There's no sense of era with either of them.

Every Prince 'era', musically has got a distinctive sound.

The soul/disco sound of For You and Prince to the minimalist funk of Dirty Mind, Controversy and 1999.
The rock of Purple Rain and the psychadelic rock of ATWIAD.
The eclecticism of Parade and Sign O The Times leading (via the 'shameful' brother; the black album), to their wonderfully perverse love child, Lovesexy and the under-achieving brother Batman OST.
Even the one-off, wall-of-guitar-mixed-with-psychadelica, Graffiti Bridge has a distinctive feel throughout all of its tracks.
Then Diamonds and Pearls/ define their eras, as do Come/TGE/Chaos & Disorder and Emancipation.

Interestingly, at this point, I think that Rave suffers from what I feel 3121 and Musicology suffer from. For me, the key is, if you heard a previously unheard out-take from the 1998/99 sessions would you be able to recognise when it came from if you didn't already know? All the outtakes from his previous eras can be roughly dated by Prince's sound at the time, but Rave didn't really have a unique 'sound' as such. And likewise, neither do Musicology and 3121.

Since Rave, the albums from The Rainbow Children to NEWS definitely define their Prince era, but his last two commercially released albums don't.

Now, I'm not saying that it doesn't mean that they're not great albums - hell, they're great and I'd much rather listen to them than pretty much all of the crap in the top 40 right now. However, I think that the reason that a lot of fans don't look at them with the same respect as they would other P albums is that they sound like generic Prince. And the perverse thing is that in saying that, I'm actually complimenting him on the way his career has got us to this stage.
Musicology and 3121 are albums where Prince is showing off his musical skills. 3121 in particular basically showcases Prince going through all his previous musical styles and doing them well. And can you name any other artist who could release an album so effortlessly and yet with such musical diversity?

But if, in ten years time, we heard out-takes from the 2004/2006 era, would we be able to date them? Would we be able to appreciate Prince's musical growth when hearing them? I don't think we would. The songs of this era just don't provide anything that's uniquely Prince 2004-2006.
I'm not saying that it's a bad thing, but I just think it illustrates why for a huge number of fans, 3121 and Musicology don't sound like part of Prince's musical journey. Despite them being new songs to us listeners, they feel like throw-backs. It's like both albums were created with the sole intention of showing off what he can do and what he's done before. Again, I'm not criticising this as a choice of Prince's and I love both albums. However, in terms of appreciating his career and musicianship, I feel that 3121 and Musicology are like Service Stations on the motorway/freeway. Although they're not important parts of the journey and you won't be specifically remembering them as major stop-offs on the ride, they're still quite welcome.

good point. I agree.

I'm still a newbie, so I don't criticize the albums against the older ones I own (TGE & PR)... I still find light in all of his work.

He is pretty much using his acquired skills from over the years and using them to make a point. Musicology does that. He's going old school to prove that music can still be as good as it used to be in his "good old days".

3121 has a sound that reminds me of today's music and sounds like it could be from this day and age (although some of the better tracks sound like they could have been written any other time), but he, again, puts all of his skills and acquired studio techniques, combining all of these different sounds into the songs.

I never thought of it that way before. I don't listen to them as much as PR & TGE (or selected tracks ranging from 82-91)...

It's like he's using his gifts and wisdom to what he would call "good use". I could go on, but I've no idea how to complete that statement

I don't know if this is quite what you mean, but I was just thinking about how I would hear a song and remember something in my life just because of the song.\

Not just a Prince song, but I can use this as an example...


Purple Rain (The whole lp)- Senior year of HS

SOTT (The whole lps)- When I met my husband

Things like that.

Music in general doesn't grab me like that anymore.

Maybe it's just me.

it takes a while for a prince "era" and its "sound" to emerge as something distinct, i've found. there was a while when nobody could tell me there was anything distinct or remarkable about the crazy batshit symbol years, but now i can see it clear as day, and i love it.

now i'm in the same position about the 3121/musicology era...i'm not seeing what's so phenomenal or distinct about it. maybe in 5 or 10 years it'll present itself, or not. who knows.

Anx said:

Betcha that in 5 - 10 years, Prince will be in his 50s. Betcha anything.

Haystack said:

astute!

I tell you a reason why these albums sound the way they do, Rave, Musicology and 3121. Cos they wasn't put out with YOU or ME in mind. These are attempts to reel-in a new fan base, some solid sales, he's deffinately playing that game at the moment. Why? I don't know, I can see from a financial point of view. Maybe he's realised he aint getting any younger and is scared of vanishing without a trace? so trying to make up some wasted years.

At least we've had TRC, ONA as well. We still getting the goods. Time he supplied his hard-core fan base again.

Exactly. An era doesn't become an era whislt you are living in it. It only becomes a distinct era once you can reflect upon it and give it some historical context.

Bottom Line: We are too close to Musicology and 3121 timewise to see them in their historical context. Their distinct sound/era will be more clear in a few years.

3+1+2+1=7 it is a sign that it will be classic at some point

skywalker said:

Right. In a few years, I think the Musicology/3121 period will feel very distinct for most fans. There is most certainly a particular sound & feel to these albums just as there was previously to Controversy/1999, ATWIAD/Parade, or D&P/ . It will become even clearer once Prince turns towards the next new direction.

Nothinbutjoy said:

it's exactly the same for me. mainly because i don't hear or see
music on radio and tv anymore that i like so i just don't watch,
or listen to it anymore.

i just enjoy my own favorit music on my computer or my stereo at
home. thus it's kind of different from years ago when you would
be out with friends, or in school or whatever and music would be
playing.