ok...here goes...

1. The One U wanna C - 9
2. Somewhere Here on Earth - 8
3. Planet Earth - 8
4. Future Baby Mama - 8
5. Guitar - 7
6. Chelsea Rodgers -7
7. Resolution - 6
8. Mr Goonight - 6
9. All the Midnights -5
10.Lion of Judah - 4

be cool to see how these final rankings compare to the Survivor ones

01. The 1 U Wanna C - 8
02. Somewhere Here on Earth - 9
03. Resolution - 7
04. Future Baby Mama - 5
05. Chelsea Rodgers - 8
06. Guitar - 5
07. Planet Earth - 7
08. All the Midnights in the World - 9
09. Lion of Judah - 7
10. Mr. Goodnight - 5

i love love love his falsetto!

After 25 votes:

1. The 1 U Wanna C- 7.92
2. Somewhere Here on Earth- 7.56
3. Chelsea Rodgers- 7.46
4. Planet Earth- 7.08
5. Future Baby Mama- 7.00
6. Resolution- 6.28
7. All the Midnights in the World- 6.26
8. Guitar- 6.24
9. Lion of Judah- 6.2
10. Mr. Goodnight- 5.62

I may never again witness a Prince album that appeals to me in this particular way, so I’m going to take this rare opportunity to play in this particular sunshine.

If something looks oddly familiar, that’s because I’m stealing my own thoughts.

And the ratings are relative to music, not to Prince. If they were relative to Prince I would give “When Doves Cry” and “Kiss” a 10 and work my way back.

Planet Earth – 10

A plaintive epic. Far better than many of Prince’s other less-than-stellar moments of high drama.

The last 40 seconds contain some of the angriest guitar in Prince studio history. Liquid butterflies on your thighs.

The bridge that spans the rocky divide between “All My Dreams” and “Empty Room”.

Guitar – 9

A hell of a lot of silly fun. Perfect placement after that onslaught of melancholic guitar.

Prince petting the curves of his most beloved. Apparently even burning up the planet is no reason to halt one’s hustle.

Somewhere Here on Earth – 10

Someone is looking over your shoulder in a darkened room.

A standard just waiting for the layers of smoke to settle. And let me tell you, despite the U.S. Surgeon General’s machinations, not all that smoke is being produced by cigarettes.

One of Prince’s finest ballads; jazz or otherwise.

Abraham Lincoln is introduced to the Alexander Graham Bell (“How Come You Don’t”).

The 1 U Wanna C – 10

The best example of accessible Prince pop in countless. People are frantically upgrading their dance cards to the beat of a jukebox.

Prince used to churn this stuff out like butter back in the day when some were just budding. Now we’re supposed to be serious. Bullshit.

He shouldn’t be able to do this so effortlessly anymore, or so I was starting to believe.

“I’ve got a lot of money! / But I don’t want to spend it on me!”

What you’ll likely be screaming in concert, even as your bank card snickers out hysterically in your pants.

Future Baby Mama – 10

That chorus bounces like a Beemer going over a speed bump. That’s fu**ing smooth to your already stiff neck. The lyrics are smart and the title ironic.

Prince is saying all the right things; now if he’d only follow his own advice he just might find that foundation doing more than wearing some.

Mr. Goodnight – 7

Raisinets delivered with a shit-eating grin. Or bragging in high definition.

“All your other pennies should scatter” line makes clear the perfect “dime” shape agitated nickels hopelessly attempt to find on “The 1 U Wanna C”.

Doesn’t compel a solo visit too often, but I probably won’t be skipping it much either. Sounds like one of the better “Exodus” tracks.

Isn’t even remotely great enough to change mainstream music; even with another mindless remix that “features” yet another formulaic guest star.

All the Midnights in the World – 9

Not since I was laying beneath the “Cherry Moon” or rummaging through Cynthia’s Lunchables have I heard this much short-song goodness.

Disappears like so much cotton candy colored from Zuzu’s petals.

As saccharine as some of the “Parade” material that apparently received just enough “too white” criticism to convince Prince to go totally black.

Chelsea Rodgers – 10

As fine as her tight little letter “C” feels in full motion. As much bodacious flair as Prince has roused since “Come On”.

Come on, Chelsea, pull yourself away from your books long enough to show your stuff out.

Even perched in the pew this production shakes. Reach out and grab yourself some “Sexy Dancer”.

Lion of Judah – 10

Hated it originally. Even more beautifully polarizing than the album. 10 plus 0 divided by 2 will never equal 5 where I live.

Didn’t understand the near-weeping vocals until I realized that he was sitting on the cooling all-white tiles in near tears.

It now seems completely natural talking about it as a seminal Prince track.

Unfortunately everyone can relate with depression. Prince just chooses to pull himself out of the funk differently than some. No biggie.

Take it for a spin at full. It’s “The Word” set to the motion of James Dean.

Check out the 1987 double entendre. The jewel of the Nile.

Revelation – 9

As much as I may want to hit repeat on “Lion”, when that acoustic guitar kicks I’m as helpless as a baby being cribbed at bed time.

Assuredly juxtaposes a fun sound with a serious subject.

Humanistic lyrics that display some growth over suggesting that hate could be wiped out through the universal agreement (strong-arm tactics) of everything.

I’ll never release my – possibly God-given – freewill to anyone. Couldn’t care less if Prince himself walked through that door.

Wiping out hate is terribly naïve and will also wipe out love. But wiping out wars remains a reality.

And I seek genuine kindness, not the surgically altered Joker smiles.
[Edited 8/3/07 4:06am]

Brendan said:

Indeed! It is the most polarizing and challenging song on the album, and worth all of the digging. I'm still finding new glimmers of gold with each listen. That angry guitar solo that ushers out "Planet Earth" is rivalled by the soul-scraping guitar fury toward the end of this. Guttural, wildly adventurous and triumphant!

Moonbeam said:

It was certainly challenging to me, and I've been listening to music for many years. Just when I'm thinking that can't happen anymore, there I go again with more egg on my face.

And I really had to be in headphones or blasting at high enough volumes to usher in the police to find either moment fully.

Brendan said:

I love the way you word things. As such, I really respect your opinion and I'm glad you've made a breakthrough with "Lion of Judah"!

1.Somewhere Here On Earth 9
2.The 1 U Wanna C 9
3.Planet Earth 8
4.Future Baby Mamma 8
5,Guitar 7
6.Chelsea Rodgers 7
7.All The Midnights In The World 6
8.Lion Of Judah 6
9.Resolution 6
10.Mr.Goodnight 4

Planet Earth- 8
Guitar - 6
Somewhere Here on Earth- 9
The 1 U Wanna C- 7
Future Baby Mama - 9
Mr. Goodnight- 7
All the Midnights in the World - 8
Chelsea Rodgers - 7
Lion of Judah - 9
Resolution - 7
[Edited 8/3/07 17:09pm]

1. Guitar
2. The one u wanna c
3. Resolution
4. Lion of Judah
5. Futre baby mama
6. Planet Earth
7. All the midnights in the world
8. Mr. Goodnight
9. Somewhere here on Earth
10. Chelsea Rodgers (ranks last due to the fact the lady overpowers Prince on vocals "MORE PRINCE!!!!!")

1. Lion of Judah -10
2. Chelsea Rogers - 8
3. Resolution - 8
4. The one u wanna c - 8
5. Somewhere here on earth - 7
6. Guitar - 7
7. Future Babay Momma - 7
8. Planet Earth - 6
9. Mr Goodnight - 6
10. All the midnights in the world - 5





.
[Edited 8/8/07 6:40am]

Planet Earth-7

Guitar-5

Somewhere Here On Earth-8

The One U Wanna C-6

Future Baby Mama-10

Mr Goodnight-7

All The Midnights In The World-5

Chelsea Rogers-10

Lion Of Judah-5

Revelation-7

[Edited 8/3/07 14:48pm]

1. The 1 U Wanna C - 9
2. Guitar - 7
3. Resolution- 7
4. Somewhere Here on Earth- 5
5. Chelsea Rodgers- 5
6. All the Midnights in the World- 4
7. Future Baby Mama - 2
8. Mr. Goodnight - 1
9. Lion of Judah - 1
10. Planet Earth - 1

GangstaFam said:

Right!!!

I'm still getting to know the songs...just got the cd Wed and my thoughts on them are evolving.

Didn't love or hate the entire cd at first listen...now I'm definately warming up to it.

Moonbeam said:

I should give you five shillings for that, shouldn't I?

Anyway, I'll be enjoying "Lion" as much, not more than, but as much as some of the all-time greats.

And that a man has written perhaps a 1,000, 1,500, maybe 2,000 or more songs in his 30-year career pretty much guarantees some overlap in this rather significant universe. But there's really nothing singularly like "Lion" to my ears.

I just appreciate the creation of a thread where I can dump my idiotic thoughts.

Despite evidence to the contrary, I’m definitely not an easy grader. I sometimes get too excited, that's for sure, but that only last for a few hours or days. I’ve yet to learn how to make that feeling continue for things that truly aren’t moving me.

And as cracked as I likely am, one thing for certain is that I work for my opinion with the veracity of a music historian. And given that I’ve only lived with this album for a month, that’s a pretty stiff challenge.

Better late than never will always be a very true adage, but I don’t want to come back and realize 20 years later that “Parade” is actually rather stunning.

That’s a wasted two decades of music listening, but mostly understandable given a desk full of albums awaiting systematic categorization.

If I’ve learned anything about art appreciation, it’s that anger is not necessarily always a bad emotion and that I’ll continue to make more mistakes than you can possibly shake a stick at.

So, in other words, acknowledging where my ego is encumbering the proceedings often becomes half my battle. And wrestling with one’s self is not always extremely comfortable.

And I’ve been through a lot of the emotions here; from the good, the bad, and the ugly, to the downright mortified with embarrassment.

But I’ve finally learned to post my feelings with a disclaimer until my opinion starts to solidify.

But "PE" will never top "Parade" unless he changes his artwork and starts releasing brilliant extended version again.

Then, and only then, will I be forced into such drastic thought.

1. Chelsae Rodgers - 8
2. Somewhere Here On Earth - 10
3. Future Baby's Mama - 6 (I deducted two points for the shit hop title and I corrected it)
4. Guitar - 6
5. Planet Earth - 5
6. The 1 U Wanna C - 4
7. All The Midnights In The World - 2
8. Lion Of Judah - 2
9. Resolution - 2
10. Mr. Goodnight - 0

1. Chelsea Rodgers-8
2. Planet Earth-7
3. Somewhere Here On Earth-7
4. Guitar-5
5. The One U Wanna C-5
6. Future Baby Mama-5
7. All The Midnights In The World-0
8. Mr. Goodnight-0
9. Lion of Judah-0
10. Resolution-0

1. Somewhere Here On Earth - 10
2. The One U Wanna C - 9
3. Chelsea Rodgers - 9
4. Guitar - 9
5. Lion of Judah - 9
6. Planet Earth - 8
7. All The Midnights In The World - 7
8. Mr. Goodnight - 5
9. Resolution - 5
10. Future Baby Mama - 4
[Edited 8/3/07 17:51pm]

1. somewhere here on earth 8
2. planet earth 6
3. future baby mama 6
4. chelsea rodgers 6
5. mr. goodnight 5
6. guitar 4
7. the one u wanna c 2
8. lion of judah 2
9. resolution 1
10. all the midnights 1

Somewhere Here on Earth - 10
Future Baby Mama - 9
Chelsea Rogers - 9
Mr. Goodnight - 9
Planet Earth - 8
All the Midnights in the World - 7
The One U Wanna C - 6
Guitar - 5
Lion of Judah - 2
Resolution - 2

Brendan said:

very nice reviewing there... although I still can't resolve to bear the idiot hippy campfire singalong that closes the album... too base... too naive... to much Jesus Christ Superstar.

I would blush with embarrassment sitting in that silly circle.

but all in all, it is a great Prince album for pop culture, I hope it is pushed and promoted.

Planet Earth - 10
Guitar - 7
Somewhere Here On Earth - 10
The One U Wanna C - 8.5
Future Baby Mama - 5
Mr. Goodnight - 1
All the Midnights in the World - 9
Chelsea Rodgers - 7
Lion Of Judah - 6
Resolution - 8

3121Addict said:

Chelsea Rodgers - 10
Future Baby Mama - 10
Mr. Goodnight - 9
Resolution - 9
The One U Wanna C - 7
Guitar - 7
Planet Earth - 6
Lion Of Judah - 6
Somewhere here on earth - 6
Al the midnights in the world - 2

1.chelsea rodgers 9
2.all the midnights in the world 8
3.somewhere here on earth 8
4.the one u wanne c 8
5.revelation 7
6.Guitar 6
7.Planet Earth 6
8.Future Baby Mama 6
9.Lion of Judah 5

101 said:

sorry forgot 10. Mr. Goodnight 5

ufoclub said:

Hey, I tip my cap towards you.

And if you ever see me sitting around the campfire singing, it's either a case of mistaken identity or I'm doing it all for the kitsch.

-- I've got major problems with my Editor --
[Edited 8/7/07 18:40pm]

Hey Brendan, I thoroughly enjoyed your review. Quite possibly the best album review I've ever read.

I would pay to read a review of Prince's entire catalog from you.

Accujack said:

Hey, you're much too kind! But I'll lap that up just like a dog being deprived of water during a long hike.

And I think I should be the one paying here.

Heck, I'm just lucky when I don't get a proper beating from my gobbledygook.