Please use this thread to discuss the new Prince cd, Planet Earth.

Those of you lucky enough to have received a copy already, whether you liked the disc or not, please list your views in a courteous manner.

Please refrain from creating multiple threads on this topic.

Please do not ask for bootlegs or any other means of copyright infringements. Please do not offer to burn copyrighted material for anyone. To do so will automatically earn you a ONE WEEK BAN (minimum), no questions asked. Period.

You can discuss this cd as a whole - the art, the controversy surrounding the release or whatever comes up regarding the disc. Or, you can discuss the individual tracks on the threads created for track discussion.

You can click this ( http://www.prince.org/msg/7/234658 - Part III, http://www.prince.org/msg/7/234267 ) to review what was written in the past threads.

Thank you,

luv4u

I just noticed this thread. I see now that I posted on the wrong thread earlier because I did not receive mine in the mail, I purchased mine at the store yesterday.

Anyway, did I get a defective copy or something? My copy does not have the song titles printed anywhere on the packaging and there is no inside booklet or even a slot for one.

I was not expecting much from this album. Like the last two albums I figured it would be simply "pleasant." And although, true, that unlike past efforts, there is nothing "sonicly arresting" to be found-- there are, still, plenty of things to like about this album and take notice of. That said, for casual listeners of Prince you can most likely skip this one over, unless you favor his dreamy balladry, of which you may want to check out this album's "Somewhere Here On Earth." But for those that are a little more than your average casual pop fan (and I'm guessing most of you are, seeing as that you took the time to read/join/investigate a Prince fan site) you should be digging his constant song, and, somewhat reveling in his usual care for the sneaky periphery.

Still, there are many fans that dig on Prince less than the "disciple" but more than the casual and go deeper still and have even heard, say, a track like (personal favorite-- and beyond the scope of radio-- meaning, you'd have to have listened to some of his less popular material, though albeit, still moderately successful) "Joy In Repetition" from the largely ignored "Graffiti Bridge" album. (I say all this because most people HAVEN'T HEARD that whole album but still more than have heard, say, "Xpectation" and less, than say, "SOTT.") For those fans, that care enough to hear the man out, who buy his album and give it a try, and have been, at least post-Love Symbol-- when his "sales" really started to diminish, I can see your beef with this album. Fans, such as you, are still wanting to hear something tweaked. You crave the "sonicly arresting" bit I mentioned earlier in this "review"-turned tome. Well, none of that here on "PE." You won't hear... maybe a slide guitar element (such as on the "NPS" album) or that glorious and unstoppable "Wall Of Princevoice" (heard ever so effectively and always undeniably flexibly fresh, from the opening minute of "For You" on through to "WDC" to "Electric Chair" to "7" and as recently as "Rave-- although recorded prior to eventual release) or even the serious throb of electric piano (saturating "Xpectation" and "TRC" with genuine emotional warble). You just won't hear the man do anything audibly fresh or cross-textural the way he seemed to either emphasize or be as interested in in the distant past, or as increasingly less-inclined in the more recent past (not to say that he has "production-wise" gone all soft or hasn't been sonicly exploring-- just not in his "song" work). And that's really what he's been presenting more recently, songs.

"Well, he has ALWAYS presented songs," you say. He has, but if you want to think of songs as paintings his past work was a gallery of modern art and his work lately is closer to the mannered and fundamental representational past (complete with all it's occasional metaphors and hidden subtexts). He has so-contributed to how one views the song that his innovations are quite common now, as though Bougereau and Monet are one in the same on some grandparent's wall, heck, it's getting to where you could hang "Nude Descending A Staircase" on that same wall. What that means in this review is that Prince is working /within/ a Prince-framework of modern song, a framework largely used by others, and not pushing beyond that sonic frame. This is his constant song, a song he has developed and expanded upon and is now refining. Could he push further? Who knows, he is incredibly talented and surprising. He most likely has a "Vanilla Sky" in there somewhere. >>>>Anyway, point is, he's not pushing that part of him right now. He is refining his song- both in content and in sonics. His hunger is not tied-up with bold strokes or obsessive detail, it's in enjoyment and in an unusual mix of standard introspection and standard extroversion. These elements have always been there in his music, too, but have been pushed out front in his music-making lately in an effort to initially re-establish attention ("Musicology, "3121") and here with this album to plainly address or express his mind's dominant concerns: the world needs help= the world needs God Prince is secure with his understanding of his relationship with God, yet, Prince needs a good woman. Beyond business concerns, pedestrian concerns, even artistic concerns, THESE are, imo, the constant themes in Prince's mind. "/Ooooooh, what's in Prince's mind!!!/" This is the album you make when you are Prince at this point in his life. When the things that are the most important to you are shouting so loudly that the things you love have to sit and wait for you to come to them for either help or distraction. The little man is growing, slowly as all heck, but it's relative. In the areas that are becoming dominate to him are things that take serious time, and what you're seeing/hearing (sure, beyond his obvious love of appreciative audience and comfortable living) are him actually dealing with them. He's always been alone, BUT, now he has God with him, BUT the cool Earth and the warm hand still matter, as do the people he DOES care for. Lyrically this album is Prince since all the way back, could be "1999" or what have you, musically it references intentionally and naturally everything from "Purple Rain" to "Emancipation" and so on but the difference is the boy has become a man, and that's heady stuff. He's 49 freaking years old, twice divorced, without his parents, recently committed to a religious study, a living legend yadda yadda yadda. He's not going to rewrite the book, he's too busy reading one and finally visiting another. What he IS going to do is assess himself and soldier on. And this is what it sounds like. And it sounds... "pleasant."

(track by track reviews to follow later, for anyone interested-- truly the severely bored) -mikedelic

mikedelic said:

There are threads that were created for each individual song for discussion.

vainandy said:

There are no tracks listed on the cd.

If you go to www.3121.com there is a link to download the pdf of the lyrics. See front page news link http://www.prince.org/msg/7/235954.

You may not want to print the lyrics. Because of the dark background it will take a lot of your ink.

It's been on steady rotation since purchase; I'm liking it a lot.

I'll check back in 2 months to let you know if it's a classic. Sadly, the closer he gets to making the perfect little pop album (and he's making leaps and bounds over the past 3 albums), the more disposable & unmemorable it gets.

Thanks.

That's kinda messed up because you have to go and listen to a snip of each track before you can find the one you want to hear. I notice the title of each song appeared on the CD player as each song began but that was only on my newest CD player/recorder, which is more expensive than the others.

Thanks for the link also. Prince, and all the other artists for that matter, need to realize that not everyone is able to afford a computer yet. If I didn't have access to one at work, I would be totally lost. The computer age has years ahead before everyone is able to afford it.

Number two on Amazon bitches.

After one listen, I like several of the songs.

But I detect a faltering in Prince's voice that doesn't seem stylistic to me. It's almost as if he recorded the whole album with a sore throat. Or is it something more serious?

namepeace said:

cha know, that's my biggest issue with this album: his vocals. the vocal execution sounds lazy.

sosgemini said:

That's usually the MOST RELIABLE aspect of ANY Prince album. I think he may be experiencing some voice issues because there's no way he would half-step like he does vocally.

My first listen was "Just ok". On my 3rd. listen and feeling the same.

namepeace said:

I agree with all of you. As I listened again this morning, I said to myself that his vocal delivery isn't what it used to be. It's funny though because I attended some of the shows in Vegas, and his voice was still outstanding live.

If he ever gets invited on The Muppet Show again at least he'll have some new material to draw on.

2the9s said:

The UPS guy just delivered my Amazon.com package with Planet Earth CD in it a hour ago and I'm kinda skeptical about how I feel about it upon my second listen. I listened to most of the songs from this album last week on MSN Music and it left me with a sour taste in my mouth because some of the songs just didn't have that excitement and substance his other songs had. So you guys please wish me luck...

I just wanted to point out to all of those who are complaining about the lack of the booklet, that it could be that Prince is being very eco friendly by not including one.

superspaceboy said:

nice try.

superspaceboy said:

Exactly how many trees are saved by not
printing the tracklist on the back cover?
I have difficulty with no tracklist being eco-friendly!

namepeace said:

I hear that too, but I think it's probably stylistic. Not that I really like it, but I think maybe it's an attempt to sound vulnerable.

And yeah his vocals are usually great, but he's never been a huge Springsteen type singer. His middle range has always been kind of weak. His falsetto sounds great as always here I think.

I wish his cover of The Best Of You, which he did on the Superbowl, was on this album. That was mesmerizing!

sosgemini said:

bitches!

OK, I’m posting in this thread because if I started a new one it would most likely be locked and/or absorbed into this one... So, I hope this post doesn’t get overlooked.

Planet Earth = The Return of ?

Now, I’m not saying Planet Earth is a bad album, it’s just a little “disappointingly confusing” because it sounds like a mishmash of -era material. “Planet Earth,” “Guitar,” “All the Midnights in the World,” “Lion of Judah,” and “Resolution” would fit perfectly on Chaos and Disorder. “Somewhere Here on Earth,” “Future Baby Mama,” “Mr. Goodnight” and “Chelsea Rodgers” are extremely akin to the vibe of the Emancipation tracks. “The 1 U Wanna C” is the exception, which I will discuss on the song thread.

Add my name to those who have expressed concern over Prince’s apparent vocal deterioration. I saw him live in Vegas on December 29 and his voice was outstanding! What gives?

Honest to God, I don't know what to make of this album. I enjoyed it on 1st listen, such as it was, and listened to The Offical Release today. The better sound quality definitely helps and, for a change, the production is actually pretty good. Not quite so plastic. A lot of these tracks make me want to hear them live. The drums and the vocals detract from some songs where you wouldn't normally expect it. In places where the songwriting is good, the lyrics or the vocals drag it down. In places where the songwriting is mediocre, the guitar and bass pick it up...It's frustrating in this way, and I suppose I should be used to it by now, but JUST ONCE, over the last 15 years, I'd love to see (hear) Prince Put It All Together into one package that bends my head and ears sideways like Sign O the Times did.

"Planet Earth" makes me feel wishy washy and on the fence, as most Prince albums do, but in a decidedly different way - which I suppose is an accomplishment in and of itself. I feel the same way about "The Truth", "New Power Soul", "Musicology" and "3121" in that regard, where I want to pull out the individual songs I like and trash the ones I don't. Conversely, on this one, all of the songs are just so slightly above average, good in their own way, terrible in others, and all have their moments that I feel like it needs be heard as a whole, if only so I don't have to break out the parts I enjoy from individual songs. I'm not sure I could begin to break this album up, unlike "3121".

And speaking of that album, one thing that strikes me about PE as I compare it to that one, is that there's NOTHING on here as intimate or as brilliant as "The Word" or "Love". There's nothing as funky as "Black Sweat" or "Get on the Boat" (yes, I love it) either. Goosebumps are few and few in between on PE, but they're there, but slightly too dependent on My Mood at the time.

The good:

- Production
- More guitar masturbation than usual. The solos are nice and prominently featured.
- Pretty cohesive
- The bass playing caught my ear more than once
- Has a nice flow to it
- Only 2 "skippers" on the whole thing (ATMITW and FBM)
- Harmonies
- Each song seems to have a moment in it somewhere I can appreciate.

The bad:
- Lyrics. Like, a lot of them, especially "Resolution"
- No Funkatall syndrom. "Chelsea Rodgers" is the only thing close, and that one's disco.
- Songwriting/Riffs
- DRUMS! Where have you gone, John Blackwell? There is NO slam in these songs.
- Vocals - For the first time ever, prince, voice bugs me on several tracks.
- No standout/classic track, which is almost always there even on the weaker records ("Love", "Joy in Repetition", "The One", "LetItGo", "Electric Chair")
- Almost every song has something in it that bugs me. (The bridge in the Title Track ).
- SEVERAL times, I'm reminded of previous songs.

I dunno. Chalk me up as "Still Waiting". Sometimes I think THAT'S the real genius of Prince. Bring on the next one, and no skimpin' on the aftershows in Florida, P.

I'm loving it with each listen. I surely don't understand the complaints about the vocals, they sound good to me.

skywalker said:

I don't know if I hate it, but anyone who is a Prince fan has known for decades that he can crack off the catchiest pop melodies etc.

I want more than that. These were supposed to have been the years of maturation. After TRC it looked like he was heading towards becoming some elder statesman of contemporary music, where he wouldn't have to chase hits to fund some unreal self-created media image and instead he could indulge in his talent. Xpectation, N.E.W.S., all those interesting one-off internet songs etc. etc., they made sense in a way. He was fumbling around for sure, but the songs and sounds were interesting. He seemed to be shaping an identity for the future.

Instead we get the past three albums. And various forms of creative marketing...

He needs to learn how to age.

Most of the songs on PE are really good.

skywalker said:

...man, i would hate to go to dinner with you---yelling at everyone, "i say it's good damn it there for it is!!! i force you to enjoy it!!!"

2the9s said:

I agree. It seems like he was at least on a creative momentum and didn't care about garnering hits. That was until Musicology, his "comeback" album, which in retrospect seems really dull to me now. Now much of it seems to be about establishing himself as some sort of rock god and banking on that stature. I do have to say though the last album is very enjoyable and for someone who's been around for as long as Prince has, I'm ok with the fact that it's not blow your socks off type of music.

Taurus said:

Have to agree there - vocals are weak on the album. I saw him in London recently and his vocals were fine, and when I was watching the superbowl I loved his voice on Watchtower and Purple Rain, but he doesn't use that voice at all on the album - A shame because it's when he sounds best these days.

But, I must add that I do like the album - tracks 2 through 5 are lots of fun. 'Guitar' will raise the roof of the O2 next month. The guy's 49 so he's not going to reinvent the wheel now. I'm just glad I was around when he did.
[Edited 7/26/07 0:11am]