I think all three albums are good. None of them great.

realm said:

Agree with this 100 percent.

I LOVE 3121. With the exception of 2 songs (Incense and Candles and Beautiful, Loved and Blessed), the album is great. The most enjoyable album for me from him since The Gold Experience. It's in my Top 10 of favorite Prince albums.

Second place is Planet Earth. With songs like Somewhere Here on Earth, Planet Earth, The 1 U Wanna C and even Mr Goodnight, it's proof that Prince can still bring it. It doesn't have the "fun" factor that I felt 3121 had and it may not be in my Top 10 but it's a solid album.

Last is Musicology. I loved it when it came out cause of the tour and all the publicity he was getting. Plus the album is a solid album but as time passes, the shine has worn off of Musicology a lot for me. I still like Musicology but IMO, it's pretty tame and honestly boring. I love Musicology, A Million Days (still don't know why that wasn't a single) and Call My Name but the rest was Prince playing it safe and I knew that in listening to it. It was what he needed to dot in 2004 to get people back but that doesn't make for a classic album. It was the right album at that time IMO.

I don't think that Prince has lost anything. If anything, I think Prince is holding back from releasing his best material which is unfortunate but I hope that changes in 2008. It would be perfect for him as it's his 30th anniversary from his first album. I hope he realizes how big 08 can be for him but we'll have to see.
[Edited 12/4/07 6:24am]

I genuinely like all 3 of them. Sure, none of them are a 1999, Purple Rain, Sign O' The Times, Parade, Dirty Mind, or even Gold Experience or .

BUT. On their own terms, I do enjoy all 3 of them, especially Planet Earth and Musicology. 3121 is nice, but it's way too slick.

im hardcore i love every album prince put out i just hate his fans yall some negative losers who talk so much trash it dont make sense if i was prince i would band yall from using anything of mine 2 u dont respect none of it u talk 2 much junk

That's another thing. These albums may not be 1999, Purple Rain or SOTT but they're not supposed to be. I think if people stopped comparing the last 3 albums to the albums of the 1980's or 1990's, they'd like at least one of these albums or like it more than they do now. I judge an album on it's own merits, not if it hit's the way Dirty Mind hit me. It's stupid on my part and it causes me to not enjoy the CD. That's just me.

james said:

I'd second that...some great tracks on all three, and some bad tracks. Musciology is the weakest of the three in my eyes.

All three albums have gone up in my estimations after the O2 shows though...I've got a whole new love for alot of songs that previously I wasn't particularly fussed about thanks to hearing them live, such as 3121, Musicology, The One U Wanna C, Get On The Boat. Planet Earth is the tightest album of the three I think...what's there not to love about Chelsea Rogers, Planet Earth, Guitar, Somewhere Here On Earth...pure Prince!

Also...seeing Prince play Fury and Te Amo Corazon at the Brit Awards really sold the 3121 album to me. I hadn't seen him live or on TV for ages and those two tracks went down a storm!

I LOVE every single one of his albums. 3121 is great, love Lolita, Te Amo Corazon, Black Sweat, Incense and Candles and best of all Beautiful, Loved and Blessed.Musicology is also great and especially love the title track, Cinnamon Girl, If eye was the man in ur life and Dear Mr Man.
Planet Earth is fab!! I love every single track on there. I got the album from his O2 concert but have just bought the Japanese import as the album cover is SO nice.

I have also downloaded F.U.N.K from Itunes which I loved as soon as I heard it.

I have yet to not enjoy an album that he releases.

purplecam said:

I agree. I went through the same thing after I started getting the 80's albums.
Musicology & 3121 just vanished into obscurity cuz they're not as BRILLIANT... Prince was in his finest form back then. And for that reason, I disliked 3121 for months b4 it worked for me like it did on the first listen.

My signature says "Advocate 4 Prince @ Present" cuz of these three albums. I'll stand by them even though they're not the same as before. Prince has changed, but all of his music counts for something. This is a direction he wants to go in and he's the artist. Let the man make the music however he wants, haha.

I know I'm not hardcore and I won't ever consider myself hardcore cuz I'm not out to own everything he's released. That's why I didn't want to reply or even look. Most will just think my love for these albums is because I'm still new ...like my vote doesn't count 4 anything.

Since Planet Earth came around, cuz of its uniqueness and brilliance (that's right, brilliance! and I'm sticking 2 that )... it's made 3121 come out on top and Musicology sound dry in comparison.

I try to see the best in all of Prince's music, though. Even though there's no excitement cuz of the explicit lyrics of the past, in exchange, we get music that are of class, sophistication and wisdom. I don't have to try to like 3121 or PE, I just do, especially Planet Earth.

Only hardcore fans would love this crap. You asked the wrong question.

Musicology - yes

3121 & Planet Earth - no

purplecam said:

bravo well said every album is a seperate journey and of these last 3 albums 4 me planet earth has me wanting 2 relocate 2 jupiter where as 3121 is the best of the last 3. it's not comparing it 2 sign o the times or d & p. I don't follow that comparison process when it comes 2 new albums.

musicology has it's moments cause reflection, ICPC is my jam as well as dear mr man. everything on 3121 hits me with the xception of the dance and satisfied. don't even get me started on planet throwup.

DaveT said:

He played a lot of those 3121 songs live at some point. It says to me that there was some confidence in them.

A few months after the release of Musicology I've stopped listeningen to Musicology. I really don't like this album ... slick pop music. But I must admit I do like the title-track.

I still dig some tracks of 3121:
3121, Lolita, Black Sweat & Get On The Boat are great tracks ... but the album as a whole isn't that interesting.

Planet Earth .... yes, Planet Earth ... 99% rubbish!

The album that still surprises me: The Chocolate Invasion
That's the best Prince album since 1988

3121 and Musicology - luv em both...
Planet Earth - kinda growing on me - slowly.....very slowly.....

I really enjoy all three of these albums but echo what has been said above by others...they should be judged in their own right as they are their own journey. I lived through the amazing artistic growth that happened across the first 11 albums of Prince's career (actually that's not true because I only really got into Prince in 84 with PR) but accept that there is no point comparing the music.

All that matters to me is if I am enjoying it and I do.

However, all three albums have their share of "stinkers" for my taste and all three have their share of "classics" for my taste. Personally I think there are two sublime albums that could be made out of the three...

3121
3121, Lolita, Black Sweat, Te Amo Corazon, The Marrying Kind, If Eye Was The Man In Ur Life, Love, Call My Name, What Do U Want Me 2 Do, Fury, The Word, Beautiful Loved And Blessed, The Dance, Dear Mr Man, Reflection.

Planet Earth
Guitar, Cinnamon Girl, Somewhere Here On Earth, The One U Wanna C, The Lion Of Judah, Future Baby Mama, Mr Goodnight, Chelsea Rogers, A Million Days, On The Couch, Resolution, Planet Earth

Try these on your iPod. They flow beautifully!

jaypotton said:

I don't really like the idea of mixing Planet Earth with the other two albums.

But I like ur line-up for "Planet Earth"
maybe I'll give that a try sometimes.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

For me these songs fit well together and flow very nicely. The production style is of course a little different (particularly for the Musicology tracks on 3121) but it does work pretty well.

It just gets rid of the tracks that *I* consider to be below par for Prince (sure others would disagree and that's personal taste)

Oh and one more thing...just personal taste but I do think Prince sometimes gets the sequencing wrong on his albums by introducing a ballad too soon while the groove is still flowing. That's why I swap Te Amo Corazon and Black Sweat around.

jaypotton said:

totally agree, both those songs slow the album down way too soon.

Somewhere Here on Earth is really nice, but extra slow & long.

i listened to each album that as they came out constantly, but eventually i stopped listening to them..... apart from musicology, i can listen to the whole album and not get bored, my least favourite is 3121 cause its to jazzy/rnb prefer the funk/pop/rock, although i thinki planet earth isnt nearly as bad as people are making out, theres some cool tunes on there..... just waiting for him to release something outstanding through and through like the old days!!!!!

johno2 said:

This *might* be a bit controversial (and I have started a thread on this in the past) but I would actually argue that NONE of Prince's albums have been 100% consistent! For example, Purple Rain has IWD4U (I have never really liked it). ATWIAD has Tamborine. Parade has Alexa De Paris. SOTT has IT. and so on.

This is just personal taste but all his albums have weak songs IMHO. However, I would agree that the proportion of excellent/classic songs top weak songs was higher than overt the last 15 years or so.

I initially liked Planet Earth because it was melodic & rock oriented, but it feels a bit empty. It starts strong, but peters out.

3121 Wasn't quite great, but I liked a bunch of the songs, and there was some weight to The Dance, The Word, Love, Fury.

I haven't listened to Musicology for a while, but it had some strong material, too, and a good variety. The hooks & melodies felt a little forced.

Actually Planet Earth feels the most smooth & easy, like the music flowed out naturally & inspired in an unforced way, but as an album it feels the lightest.

I guess 3121 is the best combination of melody, weight, variety, and inspired hooks.

I'm ready for him to do stuff like FUNK again. That's the kind of Prince stuff I like.

jaypotton said:

yeah i do see what your saying each album has its fillers although i do really like i would die for you, i think seeing it in the film made me like it even more, the thing i dont understand though is, why hes disgarded so many really good songs that are so much better than the fillers that he has included on his past albums!!!!!

I like 3121 the best because of its influence on what he's done in the last two years. The other two albums are good and I keep them in regular rotation with the other 700 or songs on my ipod. Favorite song on Musicology = Reflections
Planet Earth = SHOE. F.U.N.K. would have been great on Planet Earth.

I see my self as long-time Prince fan, 'hardcore'? I dont know.

But to be honest i havent truelly digged any Prince album 'as a whole' since The Gold Experience (1995).

C&D was nice for its rawness and live-sound, Emancipation carried an underrated number of strong songs (but was way too long, and many songs suffered from crappy production), New Power Soul and Rave were both disasters (just a few redeeming songs on those albums) and The Rainbow Children is messy, with horendous lyrics (and way overrated by a lot of 'fans' IMO).

When it comes to the last three albums, i in one way them see them as an improvement from his work from 1996-2003 (less overindulgence, more focussed songwriting, less filler) but on the other hand the 'decent' workmanship and the lack of eighties-like inspiration make those three albums quite dull and quite forgettable.

So i have mixed feelings about Musicology, 3121, and Planet Earth.

But judged by the maturity and 'good workmanship' popping up on several cuts on those albums, i am giving him the shadow of the doubt. At least, they keep me interested enought to still post here... lol
[Edited 12/4/07 15:14pm]
[Edited 12/4/07 15:15pm]

jaypotton said:

I agree with a lot that's been said here, but one thing.

Alexa de Paris?
I that song 2 death... its my 2nd favorite in fact... and its not even on the album, its a b-side.
I understand ur reasoning on I Would Die 4 U & Tambourine, though. I like those myself... but we can agree to disagree.

When I get back to listening thru full albums again (im taking a break until I finish my finals), I'll let u know how that experiment goes.

To me, 3121 felt like the most uneven album for the longest time to me... Musicology and Planet Earth were alike in one way... all of the music was around the same calibar, but there are exceptions... the gems in PE just shine brighter than on Musicology. A Million Days & Somewhere Here on Earth... those 2 are beyond amazing and put a lot to shame on their albums.

Interesting enough... Prince has done a ballad on the third track in A LOT of his albums.
Do me Baby- Controversy
The Beautfiul Ones- Purple Rain
Condition of the Heart- ATWIAD
Diamonds & Pearls
Shh (if u take out the NPG operators)- TGE
Until ur in my arms again- NewPower Soul
The Greatest Romance- Rave Un2
A Million Days- Musicology
Te Amo Corazon- 3121
Somewhere here on Earth- PE

and I think it works... but I think with Te Amo Corazon, u might be right about that, haha. Lolita wants me to get up and dance and Black Sweat continues that motif

I have just listened to all 3 back to back, and PE twice, as I have never really had the time to listen to it that often.

3121 just about wins it for me, as it is simply the most consistent of the 3.

However, seperating musicology and PE is alot harder. It has been pointed out that making either a double or single album of the 3 would have been better, without doubt a single album with the best of the 3 would have been a masterpiece.

2 single albums released seperately would have worked very nicely as well, but given that us P fans can never get enough, 1 masterpiece or 2 brilliant single albums over 5 yrs would have been too little. Not that I am trying to advocate quantity over quality, but there are veryfew artists if any that could release the volume of work that P does, and still maintain a standard. On top of that P´s hardcore fans are probably his most critical.


As for the comparisons with his 80´s output, that is natural and the reaction to F.U.N.K when it appeared, proves this point. basically one would have had to have lived in the 80´s when P was churning this stuff out, to have imagined what that was like, it was basically a mystical journey, which truly started with Dirty Mind and ended with Lovesexy, since then P has brought some incredible albums and music, but none of it has reached the heights of that 80´s era, and i stress the word era. As in album after album.

As a hardcore fan I have no complaints, I am always happy to hear what is next, as there is always going to be a gem or 3, all i can say is, I hope it continues

Been a fan since '83 and have had my ups and downs with the dude. But right now I think he is coming out with some very decent shit. Friggin LOVE PFunk!

Musicology is a great CD. Simply put its very accessible and enjoyable. Still listen on a regular basis. The title song has surprised me. I wasn't crazy about it when it was released but now its by far my fave from the CD.

3121 is becoming the fave of the 3. I think its starting to rank up there with Gold Experience for me, which is the last truly brilliant Prince album imo. All genre's and gets better and better with age.

Planet Earth...the weakest of the 3, but still decent. I think it loses momentum with Mr Goodnight and Midnight. I also wish he channelled more of W&L's talent to make the album more interesting. However, Chelsea Rogers and The One U Wanna C are so slammin they make up for PE's weaknesses.