I highlighted the interesting quote


Prince "3121" (NPG/Universal)

By Dylann DeAnna www.bluescritic.com

*** The artist known as Prince has enjoyed a bit of a comeback the last few years partly due to nostalgia as the 80s generation has come of age. His previous disc "Musicology" was a mixed bag that mostly sold on the strength of high profile appearances (with Beyonce at the Grammys), a great video ("Musicology") and a monster tour. There really were no major hit singles from that record and this time it's obvious he's gunning for the charts. After all, his last bona fide smash was "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" (#3 Pop) and that was 1994! So on "3121" he comes out swinging with everything from the Prince bag-o-tricks: You got the the falsetto voice, synth/funk ("Black Sweat", "Get On The Boat"), Prince guitar rock ("Fury"), keyboard pop ("Lolita", "Love"), sultry slow jams ("Satisfied") and some good ole' eccentricity ("3121"). Firstly, I gotta admit I dig the new Prince image. Since he's been involved with those Jehovah's Witnesess and become cleaner and happier he is just too cool. That said- what about the music? Well, you know how it is- because Prince hit such highs with albums like "1999", "Purple Rain" & "Sign O The Times" everything the guy does is overshadowed by those triumphs. Face it the Purple Reign (and Rain) is over and Prince is just a pop artist putting out music he wants to put out. There's no single as brilliant as "Little Red Corvette", "When Doves Cry", "Sign O' The Times" or "Kiss" but there's some darn good tracks. Interestingly, the current single and video is an obvious tip of the hat to "Kiss'. The Spartan synth funk/pop "Black Sweat" is a kissing cousin, albeit without a hook, to that minimalistic dance funk gem. The wacky title track "3121" hearkens back to his one-man band "Sign O' The Times" heyday replete with that tweaked vocal effect ("Camille"). It's not much of a song just a fun jam before leaping into the retro-80s synthesizer pop of "Lolita", which may remind the young folk of Andre 3000. But that's a chicken and egg thing, no? The rocker "Fury" is what Jimi Hendrix might have sounded like in the 80s and "Love" strangely reminds me of a Janet Jackson song circa "Rhythm Nation". Oh yeah, Jimmy Jam & James Lewis produced that and who were they influenced by again? Perhaps the best track is "Word", with that clever beat, acoustic guitar, sax hook and guitar solo. I don't care much for pop music and though I'd like to hear him drop the mainstream and do a straight blues record it'd be nice to hear Prince on the radio again.

Is Dylann DeAnna a JW pimp?

MickG said:

what an inane question

Anyway I've read a lot of reviews on that site and he never mentioned JW before. I just think it's interesting that he's gaining new admirers with his new image.

Over the last decade, it is like Prince has been shutting off the avenues for criticism of him. There's so many things that people used to make fun of him - weird clothes, now he wears smarter clothes and suits - changed his name back to Prince - stopped making movies and trying to be an actor - curtailed his swearing - stopped obsessing about sex instead choosing monogamy - etc.

I'm not saying I prefer him now to then, but I can see how in the ultra-conservatory USA he has made himself far more media-bulletproof and more acceptable, while retaining his cool mystique. I can see how mainstream America could like him a lot more now.

Good review, and well said.

metalorange said:

Yeah, I agree...

Ya know what...onstage Prince is cool ...but the offstage Prince I wouldn't exactly call cool.

He's pretty insecure and can come off nervous and dorky.

For real, I would not associate his personality with coolness. Can you imagine him in high school ...all shy with no game and giving lame pick up lines like 'you're too young to peep my stash" Thank gawd he can play guitar.

I love him all the same ..i'm just sayin'
[Edited 3/26/06 8:49am]