I'm probably late on this topic, I know - we get Q late down here on NZ - but is the review of 3121 in this magazine the laziest piece of journalism or what? The reviewer doesn't even appear to ave listened to the album properly... guitars at the end of The Dance? TAC sounding like Barry White? Lolita like R-Kelly? (OK, perhaps here the guy meant the song's content rather than sound, but he missed the R-Kelly 'sound' of Incense and Candles... sloppy).

Then, as I fumed and tutted, a thought occurred: was this journalist ready with a review of 3121 already written before he heard the album OR does the listening party prejudice against proper journalism? Is Prince relying on the party vibe of the listenings to colour the way in which his music is heard? I'm not sure, other journalists seems to have written sensibly about the album only having heard it once. This guy in Q appears, in my opinion, comes to the right conclusion - good but could do better - but makes a series of poorly written, poorly researched points to come to the conclusion.... like a kid in a maths exam who gets the correct answer, but shows all the wrong workings-out.

I also thought the review by Q wasn't particularly good, like the guy hadn't listened to it much. Perhaps that was because the guy had to make a review from 2 listens at a listening party? That can work for you or against you, sometimes you need to have the CD on heavy rotation to get into it properly.

Certainly in the past Q has been all over Prince. Didn't it get 3 stars out of 5? I hate that system, seems like we have the metric system in all but reviews - I don't know why they can't mark reviews in percent out of a hundred. That way you could actually compare review accurately, never mind this 5 star and 10 star crap.

For those who haven't seen it:

"Prime Number: For better or worse, there's still no one like him.

It is perhaps less a testament to the man's genius than our memory of itthat, a full 20 years since his last string of hits, we are still interested in the musical outpourings of Prince. Glory has not been his for a long time now. Some of the albums he's released on his own NPG label allowed him to be as self-indulgent as he liked, resorting to jazz fusion albums on 2003's ghastly NEWS. But 2004's Musicology suggested he was getting back on track. Can he, though, ever regain the rare form with which he made his name in the mid-80's?

3121 is not quite as good as Parade, but he's getting closer. The title is derived from the fact that, in America, its first single, Te Amo Corazon, was released on the 13th day of the 12th month, and Prince then transposed those figures because...well, because he is Prince. There are somgs here that are terrific. The title track marries an industrial crunch to lyrical claims that, "We're going down like the wall of Berlin", while Black Sweat and Fury and taut and alert R&B monsters. And while he is uncomfortably R Kelly-ish on Lolita ("How bad are you, girl?" he leers), at least he's tuneful about it.

But 3121 wouldn't be a Prince album if it wasn't also full of filler. Produced, arranged, composed and (as he has it) "per4med" by the man himself, he will insist on musical indulgence: Te Amo Corazon makes Barry White seem subtle and the jazz-funk emissions of The Dance are hideous, the guitar's climactic squeals suggestive that he's actually humping his own instrument.

While Prince has often sounded like a caricature of himself, nobody else can ever quite sound like Prince. This is an achievement in itself. And 3121 confirms that there is still much to admire in him, albeit in spurts and bursts.

Nick Duerden - 3 out of 5 stars"

Now, having already pointed out a few of the errors, I would like to mention, also, the title of the album... purely from the release date? Not quite, how about the release date to match the place where he now throws his parties? Poor journalism... Also, "We're going down...." One of Prince most obsolete lyrics ever is worthy of praise? ALSO, this guy has obviously never heard of a group called The Time, otherwise the Lolita comments may have been better informed.

Yes, this is only a good album. Yes, Prince can do better. But, yes, do your research and write about the album you heard rather than the one you thought you did.

The Dance is Jazz funk?! This reviewer is on crack. Q's journalism has got worse since Paul Rees took over as editor as it's becoming more NMEish by the month.

In my day, NME knew music. This reviewer knows not music at all.

WildheartXXX said:

Hhhhm, i think everyone is too harsh on the reviewer. I think he must obviously have only heard the album once or twice, maybe even only on the pre-release listening parties.

He mixed up titles and songs - jazz funk must refer to "The Boat".

And I must admit - I have not heard the album in some days - isn't there a guitar on "the dance"? I would have thought so...

There's guitar in the mix, for sure, but I reckon he's mistaken Prince's vocals for an instrument.... Like I say, write answer, wrong workings-out.