky this side of grating - genius. The driving bass just pushes the song along, the spikey horn breakdown, and the vocals...how long I've waited for something a little 'kOOky' from Prince - and heavyfeatherflickanipple - here it is. Although I'm left wanting to know one thing - surely if you drank champagne from a glass with chocolate handles, they'd warm, the handles would fall off, you'd get chocolate all over yo hands, and fizzycohol all ova Prince's deep plush purple carpets? If nothing else, this shows all the naysayers that Prince is FAR from being frightened of being experimental in the studio anymore and flexing his muse. Oh, and one more thing, anyone else agree that this song is just perfect for a kick-ass show opener? I can hear 20,000 some-odd fools chanting this like some crazy mantra...

Lolita
Somehow this strikes me as something that wouldn't really be out of place if found on Diamonds & Pearls - it's just got that similar breezy feel to me (take away 'Walk Don't Walk' and this in it's place, and you'll see my point - and yeah, I know a load of y'all won't agree, but that's cool). Anyway, love the phat keyboard stabs, the heavy-set drumming. His vocals are playful, so therefore nothing particularly stiking about them, the playful holla and chant part is kinda fun, cheesy - but fun. (This part in particular sounds very much like something that may have been lifted from 1989/90 to me, wonder how long this song has been around?) Still undecided as to whether I like the middle-8 or not. Overall, a really breezy 'summer' feel to this track, and that's a good thing.

Te Amo Corazón
Prince, I take it all back. Isn't it amazing how seeing a song played live can completely flip your opinion 180? After seeing him perform it at The Brit Awards, it offered me a new appreciation of the track. However, I had severe doubts as to how the hell a song like this was going to fit within the flow of the album. I really love the chorus, it ebbs and flows like a stream - a stream in this case being Prince's spiritual conscience talking. I've always liked the music, and it's taken a long long time to get used to this track, but with Clare Fichers lush strings, and that seductive guitar solo, I'm hooked and it's love. For a song so maligned, to a song that took many by surprise when it was performed live, it is worthy of recognition as the little gem it is. Te Amo Corazón indeed. Within the scope of 3121 it's perfectly placed, and is a great counterpoint to Lolita - lulling you into a false sense of security, the proverbial calm before the funk storm that is 'Black Sweat'.

Black Sweat
Well, this impressed me the first time I heard it anyway - instantly recognisable as 'Prince' as only Prince can do, and as someone commented earlier, just reminding peeps like Pharell Williams and that overrated P.Doddy dude that he can do this kinda stuff in his sleep. The programmed drums, the little industrial synth stabs ala NIN, the pimp-assed lead line, it just sounds bad-ass. The vocals are ok - great in places, almost casually delivered in others which can be a little distracting, and i'm still not too sure about the 'screaming like a white lady' quip, but overall, I'd shake my bOOty good 'n' plenty propa to it.

Incense and Candles
Already proving divisive in the ranks, I'd like to think that this will be the albums surprise grower on more people than they currently give it credit for. I personally think that the vocals on this track are the best on the album, so shoot me - I'd also take this track over anything on Musicology anyday, and can see this being a future single along with 'Love'. The vocodered vocal doesn't bother me in the slightest, I've never heard Prince use it before, and I don't think it's over-used. Sexy as all hell, it's pretty damned obvious what Prince's 'candle' is a metaphor for....

Love
Chicken grease guitar, fantastic keyboards and synth stabs (how I love Prince's phat synth stabs!) great lyrics, and love the funky breakdown and the subtle record intro sample. So far, this album just screams 'summertime' to me, I can imagine getting ready with my buds and crusing to a club with this playin' loud. Definately would make a great choice for a single...

Satisfied
Hmmmm It's good, but I've heard this kinda thing too often from Prince to be able to say it's a particularly strong track on the album for me. However, I do like his vocals on it (especially his heartfelt croon around 1:43). The horns are great, but overall it's pretty non-descript. Compared to say, 'On The Couch' from Musicology however, I'd take this hands-down, no contest.

Fury
Great great song, and obviously a huge fan favourite even prior to the album's release, but I have to acquiesce, this song really could have done with a far more rockier approach as he's been consistently performing it live. One has to wonder what his problem has been the past few years with regard to the more rock-orientated songs in his catalogue. Prince, there's nothing to be afraid of my friend, just like 'Let's Go Crazy' didn't need a bloody horns overdose on the Musicology tour - this is a ROCK song - pull yer finger out yo ass and serve it up hard, fast and cold, you can keep yer cowbell. That aside, the keyboards again are great (albeit a little overbearing), like the lyrics, the harmony vocals and middle-8 are interesting, but it's shamefully let down by lack of a guitar from which to take it's lead. Good, but could have been so much more.

The Word
Now this is great. Really, really great. This took me completely by surprise - the haunting and heartfelt vocal, the rolling acoustic guitar, uplifting spiritually-inclined lyrics of searching for something more than this mortal coil. The percussion buried in the mix is very reminiscent of '7', and is not only the best produced track on the album but it's deceptively complex too. By far my favourite track on 3121.

Beautiful, Loved and Blessed
I've never quite gotten why peeps dissed this track so much, because it's far from being 'Prince-by-numbers'. It's a really great track, with some positive lyrics (apart from the cringe-inducing 'Tamar...go faaaar' line) Another great production job with a big lush sound. Tamar and Prince work great together on this, and from what I've heard and seen so far I'll definately be investing in her album. My one and only gripe is that this leaves me with a feeling that the only reason this cut is on here is to promote Tamar (and if I remember correctly, isn't this going to be on her album too?) if that's the case then this space is sadly occupied by what's commonly known as 'filler', and it's a shame that a.n.other track could have so easily taken it's place. That aside, great song.

The Dance
Love the piano, and the percussion is subtle, and the tracks longing lyrics are suitably attired with an equally longing vocal that only Prince can get away with. I love the way the track turns around at 4:16. Cool, cool, cool - I feel like sipping martinis on the balcony, anyone care to join me?

Get On The Boat
There's dem hornz agin! I was always more a fan of the Hornheadz sound, so I'm not against horns per se, but they've grated on my nerves the past couple of years - here they're wonderful, everything works well with everything else in this track, so much going on, will make a fantastic track live, and I can easily imagine something like this closing a tour show as an encore. Great track, made even greater by Sheila's percussion contribution, and that cute as all hell outtro...

Overall:
Like water to a dry throat, my thirst has been quenched. My choices for future singles would be 'Incense and Candles', and Love'.
Destined to be a classic Prince album, roll on that tour!
out of 5

I like it much better than Musiclogy because it's more fun. Musicology is more stiff & self conscious. He tends to alternate fun/imperfect with perfect/stiff.

Chaos & Disorder--fun/imperfect
Emancipation--perfect/stiff
NPS--fun/imperfect
Rave--perfect/stiff
TRC--fun/imperfect
Musiclogy--perfect/stiff
3121--fun/imperfect
[Edited 3/23/06 14:38pm]

A Neptunes track came on my ipod today "Shine" by Jadakiss with Snoop, now This is funky shit. I Think Prince has become outdated, The Neptunes are now the shit, either with NERD'S LIVE BAND, or even on Mariah's album. Prince's stuff just aint cool anymore. period. I love him live, but his records aren't funky, no edge, no sex, and too religious.

HERE'S THE ULTIMATE TEST FOR ANY RECORD BY ANYBODY---WOULD YOU BE EMBARRASED TO HAVE IT CRANKED IN YOUR CAR WHILE YOU ARE AT A STOPLIGHT?

I DID THIS TEST WITH 3121, AND I HAD TO TURN IT DOWN, I FELT VERY UNCOOL.. HAHA

One thing after reading so many reviews on here is how varied they are. Most are positive. But when I read "its his worst" I am amazed, but still glad that Prince albums can promote such diverse opinions, even amoungst his most devout fans.

BTW, day 3 and I am loving it more and more. This from an old school fan. This stuff rocks 80s style.

The album is WONDERFUL.....I LOVE the songs and the Flow of the CD. It's Really Great..... It's gonna sell well...

3121 is a phat piece of Pop

I am really feeling this record...

I will say it again it is clearly stronger record than Musicology which was solid as a whole. There is no comparison between 3121 and Rave and NPS two similar albums.

3121 is P's strongest Pop record since Diamonds and Pearls and its better than that record.

Tracks 1-8 are very very strong...I think the final 4 songs tail off in my mind but hey thats me. They are good (the last 4 songs) In fact the last 4 songs are better than all but 3 or 4 songs on Musicology but really 3121 - Fury in just outstanding Pop mastery

Lastly if you don't shake your ass when P says "shake that thing come on...bounce it baby" then you don't have a pulse. Because at that point he has worked "Love" up to a fever pitch. Just a great dance song

Finally a full disc that not only I don't skip through...but one I would play in front of anyone and not be embarrassed. I even have gotten over the ridiculously cheesy chorus from "Lolita" that song is funky and unbelievably catchy at the same time. This boy knows how to write a pop record. Its his answer for Hey Ya but the difference is P writes songs like that in his sleep.

Regardless how it charts and it will do well its first couple of weeks...doesn't matter because this is the joint we've been waiting for!!!

Thanks P!