Hey,
Does anyone know someone (who was not a big Prince fan) who got Planet Earth free in the newspaper - what was their opinion on the album, did they (dis)like it? I know one guy who got it and quite enjoyed it,it took him a while to get into it but in the end he gave it the thumbs up.

Smillan said:

Well, My girlfriend who is not into Prince at all. She seems to have had the "he's so weird and freaky but I know/heard he was talented" image of him without really ever knowing his music.

In fact she's heard the hits from the 80's and 90's and now says, "WOW! That's Prince?!?! I like that song. What else has he done?"

So, when I bought "Planet Earth" she gave it a listen to and after the 1st pass likes it a lot.

She says that it's different but very good and loves "Guitar", "The One U Wanna C", "Chelsea Rodgers" and "Resolution" as some of her favs. Now she is starting to listen to "3121" and "Musicology" and so far she is enjoying them.

It's funny cuz now I tease her about liking Prince after about 3 - 4 months of her teasing me that I like Prince.

She now hears what the man is about and can see on her own what a brilliant musician and song writer he is.

She also loves the fact that there is a lot of musical flavor in Prince's songs. She is a die hard fan of Latin, salsa and world music. Not much on top 40. So she digs the Latin feel in some his songs.


So...in conclusion we talked about PRINCE today in comparison to Star Wars....

Most of "the kids" that grew up with the original Star Wars Trilogy from 1977-1982 do not like the current Prequels Episodes 1-3. They feel as if it's not the same; it doesn't have Luke, Han and Lea.

BUT, the kids growing up today LOVE the new Prequels and often look at the original as boring or not the same. Most of today's kids love Jar Jar Binks but the older folks from back in the day hate him.

In other words, my girlfriend, not growing up with Prince, hears his current music as something "new" and "different" from the norm, something special and positive, something cool!

She like it better than his 80's work.

For a lot on the org Prince's 90's and current work is a lot like Jar Jar Binks...nothing like what they grew up with.

For me, I grew up with Prince, I got into his music when Controversy came out in 1981 and today I love it all. I've enjoyed the purple ride this whole time and I look forward to the next album.

When I hear Prince, I don't listen to it and say..."this sux!, This isn’t like Purple Rain!, He's trying to be commercial and sound like everyone else!"

I don't buy that argument at all.

Because if you can say LoveSexy was so different and one of his best (and it is a great album) than all that's out at the time and not hear it in his current work I think the boat is missed...When I hear songs like the Holy River, Dolphin, Come On, The One, So Far So Pleased, 1+1+1 is 3, Last December, Come, Resolution, Reflection, Musicology, 3121, Beautiful Loved and Blessed, The Same December, Gold, My Computer, Man O War, Call My Name and I can go on...I hear nothing but brilliance and a master at his craft. Nothing at the time or today sounds like any of those songs at all.

It only sounds like PRINCE!