I know some of you guys have a problem with this album... this is a chance to tell us why without name calling. Leave the name calling in High School.

Constructive criticism is a critique with suggestions for improvement. I think the best constructive criticism would come from other musicians here who would know what Prince is trying to accomplish with this album.

"Putting you down" is when someone makes comments without offering any help or hope for the artist's efforts.

Btw I love the album...
[Edited 2/26/09 20:37pm]

I think you might have opened up a new can of worms here pplrain

purplecam said:

I know.
[Edited 2/25/09 8:43am]

When I heard the released version of this cd, I was quite surprised.

Graycap23 said:

Again with this "I'm an insider" nonsense?

purplecam said:

It's a pretty mediocre album, but to call it a 'can of worms' is just unkind.

On balance, it's not a bad album. My main criticism (again) is the extremely silly lyrics on Planet Earth and Resolution. When an album starts and ends with songs that you find ridiculous, it sort of clouds everything that comes in between.

vivid said:

He likens starting this thread to a can of worms, not the album.

pplrain said:

I'm pretty sure vivid was being facetious.

I still don´t get why Lion of Judah got so much flack around here, it has all the ingredients of a good, solid Prince rock song...breezy, airy atmosphere, a different and almost fragile singing voice, some nice guitar work and it is not as overblown and overproduced as most of his other rock songs from the past 15 years. The only thing that bothers me is the chorus, it just sounds weird because the imagery ( like a Lion of Judah ) is something one wouldn´t really use or say.
But, all in all, it´s a good song and people would be raving about it to this day if it were an outtake from the glorious 80s.

The rest of the album doesn´t really grab me, the lines about that little Spanish man and the bragging and boasting in Mr.Goodnight are ridiculous but even that ridiculous song has its moments if you pay attention to the details.

It´s a bit of a let down that, after all those years, he finally worked a little bit with Lisa and Wendy again, and all they really did is exchange a bit of data via e-mail and the result is THIS album ?

There are some nice songs on it, like Somewhere Here On Earth, Lion Of Judah and maybe Future Baby Mama ( though I hate the lyrics to it) but, all in all, there is too much crap on it that leaves a bad taste. I prefer NPS. There were at least 4 or 5 strong songs on it and I played it much more than Planet Earth.

KoolEaze said:

In the album I don't care for the term "Future Baby Mama" for obvious reasons, however I like the song and try not to interpret the meaning literally.
[Edited 2/25/09 8:53am]

First thing I thought when I listened to Planet earth was how childish it sounded. The hokey environmentalism, naive anti-war message, and there's a nursery rhyme/children's song vibe throughout, especially 'All The Midnights.'

And what's up with the play by play 'getting ready for a big date/big night out' thing? Prince has done that with 3121, Life of the Party, Incense and Candles, Mr. Goodnight, There Will Never B Another Like Me. It's kinda played out, innit? They say write what you know, and if that's the case Prince must spend all day getting ready, primping and prepping, fussing and planning. Listen to how much detail Mr. Goodnight goes into when describing how he pampers his date. It's a rigidly planned operation of wealth porn. It's laden with intoxicating and luxurious amenities, but zero spontaneity, zero intimacy.

And Prince claims to know exactly what a woman wants on 'Future Baby Mama.' According to P, women want their girlfriends to hate them. And on 'The 1 U Wanna C' he says 'eye no u ain't no concubine.' But that's exactly what he's soliciting. He's flashing his wealth around, calling for a woman who wants to be ensconced in riches to make her friends jealous. It's a terribly shallow look at women and romance.

Planet Earth is the album the narrator of 'Movie Star' would make. It's got the environmental records that's supposed to make you horny, it's got the conspicuous spending of cash, and the puerile misogyny. It's more advertisement than art, a personal want ad: Rock star seeking skank. Prince is pimping his lifestyle to some gold digger, promising her the empty pleasures of wealth and the privilege of being ranked somewhere beneath his guitar in importance.

padawan said:

Well put. What happened to "money doesn't matter tonight"?

padawan said:

Nice post. While I dont despise this album and dont mind "hokey environmentalism, naive anti-war messages". In fact I like "Resolution" because of it. (not to mention the W&L backing vox)

I totally hear where you are coming from on his stunted view of relationships and women. Terribly sad considering how mature he was beginning to sound on Emancipation. The guy in Movie Star was a 20something with tons of talent and sudden fame. Of course he's going to talk and act like that but Grow up already, damn, its been over 20 years!.
[Edited 2/25/09 9:10am]

I am convinced that Prince is being critizied for things that have always been inherent in his work to a greater degree these days. I think it comes down to the fact that familiarity breeds contempt.

As someone stated the other day Prince is like the crack dealer who can no longer satisfy the appetities of some of his clients. They want a new high or least the same high they got in the beginning. He can't deliver that so the crack heads become ultra-critical because the problem must lie with Prince and not there own changed perceptions.

There is not one song that prince as written that a creative orger could not rip apart if it was their intent.

There are no badly performed songs on PE. Just songs that don't appeal to various people are various reasons.

I have yet to hear an anti-war song someone couldn't accuse of being naive. Its the nature of a 3/4 minute song. It is not a discourse or history lesson on the causes and reasons for a specific event.

emesem said:

Funny I remember many fans feeling that the "mature" prince of emanicipation was "sappy". We all bring our own predjudices to the music.

padawan said:

[Warning: barfing pic - luv4u]
http://i114.photobucket.c.../vomit.gif

Sorry. That's as constructive as I can get with Planet Earth's foul amalgam of lyrical tripe and musical dysentery.

I'm no hater, but let's call a turd a turd.

padawan said:

That's a cute review. And it reads well but everthing u accuse PE of being can be on found many other Prince albums. Maybe u just don't like the songs.

squirrelgrease said:

So the song SHOE has no musical merit whatsoever? Is that your argument? Very few artistic statements labored over by competent artists should ever be labeled as excrement. That places dishoner on the artis that is extreme and unnecessary.

KoolEaze said:

Lion of Judah is a fantastic cut. For me the guitar work on that song is superb, particularly the closing solos. The fact that it has clocked over 250 plays on my itunes alone says alot about what i think of it. I have a fondness for the album as a whole mainly due to the fact that it brings back the memories of walking into the 02 arena and being presented with the album several times. So it will always have a nostalgic appeal

PLANET EARTH - Decent. Lyrics are not too good. But it was good to see Prince get outside the 3:30 pop song structure

GUITAR - My favorite Prince song in years and years. LOVE IT.

SOMEWHERE HERE ON EARTH - Meh. Not a top-notch ballad.

THE ONE U WANNA C - I like it. It's stood up well. And the line, "If you want to get creamy, I'm the one u wanna c" is CLASSIC

FUTURE BABY MAMA - Better slow jam that SHOE, by far. Lyrics are decent

MR. GOODNIGHT - Nice mid-tempo, and I really like the lyrics and harmonies

ALL THE MIDNIGHTS IN THE WORLD - I love this song. Reminds me of "Young and Beautiful"

CHELSEA RODGERS - A waste of time

LION OF JUDAH - GREAT song, and the guitar solo is almost as good as the ones on "Guitar". Fantastic chord progression, very much like the Purple Rain-era stuff

RESOLUTION - I love this song, too. Excellent guitar work throughout, and the lyrics are very relevant.

tricky99 said:

That song, while some may like it... does absolutely nothing to make the LP worth listening to.

Putting doo doo between two slices of bread, still makes for a shit sandwich.

Planet Earth, i understand the dislike of the album but i like several things about it:

Title track - i like the arrangement, atypical and unexpected which i always like. that could never be called formulaic. and i understand the lyrics. call it hokey environmentalism if u want but its communicating the idea of what many call "karma" or biblically, reaping and sowing, lots of validity to it, talks about our stewardship of the land and the consequences if we don't do better. God haters will not like the idea of the song.

Guitar - ok, could've been better. comical but it seems too repetitive lyrically. its not unlistenable, but i'd never put the album on to hear that.

SHOE - sublime. my be my fave track on the album. some of his best vocals, moody. not a typical R & B ballad. could be played on diverse formats

the 1 U Wanna C - cool, poppy, fun. i like it. P is talking junk (he CAN do that can't he and not be accused of being a shallow, womanizing hypocrite can't he; some ppl don't understand when he's just being a tongue n cheek artist playing the cat and mouse game)

Future Baby Mama - love the track. i understand the dislike because of the title. but got over that quickly. P is not trying to be "GHETTO", he's just having fun (paradoxical fun with it being a well-sung ballad) with a recent term, nothing deep to read into it

Mr. Goodnight - good track, Prince is in "mack mode" again; it seems poorly mixed. its comical but catchy, great background vocals too.

ATMITW (all the midnights) - mediocre - i like that it showcases P's diversity. its almost in a musical category unto itself, i like the vocal arrangement and the chorus at the end and all but it seems incomplete for some reason and not because its so short

Chelsea Rodgers - good track; love the way he so easily funks the album up a bit. he lets Shelby shine here to the chagrin of many. love the story the song is telling about a non-shallow model for a change.

Lion of Judah - good track; poppy again, with some guitar, non-formulaic, kind of confusing lyrically though. i understand the resentment from the God haters again. its mostly because of the title. it's a biblical term and ppl don't want to believe there is a "wrath" associated with God nor do they want to accept that prince is a JW and his beliefs will surface in his music at times. it seems they think that to like songs where that happens is to agree with his beliefs.

Resolution - an ok song, but a TRUE song. its simplicity is mistaken for naiveite (sp?). i like how he seems so "loose" at the beginning of the acoustic riff and says, "come wit it".

Overall, i'd give the album a 7 of out 10. Nothing on it is unlistenable for me. its mature, reflective and shows where he is at 50 and its a curveball to fans, which i can always appreciate, TRUE artists follow their own muse and not what ppl WANT or EXPECT.
[Edited 2/25/09 10:38am]

btw, i think Tricky99 might be my new favorite org'er - lots of balance and truth
[Edited 2/25/09 10:39am]

padawan said:

This is so well said!

For me, PE didn't measure up to even Musicology and 3121's new standards, but damn, some of this is pretty harsh.

Most of the highlights for me were the up-tempo tracks, which may not be Shakespeare by any stretch, but if you can't have fun with the grooves and chuckle a bit at the lyrics, then you're just digging for something to complain about. "The 1 U Wanna C," "Chelsea Rodgers," and "Guitar" were all just well-played and fun to listen to.

I do feel that the title track tried a little too hard to be the new "anthem," a la "Purple Rain," but the guitar was still highly potent. Same on "Lion of Judah." It seemed that the album got lost when he got AWAY from the guitar, as tracks like "Somewhere Here on Earth" and "Future Baby Mama" didn't speak to me much at all. "Resolution," likewise, was meh.

But, honestly, what are we looking for these days? Comparing some people to crackheads who can't get enough to get them off and want to complain about it is a pretty apt description. There is no "Purple Rain" here. Nor is there a "Raspberry Beret," "1999," or "Sign 'o' the Times." And there probably never will be. Decent fans can just learn to deal with it and enjoy what comes. The rest will be too busy trying to prove how much smarter they are than everyone else.

I don't have a problem with it. I still wanna know what happened to Chelsea Rodgers tho.

horrid shit

tricky99 said:

Omg tricky99 u nailed this one. I could not have said it better. Thank u 4 saying it 4 me

Oh by the way, I'm a big fan of PE

Constructively...constructively...constructively...awww...hell...I've got nothing!

It was crap!

Prince knew it...that's why he released it the way that he did! He got his money up front because he knew he wouldn't make any on the other end.

I'm sorry if that's harsh but it is the truth!