of the 3 CDs, it seems like this critic is really big on LotusFlow3r. Here it is.

Pop & Hiss
The L.A. Times music blog


Album reviews: Prince's 'LotusFlow3r' and 'MPLSound,' and Bria Valente's 'Elixer'
02:30 PM PT, Mar 23 2009
By now, most music fans are well aware that Prince will self-release three albums that will sell in one $11.98 bundle at Target and on the artist's website starting Sunday. Which one you fancy the most depends on what flavor of Prince "u" prefer -- the nasty antiquity of "MPLSound," the guitar-hero antics of "LotusFlow3r" or the VIP-lounge purrs of his protégée Bria Valente on "Elixer."

"MPLSound" is a valentine to Revolution-era traditionalists. The nine-song collection pays homage to Prince's beloved Minneapolis and trades in nostalgia, lifting the syncopated drum machine beats from "When Doves Cry" and name-checking Rick James. But it's not all naughty retro: "MPLSound" also incorporates Prince's faith as a Jehovah's Witness, like when he shouts "thank you, almighty" and "hallelujah" to a lover in "Dance 4 Me."

All three albums have a touch of the spirit, an abiding cleanliness that elevates sex to heavenly communion, but "MPLSound" might be the most pristine for what it ultimately lacks: the sense of real, lusty sin.

Ballads "Better With Time" and "U're Gonna C Me" leak syrup all over the soundboard, but "Chocolate Box," a strutting bit of funk braggadocio set in the club with a guest spot from Q-Tip, is electrifying. In "Valentina," Prince addresses Salma Hayek's daughter: "Tell your mama she should give me a call." Hayek might be one of the world's most voluptuous movie stars, but new mothers and their "nightly feedings" are not the typical pop subjects.

Possibly the album's most notable track -- for reasons fine and regrettable -- is the spirited romp "Ol' Skool Company." Here Prince, his voice doctored to sound like he's taking hits of helium, lets his curmudgeon rip for more than seven minutes, longing for an "old-school melody when God, his son and the love of family ruled in the community."

Valente, Prince's latest in a storied line of beautiful muses, has a lovely voice that matches his current tastes for the clean line. Her soundscapes, produced and arranged with Prince, are lighter than her mentor's, traipsing from velvet-chaise funk to street tales of girly crushes to dance-floor siren calls.

The problem is that not enough of "Elixer" sounds strong or fresh. Her single "Another Boy" is sweetly reminiscent of '80s freestyle icons Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam, but it doesn't have that group's rhythmically inventive backbone. In "2Nite," Valente whispers "disco," a genre that needs at least one modifier to not sound mummified in polyester -- and then reports that "there's no drugs or guns up in this place," just "old-school jazz put a smile on your face."

It's one of the many times when Valente feels uncomfortably like the mouthpiece for Prince and his oldster agenda.

The biggest challenge of Prince's triptych is "LotusFlow3r," a guitar-steeped odyssey that bounces from Steely Dan jazz chords to James Brown-esque mandates for funk to the tattered-flag psychedelia of Jimi Hendrix. Though Prince has covered Radiohead's "Creep" on several occasions, he's not interested in mimicking Jonny Greenwood's articulated melancholy. Instead, Prince's guitar is a warm explosion, sometimes self-indulgent but always rendered with starry-eyed fascination for the instrument, endearing from a masterful musician who plays so many.

In an effort to align himself as a true rocker, Prince includes a reverb-soaked cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover," but it doesn't improve on Joan Jett's definitive rendition. His own compositions are much more twisty and tasty. "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful" is a jaunty slice of party funk with Prince's most charismatic vocals this side of "Kiss" -- screechy, swaggering and caterwauling. "Love Like Jazz" swings the other way, a bewitching gem that wouldn't sound out of place as the intro to a '60s sitcom.

Prince geeks out on the whammy bar, drawing long, noodly jams on "Boom" and the songs that bookend the album. But it's more rewarding when he introduces control and structure, delivered by a crew of stars including Maceo Parker and keyboardist Morris Hayes. "MPLSound" might be comfortingly familiar, but "LotusFlow3r" is the work of a musician who's still curious after all these years.

-Margaret Wappler

Prince
"LotusFlow3r"
Three stars

Prince
"MPLSound"
Two and a half stars

Bria Valente
"Elixer"
Two stars

http://latimesblogs.latim...ews-p.html

First!

Strange though...this seems to say the music will not be available until the 29th...even on the site.
Hmmmm
[Edited 3/23/09 15:17pm]

From reading the adjectives throughout this article its pretty obvious the author was being way too generous.

Reading between the lines, "failed attempt to revive the past with a couple sparse moments of the old Prince."

Reading between the lines re the new prodigy: "Damn, the guy can't even write decent backing music for his girls no mo. Try hitting the garage w/ a few musicians."

Rockability said:

Reading between your lines: "Desparate attempt to find negativity in anything Prince has done in the last xx years."

Rockability said:

Ummm, yeah...did not get that vibe at all from the article.

"Prince
"LotusFlow3r"
Three stars

Prince
"MPLSound"
Two and a half stars

Bria Valente
"Elixer"
Two stars "

strange . just 3 stars?

....at least it has whammy bar....

myloveis4ever said:

That's out of four stars.

Great, thank you.

myloveis4ever said:

Nevermind
[Edited 3/23/09 15:40pm]

Smittyrock70 said:

OHHH, wait..that makes more sense!

"Chocolate Box," a strutting bit of funk braggadocio set in the club with a guest spot from Q-Tip, is electrifying"

from what I have heard on my headphones this description is dead on... I have no idea what he is talking about and truthfully it matters little .... with the way that joint makes the head bob!
[Edited 3/23/09 15:44pm]

This is a review that I enjoyed reading...

.

Finally! Nice review.
Diagree on C&C tho. It ROCKS . Especially the guitar solo @ the end.

npggirl77 said:

offcourse npggirl77, i thought of five stars!

okej nice

Tame said:

i've actually enjoyed all the reviews I've read so far... for what they were worth. However this is the first one which took a more positive view towards both Lotusflow3r and MPLSound. The rest were more one or the other.

But then there is this unanimous thought of Bria's album.....

I thought MPLSoUND was 8 tracks:


1. (There’ll Never B) Another Like Me
2. Chocolate Box
3. Dance 4 Me
4. U’re Gonna C Me
5. (Hey) Valentina!
6. Better with Time
7. Ol’ Skool Company
8. No More Candy 4 U

How did they count 9?

So we now have two fairly positive reviews and two not so positive reviews.

Exactly as I expected...some will love it some will not

Either way it's gonna be great to have all of this new music to enjoy in 2009!!

Bring on tomorrow!!!
[Edited 3/23/09 16:46pm]
[Edited 3/23/09 16:48pm]

EmancipationLover said:

I like this review.

Because it seems like it comes from someone who understands Prince music and not sidetracked with 'wtf' faces when he puts out certain types of songs.

Im excited. I can tell its going to be jammin.

I'm trying not to make up my mind about the lotusflo3er disc before I get it, but I know this is the kind of stuff that is right up my alley, and I really like wall of berlin and the other songs we got a preview of from that disc. The anticipation builds..

im usually one for my artistic stuff so i would of thought lotusflow3r would be my most wanted but, man, i am so excited for mplsound! especially after hearing chocolate box.

to be honest, i think prince is onto his decade winner here....his new classic. with this set we truly get it all but, this time, as separate concept albums...perfection. im expecting one of the best albums (all 3 as 1) ive heard. period.

"Here Prince, his voice doctored to sound like he's taking hits of helium"

Camille, anyone!?

WetDream said:

Are you guys and gals reading this part?
I was under the impression that the albums would be available to download from the site tomorrow for those that join.
Do you think the site will open without the music, or maybe that is a mistake in the review?
Or am I just crazy and reading it all wrong?

I like the review- I think I'll be into Lotusflow3r the most- the more I listen to Crimson and Clover, the more I love it. And Wall of Berlin... I'm SO EXCITED!!

npggirl77 said:

You know, I wouldn't put it past him. I really hope not though, what point is there in joining without the music?

Emancipation all over again.....sifting through a bunch of tracks to find a few gems

and skipping the Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam cd all together (prince was smart to make the price low because that cd is gonna be thrown in the trash)

japanrocks said:

Put the crack pipe down if you think this is Emancipation crap. This is another level.

Wall of Berlin and Colonized Mind are steps above anything on Emancipation. Anything.