Not exactly the experience I was hoping 4, but it's hard to really be positive with all this negativity lately. When u reply, please keep things positive. I want to bring some happiness/good spirits back to the boards.

Planet Earth, the track is pure magic... just so alive. All of his instrumentals are brilliant and his guitar solo really comes from a deeper core within him. His heart was definitely in this when he wrote it. And I also love the back-up vocals (courtesy of Wendy & Lisa).

Guitar, contagious. I always gotta tap my foot or something when I listen to this. It's just so much fun, one of my favorites.

Somewhere here on Earth, goes deeper into his heart and brings out his inner desires for his love life. His falsetto kinda gets to me a little because he sounds so lonely. Or it might just be the background music. Sounds like something from an old B&W movie that one would put on a record player.

The One u wanna c, another fun track. Not quite as exciting as guitar, but the music just reminds me of something I've heard b4. I can't remember where, sounds like he's down at the boardwalk or something.

Future Baby Mama, I got into this a little bit more than I did in the beginning. Sounds like it could have fit well in 90's R&B radio, its that type of song. I gotta listen 2 the lyrics more closely, though.

Mr. Good-night, this is where I started to cheer up again. The music reminds me a little of "Space", but overall it just really works 4 me. Of course, this is one of those Prince tracks where he cranks up the charm... and I'm always a sucker for his charm, no matter how he does it.

All the Midnights, wish it were longer to extend the mood set by the previous track. But it's kinda "cute" (omg, I said something he did was cute, so lame) that he used that "It's a Wonderful Life" reference. But the song reminds me of what he did with "The Morning Paper", like with the vocals, the beginning just reminded me of that.

Chelsea Rodgers, I think I turned a deaf ear 2. I get so hooked on his charm that it's hard to break away from it just like that. I respect what he does with it, but I'm rarely in the mood for him talking about someone other than him in duet-format, especially after he does something like the past 2 tracks. I don't think he ever really made a trilogy of charming trax on any of his albums, he always cuts away after the 2nd.

Lion of Judah, I knew where he was coming from until the 2nd verse. Then he lost me. That's the only problem I have. But I love the back-up vocals here and it has a really good beat to it. Reminds me of what he did with "The One u wanna c"

Resolution, haha, I almost got teary-eyed here cuz it was the last song. But yeah, it's a very good concept, but maybe Lion of Judah (or even Planet Earth itself) would have been a better ending.

The album feels like magic to me, even with the negativity I've seen going round the boards. It catches my attention with a lot of the tracks (unlike 3121, which doesnt grab me much anymore). It sounds fresh and new, but the material doesn't sound dated like Musicology (too old-school) or 3121 (too modernized). It's a perfect balance of the two. And I say 4 me, this ranks around the same level as ATWIAD, but its just a bit better than that.

i echo alot of what u say ... i hear ya ! i think this album is the best in a long time - largely due to Wendy and Lisa's imput but also i think the beginning /middle/end all work ! The first song and the last song - imo- is pretty close to classic prince !

Where he slightly loses me is at "futurebabymama" and "mr goodnight" --- catchy - but - reminds me of Emancipation period songs ...

True to Prince fans - you can always find ones that like "Purple Rain" better than "letsgocrazy" and vice versa ...

Thanx. At least I got one reply...

Are u guys really sick of this album and have nothing good 2 say?

Cuz I made this as brief as I possibly could. U know me 4 my longest posts. It's not a NOVEL, haha.

Wendy & Lisa really helped a lot with this, so maybe that's why I like it as much as I do.

U R just a little late to the party...reviews are now old news for this CD

I'm still loving it. Stopped playing it for a short time after the O2 concert and went back to the hits and stuff.

But now I've returned to it, I'm enjoying it more than I was originally. Lion Of Judah is heading more and more towards Prince classic for me.

Future Baby Mama is still the weakest song, though. I like it, but don't love it.

2020 said:

Gimme a break, I was barred from the site when the album came out. Long story.

I wanted 2 bring back some positivity so I returned 2 the album... one which hasn't let me down yet. Only listened to it 4 times so far... but I think it was good that I wasn't here for the whole debating over the album... I got to form my opinions on it on my own without any opinions to affect mine.



Thanx 4 ur input. I've gotten very little so far.

I'll be on the album for another day or two, so I'll keep checking back.

I love Planet Earth! His ability to make music have grown and matured beautifully over the years. I have been a fan for a very long time...I fell in love with his work back in 1982, and I can't understand it when I hear people saying that his newer efforts just pale in comparison to his older material. Sure, his newer material is missing all of that blatant raw sexual energy of youth..(ya can't stay a kid forever..even if ya still look like one! ) but it's been very skillfully replaced with a more subtle, sexy mature seduction! I don't know about everyone else but I definitely hear a huge difference..a positive one at that, and to me his latest efforts are well rounded and artistically complex.

I love all things that are different...I've said it before and I'll say it again! "Thank God for change!"
[Edited 9/18/07 11:04am]

Obsidian said:

Another great review. Thanx.
It might be because its so new, but I really can't bring myself to come it with his past work. It's not better or worse... it's just something else.
Something that I happen to enjoy hearing.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

I must admit it took me until the third or fourth time of listening before I really got into this album. I guess it's because, with any prince album, I wanted it to feel like a classic straight away. It is now.
For those who have ranked Future Baby Mama lowest, I think they got it wrong because it's a beautiful song and one of the albums finest.
I love the Purple Rain feel to the last track (because of Wendy&Lisa I suppose).. His guitar playing throughout the album is superb. Riffs from the soul. Postivity

Planet Earth is still an album I can play from start to finish even when I didn't plan on listening to the whole thing. Prince has an energy in this album that I haven't heard from him in a while. Also, it's the most melodic Prince album in like forever. I've loved stuff that's come after his so-called "glory years" 1978-1995 or 1988 depending on who you talk to but there is something different. I haven't heard a ballad as beautiful as Somewhere Here on Earth in years. The man still has it and Planet Earth is the proof.

DPR, can I just say thank you for trying to bring some light in this otherwise dark and dreary part of prince.org. Your thread was like sunshine and I'm being serious. It's been WAY to negative in the Prince: Music and More section and with a thread like this we need to be reminded of why we come to the org. It's all for the music. Plain and simple. Much props to you DPR.

I'll have to remember to pick up this album sometime.


BTW, as a Puerto Rican,
when I say "pick up",
I mean "shoplift".

For those of you who may not be down with the street lingo.

When I say "be down",
I mean "got shot".

purplecam said:

Awww... thanx so much.

That's the whole reason I started this thread. To be positivity back. I'm glad somebody got a little sunshine out of it. It's times like these when Prince needs a champion/cheering section... and I'd take the fall 4 him anytime.
I agree with a lot that you said too.
There's a certain energy in this album that's like Magic. I haven't heard anything quite like this. So I really can't compare it with the other albums because it's not "greater or better, it's just something else". I might have been trippin' today when I listened... but I couldn't believe it was actually a Prince album. It's very different than anything else he's done b4.

In fact, the first time I listened, I thought it had a newly found enlightenment he gained from his "religious studies" and he's definitely peaking here.

About the best I can say is that I don't always skip the tracks when they come up on "random." (Okay, I always skip Planet Earth and Resolution. The rest...it depends.)

about the best i can say is i will be happy if i never hear this album again

About the best I can say is "mmmfffg".

Right now, I've got an entire jelly-filled Crispy Creme donut in my mouth.

I luv me's some pastry treats.

sorry I'm late Dreamy. I didn't know you were posting a new thread. I would have come sooner. Don't hate me!

I like what you have to say abt the album, it does have a special magic to it. Though I don't like what you said abt Lion of Judah- that's my favorite song on the album!!

I like Chelsea Rodgers, but I wouldn't mind hearing a lil bit less of Shelby. Not that she isn't good, she just seems so...loud.

Is it just me, or does Resolution sound a bit like a lullaby?

Can we agree to disagree?

tznekbsbfrvr said:

Hey, better late than never.
There's been so much negativity here that I had to start something 2 lighten things up around here. And I think it's helped a little.

Chelsea Rodgers is kind of a bore to me... I mean, I think I only really liked it once or twice.
Resolution sounds a little... umm... let's just say I kinda wish the album ended on a stronger note. But w/e. He believed in taking that direction, so I trust his judgement.

And wow... Lion of Judah really surprised me this time. I mean, at first I really didn't get it. Now, the pieces slowly coming together. Just after the 2nd verse, I don't have a clue what he's talking about, haha... but I think it would have been a really good ending for the album. Resolution, cuz of the title, I guess fits. But I'm really getting to like that song. Like I said above, love the back-up vocals. And the music reminds me of what he did in "The One u wanna c"... kinda sounds like he's cruising on the Boardwalk. It'll just takes a few more listens to get what he's saying. The Bible reference kinda threw me off, haha.

i love this album. its really grown on me. The 1 U Wanna C is still my fav

the only songs i dont like are All The Midnights In The World and Resolution. theyre soo weak and pretty much terrible.

Guitar is ok. i like the music and vocals but the lyrics are really lame and turn me off from the song.

but anyway, i give the album 8/10

InsatiableCream said:

I think that's about right.

Instead of calling favorites, I rank my albums on "levels".

My top 4 are 1999, TGE, Come and PR. All of which I rank between 9-10/10.

Then I put ATWIAD and Controversy next and they're roughly 8/10 as well.
But I'd say that Planet Earth is slighty better than those 2.

I listened to it tonight before my friends and I went to a Shag show.

Thanks for the thread, now I feel like I have something to say! It was getting scary with all the Prince bashing the past week!

And great suggestion because I was just stuck on a couple of songs for the longest time and when I read your thread earlier I felt like listening to the whole CD all the way through. Even the songs I thought I didn't like so much seemed to flow better now and I do love it!

I particularly find Lion of Judah interesting, because it seems to hold a clue to the cover art (and S.H.O.E too). Does anyone know if the shirt he's wearing is a "gypsy" shirt? People mentioned before that it was a corset *giggle* but after I heard Lion of Judah I think it could be a gypsy shirt.

What is the meaning of a gypsy bandit though? Is it like some kind of code for something else? My interpretation is that it is 2 lovers who have roamed the earth without a real place (or a person) to belong (to).

Dunno, I wasn't a fan that followed through the years so I'm clueless as to some meanings (but I tend to have a wild imagination and make things up on my own).

PurpleKnight said:

Yeah.

Too narrow, too generic, not thoughtful enough. And I'll add: not very well observed.

For someone as sensual as Prince, it's startling how sterile his imagery has become.

Take the title track. It's an environmental song, about caring for the natural world, that spends most of its time in abstractions. That's not ironic. That's a complete failure of imagination. A song called planet earth should describe the birds and foliage, the wind and the seasons, it should be entirely invested in nature and organisms and the senses, not in religious dogma. The song even FEELS unnatural.

And that, in a nutshell, may be the problem with Prince music these days. He's focused too narrowly on his truth and his agenda, while turning a blind eye on the world around him. Which would explain his YouTube lawsuit. That's something only a guy living in a cave, totally cut off from the currents of everyday living, would do.

Dude needs to open his eyes and observe the world better.

padawan said:

I can totally see where you are coming from with this but part of what I like with the songs here are that they are simplistic. It's not hard to undersstand where he's coming from. I'm not much of a lyrics person but the only song where I go is Chelsea Rodgers. I like the song but the lyrics are just plain silly. Aside from that, it's cool.

And not to knock anyone who's into lyrics but why must Prince be deep on every song he makes? Why should his age play a role? And if he's not being deep or thought provoking why must he be funny? This is pop music, it's not supposed to be so deep, even if the subject matter is serious. That's just my .
[Edited 9/19/07 3:44am]

one last thought . it has come out that Prince had been playing alot of Beatles albums before doing this album . who knows the truth - but ... if it is - i personally think it showed ! catchy tunes. simplistic messages (love - not war) etc ... i liked it !

Obsidian said:

I like how u out that.

Obsidian said:

Sorry for typo. I like how u put that.

purplecam said:

Yes prpos to u DPR.

4bjb said:

Thanks guys. I'm glad this thread was at least active while I was sleeping. It's good to hear the input from you guys.

The ones who were talking about the simplistic lyrics... ok, u made ur point. I see where you're coming from.
But it doesn't really tarnish the project for me. And Lion of Judah is already got me scratching my head enough as it is.

It's good to hear some of u pick up the album again and put your thoughts.
The music itself is the real magic. His guitar sounds so alive in so many of the tracks (especially the first 2). THe best thing for me was that there was really no sad/angry point in the album (3121 had "The Dance", which was good, but a bit on the sad side).

Well, yesterday "Somewhere here on Earth" singled itself out as that type of track. It makes you just want to hold him and say everything's going 2b okay. It's sad that someone like him is so lonely and has no one.

I've been a little off lately. Not just because of the bashing that went on, but I think I might have played PR enough to last me a few more months. But 3x over a week or so will do that.
I listened to "Mr. Good-night" and I was like "oh yeah, this is a Prince album." Like I forgot for a moment who he really was and stuff. I mean like my heart forgot who he was. But he always kinda throws me 4 a loop when he says the line, "all around the world they call me Prince..."

Like "his name is Prince, Prince?" Strangely, that name doesn't quite fit... but then again, I guess I was so used to 80's Prince that I kinda forgot what Prince @ present was like.