Well, I only heard ´Guitar´ but judging from the reviews, it seems a pop rock album, more organic and well produced than 3121 and Musicology. Some people on the other thread said that it´s better than Rainbow Children. But for me TRC was a masterpiece, a conceptual album with such great musicianship and production (except for the Darth Vader voice, ok). One of the best albums he did in his career, IMO. Very artistic.

People agree that Planet Earth is better than Rainbow Children or Gold Experience? Or is it just the euphoria of a new release?

Well, I only heard ´Guitar´ but judging from the reviews, it seems a pop rock album, more organic and well produced than 3121 and Musicology. Some people on the other thread said that it´s better than Rainbow Children. But for me TRC was a masterpiece, a conceptual album with such great musicianship and production (except for the Darth Vader voice, ok). One of the best albums he did in his career, IMO. Very artistic.

People agree that Planet Earth is better than Rainbow Children or Gold Experience? Or is it just the euphoria of a new release?

Well, I only heard ´Guitar´ but judging from the reviews, it seems a pop rock album, more organic and well produced than 3121 and Musicology. Some people on the other thread said that it´s better than Rainbow Children. But for me TRC was a masterpiece, a conceptual album with such great musicianship and production (except for the Darth Vader voice, ok). One of the best albums he did in his career, IMO. Very artistic.

People agree that Planet Earth is better than Rainbow Children or Gold Experience? Or is it just the euphoria of a new release?

People agree that Planet Earth is better than Rainbow Children or Gold Experience? Or is it just the euphoria of a new release?

so has the cd been released or was t given out in MPLS at the concerts?

ah i see we've moved the discussion to another thread


Planet Earth: really like the opening with the piano, the drumtrack and
later the guitar. The verses are cool and stripped down. The chorus is a bit
busy for my taste, as if there’s just too much going on all of a sudden. The
bridge still reminds me of Could it be Magic and doesn’t do much for me. After
the bridge the verse and the building tension do sound nice. Reminds me of
Last December mixed with 3 Chains of Gold. (7.5)

Guitar: as far as pop rock tunes go I like this a lot. It’s breezy and
light and the guitar gives it a bit of an extra edge. Still a lightweight tune
in Prince’s catalogue. Nothing too dramatic or deep, just fun fluff. Not a
guilty pleasure by any means but not a classic either. Wish he would have kept
that guitar solo at the end going on longer and louder, like say let’s go
crazy. (7)

Somewhere Here On Earth: Cool instrumentation! Love the piano and horns,
although I’m not too sure about the drums, could have sounded a bit more real
perhaps. Anywho, vocal track is absolutely top notch highest caliber prince
delivery. Reminds me of the “One Nite Alone cd more than it reminds me of
Power Fantastic but I can see how people would think of that one because of the
horns and the piano et all. The only thing I don’t like about this song is that
he has this classic sounding timeless song and he has to mention a pager.(8)

The One U Wanna C: Very catchy. It’s stuck in my head all the time
though I don’t really like it, lol. I think this will be a grower. Something
I won’t play very often but will always like when it comes up on shuffle. Cool
effort, nice arrangement with lost going on without it being too cluttered or
over produced. It sounds breezy and open. (7)

Future Baby Mama: Still not sure about the title but once again a nice
vocal delivery and an all out vintage prince instrumental backing. Love the use
of the linn on this one. It’s like an updated version of What Do U Want Me 2 Do
more than anything else. And that’s a good thing imo cuz that is one of only 4
songs I can stand on Musicology. (7)

Mr Goodnight: Love how he mentions a handful of songs or lines out of his
catalogue in this tune. It flows well and contrary to what others have said I
think it fits pretty well on this cd, especially coming right after Future Baby
Mama which kind of leads into this track softly, in that it breaks with the
more pop rock organic feel of the preceding tracks. Love the fact that
it’s ‘rap’ yet the backing tracks sound more organic than he usually utilizes
for these type of songs. Perhaps it’s a guilty pleasure but I just love
Prince’s deep talking/rapping vocal. Not a classic lol but nice enough (6.5)

All The Midnights In The World: After all the negative talk from the
initial reviews I expected this to be horrible. Well, in fact I think it’s very
very nice indeed. Sure it’s sweet but there’s a redeeming quality in it. The
vocal harmonies are subtle and nice and the melody is different and quirky
enough to save it from being syrupy. I’m a sucker for short, mid to fast
tempo prince songs that last under 3 minutes and this is a great addition to
those we already have. (7.5)

Chelsea Rogers: Judging from people’s reviews I’m probably the only one
who thinks this tracks would have been better off relegated to a b-side or an
obscure online release. It’s not that the track is weak, it’s actually nice and
bouncy. Love the way it flows effortlessly and the bass is so incredibly
delicious. My gripe with this song is that it’s Shelby on vocals. I don’t like
that. One of the most upbeat and bouncy tracks on the album and Prince himself
is way down in the mix except some short shout outs. Although it’s a track with
great potential this is without a doubt the one I will play least of all.
Having said that, I think I will bust it out once in a while if only for that
delicious breakdown at the end and the horns on it. (6.5)

Lion of Judah: love the opening, the kick drum and the purple rain like
guitar and the opening line is just sooo beatles “sitting on the floor of an
all white room, feeling like the color blue”.
Absolutely love it. It flows effortlessly, like many of the tracks on this
album. Feels like it was recorded quickly and not messed with too much. Not
overproduced or muddled. Clear and spontaneous sounding. (8)

Resolution: another one of those songs that benefit from not being over
produced and laced with a million different keyboards and cowbells. Most
revolution sounding track imo even if it might not sound like something off
Parade. The lyrics are amongst pearls before the swine and dear mr man subjects
but come off less contrived than dear Mr Man imo. Which is what reminds me most
of the Revolution/Wendy and Lisa stuff in the early days. The only time it
leans toward cringe territory is when he says “come on now all over the world”,
that is just too cliché for my taste. Beyond that it’s probably my fav track
off the album (8.5)

the main thing i like about this album is that unlike some previous albums,
like Musicology, there is nothing on this that makes me cringe or think the
album contains real filler.

the production -as far as i can make out in this lousy quality- is perfect.
it sounds fresh, light and breezy from start to finish with only the title
track being an exception in all it's muddled 3 chains of gold glory.

another nice thing about this album is that it sounds like an album again,
diverse and with an erratic flow but still kind of glued. there's different
styles but it doesn't feel like a mixtape which was what imo both musicology
and 3121 suffered from somewhat.

fcuz you can never know how long prince sat on these tracks but they sound
as if they were recorded all together in a short space of time, without a
million overdubs and mixes being made. the melodies speak for themselves,
and eventhough most of them are not total classics, they don't reak of an
insane kind of pretention or wanna be status. they just are and sound very
healthy and uncontrived.

i can't wait to go to the store and get my excellent quality copy of this,
and listen to it over and over again.

i'm not completely nuts about this but that's fine, from what i hear on it
it sounds like it's an album that doesn't hit you like a ton of bricks but
will remain a favorit for a very long time to come none the less.

now all i've left to desire is a shitload of b-sides and outtakes from the
2005-2007 sessions popping up on 3121.com

The sticking point is that albums like Musicology, 3121, and Rave are not as bad as some would have you believe, and albums like ATWIAD, Parade, and SOTT are not as good as people would have you believe. Prince has not had a universally accepted "great" album since Purple Rain. Even "fan favorites" like ATWIAD and Parade were dogged by many critics, sold poorly, and made it hard for Prince to be taken seriously.

Planet Earth is the same as this... it has some tracks people consider great, although the ones people consider great vary wildly. In the end, everyone just wants more from Prince. I'm sure Prince could pull out another ten songs, put them on an album, and release it tomorrow and there would still be the mixed reviews. And that's the way it is.

Here's a good question... for an artist as brilliant as Prince, who can compose great songs like Planet Earth and Somewhere Here on Earth, and as fun as Guitar and The One You Wanna see, why oh why does he bother making songs like Mr. Goodnight? What does it prove? What does it show? Can you imagine Prince sitting in the studio, bobbing his head to this thinking it's great? Or doesn't he care? Or can't he tell the difference between his good songs and bad songs?

lspear76 said:

I think it's him having fun in an r&b, versus a rock way, like he is in the 2 rock songs you mention. Mr. Goodnight reminds me a lot of the silly rap about "Cap'n Crunch... with soy milk" from Joint 2 Joint or "yo shorty, what yo name is" part of Poom Poom.

Here's a good question... for an artist as brilliant as Prince, who can compose great songs like Planet Earth and Somewhere Here on Earth, and as fun as Guitar and The One You Wanna see, why oh why does he bother making songs like Mr. Goodnight? What does it prove? What does it show? Can you imagine Prince sitting in the studio, bobbing his head to this thinking it's great? Or doesn't he care? Or can't he tell the difference between his good songs and bad songs?

Raze said:

Yeah but is Mr. Goodnight album-worthy? If it was a B Side, or just some personal track, then fine, but you're telling me Prince didn't have a better song to put in this slot? Mr. Goodnight would be fit better in the Incense & Candles spot on 3121.

I have mixed feelings on "Mr Goodnight". On one hand, Prince should never ever try to rap, and we probably have enough of these embarrassing "I'm so awesome / I'm such a great lover / I'll sweep you off your feet with my wealth and sexiness" songs that no man of Prince's age should be recording. And Prince releases albums so infrequently these days, it makes you wish that when he does he'd try to do something with more substance. On the other hand, it is head-bob-tastic.

Or can't he tell the difference between his good songs and bad songs?

lspear76 said:

That IS a good question. I think we can assume it is a combination of a few things...the main problem probably being a lack of critical feedback. Does Prince actually have anyone who can tell him "actually, that's shit" I wonder? That said, the fan in me appreciates that we get to hear some of these pretty rough "sketches" and silly throwaway songs now and again.

I have mixed feelings on "Mr Goodnight". On one hand, Prince should never ever try to rap, and we probably have enough of these embarrassing "I'm so awesome / I'm such a great lover / I'll sweep you off your feet with my wealth and sexiness" songs that no man of Prince's age should be recording. And Prince releases albums so infrequently these days, it makes you wish that when he does he'd try to do something with more substance. On the other hand, it is head-bob-tastic.

Here's a good question... for an artist as brilliant as Prince, who can compose great songs like Planet Earth and Somewhere Here on Earth, and as fun as Guitar and The One You Wanna see, why oh why does he bother making songs like Mr. Goodnight? What does it prove? What does it show? Can you imagine Prince sitting in the studio, bobbing his head to this thinking it's great? Or doesn't he care? Or can't he tell the difference between his good songs and bad songs?

lspear76 said:

Well, this is the question people have been asking for years, about tracks like Jughead, Mr. Happy, Push It Up, Hot Wit' U, Why Should I Do That When I Can Do This, ICP&C, Life O' The Party, Incense & Candles.