Prince is a remarkable artist, but it seems that he has lost the ability to make an album that is solid from start to finish, like "Purple Rain," "1999,"and Parade and etc. On his new CD " Planet Earth" it starts off strong with the title track and then with "Guitar", then you wonder why week songs like "Lions of Judah" and "All the Midnights in the World." And Prince has followed the same patterns on past albums "3121," Musicolgy," "New Power Soul" just to name a few.

SS4GOKU said:

I guess it a mater of opinion because I was about to agree with you until you said Planet Earth starts of stromg.....the title track is awful and when you se eteh lyrics written down you realise just how un-complex his work has become in recent years. I honestly used to write better lyrics in my highschool band that that track

I love "Planet Earth" so I really don't get the hate for that album at all. Sure some of the lyrics seemed a bit uninspiring but I still think PE was a vast improvement from "Musicology" and I even liked it better than "3121". I think fans expecting another "Sign O' The Times", Purple Rain, etc. are just setting themselves up for dissapointment. I can't think of one artist who has made consistently great albums their entire career really.

Anyway though, Prince has given us plenty of great music over the years and the fact that he's still able to make decent-good albums and is still a must see live act really says something about him as an artist. Anything he does now is just icing on the cake for me.

NO! I don't think that Prince has lost his ability! The extreme opposite..actually! Although, I think it might be that some of his fans have lost or never had the ability to be flexible enough to enjoy and follow a beautifully maturing artist through his career!

I don´t think he´s lost it, and even when I think he has, he comes up with something really unexpected and proves me wrong ( I could list at least three dozens of great songs that came out in the last ten years).

This being said, I think that Planet Earth does indeed have a lot of poorly written lyrics on it but I think the fans are quite divided here because one man´s meat seems to be another man´s poison....I for instance think that Lion Of Judah is one of the strongest songs on Planet Earth and I always skip Guitar, Chelsea Rodgers and The One U Wanna C.
The lyrics to the title song are a bit too simple for my taste, just like Dear Mr.Man, which also came off quite superficial...but I doubt he´s lost anything.

One important factor that never gets mentioned is the lack of competition. Prince did not really copy or emulate sounds and styles and songs in the 80s but he did incorporate certain elements of current trends into his music, like Funk, New Wave, Rock and Soul....all these genres are kinda dead these days and the genres he does incorporate into his sound don´t really fit ( HipHop, some lame attempts at Techno, House and Reaggae-Pop, etc.)

I think the variety of styles and the pressure or challenge of the 80s is missing these days, and he goes waaaaay back into the 70s by covering a lot of old school Funk in his aftershows, which is cool....

Sure, there are still people like the Foo Fighters, Common, Erykah Badu, Van Hunt, D Angelo...but that´s about it. And they all look up to him and are hardly a true challenge. You can only be as good as your competition, and ,as Prince said on the Truth album, his only competition is him in the past.

What would a 1999/Purple Rain or SOTT era Prince think of the songs that a Musicology/3121/Planet Earth Prince releases ?

Maybe someone should build a timemachine and go back to the 80s and let young Prince listen to some of his 1998-2007 era music.

Hey!..I LOve 'Lion of Judah'!

KoolEaze said:

your brain is on point ! ...

This is a good album! not a great album, the original post is bang on!!...take off the last 2 tracks and a bit of tinkering and it could have been great??

I don't he's lost his ability to do anything, you're still looking for his old style of music and I don't think he's even trying to go back there again!

in the 80s prince was eager. over the years u loose that.

i think it was john coltrane the one who said that after 10 good years ur creativity diminishes to the point u dont know where to go.

even miles davis was doing some basic shit music in late 80s mixing rap hip hop with his solos.


in every album theres people who hate songs that others find great.
[Edited 8/27/07 2:46am]

why do ppl hate on lion of judah and resolution... the best two tracks on the cd, apart from Chelsea rodgers that is

FunkyBrotha said:

Well numbr one his voice sounds strained on Lion of Judah, and what the Hell is he talking about anyway? That song sucks.

Mh.....that aren´t really news...in my opinion.

Actually there are two or three really good works on each of the last albums.
But....there isn´t this refreshing feeling you got when you listend to the "old" albums one after another....I think the break was after "Emancipation"....


And by the way.....What the hell are people thinking about "Guitar" ?!?
It is calculable, drab and so simple.....sorry....I doubt that the recording took longer than 10 minutes.....

"Planet Earth" (song) is more Prince-stylish....gloomy...a little dissonant....okay..except the unfortunate synth-part....
[Edited 8/27/07 3:55am]
[Edited 8/27/07 3:56am]

shockadelica1969 said:

so what? technically can be very mediocre but can make people feel a certain way and thats what matters with rock'n roll.

it seems prince just feels like having fun. not a huge effort in the studio and lots of hits played on his shows. hes a legend and acts as one. in the 80s he was so anxious to demonstrate his genius. we all know he could have made purple rain II, III and IV every 4 years but he didnt.

he could have made a one huge great genius album with stuff from his last cds.

There has been no fall off in the quality of his work IMO
Just because certain artist sell a lot of CDs doesn't mean their work is of good quality. Just look at the top 10 charts over the last decade and a half

electrorock said:

Yes...that´s my opinion too...
[Edited 8/27/07 5:29am]

SS4GOKU said:

It's not a matter of loss of ability, so much as it is of self-censorship. His last several albums have been beyond bland, aside from a few scattered playful moments, lacking of any spark. We can't expect him to duplicate the impact of an album like Purple Rain or Sign o' the Times, but it'd be nice if he'd release something that approaches them in quality, range and musicianship.

As for every single track on an album being good, Prince fucked that up way back in 1986 with the "Parade" album. It's 2007 now and I'm more than used to getting a few shitty tracks mixed in with good ones.

But then again, what would a "1999/Purple Rain" era Prince think of "Sign O The Times". Prince was a completely different man by then. Prince being different from his old self in 2007 is nothing new. I've been through this before beginning as far back as 1985.

Prince recorded 37 songs for this project. He just happened to pick some of the wrong songs to put on the final cd. Add to that the awful 'edited' versions and you end up with PE.

SS4GOKU said:

actually when I listened to all his albums each year they came out they all seemed to have weak songs after strong beginnings... ALL HIS ALBUMS!

Purple Rain's weak songs on my first listen were: Take Me With You, Computer Blue, Baby I'm a Star. These did not compare to the remaining tracks and sounded flimsy. (The movie, and concert versions helped me to like these songs much more) Parade was a huge offender on first listen: Christopher Tracy's Parade (right up front!), Life Can Be So Nice, Venus De Milo, Do You Lie...
[Edited 8/27/07 9:25am]

ufoclub said:

OMG the first listen of parade was a nitemare!

and look what it became over the years. I went from purple rain direct to SOTT and with lovesexy i started to enjoy parade and ATWIAD

Listening to SOTT 4 the very first time wasn´t even easier...Parade....I allways listen to Girls&Boys...I didn´t like KISS..nor Mountains...but in this way most of these albums became some jewel cases to me...everytime something new. A new part in this song, one detail in another song. I miss this feeling....
Right now I´m listening to Black Sweat and Love...Chelsea Rodgers and Mr. Goodnight,..,Planet Earth except the keyboard-musical-like part....but the other tracks...no way.
[Edited 8/27/07 11:41am]

Prince has been releasing music for 30 years. To continue to expect the 'inspired' (ohh..how i hate that term) body of work which he did during his prime years... early 80s to mid 90s is... simply unfair to him as an artist... and expecting too much as a fan.

To still be getting 'relevant' music which stirs discussion.. fuels debates... gives us something to smile about amongst the major crap being made today and keeps us on our toes waiting for... whats next?.... 30 years into a career is phenomenal.

I am hard pressed to come up with any musician who has been labled 'genius' who has continued to make awe inspring music over a 30 year span.

Stating opinions about the albums and such is fine... but peeps need to stop making thier opinions as if they are etched in stone facts. The truth is...
some people can't get out of the prime years and considers anything made since.. to be garbage.

But a lot of us have moved away from those years and appreciate the music which has been made since for what it is... good.. quality music. Which when I say this... is an opinion in itself.. but I would say it is a supported opinion because even those who cant get out of the past... and bash every thing he makes now-a-days... for some reason are still fans and still acquiring the music and still will make it a topic of conversation.

We got the cake from Prince in the 80s and mid 90s... everything else has been icing. His out put has been steady and to aot of fans... over-all good... if not great. at least to those fans who have stppped living in the prime years.

So has Prince lost his ability? No!

He just has made enough masterpieces to cover several careers already... and I'm not expecting another at this point in his career. I just want good new music... and I'm getting that. If he makes another Purple Rain... 1999... Sign 'O The Times... or any other album generaly considered masterpieces... I would be pleasently thrilled.

Oh Lord, I was absolutely furious when I heard it for the first time. I had heard "Kiss" on the radio for about a month, loved it, and thought the "Old Prince" was back. Then I got that album home and heard that classical shit on it.

joseph8 said:

I so agree with you on everything you just said.

I don't understand tha hate on Parade. I loved it first listen.I was glad Prince was moving forward with his sound.There was so much funk and so much more.

fantasticjoy said:

agreed..its still my all time Fav Prince album !

The only things more endlessly fascinating than this question are the answers!! It appears that most of us agree that Prince hasn't had a through-and-through "solid" album since Sign O the Times. Generally, though, it appears to me that we can't agree on what are the most solid songs on each album since!

There's always a little something (or a lot of something) for everybody with each new release. That's what I love about Prince and his creativity. I may not like everything, but I like a lot. And I eagerly await each new release. I will gladly wade through the stuff I don't like for the gems.

As Prince said, he is never going to recapture the "Purple Rain" vibe or the "1999" era. He continues to grow as an artist and he continues to experiment.

Keep 'em coming Prince. It "ain't nothin' but a muffin," and I know you "gotta a lotta butter to go."

Bishop31 said:

YEAH! Lion of Judah is actually one the stronger tracks. Along with the 1 u wanna c, guitar and future baby mama!

Planet earth is not a strong album and similar to the collection of singles that were to be the chocolate invasion, and slaughterhouse.

3121 is actually a very strong album from beginning to end with some major stand out tracks, namely black sweat, fury, the dance, te amo corezon and lolitta!!!

Musicology was a bit harder to judge as it seems to be consistent in quality from beginning to end, however there is no single track that stands out above the rest.

Rave un2 the joy fantastic was also a quality album, made even better in its remix incarnation of rave in2....!

But let's get real. How much music can one man produce? The amount of albums, and associated stuff he has done is incredible, not to mention and take into account the 100's of tracksavailable on bootleg!!!

He's a musical powerhouse!!! Prince is Music!!!!!