http://www.yaledailynews....?AID=32423

Yale Daily News (Yale University)

Published Friday, March 31, 2006

'3121' years old and still going regally strong

DAVID WHEELOCK


When we last left the artist sometimes known as Prince, he was indeed Prince once again, having reclaimed his moniker in 2000 from the hieroglyph that he adopted in the early 1990s to escape from contracts with Time Warner. Now, with the new album "3121," it also seems as if Prince is trying to reclaim his musical identity from the opaqueness and downright mediocrity that dogged him over the past decade. Delivering varied flourishes of pop, R&B and funk like fervid streaks of color on canvas, "3121" emerges as a delightfully eclectic record that is bursting with energy and innovation. What is more, it sounds almost as good as the stuff of Prince's heyday.

The album supposedly takes its name from the address of Prince's current abode, a lush apartment pictured in the liner notes replete with velvet and palms and candles. One imagines that this is where the album's sounds and words unfold: a sensuous, exotic environment where the imagination is set loose upon a variety of fancies. The opening title track, which lays distorted vocals over a bouncing, bass-heavy beat, beckons the listener into a world of endless partying and pleasure: "Take your pick from the Japanese robes and sandals/ Drink champagne from a glass with chocolate handles."

Lyrics like these are nothing groundbreaking by Prince's standards, but then again, anyone expecting particularly deep or poetic music from a Prince album is probably looking in the wrong place to begin with. "3121" does not have much to say. But what it does say, it says with undeniable style and an infectious sense of fun. When Prince purrs in "Lolita" over a synthesized dance beat, "I know you're fine from head to pumps/ If you were mine, we'd bump, bump, bump," one has trouble holding back a smile, even if the lines do sound a tad cheesy.

"Lolita" shines as one of the best tracks on the album, and it exudes all of the most enjoyable tricks in Prince's bag: the swagger, the unabashed sexuality, the rhythmic musicality. If the album really is one big party, then Prince clearly has no shortage of verve to kick that party into full swing. After singing a verse on the merits of "The finest clothes and fancy cars," he delivers, almost as an afterthought, a sly crack: "You know, one of them 56 pink Caddies, baby." There's more than enough spontaneity here, or at least the appearance of it, to make up for the cliches.

Prince shows an impressive ability to vary his tone between the playful and the sincere, and is often careful not to tip his hand in either direction. In one moment, "Te Amo Corazon" comes off as an exquisitely rendered, Latin-flavored love song, as Prince implores his lover, "At last I can tell you what I've known so long/ My heart's been crying out to sing this song." Yet the next moment, he's mimicking a guitar solo with his voice in a way that can only be described as campy. But if it is campy, so be it: Prince at least does not seem afraid to confront or satirize his own excesses.

One thing is for certain, at least: in more than two decades since "Purple Rain" took listeners by storm, Prince's libido does not seem to have waned much. The singer's sex drive completely overwhelms "Incense And Candles," a song whose mood effect is almost as formidable as the objects in its title. Hearing Prince murmur, "I'm gonna make you scream my name as if it was divine," one can rest assured that the artist who once crawled naked around the bathtub in a video is alive and well.

The biggest shortcoming of "3121" is that the best material is concentrated toward the first half of the album. "Fury" may be the best track musically, furnishing an impassioned dance groove and a bevy of great licks from Prince's electric guitar, but the final four tracks after that are all but forgettable. "Beautiful, Loved & Blessed," a slow R&B ballad performed by young female singer Tamar, sounds almost entirely out of place in contrast with the livelier songs on the rest of the album.

But that's a small complaint for an album that very nearly approaches a complete return to form for one of the most dynamic musical performers of the 1980s. On "3121," Prince has managed to channel his former self without losing any of his artistic appeal in the process, and has created something that, hopefully, will receive ample circulation for a good while to come.

http://www.sptimes.com/20...sual.shtml

St. Petersburg Times

Badness as usual
Prince gets the party started with familiar fun on 3121.By SEAN DALY
Published March 25, 2006

-----

How's this for a reassuring thought: When challenged by younger pop stars, Prince, His Royal Badness himself, can still bust out booty-shaking funk better than musicians half his age and twice his height.

On the new 3121, a familiar but fun disc "produced, arranged, composed & per4med by Prince," the wee 47-year-old slyly reminds us how such modern-day hitmakers as Lil' Jon, OutKast and the Neptunes have made millions by swiping the old dog's tricks.

And let me tell you: It's a darn good time listening to Prince put the pups in their place.

With its slithering keyboard line, low rumbling bass and shout-out lyrics, first single Black Sweat is, by definition, a "crunk" song. But although Lil' Jon calls himself the "King of Crunk" - a party-hearty hip-hop style birthed in the South - there's no doubt that the sublime Black Sweat, similar to the Purple One's saucy hit Gett Off, is built with classic Prince materials. Who's your crunk king now, huh?Lolita - a sexy cut that ultimately adheres to the puritanical tenets of Prince's Jehovah's Witness faith "Lolita, u're sweeter but u'll never make a cheater out of me" - is a head-nod slice of neo-funk that merges '80s-born synth, sugary puffs of pure pop and hip-hop edge. (Think Little Red Corvette.) Go back and listen to Andre 3000's OutKast work and you'll realize the Hotlanta duo aren't nearly as inventive as you once thought.
The best track on the album, the club-wrecking Love, is built on dueling keyboard loops that wouldn't be out of place on a cut by the Neptunes, the Virginia Beach producing duo who build their hits with multilayered hooks that burrow into your brain and don't let go.

You know, just like Prince has been doing for the past 30 years.

3121 is awash in the same good vibrations that fueled his 2004 disc Musicology, a multiplatinum "comeback" album - that is, he "came back" from Planet Wacky, with the Sharpie "Slave" stain erased from his cheek and that doodle-pad "symbol" giving way to his normal name.Although it lacks groundbreaking grooves or genius twists - no Prince weirdness means no Prince risks for the most part - 3121 is nevertheless a safe but satisfying continuation of Musicology's welcome-home party. About as nutty as he gets is the song Fury, a beware-of-fame rocker with noodly guitar licks and in-your-face keyboard blasts that sound like CBS's March Madness music. It's odd, but remember who we're talking about here.
Because of his religion, Prince has refused to work blue of late, and that puritanical approach has affected the bite of his slow jams. Te Amo Corazon has a clean, Latin-rhythm arrangement, but in the end, the romantic whisperings make for nothing more than polite dinner music.

In the old days, a song title such as Incense and Candles would have promised all manner of Princean kinkery. Candles? Heck, that little guy could work wax better than Madame Tussaud. But alas, he's a married man now. So it's hard to get hot and bothered over such new lyrics as "I'm glad that we're compatible, mature and grown."

Ultimately, Prince has a lot more fun tearing the roof off the joint than cooing about monogamy, and that's good news for us. The album closer is the insanely catchy world-peace cry Get on the Boat, with old pal Sheila E. on percussion, Maceo Parker blowing a slippery sax solo and pretty young protege Tamar cooing the background vocals. After spending so much of the album nudging the pop stars who borrow from him, it's only appropriate that he offers a wink-wink mea culpa and closes with this call-and-response soul-funk burner. After all, Prince has been dipping into James Brown's brand new bag of tricks for years.

Sean Daly can be reached at sdaly@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8467. His blog is at www.sptimes.com/blogs/popmusic.

Copyright 2006 Chicago Tribune Company
Chicago Tribune

April 2, 2006 Sunday

HEADLINE: On `3121' Prince's numbers equal 1

BYLINE: By Greg Kot, Tribune music critic


Prince may have dedicated himself to a higher power and cleaned up his lyrics in recent years, but that doesn't mean he can't get funky.
His latest album, "3121" (Universal), follows his 2004 comeback, "Musicology," in trying to re-establish Prince's bona fides as a mainstream force instead of an inscrutable maverick. It's off to a fast start, with first-week sales of 183,000, which makes it Prince's first career No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200.
Like its predecessor, "3121" allows Prince to revisit classic Prince, without the neo-jazz instrumentals, the overbearing preaching and most of the embarrassing look-kids-I'm-still-hip contemporary musical touches (thankfully, the singer isn't trying to rap much lately).
Though "Musicology" sold 2 million copies, it was more of a rehash of proven formulas than an artistic triumph. "3121" also spreads itself too thin, with a number of tracks that sound like Prince on cruise control. But when the artist works the extremes of his music, from futuristic electro-funk to classic big-band strut, he demands closer inspection by those who lost track of him sometime after Prince's last No. 1 album, "Diamonds & Pearls," dropped off the charts in the early '90s.

As usual, he's throwing music for a party, but God's invited to this one ("Don't you wanna go get saved," he exults on "The Word"). His lyrics have gone from an "X" rating to "PG," with eroticism and spirituality intimately entwined. When he speaks of sex, it's monogamous, and he backs away from a willing but underage temptress ("Lolita"). On the opening track, he asks his guests to "put your clothes in the pile on the floor," but then commands them to don "Japanese robes and sandals." This is hedonism, Jehovah's Witness style.

The stricter moral code doesn't restrict Prince's fun. He sounds agile and playful when he turns the studio into an instrument; on the title song he weaves together distorted voices and manipulates the pitch of a variety of rhythms into a futuristic invitation. "Black Sweat" stutters and jitters beneath a keening synthesizer line, a reworking of the sparse template perfected during his mid-'80s "Kiss" period. "The Word" builds a mesmerizing dreamscape out of acoustic guitar, terse bursts of saxophone and tightly cropped beats.
When Prince breaks out of one-man-band mode and adds a live horn section and percussion, he builds a smoldering Sly Stone-in-church vibe on "Satisfied" and rocks a Latin flair on the ebullient "Get on the Boat." But he also indulges in a supper-club ballad ("Te Amo Corazon) and "Incense and Candles" goes awry when Prince once again attempts to rap. A couple of drab ballads drag down the back end of the album, and Prince's lyrics, never a strong suit, are larded with cliches, particularly on "The Fury" ("There ain't no fury like a woman scorned"). But Prince redeems the song with a guitar solo that winds through the arrangement like a serpent.

Throughout, Prince retains an astonishing command as a singer and multiinstrumentalist. Focus is what's lacking. Prince is once again trying to make sprawling, genre-leaping albums such as "1999" and "Sign O' the Times," but these more recent efforts inevitably pale next to those masterpieces. Instead, the studio experiments on the title song, "Black Sweat," and "The Word" suggest a more promising direction, as he takes contemporary hitmaking studio gurus such as the Neptunes and Scott Storch to school. Prince once defined cutting-edge R&B, and these tracks prove he's still got the goods to do it again.

Prince, "3121" (Universal/Motown) RATING 3 1/2Chicago Sun Times

April 2, 2006 Sunday

HEADLINE: Spins
BYLINE: The Chicago Sun-Times

RATING 4Essential
RATING 3Good
RATING 2Fair
RATING 1Poor


While Prince's notorious feud with Warner Bros. -- you remember, the tiff that prompted him to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol and write "slave" on himself back in the mid-'90s -- is still cited as an example of unjust major-label meddling, there's no denying that the Purple One made better albums back when he yielded to occasional editing from the corporate types, or that following his output since has been a frustrating affair, with the artist dumping as much gold as garbage on his fans.

Though many reviewers are once again proclaiming that "3121" is the album where Prince recaptures former glories, they did the same for 2004's "Musicology." It wasn't true then, and it isn't true now -- not if we're making comparisons to indelible classics such as "Dirty Mind," "1999" and "Sign 'O the Times." But "3121" is mercifully devoid of some of his recent years' worst mistakes -- the heavy-handed preaching and the lightweight New Age noodling -- and it's good-time electro-funky in that much-missed, old-school Prince way.

In the context of celebratory house-party grooves such as the title track, "Lolita" and "Black Sweat," or the bedroom burner "Incense and Candles," the missteps are easier to stomach; instead of this being a Prince album with two or three good moments amid the shoulda-been-studio-rejects, there are only a few tunes you'll want to delete from your iPod, with the saccharine ballad "Te Amo Corazon" and the flighty toss-off "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" chief among them. Consistency may never again be one of his strengths, but when Prince shouts out for a classic Maceo Parker sax solo in the midst of the James Brown-flavored raver "Get on the Boat," everything else is forgiven.
Jim DeRogatis
[Edited 4/3/06 1:11am]

Buffalo News (New York)

March 31, 2006 Friday
FINAL EDITION

Pop
Prince
3121
[NPG/Universal]

Review: 3 1/2 stars (Out of 4)



Prince and Bruce Springsteen have little in common musically, but they're bonded by one thing: Both have spent their time since the mid-'80s trying to outrun the burden of their biggest hits. "Purple Rain" and "Born in the U.S.A." were both multimillion sellers, and both were misunderstood masterpieces. Springsteen has been attempting to deflate that false image ever since, and in very different ways, so has Prince.

"3121" is the Purple One's latest, and the backhanded compliments are already beginning to roll in, with various forms of the mantra "his best work since his '80s heyday" tagging nearly every review. In order to appreciate this masterful new album, however, it is necessary to dispense with such a critical tack. Since Prince didn't do his best work in the '80s, but has instead, steadily built a consistently creative canon of work from his first album to this newest one, it makes far more sense to claim that this is Prince's best work since 2004's "Musicology."
The ingredients are familiar: stellar musicianship; a startling blend of soul, funk, pop, rock and a touch of jazz; lyrics that delve with equal enthusiasm and insight into issues of the sacred and profane, the mind and the body, the spiritual and the sexual; and a production ethos that is fully actualized and insular in the positive sense of the word. Prince expertly crafts his own little universe and invites you into it.

Prince is a genius, clearly, even if that word is thrown at far too many pop stars. He's as pop as you want to make him; listening to "3121," you're reminded that dance music doesn't have to be dumb, repetitive, cold. Nor does a true artist -- even a pop star -- have to kowtow to the strictures, real and imagined, that seem to plague the music industry right now, urging the creation of cookie-cutter "product" instead of real, living, breathing art.

There are some serious, Sly and the Family Stone-worthy funk jams here -- the record opens with a killer one in the form of the title tune; first single, "Black Sweat," is truly greasy and well-oiled; "Lolita" is a nasty, '80s synth-fueled slab of funk-pop. The Latin-tinged chord changes underlying the gorgeous ballad "Te Amo Corazon" have no trouble sharing album space with the bluesy guitar throwdown "Fury," the song Prince tore up a few weeks back on "Saturday Night Live."

It all works, because our man is master of all he chooses to survey; a blend of soul, wit and unerring musicality informs "3121" from start to finish. This is no comeback, though. Prince is simply carrying on his own tradition.
-- Jeff Miers

One coming from Liberation newspaper, France, but it's an american critic, named Nick Kent that wrote it

Prince
3121 (Barclay / Universal)

Son nouvel album est peut-être le premier de son récent deal avec Universal, mais Prince ne défriche aucun territoire vierge sur les douze chansons de 3 121. Essentiellement enregistré par ses soins en compagnie des membres de son groupe du moment et d'anciens collaborateurs tels Maceo Parker et Sheila E., qui font quelques apparitions, ce CD montre le grand petit homme façonnant toujours sans effort apparent d'accrocheuses chansons pop sous influence r'n'b et funk, mais exprimant désormais sa spiritualité actuelle en lieu et place de la provoc sexuelle et subversive qu'il exhibait avec flamboyance dans les années 80. Certes, le premier single Black Sweat recycle délibérément le groove funk minimaliste qu'il utilisa pour la première fois sur Kiss, et Lolita évoque un retour à la pop synthétique hédoniste de Purple Rain. Mais, écoutons les paroles : Prince n'essaye pas de séduire Lolita, bien au contraire, en bon Témoin de Jéovah qu'il est devenu, il lui explique son désintérêt pour les relations superficielles à connotations sexuelles. Les meilleures chansons de l'album se pointent vers la fin: le très funk/trip-hop The World, le doux duo avec sa nouvelle protégée Tarnar Beautiful, Loved and Blessed, l'ombrageuse samba The Dance sont autant de sommets authentiquement inspirés. A l'arrivée, 3121 n'est pas un chef-d'œuvre, mais prouve que Prince, même quadra et avec une libido assagie par la religion, n'en reste pas moins capable de produire de l'excellente dance music à l'usage du grand public.


My aproximate translation (sorry guys i do my best)


His new album est maybe the first of his recent deal with Universal, but Prince isn't clearing any new territory on the 12 songs of 3121. Essentially recorded by himself, with the company of members of his actual band and old collaborators such as Maceo Parker and Sheila E, who make some appearance, this CD shows the little big man shaping, without visible efforts, catchy pop songs under r'n'b or funk influence, but expressing from now on his actual spirituality, in place of the subversive sexual provocation he displayed flamingly (?) in the 80's. Indeed, the first single Black Sweat recycles deliberately the minimalist funk groove that he used the first time on Kiss, and Lolita evokes a comeback to the hedonistic synth-pop of Purple rain. But listen to the lyrics: Prince don't try to seduce Lolita, on the contrary, being now a Jehova Witness, he explains to her his disinterest in superficial sexual relations. The best songs of the album are coming with the end: The very funk/hip hop The Word , the sweet duo with his new protege Tamar Beautiful, Loved and Blessed, the shadowed/offended Samba The Dance are as many authentically inspired peaks. In the end, 3121 is not a masterpiece, but proves that Prince, even in his forties and with a libido quieten down by religion, is still able to produce some excellent dance music for the large audience.

from the miami herald, 3/31/06:

At first, Prince's feverish funk -- and then a slump
hcohen@MiamiHerald.com

HOWARD COHEN

• R&B

PRINCE

3121

Universal

** ½

As a live performer Prince is peerless, as proven recently at a showcase event in South Beach for his latest protogé Támar. But as his umpteenth ''comeback'' CD proves, as a songwriter Prince peaked in the Reagan era.

On the cryptically-titled 3121 Prince does conjure up some of the effortless funk-rock that made him one of the '80s standouts. Fury, especially, with its endearingly dated keyboard punctuations and his cutting guitar licks, sits next to old favorites such as I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man. You can imagine this song scorching on stage.

Similarly, the old-school Get on the Boat, with percussionist Sheila E., saxophonist Maceo Parker and vocalist Támar in full-on party mode, is the kind of feverish funk the Minneapolis marvel does so well.

But the album bogs down in the middle with a series of forgettable ballads and midtempo jams. The title song, with its bizarre imagery of a strange club where patrons disrobe and change into Japanese robes and sandals and ''drink champagne from a glass with chocolate handles'' is a sort of creepy Hotel California. ''U can come if U want 2 / But U can never leave,'' Prince offers. No thanks.

Prince, now a Jehovah's Witness, also seems conflicted by his old R-rated image and the clean-cut stance he must promote now as a religious man. Several songs, like 3121, Black Sweat, Incense and Candles and Lolita flirt with the lasciviousness of yore but stop way short. You can get nekkid with the little Purple one if you please, but there he is, immediately offering Japanese robes for covering up.

On Lolita Prince calls out ''How bad r U, girl?'' and is greeted by a randy female chorus offering up anything he wants. His response: ``Let's dance!''

``Dance?!'' they respond in mock horror.

When Prince starts making records Tipper Gore would approve of you know the man has jumped the shark.

Pod Pick: Fury.

3121 is a solid effort without the highs or lows of Musicology and with nowhere near the inspiration of Rainbow Children or any of his greatest discs. highly commercial and a bit bland.

where are the gorgeous melodies? there's one on Love (reminds me of The Continental) and a couple of other tracks, but mostly it's just dancefloor.

At best its funky and danceable, at worst it sounds like outtakes from the Symbol album or Diamonds and Pearls.

It's not bad, but it won't rank high in the P pantheon.

dubiousraves said:

What do you consider the highs of Musicology?

Rocky Mt News Denver Colorado

Prince
3121, Universal Music Group
Grade: A-

When U2 quit messing around and got back to its classic sound on All That You Can't Leave Behind, some fans were torn. Was it a true return to roots and inspiration, or was it a calculated move to win back fans after drifting away on musical tangents?

Prince fans are embroiled in that same debate with 3121, an album that sounds like bits and pieces of his classic back catalog.

Much of the appeal of Paul McCartney's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard last year came from the fact that it sounded very much like various stages of the Beatles' career.

3121 has a similar familiarity. You can trip through the album and spot the era. Black Sweat could have easily fit on the Black Album. Fury would go well on Sign O' the Times. 3121 has undeniable 1999 overtones.

It's not always good; Incense and Candles revisits Prince's most tepid early '90s era and is doubly unfortunate by the use of a vococorder on a voice that doesn't need any enhancement.

Ultimately, though, why overthink it? While the hit-and-miss Musicology had its moments, 3121 is a seamless romp through all the things Prince does best and bodes well for the upcoming tour.

In The Word he remembers that, oh yeah, he plays some pretty good lead guitar. Satisfied is one of the sultriest seduction ballads Prince has ever tried, in his classic lascivious and over-the-top way. Fury, unfortunately, doesn't quite have the guitar pyrotechnics that the Saturday Night Live version had, but one imagines Prince will rectify that in concert.

3121 goes a long way toward proving fans' contentions that he has never slowed down - he just needed a good editor. This time Prince edited himself and has not only put out his best album in years but his first debut at the top of the charts. Well-deserved.

Here's one from Dartmouth University's online newspaper:

http://www.thedartmouth.c...6041304010




For Ivy League, I'm not too impressed with the assessment.

This one is from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune http://www.heraldtribune....40656/1032

Prince reclaims crown with '3121'


Prince, "3121" (Universal)
Put away the milk cartons and missing persons reports: Prince has returned.

With the release of the chart-topping "3121," Prince has come back to full form: blending funk, rock, soul and pop sounds reminiscent of 1987's "Sign O' the Times" or 1991's "Diamonds and Pearls."

With the release of his 26th album -- unimaginable when he released "For You" 28 years ago -- listeners get the post-"Purple Rain" Prince, the master of mixing distinct music genres enveloped by that eccentric, sensual and energetic persona, without much musical risk-taking.

No risk needed on "3121."

Although the single "Black Sweat" has made some noise on the Billboard charts, that doesn't scratch the surface of this enjoyable 12-song release.

The walls of explosive synths on "Lolita," combined with Prince's stop-and-go cadence and the subject matter (a teasing young lady) takes it back to the "Darling Nikki" days.

Then there's the trifecta of "Incense and Candles," "Love" and "Satisfied," which are positioned perfectly in the middle of the album and seem unmistakably preserved from the "Diamonds and Pearls" era.

The transforming talk-box and snapping beat on "Incense" and the booming beats and lightening synths on "Love" are welcome canvases for Prince's playful, cocky lyrics.

"Satisfied" is, without mincing words, classic soul. The slow horns and drums are reminiscent of Al Green's 1970s hits, only better.

The only downer is that the mood of the album gets a little slower towards the end, but that's a very minor problem.

-- Steve Echeverria Jr.

New Zealand Herald. 15 April 2006

Prince: 3121

16.04.06
By Scott Kara


These days Prince may worship Jehovah, but rest assured, when he comes door-knocking he's still up for some lovemaking. Preferably slow love.

On 3121, his 25th album, Prince reclaims the title of the world's funkiest man and with lines like "drink champagne from a glass with chocolate handles" it's clear he's doing it in style.

When you're Prince, it's easy to be funky - he's been doing it on and off since the release of his first album, For You, in 1978.

He's been through many fruity phases too, none more so than 2001's Rainbow Children (about his Jehovah faith) and 2003's N.E.W.S. (an album of four 14-minute instrumentals).

But 2004's Musicology signalled a return to writing more, ahem, conventional Prince tunes. That album was good, but bland compared with 3121.

The master songwriter - remember When Doves Cry, Little Red Corvette and Play In the Sunshine? - is back.

His secret is in the detail.

On this album it's the brittle and high-pitched guitar chinks, the outrageous flourishes, the "oowwws", and clever dual vocals (with guest Tamar).

Although he's not back to his dirty, dirty best, he's still risque and "workin' up a black sweat" on many of these tracks. But he's more coy about it these days.

"I don't want to take my clothes off, but I do," he coos at one stage.

It's all here: the romantic and loungey swagger of Te Amo Corazon, the glitchy nastiness of Black Sweat, and The Fury recalls the playfulness of his early 90s.

Even when it's a seemingly laborious slow jam like Incense and Candles, the mud pool beats, his half-sleazy, half-romantic rap, with lines like "there's a dancefloor but we can use a table", puts other R&B and soul music to shame.

There's nothing as stirring as Purple Rain, as dirty as Sexy [expletive], or as important as Sign O' The Times, but this is as funky as anything Prince has ever done. The man is back.

Label: Universal

TIME OFF (STREET PRESS, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA)

PRINCE
3121 (NPG Records/Universal)

Don’t call it a comeback… Prince never really went anywhere! He cleverly brings the groove back on his new album, reminding the forgetful mainstream how brilliant his blend of funk, soul, rock and pop can be. Successfully harking back to his 80’s heyday without sounding stale, the insular artist delivers a dozen tracks which suggest he’s been absorbing sounds of those producers on who he’s had a profound influence. First single, ‘Black Sweat’, is a delicious slab of electro-funk that sounds like Prince doing his best Pharrell doing his best ‘Kiss’-era Prince. Elsewhere the songs run the gamut from a hard-driving, ‘1999’-style rock number (‘Fury’), a lush bossa nova ballad (‘Te Amo Corazon’) to steamy R’n’B (‘Incense & Candles’). The potential sugary-pop hit ‘Lolita’ and the bluesy bedroom ballad ‘Satisfied’ both revisit racier themes of old, but now adopt a teasing look-but-don't-touch lyric policy now that he's a Jehovah's Witness. Although Prince plays most of the instruments, 3121 features guest appearances from new Prince protege Tamar (‘Beautiful, Loved & Blessed’) as well as saxophonist Maceo Parker, Candy Dulfer and Sheila E. who preserve the artist's hybrid style, savvy instrumentation and flair for up-tempo jams. Whereas Musicology made you long for the Prince of old, 3121 is a party-ready funk album that leaves you excited about where Prince is today and looking forward to where he might be going. Let the house-quaking begin once again!

**** (Ben Preece)

From "Express" a New Zealand gay newspaper, 12 April 2006

Prince 3121, Universal 5/5

What a damned shame that basically every critic in the universe used up their "Prince is back!" headlines two years ago, on his can we all admit now that it's not really that great er, comeback', [u]Musicology[/u]. Where that album didnt really deserve all its attendant ink, his new platter (which is his first pop #1 album since 1989's Batman) does. This is the Prince album we wanted Musicology to be.
' Black Sweat' is easily his finest single since, what, 'Sexy MF', a sleekly streamlined, stripped down track whose opening line "I don't want to take my clothese off/But I do" pretty much works as a statement of intent, not just for the song but the whole damn album. Prince has rediscovered or just decided to sing again about, sex and it suffuses all of 3121. No one, no one sings about sex the way the Purple One has over the course of his nearly 30-year career and here he's back to his old tricks.

Not bad, especially outcome, but very simplistic,. I don't think the reviewer listened to it all, theres nothing sexual about The Word and only one song is mentioned. Also he disses Musiclogy which is an alright album. And sorry in NZ they still refer to him as being Purple. But I like the fact he gave it 5 out of 5.

Finally I have a review from an Icelandic source... It's a review from the Icelandic music website Rjóminn ("The Cream").... it's a really nice review.... I translated it from Icelandic, but you can see the original review here

Prince, aka Symbol, aka The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (he's reclaimed his name), is here with a brand new album. The album before, Musicology, was his largest official comeback after he escaped from Warner Brothers. Earlier he had released several albums through the online store on his website. Now the world empire Prince is turning 48 years old, with lots of records behind him and he's back in the spotlight. This time 3121 is released by Universal Records through a special one-album deal, but Prince, understandably, seems to be "allergic" to record companies.

Prince's history is so long and magnificient it would be hard trying to tell the whole story here. The guy has played, written for and worked with many musicians and he's the brain, heart and lung behind the historic albums Purple Rain (1984), Parade (1986) and Diamonds and Pearls (1991), to name a few. Besides that, this is a charming man who has remained unique in the world of pop music. The latest album 3121 adds a few gems to the pile of past crown jewels. Alt-sax player and funk dog Maceo Parker is among the guest musicians on the album, and he does a little solo in the song "Get On The Boat".

The album starts with the crazy and silly groove "3121", which is essentially a one chord jam. Prince sings a duet with a high-pitched "female" version of his voice and invites us to his party. The midi-brass part in the song gives you 80s-chills on your arms and face, and at the same time brings plenty of joy. Next up, "Lolita" is hard to listen to without shaking your ass. Prince proclaims that cheating is out of the question (besides he has a beautiful wife) over a fresh and cool distorted bass line. At the end of the song he does the call and response thing with his band, just like the funk legend James Brown would.

The album contains a little bit of everything: funk ("Get On The Boat"), dance ("Black Sweat", "Lolita"), love ballads ("Te Amo Corazón", "The Dance") and dirty Princely bedroom songs ("Incense and Candles", "Satisfied"). The first seconds of the bassoon and clarinet playing in "Te Amo Corazón" gave me false hopes, because the song is a bit stale and it sounds like it could be a Julio Iglesias song. "The Dance" however is a way better ballad which starts off like a dramatic B-Movie on TV and then goes on a smooth, romantic journey that gets more big and funky by each second. At the end Prince helps us understand how unhappy he is about the situation with his screams and his unique voice.

It's fun to hear how much the songs go back to the 80s and 90s sound. While listening to "Love" and "Fury" you could easily clean the dust off your shoulder pads and 80s gloves and do the robot a few times. But despite these retro influences the songs are nonetheless great. Last but not least one can hear an amazing virtuoso guitar solo in "Fury" in between the synth groove, and all this works together with amazing results. Black Sweat, a song full of screams and shouts, is a powerful 80s-esque techno song that would work well at the gym. This eccentric song reminds you of "Kiss", with its pure bassline, chanting and weird noises. No one else but Prince could pull this off.

Finally, it's time for Prince's specialty, the foreplay songs that have turned many ladies into loyal fans, good examples include the legendary songs "Gett Off" and "Do Me Baby". The strongest contenders in this category on this album are "Incense and Candles" and "Satisfied", but the latter is more influenced by old school soul music with its hammond organ and brass while the former is more in tune with the old dirty songs. Personally I think he should have dropped the effect on his voice in "Incense and Candles", but aside from that, this stuff works, especially "Satisfied". No doubt the guy knows how to please a woman.

Prince seems to like to indulge in his own golden "Prince era" of the 80s and 90s. The sound isn't as revolutionary as in the past but there seems to be an endless supply of good tunes from the guy. The synth groove coupled with the unique vocals and vocal phrasing of Prince mixed with funk and soul; all good ingredients while not exactly brand new. Prince shows no signs of losing his ideas or his spirit, on the contrary. 3121 is a nice and fresh addition to the collection.

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.
Writer: Alexandra Kjeld
[Edited 4/25/06 17:52pm]

Robert Christgau, of the village voice and famed rock critic, has a second different review of 3121. Some of the words you might not understand..lol

PRINCE
3121
(Universal)
It could be argued that music this masterful waives all claim to the sound of surprise—until you pay attention. Sure "Love" and "Satisfied" and "Fury" constitute a standard sequence, keyb funk to torch r&b to u-got-the-rock—but only by genius standards. Sure he overdubs all the time, but he risks letting the Other play bass and drums on the over-under-sideways-down title tune—and then immediately prefabs the cockeyed "Lolita" by himself. The dubiosities he induces NPG fans to collect prove only that geniuses know who their friends are. I'm back to suspecting that, at 47, the Abstemious One can keep laying top-shelf stuff on the public for as long as he's in the mood. Even if he gets on your nerves, treat him nice. A MINUS

Robert Christgau

Here's a short review from today's edition of the Icelandic newspaper DV:

Prince - 3121

One of the giants in American pop music, Prince, recently released his 24th album. It's called 3121 (3 out of 5 stars) and it's the follow up to the decent Musicology album released two years ago. 3121 is a real Prince album with some groove and ballads, sexy lyrics and a cool 80s-esque sound. It probably won't change your life, but if Prince is your kind of guy you probably won't be disappointed.

Trausti Júlíusson

Dansa, you would have to post the bad review..lol