There seems to be much love/hate for Rainbow and NEWS around here but some folks are just as passionate about Musicology and already 3121. But let's face it, these 2 back-to-back album releases are polar opposites in many ways. So as 2 back-to-back album periods,which do you prefer;
Rainbow Children and N.E.W.S. or
Musicology and 3121


The Rainbow Children and N.E.W.S.
Have you listen to TRC lately?

Musicology and 3121

TRC /NEWS make M /3121 look like coasters

I prefer Musicology and 3121. I don't necessarily think they are better, but I find them infinitely more listenable. That said, I enjoy NEWS, but I find it very hard to listen to The Rainbow Children all the way through.

Moonbeam said:

That's weird, I'm kinda reversed on that. But I also don't think M/3121 is bad, just a little boring.I think TRC/NEWS is a more interesting listen. They take chances which I prefer over formula. IMO.

TRC/NEWS any day of the week, without a pause...

Bfunkthe1 said:

They definitely are riskier. I guess I just like pop/rock more than jazz.

thebige said:

But let's say why.
It's not that I dig the "jazz" thing more it's just I think the music and arangements are more interesting and not predictable. And BTW, when he rocks on TRC/NEWS, I believe it's way more effective than on M/3121. And more intense.

TRC and 3121
TRC not one of my favs but its has more depth to it and the News aswell
Musiclogy

TRC/NEWS

TRC/NEWS

Just TRC for me - the other three make nice dust collectors.

Rainbow Children and 3121. Nyeah!

The rainbow children and 3121

the rainbow children eats NEWS.
and 3121 beats Musicology.

voices aside..i dont know how people dont like TRC

It's suppose to be if you prefer Rainbow Children then you take NEWS with it, same if you choose 3121 you take Musicology with it. Seperate them into 2 back-to-back releases because since 2001, that's what they are. You got 2 expiremental releases, and 2 mainstream releases. As Prince fans which Prince did you prefer?

funkii said:

I agree. I listened to 3121 and Rainbow last night and to my ears 3121 is just plain boring. Sorry, I'm not hatin' and I bought 3121, It's just I prefer adventurous and unpredictable music of which 3121 is mostly not. The voices don't even bother me anymore. Listen to the melodies and how inspired Prince sounds all throughout Rainbow whether or not you agree with his preaching. I don't hear that on 3121.

NouveauDance said:

Ditto, except I actually dust mine every other month or so, and will do the same with 3121.

Hey, I'm tidy.

hands down 3121 and musicology.....
i cant believe that the rainbow children is not out of print yet.

I'm happy for the success of Musicology and 3121 - but I hope that just means he has more money in reserve to try out some more experimental music again. TRC and NEWS win for me.

I was thinking last night that I would love him to give CDs out at concerts again (built into the ticket price), but to use the large number of concert-goers to get his more experimental stuff noticed. Imagine if he gave out a CD crammed full of new material in the vein of TRC/Xpectation/Undertaker/Purple Music kind of stuff... A wide range, and people would love it, but they wouldn't necessarily have gone out and bought it from stores because there wouldn't be any radio hits on there. Now that would be cool.

Musicology and 3121...so much so that it hurts.

Wow. Tough question. If I could, I'd cheat and pick TRC and 3121.

But, according to your rules, I'd pick TRC and N.E.W.S.

The most recent two albums are probably more listenable, but the former two challenge me more from an artistic standpoint. When it boils down to it, I guess I'd take substance over comfort.
[Edited 3/29/06 12:33pm]

booyah said:

Agreed.
I was thinking the same thing.
Now that he's had a good deal of success last couple of years, of which I'm very happy for, I hope he throws some major left curves musically. We can all agree 3121 and Musicology are safe and that's OK. Knowing Prince he probably will do something different and he probably already has something interesting up his sleeve.

Lammastide said:

True...true...

Lammastide said:

Exactly. Substance over comfort.

TRC and N.E.W.S easily! I just love the music of The Rainbow Children, it's much more exciting than Musicology or 3121. And N.E.W.S is my fav album by Prince!!!!

thebige said:

co-sign

although I also like musicology and 3121. This is hard to compare since Prince obviously had different agendas for these releases.

I don't know...I'm still trying to get the damn packaging for NEWS open!

N.E.W.S...GREAT CD!! I listen to it a lot. Great musicmanship and soothing on my ears after a grueling day at work. This joint gets heavy rotation in my CD player.

"Musicology"...I haven't played it in quite sometime but it was a great return to form for P. He played just about all the instruments on all the songs and a lot of the songs had substance. 2004 was a cool year for him. Hope 2006 is just as good for him.

Thats too easy hs two best albums and his two crappiest.