Lion of Judah is one of my absolute favourite moments on Planet Earth. But to be honest, there are so many. I am thorougly enjoying it.

A friend and I were discussing this album and his excitement is captured here.

Clearly something has been oiled. I'm not sure if it's the production, the songwriting, the editing, or all of the above, but he seems to be back to challenging himself in the studio the same way he has been live. Simply fantastic.

There might not be any greatest songs of the decade like with "When Doves Cry" or "Purple Rain", but right now there are too many high points to mention (perhaps 8 or even 9 out of 10).

There are currently no low points, unless you mean relative to the best songs. And I wasn't very sure at all at first about the inclusion of at least 3 tracks. Fortunately my first impressions proved to be deeply flawed again.

Everything here is so on fire, so fantastically freeing, so utterly consistent, so right on my loose pocket change -- just like that guy who served up “Fury” for the masses on Saturday Night live.

If he doesn’t perform all or nearly all of these 10 tracks in London, something is terribly askew; especially after giving the album away to nearly 3 million folks.

Many of these tracks could make their legend live. A few of these tracks might even become concert staples.

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve gone from near dread to thinking that another seminal work might be afoot, but that’s exactly what’s happened with “Lion”.

Sleep can be reduced. My ears can find solace later.

Right now I’m just another gypsy beggar down on the cold bathroom tiles desperately seeking a lift; I’m “The Word” set to the motion of James Dean.

Perhaps some of the newness will always be exciting, but I do believe that when the dust settles we have a terribly complete album, one absolutely filled to the gills with greatness.

In many ways this is the record that “The Gold Experience” is and could have been if he hadn’t sat on it for so many months.

“There is no song on the album that feels like it might be lacking compared to a live performance.”

That’s exactly it. If he outdoes himself here live, I don’t care, because I have perfect studio productions. Unlike “Fury” where I felt it was all very good on record, but I’d much rather be listening to the version he produced on SNL.

However, there are several tracks I’d love to here in their extended form. I doubt I’ll get them, just like I doubt the album artwork will be good anytime soon.

“I would even go so far as to say that this album stands shoulder to shoulder with the likes of The Rainbow Children and Lovesexy in terms of studio delivery.”

Truly. The production on these albums is effortless sounding, freeing, energizing. I’m in a smoky jazz club, I’m driving down the expressway with my hair flapping in the wind, I’m feeling Chelsea’s ass as it’s being shaken (never stirred).

“All The Midnights” was one of the tracks that missed me originally, so did “Mr. Goodnight”. And as you might guess, “Lion” sounded awfully whiny to me. Well, little did I know, his vocal delivery is supposed to be near tears. That’s precisely why I don’t put a whole lot of stock into first impressions.

They’re interesting, but they rarely speak any kind of lasting truth.

And now “All The Midnights” ranks with his greatest segue songs, like “Starfish” and “Under the Cherry Moon”. I don’t know whose best (I’ll leave that for the scientists), but all of this stuff just floats on thin air.

“As for high points, where does one start? Each song has pearls of poetry and pop prowess skillfully interwoven.”

Exactly. That’s why it didn’t even bother to start.

As stupid as it might sound right now, 8 or 9 of these tracks might be great, or at least near great.

I usually don’t care, especially when he is thousands of miles away. But he simply must play this entire record in concert. It’s that good.

We don’t need another hidden treasure. This one should be aired live.

Love the "Revolution" sound...
Hate the title and religious imagery.
Was better off using metaphors like elevators rather than specifics that may be offensive to some

Hated it and not for the lyrics. I don't care anything about lyrics anyway. I hated the way it sounded. It sounded weak.

Rightly said:

it's the vocal stylings on this whole album that makes me think that prince is losing the strength in his singing . I noticed it on the vegas shows as well.

with that sad, the only good parts of this song is the backing vocals of wendy and lisa (but i still wish they weren't on this album)

L4OATheOriginal said:

SHOE and FBM as well as recent live stuff show that he still sings just like he did 20+ years ago.

I find it strange that some people cannot see the strength of the vocals on this one. Not the technical strength, but the strong in the sense that they perfectly convey the emotions of the song.

calldapplwondery83 said:

call it weird but whenever i listen 2 his music i get visuals of how was doing it in the studio and his xpressions while either singing or playing, and I'm not feeling that vibe on this album. it's like a going through the motions type of deal as compared 2 the last 2 albums

L4OATheOriginal said:

OK, maybe on Chelsea Rodgers or The One U Wanna C but Lion of Judah is some of his most honest and emotional singing since ....I don´t know.
And his singing voice is still amazing, especially considering how many shows he´s still doing , sometimes two or three in a row.His voice is even better than ever. It wasn´t even really that developed before he had coaching during the making of Purple Rain....and today, he sounds even better, just listen to some ONA tour shows.
I can relate to what you´re saying about going through the motions, I often feel the same way when I hear stuff like Lolita or On The Couch or Satisfied but Lion of Judah ( and yes, also Cinnamon Girl ) sounds quite inspired , IMO.
He may not show his skills in all songs but it´s still there,still good, if not better than before.

This song was already released 3 years ago only then it was called "Cinnamon Girl" BOOOOORING

-

- Now on 'Planet Earth' release day, I was at Barnes & Nobles and decided to sample the album again. for some reasons my ears were finally attuned to the album. I decided that I had to acquire then ($16.99 by the way). So I drove to the near Best Buy and grabbed the album for $9.99.

- We all have our genre preferences, our expectations of a new Prince album cause us to prejudge the album even as we listen to it the first time. We tend to pick a couple songs off the album that meet our expectation and skip some others. My first impressions were rooted in my funk (or funk/rock) preferences. Thus, I labeled the album as being a weak one. But once I realized this was a rock emphasized album, I began to appreciate the songs more and his genius as well. See! Prince forces us to be exposed to new genres, new facets of music, irregardless of current radio standards. There lies the man's genius, Folks! Allways new , always fresh.

- Now, Prince, no more 10-cut cds please. It's good value, but after waiting a year, fams desire more songs to last the year.
Aaah! The days of 18+ Prince songs per cds, double or triple cd sets, are gone apparently. (sarcastically, of course)



- Time for a Double CD set, Prince


The Wizard

DaisyHall said:

Huh? It sounds nothing like "Cinnamon Girl"!

My neighbour was complaining because i had this up too loud earlier ..But if you listen to this song at a generous volume it is shiver up the spine material.