Prince
Planet Earth
[Sony; 2007]
Rating: 4.8


We always expect too much of Prince, because it's difficult to accept that somebody who made records as astonishing as he did in the 1980s could repeat himself as egregiously as he has for the past 15 years or so. He hasn't been doing r&b-by-numbers or rock-by-numbers, which is why he gets away with it; he's just been doing Prince-by-numbers. And yes, he still brings it live. But his albums used to send everyone scrambling to catch up; now they're self-evidently whatever he deigns to knock out.

Princeophiles always have a few great recent songs we can trot out as evidence he hasn't really lost it. Last time, it was "Black Sweat"; this time, it's "Mr. Goodnight", a sticky-hot seduction rap that all but acknowledges the genre's latter-day debt to Smoove B. He rhymes "Moët" with "private jet," namechecks 3121 (maybe the album, maybe the club), shouts out "mp3!" and offers to lay out three dresses (so you can pick the one you like) and call you to find out which you've picked so he can wear a matching suit.

Most of Planet Earth, though, is textbook bad Prince. It's one thing to work from the assumption that he's the hottest thing on two legs, because he's never lost that. But when he works from the assumption that his political thoughts are deep and meaningful, he bricks. The title track is an ecological anthem so dopey it makes saving the world sound like a questionable idea; the closer, "Resolution", is an antiwar anthem so self-righteous it makes peace sound smug. "The main problem with war is that nobody ever wins," goes the first line, and as above-all-you-mortals as prime-period Prince's politics could get (remember "Hello"?), at least he never tried to tell us what the main problem with war was.

The rest of the album is stuff he's done before and better. "The One U Wanna C" is a blatant rewrite of "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (right down to the declaration that "you ain't no one night stand") without the emotional depth, subtlety, or musical eccentricities. "Guitar", a reminder that he plays guitar, doesn't even have much of a riff. "Chelsea Rodgers" is an incoherently moralistic disco jam that squashes its groove between big, dangling quotation marks, as if it came to the West End Records sound by way of an Of Montreal tribute band. Where is the Thinker of Weird Thoughts who gave us "Raspberry Beret" and "Starfish and Coffee"?

Well, he's not entirely gone-- that's why we keep listening. There are always flashes of him, as at the end of the pedestrian slow jam "Future Baby Mama", where he goes into a purring little recitative, ending "deep down, I know what you want-- you want your girlfriends to hate you." Then he harmonizes with himself in one of his thick, layered harmony-clusters: "'Cause they can't get your man!" "Somewhere Here on Earth" is the kind of bedroom-eyed ballad he used to knock out one-handed in the Parade days, enlivened by his freaky but kind of fantastic Billie Holiday impression, but tragically oversold by witless jazz piano and an overdubbed "crackly record" sound. The album's cameo appearances by Wendy & Lisa and Sheila E. are overt signals that this is supposed to be a new manifestation of the prodigal Prince, the one who had all the hits; that he's going to spray us all down with his magical ejaculating guitar, just like the old days.

And, you know, he might. He doesn't this time, but he might yet; if this were his first album, it'd be really promising. It's entirely possible that Prince's problem isn't sputtering talent but QC on the fritz. A whack to the right part of the machine, and his next whole album could be as hot as "Mr. Goodnight" and "Black Sweat" and, I don't know, "Cinnamon Girl". As it is, though, he's firmly settled in a stylistic niche that's delivering diminishing returns-- and what made him great in the first place is that he never settled down anywhere for long.

-Douglas Wolk, July 23, 2007

Funny, this critic dislikes the same things that I don´t like ( the same songs and lyrics and ideas ) and his review is very much on point.Though some of the lyrics suck and a lot of the songs sound derivative, a lot of people don´t give up their hope and still think or know that Prince still has it deep inside of him...but he doesn´t prove it.
I agree with most of the stuff this critic says, especially when it comes to the cheesy lyrics. The album itself is not that bad, it´s good but it´s also not really great because of its lyrics but it does make you curious about his next release, as usual.

I normally like Pitchfork, but that is horrible off-base. Any review that lists "Mr. Goodnight" as the best track is veeeeery suspect.

Moonbeam said:

Seriously. That killed any credibility. And he loves "Cinammon Girl" too?

MendesCity said:

nothing wrong with Cinnamon Girl- but that review was reaaaally bad.

that must really suck for Prince. to have so many people have such a narrow view of what he is or should be.

MendesCity said:

Proof that ANYONE can be a critic. Even the hard of hearing.
[Edited 7/23/07 6:12am]

dont really see what he/she saw in mr goodnight but the review is more or less on point.

Mr. Goodnight is not as bad as people say, it has a nice melody and chorus but the lyrics.. ...he could work on it, improve the lyrics and come up with a nice remix...it has a nice, airy, breezy summer feel to it and is , IMO , much more listenable than , say, Chelsea Rodgers or The One U Wanna C.
The rest of the review is pretty much on point though....don´t understand why Cinnamon Girl is soooo unpopular and underrated here...great,contemporary lyrics, strong social criticism, great rock tune, great videoclip, interesting message, and much deeper and less naive than Mr.Man or Resolution, and sounds a little bit like Dolphin, which is a good thing.
If it were an outtake , people would love it.

emesem said:

Exactly. Which is why I put no stock in anyone's reviews but my own. So what if he has a job at a media outlet? Doesn't make his ears any better than my own, and if I like the record, his opinion doesn't matter.

KoolEaze said:

I agree. The chorus of Mr. Goodnight is nice, but the lyrics have me shaking my head, as do the lyris of a few other songs on PE.
[Edited 7/23/07 7:02am]

I agree with this review.The album has a "been-there-done-that" feel to it and there aren't too many surprises.I like several tracks though.

i went on a review search yesterday and for the most part this beast is getting lackluster reviews...still can't wait to hear it though and and hopefully disagree.

SoulAlive said:

Exactly how I feel

~MS

And exactly how I dont feel - this album is solid from start to finish

This review is way off base...

sosgemini said:

Actually, Sos, most of the reviews have been pretty positive, especially from the bigger publications...In fact, some of them have been a little too positive with the praise..LOL...But for the most part, Planet Earth has been getting a good response...And I wouldn 't pay that much attention to someone who thinks "Mr. Goodnight" is the best track on this album...That was a joke worthy of a solid punchline...LOL
[Edited 7/23/07 8:20am]

Rococomojo said:

theghostoftonym said:

You think so? With the exception of "Black Sweat" the reviewer name checked some lackluster Prince songs as being his favorites...I don't mind negative reviews, but when you say the best song on Planet Earth is "Mr. Gooodnight" that says a lot..

murph said:

not the bigger publications i searched out...and i am not looking for any one specific critic to give me a pass to like or dislike something...i read reviews to get a general consensus...this review is just one of many that shine a lackluster light on this beast...

but hey, i dont care...i will judge it for myself tomorrow.

murph said:

like what? that someone has a different taste than you?

sosgemini said:

No, it says they have no taste....LOL...It's a horrible song...

sosgemini said:

Too much coffee homie? LOL...It's all good...I didn't think you needed a reviewer to tell you what you should or shouldn't like...I just said from the point of reading most of the reviews they seem to be saying just about the same thing...Good, not great album...That's the "general consensus.." And some of them have even gone overboard with the praise...

But yeah, when you hear it, judge the album for yourself...
[Edited 7/23/07 9:30am]

Man, I guess my tastes are a lot different from people on here then because I love Mr. Goodnight and Cinnamon Girl. Each one is one of my favorite tracks on each album.

This review was right on the MONEY. He's totally correct, beautifully worded, and I hope Prince reads it.

(Of course, I disagree with his choice of "Mr. Goodnight" being one of the best tracks.)

"He's done it all before but better."

I feel like these are yet more leftover songs from the Vault.

there's this crazy string of prince interviews (both good and bad), that are just the most poorly written things i've ever seen.

I guess good or bad, at least people are talking about it. (personally I like PE, and I'm sick of half-wit interviews that only dish poor track comparisons. The problem with 2/3's of these interviews is that they're broken records.)

switters said:

Personally, I think he will never again do something that he hasn't done before. Variations here and there, but he just has done too many things already. That's alright with me, though. There's no need to constantly want him to change the music world.

happyhappy said:

You're exactly right. The state of music journalism is dead. How lazy can you be too continuosly trot out the same analysis in review after review of his post-Purple Rain albums. Do they do the same with Springsteen, U2 or Dylan? There has always been a bias toward P's songwriting skills by mainstream critics.

Is this a 4.8 out of 10?

OK I stopped reading after they praised MR Goodnight (comparing it the Black Sweat) and went on to slag the rest of the album.

Mr Goodnight is a decent song, but out of the rest, it's the worst on the album IMO.

sosgemini said:

Everyone has been dissing it so much, you'll probably find it to be enjoyable.