Since 'we' are guessing and speculating about tracklists, the coverart and Chelsea Rodgers here, i thought it wouldn't mind to start a thread about this subject.

My question is: Which earlier Prince album(s) do you think Planet Earth will resemble sound- and stylewise?

My personal 'bet' is that it will be a mixture of the more direct / 'normal' sound of the songs on Musicology and 3121, spiced up with the more experimental elements from the Rainbow Children. And maybe a touch of Around the world in a day when it comes to the use of special instrumentation and some psychedelic sound effects.

Looking at his latest live appearences on TV and from what i heard from his concerts in Vegas, it sounds like he is using jazzy influences and jazz-rock like interludes quite a bit more then during the Musicology era. The arrangements he uses remind me a bit of the Rainbow Children / ONA era, but they are a bit less 'sophisticated', mixing them with the synths and more direct melodies that can be heard on 3121.

Next to that i think quite a few songs on the new album will have a latin-vibe, building further on the elements he explored with Te Amo Corazon, The Dance and Get on the Boat. I am pretty sure Gruppo Fantasma will be heard on Planet Earth.

Finally, the tracklist that appeared on the german site (if its the true one at least, but i think it is) shows quite a few titles that refer to spiritual and religious themes. Prince has often used more experimental instrumentation and soundeffects for that kind of songs in the past. You can hear it on The Rainbow Children, but also on Around the world in a day. And, dont you think an album titled Planet Earth leads to associations with exotic places, and therefore non-western instruments?

Of course, its all guessing here, but i wont be surprised when Planet Earth sounds like a continuation of 3121, with some jazzy, experimental twistes ala The Rainbow Children, some more latin-flavoured songs, and some polished psychedelic touches ala Around the world in day.

What do you think?

"chaos & disorder" on mood stabilizers or else maybe SOTT cut with baby laxatives.

I'm hoping it'll be a kick in the teeth for all those who loved Musicology and 3121.
I'm hoping that the reason it's being released in Europe and other territories before the USA is that it's going to be somewhat unorthodox and Prince remembers that those territories appreciated his less commercial efforts post Purple Rain and so they'll be giving better reviews which will mean that Columbia can then show those reviews off to the US market.

But I'm probably talking crap.

Not a pretty foresight, Anxiety

Riverpoet31 said:

it's not a pretty world sometimes