This will be a mix of my first thoughts and other things I gathered in my other 2 listens.

Thunder—gave me the vibe of “Thieves in the Temple” from the music itself, just a little bit, though. According to the jacket, he sung all the parts and played all the instruments. With the overall vibe, I wasn’t too surprised that he did all that. It’s a curious way to start the album. The music is unlike anything else on the album, but it grabbed me as being something special.
By far the most impressive song on the album. I don’t quite get what its about yet, but Prince was brilliant in playing all the instruments and putting them together the way he did.

Daddy Pop—made me say “I’ve got no idea what he’s talking about.” I think I went deaf to his vocals for a little while, cuz I couldn’t make sense out of it. I checked out the lyrics and I’m not sure how they connect with the title. All I can assume is that he is Daddy Pop. a whole lot of fun. Again, same as above with the lyrics, but you really don’t need the lyrics to know that the song’s meant 2b fun

Diamonds & Pearls—beautiful as always, good to hear again in its entirety
I also love the use of orchestra-esque music. The last verse is the best of them cuz it’s the least cheesy… not that I have a problem with the lyrics in general.

Cream—kinda odd how it’s after the other, unlike “The Very Best of…” when the opposite is true. I kept thinking about “Girls and Boys” throughout the song cuz I just got that vibe. And I think the themes were pretty similar too. I did have a little fun with it, which hadn’t happened lately, cuz it’s good, but its also kinda weak too.

Strollin’—I could remember one night on Emancipation radio, DJ Jedi played the 5 least popular Prince songs of all time. This one was #4. I could understand why. It had a certain appeal, so I might keep it in the line-up, but I was in disbelief for most of the time. I was like “this is a Prince song? No way…” I’d label it WEAK with very little potential, just blah… but its not so bad that I’m ready to pull the plug just yet. jazzy Prince… kinda weak, but it’s not so terrible that I’d take it out of the line-up

Willing and Able—took a little while to get into, but once I did, I labeled this song as one with potential. It had a certain spark and I’m willing to study it for a while to see what happens. Something about it reminded me of “Do it all night”, the vibe of the music, so I want to see if there’s more to it.

Gett Off—I had been looking 4ward 2 4 a while. (Heh, a few months ago, I wouldn’t have said that). It didn’t quite hit me the way I thought it would, but the beat was really groovy. It was still a hit with me regardless of how good it was.

Walk Don’t Walk—this one, I think has A LOT of potential to become one of my favorites on the album. It’s one of those “Pop Life” type songs where he encourages us to follow our own path. That’s something I always like 2 c from him. I was getting so into the beat that I wished it didn’t end so soon.

Jughead—well… you can pretty much guess my answer 2 this one. I did try to get into the beat a little, but it was just a royal (haha… no pun intended, I promise) mess. And probably some of the stupidest lyrics I’ve ever heard in my life. How & why he came up with this, we’ll probably never know. But I’m personally hoping it’s one of those tracks he cut in record time. It’d be even worse if he spent so much time putting together a song nearly everyone hates.

Money Don’t Matter 2 Night—always one of my favorites and will remain so. Plus it was a really good break after the royal mess (heh heh), a big relief. What else can I say? I just love his voice in this song and the backing vocals in some areas just hit so right.

Push—Song #5 of the “least popular Prince songs ever” list, if I remember correctly. It’s more or less a party for the NPG and each of them show off their talents and put in their own voice, etc. Call me crazy, but I’m willing to give it a few more listens b4 making my decision to cut it out 4 good. Even if the genre’s all wrong 4 me, it’s not as excoriating as Jughead, so that counts 4 something. oddly I enjoy it, even though it’s not my area… it’s a little something different

Insatiable—it took a little while, but after getting to the part where he starts with the “sweet talk,” he got my attention. I’ll review it a little more, but I think it has potential. It might even make it into that mix I mentioned if I like it enough.

Live 4 Love—something I’ll have to look into more cuz I’m not quite sure what its about. What could he possibly mean by it? So many questions about this track.love the instrumentals in this… especially that opening guitar solo, WOW… other than that, I didn’t get too much out of it this time around

Conclusion:
I felt the vibe of the music and could pick up the music above anything else. And it sounds like he was in his element when he put all those instruments together (or told the NPG how to fix them together). Maybe diamonds & pearls are code for different kinds of beautiful music… or the diamonds are the beautiful shine of the music and the pearls are the lyrics. So I’ll just add some of my previous opinions from the past 2 reviews I did.

I'll let u guys know how it goes. I haven't gotten much out of the lyrics cuz I've had all these distractions (like with school coming back and stuff). Maybe when I get a moment's piece at the computer lab, I'll get back to u on the lyrics. I just figure that the music itself is unlike anything I heard b4. Still don't think it'll win any awards, though.

I am not so sure I understand your meaning behind the word, "potential,"
On music that is already pressed. Basically, live 4 love is great, and
secondly, "PUSH" has so much hidden rock, and there's no louder way...
2 TMTTT!

Tame said:

anything I labeled with the word "potential" basically means it'll become one of my favorites on the album... or at least I have a feeling it will.

I'm becoming more and more interested in the album.
It's just dealing with the distractions that makes it difficult for me to see how I really feel about it, like with the lyrics and such.

I can say right now, though, that Thunder is definitely one of my favorites, if not my favorite. But I haven't gotten thru all the songs yet today

Oh DreamyPop...It's nice to search for a favorite...off of each record...
I can't do it...I can seem to like a certain feeling over another, yet,
how important other songs are to tie something together.

Tame said:

I did that with the album as well... and 1999, I pointed out that Automatic would most likely become one of my favorites...and i was right.

A little bit fragmented, but I listened thru the whole album again... and I must say that its getting better all the time.
The last time I said an album wouldn't win any awards, it became one of my current favorites... that's starting to happen all over again.

But it IS Prince, right? It's nearly impossible to be completely disappointed with anything he (or his alter ego) dished out. 3121 has moments, but they've gotten a little less impressive with time gone by. Might never get those back.

Here are my rankings for the tracks.

1. Thunder
2. Live 4 Love
3. Insatiable
4. Money Don't Matter 2night
5. Gett Off
6. Push
7. Diamonds & Pearls
8. Walk Don't Walk
9. Daddy Pop
10. Cream
11. Willing & Able
12. Strollin'

All of them have their moments, though. But I think Thunder, Live 4 Love, and Insatiable just have a lot of awesomeness to them.
Daddy Pop, Gett Off & Push are a lot of fun.

I finally got a moment's piece and could get thru these songs with an open mind. According to Prince of Paisley Park, he cut & recorded a bunch of the tracks in record time... if that's true, then he's really peaking here. I can just tell that he's at the brink of something here.

I'd rank it along the lines of ATWIAD and Controversy, though, cuz they're all really good albums, but they're not exceptional like Purple Rain, 1999, TGE & Come are (to me anyway)
[Edited 9/5/07 15:51pm]

I don't find the last line in Diamonds cheezy at all...
I think it's rather creamy and sweet, but not as SWEET...
As the Crystal Ballroom Blitz I'll be havin over at the Hard Rock Park,

Yeah you're right. It isn't cheesy at all compared 2 the past two verses.

I guess u could say that the album has a certain "elegence" in some of the tracks. D&P and Insatiable come to me in that case.

But Thunder is still like WOW 2 me... and Live 4 Love holds a lot of mystery 4 me too... just trying to decipher what I think he means by it. That's the part of the ride I don't think I've had on any of the albums I've picked up lately.

I'm back at his more cryptic material.
Dirty Mind, Controversy, and 1999 didn't have as much as did... and there is quite a bit of his cryptic nature in the years he was called

IN THE TOP 10 PRINCE ALBUMS

so u actually like Tony's rappin in the songs?? Tony is the main reason y i dislike this album.

I don't actually mind Push. It's terribly dated and Rosie Gaines should never rap... but other than that... some nice funky guitar and I like the strings too.

Most of the album blows though. Could you imagine having your iPod on shuffle when you have some friends round and then Daddy Pop or Jughead comes on? And I fucking hate Cream as well. Such an over-rated pile of shit. How that ever became a hit is beyond me...

went downhill from here , imo
first album i didn't really care for
however there's a few nice songs

i don't like Cream either
[Edited 9/6/07 4:59am]

the songs are ok and some really good moments but the album basically sucks

well, I'm sure u guys know me by now.

When I pick up an album 4 the first time, I'll tell how I feel. And most of the time, I'll go on and on about how great it is. When I click with something, it sounds great and will for some time. It's just when I go back to everything else when I figure... maybe its not as great as [fill in the blank].

It was ok 4 me at first, but certain songs make it stand out 4 me right now.

It could either go one of 2 ways.
I can either develop a huge dislike 4 it all together and rank at the bottom of my rankings with 3121.
Or I'll still think its a reasonable good album, but not exceptional, so I'll rank it with Controversy & ATWIAD. 2 albums 4 me that aren't exceptional, but they have certain moments that make them stand out 4 me.

Musically, he's very prolific here... but I haven't gotten much time with the lyrics as of yet, so I can't say 4 sure where I stand on them. But when things get a little cryptic, that's when my attention gets caught.