Starting in '04, P seemed determined to regain as much of his former pop glory as possible. It was a big year for him, and he's pretty much been doing it big (for somebody who was counted out) ever since. And while it's been contended (by old and true school loyalists, myself included) that these are among the worst of his releases, I must admit there are some gems amidst the filler.

My question is what album do ya'll find the most solid throughout?
Musicology
3121 (my vote)
Planet Earth

lol! as I hit the last key, "Raspberry Beret" came on vh1 soul.

I love Musicology! Its one album that I can listen to from beginning to end, no skipping. Thats a rare treat nowadays.

3121

i think musicology is the most solid, but 3121 has the highest peaks on it. planet earth might be the most interesting, but also it feels the most slapped-together.

Planet Earth!!!!

3121,best collection of songs IMO some real killer, musicology starts of great but hits a slump,reflection could have saved it if it were more like the live version he did with wendy. Planet earth is good with some pretty good songs but nothing outstanding on it.

PE.

The other two were pooped from the same butthole as Rave and Emancipation

Planet Earth-they just keep getting better and better 4 me.

3121 for me, but they all have there great points. though i think reflection and lion of judah from the other 2 are 2 of his best songs (though to be fair, his best songs ever list for me is pretty damn long)
there is no period of prince where i find his music is better, in fact, rainbow children is the only album by him i have no time for. i think his last 3 cds have been of the same good quality as his output from most of his career.

Planet Earth definitely...

The flow of this album is simply amazing, each song (with one exception) was placed exactly where it should be and they were all the right length.
And the best part is that the album doesn't feel dated like the two b4 it.

Musicology is too old-school
and 3121 is too modern at times (the first half mainly).

Musicology brings the old-school music back and Prince goes back to his old tricks, playing most of the instruments himself like on the first albums he did. Then he introduces a little bit of class and sophstication into each album afterwards. "Get on the Boat" sounds like Musicology material revamped, and The Dance paved the way for Somewhere here on Earth. Then Chelsea Rodgers sounds like revamped Musicology material again, but probably to a greater level than "Get on the Boat".

But I just love Planet Earth. From the first listen and it hasn't failed me yet. And it has one of my favorite elements in Prince albums that the previous 2 lack... it has an inner storyline that spreads across three tracks in the middle of the album and each one builds up on the next in the best possible way (Future Baby Mama thru All the Midnights).

Reminds me of the Computer Blue-When Doves Cry storyline in Purple Rain, the Automatic-Something in the Water storyline in 1999... even the Come-Space storyline in Come.

Planet Earth is a tight/homogeneous project that reminds me of Come, one of my favorite albums. The other 2 have their charm as well, and later on, I'll write on what its so special about the other two.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

Well said! I couldn't agree more...

Musicology

Musicology definitely.

Musicology = Pretty good
3121 = Some ok cuts
Planet Earth = Steaming pile of dung

3121 is the only one I can listen to all the way through (not that all the songs are good).

3121

The one with Black Sweater and Te Amo Cortozone on it.
[Edited 10/31/07 13:36pm]

Lotta 3121 love here. Musicology was OK, but too contrived with the "throwback" feel. That and dude played like 3 songs from the album on the tour. :confused: PE is alright, but I've only listened to it from top to bottom a handful of times.

NouveauDance said:

FuNkeNsteiN said:

@ doo doo

All three of them would make 1 great CD.

3 great ballads from each.

Techno-drum machine sound and live-band sound.



My LinnDrum Samples:

http://www.zshare.net/aud...197b344a5/

http://www.zshare.net/aud...6451d6a1b/

Edited by Linn4Days@yahoo.com
[Edited 10/31/07 13:26pm]

Linn4days said:

Planet Earth is perfectly fine and cohesive on its own. In fact, its a great deal better as an all-around album.

I have mixed Musicology and 3121 together on a few occasions. And I gotta say that doing Musicology start to finish and then play 3121 in reverse order (starting with "Get on the Boat" and ending with "3121"), it really shows a progression of music in general.

I've said all I can say and want to say for Planet Earth's sake.

Musicology has a homogeneous sound and runs relatively smooth throughout. Organic music is its strong suit because I prefer the organic sound to the technologically advised type sounds found in 3121. And there is still some heart 2b found in the tracks. "A Million Days," "Call my Name," and "Reflection" are his three best in that department. And Reflection is the perfect ending for an album (much better than Resolution for PE).

3121 feels like a rollercoaster ride because of the quality of the music. It peaks a couple of times, but it doesn't flow freely as it should. Haha, in fact, it feels like a bunch of new songs he wrote that got mushed together into one disc. There isn't a real consistency. And actually, if there is any consistency, I only see it when I play thru it as I said above, each track gets progressively more modern sounding. The high points for me are "Love" "The Word" and "The Dance"

Tough question.

Musicology is consistently good, but not exactly daring or exciting - Still, with fantastic cuts like "Call My Name," "A Million Days," and "If I Was the Man in Your Life," I think I can forgive the slower tempo of the record.

3121 starts off great - A killer run of 4 totally different, exciting tunes before the album plunges off a cliff into confused and occasionally awful waters. "Te Amo Corazon" and "Lolita" are highlights, but nearly every song after "Black Sweat" just smacks of uninspired songwriting and, in some cases, obnoxious JW propaganda.

Planet Earth is a tough one to rate. It falls off in the second half, much like 3121 does, but wonderful songs like "Somewhere Here on Earth" and "Futurebabymama" carry the day until the quality starts to dwindle.

Overall: Musicology.

PE and 3121 have higher highs, but Musicology never sinks to the lows found on either album. Each album has its gems though, a quality that I definitely try not to overlook regarding these records in particular.
[Edited 10/31/07 23:15pm]

Planet Earth!!!

3121

Musicology and PE have one or two decent tracks each. 3121 is a complete album.

Musicology

3121

Anxiety said:

Hmmmm.... you hit the nail on the head there.

I've finally bought an Ipod and busy rediscovering albums I haven't listened to in a while, one of which was Musicology. And I forgot just how much I like it.

There are tracks on all three albums that I absolutely love but I think my overall vote goes to Musicology. Maybe.

3121

I dont have any interest in any of them..If I had a gun pointed to my head..Id say 3121 had the most memorable jams..
Black sweat,Lolita,3121,Love..there's a handful of ok stuff on there..Black sweat Live with Prince playin the bass is the funkiest he's gotten in ages on a recent jam !

Planet Earth, definitely.

Musicology is consistent but sounds cautious and lacks energy.

3121 has strong sounds but I don't enjoy the electronic production, the album is badly sequenced and has some poor songs (I&C - ugh!)

Planet Earth has the strongest songs, has great energy, and is excellently sequenced. Easily the best!

With the exception of Lolita, my vote is for 3121. It just clicks with me. My second choice is Planet Earth.

AvramsDad said:

he played more musicology songs on the musicology tour than he played 3121 songs in vegas or planet earth songs in london