I just have heard the two-in-one-coversong (All along the watchtower / The Best of U) that was played today on the Howard Stern show, and i must say it did sound promising!

I haven't heard him sound so raw and 'basis' since well, Chaos and Disorder. Next to that his singing sounds way more passionate then anything on 3121.
Positive, indeed.

Listening to the track i thought: hey, this isn't Prince playing the drums, i mean: it sounds more like Michael Bland to me. Might it be he recorded this track with Michael and Sonny Thompson (there were rumours that they were working together again recently)?

Next to that: with the sound of this track and the new song 'Guitar' (which i havent heard yet) might we aspect a:
- Guitarrock album (think about Purple Rain / The Gold Experience / Chaos and disorder?)'
- Or even a guitarrock album with coversongs?

Personally i would love to see him release a raw, 'pissed', passionate rockalbum at this moment: the powertrio of Bland-Thompson-Prince, with Renato on Hammond on a few tracks, a few song with spicy horns, a mixture of faster rocktracks and raw blues- and soulballads.

i would like to see him play whole album with power trio like cream ,band of gypsies,jimi hendrix expiriance.
i think it would be amazing especialy now days when he is into strats.
michael bland on drums,soony or rhonda or brown mark on bazz

Yep banishedone, was thinking the same direction

Maybe a bit of BB-King and Otis Redding styled ballads also

the current cover song(s) could fit quite easily with prince's improvisation of hendrix's 'machine gun' (re-named Habbibi). i also recall an interview where Prince said that now he is free he would love to record an album of hendrix music - even produced by hendrix!!! right, dont forget the meds p!

maybe this is something to do with that?

I would love to hear an all out guitar album in the vein of santana, hazel, clapton(cream era).

I hope the next album is NOT mastered by brian 'big bass' gardner; he has butchered many an album. Just listen to 3121; distortion an clipping everywhere.
[Edited 1/30/07 10:09am]

3121 said:

Prince said that in 96; he also said there was a crystal ball part 2, that he was re-recording his entire catalogue etc.

Wasn't he quoted recently saying he was preparing something similar to his most famous album but very different at the same time? This might be a guitar album a la Purple Rain

Yep, this came from an 'insider' on the Housequake forum.

Personally i dont feel the need to hear him go back to the Purple Rain-sound. He has been there, and done that.

I more hope he continues in the vein of Chaos and Disorder (the real rockin' tracks), the vault (more bluesy / jazzy guitar stuff) and The truth (stripped down, acoustic) BUT:
- with better compositions then on those albums
- without the sometimes unneccesary sound effects and synths.

As the banishedone said, something more like Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but then not retro-sounding, and more modern / original, in the way a band like King's X deals with their influences.

Riverpoet31 said:

....came from an insider SOURCE....????.....which info??....i don't see any Insider INFO here???

No mucking with Bass.

If Bland is in drum chair , it must be Sonnny Thompson.

If we are dreaming Prince 3piece
Jordon / Palladino
Lovelle / Jemmott
Gadd / Jackson
Bell / Miller

and for a serious Hendrix bag
Buddy Miles and Bootsy Collins.

I wouldn't consider Purple Rain as guitar/rock.