wow thats made the site better for me already.

Genesia said:

I keep playing this one over and over, it's beautiful.. Love your wine and olives idea, I may just do that (although I'll skip the sunny courtyard bit cos' it's pissing down!!)

$ + Dreamer = sex wee!.

What an amazing set, this has just blown me away, add in Crimson and Clover and we have the best CD since TRC or even TGE.

What a day, what a day.

blacksweat said:

Well?

funkyhead said:

Just listened to those 2.. Dreamer kicks arse!!

jethrouk said:

that's what i was thinking too since i heard the album. it must have
been among the contenders for this album or on an early configuration.

i'm also planning on trying to fit it in somewhere on the tracklist
near the second half of the disc. it will fit in very well.

3121 said:

I think it's beautiful

JessieJ said:

NOOOOO!!!!! Really? C'mon, Jess! How are you anyway, matey? As a side note, do you know that your screen name is the same as a british porn actress? I kid you not.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1118481/
[Edited 3/25/09 10:26am]

Well I think this album is the best thing Prince has done in years, best thing since TRC. Loving it.

It just shows you how out of sync fans are from random journos... who were all saying that Lotusflow3r was kinda dull, with MPLSoUND being much more interesting. Couldn't disagree more.

I definitely think Prince is aiming for a Stevie Wonderesque classic with this one, even if some of it sounds like it'd fit on The Rainbow Children. It's all so eclectic, and 77 Beverley Park could easily appear on Secret Life Of Plants or Songs in the Key of Life.

I have been a fan of this guy since the early 80's and of course have all the albums. I popped in the cd this am for the drive to work and gave it some volume for the debut listen. I can tell you, I have never had a Prince song kick my ass like Dreamer did on first listen. When the intro moved into the guitar I almost drove off the damn rode and into a cactus. By the end, I had permanent FSM (Funky Smell Face) on with cheeks dampened by tears of joy.

The album is beautiful, exquisite and filthy. Thank-you Prince.

3121 said:

OMG I had no idea about that other Jessie J She better be hot


Anyway, yeah, I really like 77 Beverly Park! It almost has a Stevie vibe to it And I'm doing very well! Today is my birthday

.
[Edited 3/25/09 10:44am]

2funkE said:

Thank gawd I'm not the only one. (No cactuses in Wisconsin - but the sentiment is the same.)

2funkE said:

sounds awesome....fuck it..I cant wait for Sunday....Im paying the $77 membership..!!!

purplecam said:

Can't get the downloads to work. At all. But I wanted to thank you for your positive, upbeat post. I can't wait to hear this music! Happy birthday!

From The Lotus.../.... Back 2 The Lotus - 'Sensual Ever After' pt.2

Boom - Nice. The melody of the vocal reminded of a more mellow 'Rest Of My Life' from the I'll Do Anything sessions.

The Morning After - The cutesy-pie harpsicord is straight up Revolution era - like 'Teacher, Teacher' and it has that same goofy playful light feeling. Very poppy like 'Manic Monday' or 'The 1 U Wanna C'.

4ever - This one didn't stand out too much for me when they were aired on the radio and I feel pretty much the same about it now. I quite like the piano in there, but not really the vocals.

Colonized Mind - Liked it then, like it now - it's a condensed 'The War'.

Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful - Didn't expect much as the demo was completely forgettable, but I like it a lot. It's another Musicology/The Work type track, nothing much new, but not terrible and certainly has more of an edge than chuff like 'Get On The Boat'. I think this might grow on me actually, I quite like Prince's vocal delivery, he actually puts something into it, which he doesn't always do these days (screams, queeny rasps, etc).

Love Like Jazz - OK, pretty good. I prefer the more instrumental parts, some of it sounds like the Rainbow Children segue-type tracks, I can't think which one like a part of Digital Garden or Deconstruction. Lots of Rainbow Children-esque guitar noodles etc.

77 Beverly Park - O_o Was this intended as a backing track for a serenade ballad for Demis Roussos or Nana Mouskouri? "Just one Cornetto, give it to meeeee!!

Wall Of Berlin - Didn't do much for me when we heard it on the radio show, same now, another track that I don't actually like Prince's singing on, when he shuts up and plays, it's almost like something from 'The Undertaker', which is most definately a good thing.

$ - Sped-up vocal, this one had me moving in my seat, the rhythm section is great and seems quite unfamiliar for Prince, can't think of anything I'd compare it to, maybe the Revolution's version of 'Get On Up' or something. I had some Dream Factory-era Revolution vibes from this with the playfulness and synths in the background. Everyone should like this one.

Dreamer - Guitar hero mode engaged, all systems are go! Much more successful than other recent offerings like 'Fury'. Another track that would follow on nicely from 'The Undetaker' LP.


Overall: Generally speaking, there's been two strains of Prince's post-Millenial out-put, the more organic sounding Funkadelic/TRC-type material and the more produced Musicology/3121 type that follows on more clearly from the late 90s albums. Lotusflow3r is most definately part of the former strain, and the one I gravitate more towards. Not because I'm particularly over-fond of Prince's guitar work, but because it sounds more natural and progressive for an artist of Prince's age, stature and ability.

I'm impressed most of all by how uncluttered and lacking in chintz a lot of the material is. The whole set sounds like it was made in a more relaxed state than some recent albums (Musicology, 3121). None of the tracks outstay their welcome, and it's cohesive and consise. No track stood out as being terrible, there's a few that were instantly likeable and a few that sound like growers. Add in 'Crimson & Clover' and ladies and gentlement, I do believe we have a great Prince record!


[Edited 3/25/09 15:20pm]

ehuffnsd said:

YES! Whooohoooo! I love Boom, dreamer, feel better, 4 ever, love like jazz is too cool and money and of course colonized mind!

GREAT ALBUM I LOOOOVE IT!

jillybean said:

Thank you so much for that Jillybean. I'm just being me.

I hope you get the download to work cause you got to hear this CD, it's really excellent.

From a first listen, I'm really digging Lotusflow3r
The highlights for me are Boom, Colonized Mind, Feel Better Feel Good Feel Wonderful, Wall of Berlin, and Dreamer. Honorable mentions 77 Beverly Park (spanish guitar oriented) and $. There are some wierd ecclectic stuff going on in most of these tracks and I love it! I love the new age stuff so upon a few listens, I'm sure this will be one of my favorite Prince albums!

the whole album is worth getting for $ + Dreamer alone.

vinx98 said:

Amen to that. That's a 1-2 punch in the gut right there!

WOW WOW WOW!!!!!

ooohhh yeeehhh $!!
Man that song is AWESOME!!
Dreamer is heeeeaaavy and yes
sounds right off of Electric Ladyland.
Should be played very LOUDLY
Only been through the whole album once,
but dare I say that Wall Of Berlin is one
of the best songs on Lotusflow3r?
Wall Of Berlin is easily one of my favorite tracks.
Love it!!



adding more caps edit!!! giggling with delight
[Edited 3/25/09 12:05pm]

please forgive this long and silly review but i wrote it as i
listened and just put down whatever came to mind listening.



from the lotus...

the album opens with the ambient/psychedelic music that was montaged
on the lotusflower preview that ran on the small tv. after that the
track segues into what sounds very much like the coda of the title
track from the rainbow children album. from the fast ticking sound
of what appears to be a metronome to the guitar fills. nice way to
set the mood. drums are fierce and crisp.


boom

starts out with that reverby echo laden dolphin/strays of the world
sound that "crimson and clover" has as well. beautiful vocal track,
also similar to the one on "crimson and clover". i'm dying to hear
them segue into one another on the cd release. nice full sound and
yet not over stuffed or over produced. weird vocal effects and a
bit of backmasking on inbetween the refrains? also the lyrics are
enigmatic enough not to be considered "too religious" if anything
the talk of obelisx and primordeal space sound new age lite, like
something you can tailor to your own like.
what i like most about this is that even if the track was not called
boom you would still go "boom" at the exact time he says it. cool.


the morning after

i'm not convinced about this one. perhaps i just dislike it since
it has replaced crimson and clover on this version of the album.
i just don't think it fits that well, although, fcuz prince does
and he knows best i guess. all the ingredients of this song are
top notch but the sum of the parts lacks magic. it sounds only a
little bit better than most of planet earth.


4Ever

i never really like these songs with multi vocal track chorus that
is just a chant. the song feels a little bit too much like others
before (she loves me 4 me and everywhere come to mind immediately).
nice album track but nothing i would listen to on it's own because
i was desperate to hear it again.


colonized mind

if you're a prince fan you must have been living under a rock if
you haven't heard this one yet. mellow track, pushed forward by
the guitar until the steady (once again perfect) drums kick in and
give it more beef. the lyrics of the first chorus are the most
outspoken religous lyrics on the album, i think. the song is a
big winner in most respects but i can't help but feel a little bit
uneasy when he starts singing about intelligent design. the two
songs that come to mind most when listening to this are Calhoun Sq
and Beautiful Strange, especially their live renditions circa 2002.


feel good, feel better, feel wonderful

thank god he left the vocal track untouched when he polished up the
song. it's one of my fav vocal tracks of the last decade. especially
the second verse. "i might be the same one that tapped on the crack"
oh lord. i love the way prince just spits like a train rolling down
a track and all the while the backingband counters his vocals ever
so slightly. the image i get from listening to this is prince on a
crowded street somewhere in spain, screaming the lyrics as he struts
down the sidewalk with various bandmembers in tow joined here and
there by the locals. it's that walking beat and the fun, the sense
of searching that was most evident circa 1994. looooove this one.


love like jazz

both this and the next track feel like summer holiday resort late
night pool schmoozing. lol. prince style though. classy yet a bit
unnerving. the 70s mid-afternoon cocktails n jazz xylophone fills
are very funny and lift the mood. i adore the way he croons the
title of the song twice during the end of the song before there's
a guitarsolo in two parts that starts slow and seductive and ends
up ushering the song out with a quickly raising pulse.


77 beverly place

starts with what sounds like the death rattle of a thumping rock
song with a woman out of breath, gasping and post coital. only to
very weirdly abruptly give way to a greek-ish holiday summer sun
and siesta on a sofa in the garden of a spanish villa, lol. it's
a nice pallete cleanser and a light note in a heavy, dense album
and i like it for that. the schism between the opening seconds
and the rest of the song is still quite disturbingly weird tho.


wall of berlin

another one most people know by now. the beat is nice, typical
michael b, sonny t and prince jamsession stuff. although it's
got lots of temo shifts and amazing guitar and drums it's also
got very silly lyrics and yet another outdated mention of the
wall of berlin. how did he get locked on that one after all
this time? (remember the ending of 3121?). still the song is a
definite keeper for the guitar and drum track alone. something
weird i noticed is the "shout out" or whatever at the beginning
of this track, it almost sounds like a radio dj, not very cool,
or well, perhaps cool, but strange.

$

i'm already deeply in love with the segue between this one and
wall of berlin. reminds me of lovesexy/parade segues. the song
itself is deceivingly simple. it's instantly catchy but to the
point where i found myself thinking "is this all? isn't this
just too easy for prince?" but the keyboard, the horn stabs and
the relentless tempo crawl under your skin and especially with
those sped up -almost camille like but not quite- vocals it's
an instant stepper. no wonder "dancing" is mentioned so many
times in the lyrics. that's what it sounds like, like dancing.


dreamer

*funkface goes here* by now you're expecting you've probably
heard all the album has to offer and it will probably close
with a ballad. uhm, no. if ever the advise to hold on to yer
wig was called for it is now. prince sings/speaks/shouts or
just plain "coolspeaks" topical lyrics that speak directly
to the imagination. the imagery of the lyrics is bleak and
hard, confronting and at the same time hopefull. and then
the guitar comes down, as hard as the confrontation in the
lyrics. soaring above and beyond and thank god not reigned
in like on so many previous releases. the guitar SPEAKS to
you. it lashes out and growls and then it soars freely till
the song reaches it's climax in groans and mumbled hushed
lyrics before prince says "....wake up, wake up" hardest
rocking song he did in like, forever.


...back to the lotus

a continuation of the opening instrumental track although
this time with more hushed, deep and distorted vocals. is
this a poem being recited? halfway through prince starts
to moan, ooh and aah in distorted vocals sounding like a
lover, a ghost and a wild animal in turns until the track
slows down and the fast paced guitar eases out into what
sounds like a portion of the end of N.E.W.S.'s "north".
more distorted incomprehensible vocals, and more weird
sighs and gasps. noodling guitar, drumm rolls, static and
reverb. it feels like a wind blowing over the surface of
a distant planet with the voice of the last human softly,
echoingly transmitted into nothingness.


AMEN.

hallelujah.

I don't know if this has been said yet, but
From The Lotus/Back To The Lotus sound like
The Sensual Everafter Continued which is
not a bad thing at all.

IstenSzek said:

I'm completely with you on the N.E.W.S. reference. Agree 100%. It's like he finally figured out how to take that sound and incorporate it into actual songs in an interesting way.

chewymusic said:

I said the same thing, I agree it's a good thing.

3121 said:

NouveauDance said:

Yeah, it sounds even more like the interlude between Rainbow Children and Muse 2 the Pharaoh.

I love the music. It's just a shame the whole album sounds like a brutal victim of the loudness war. One of the worst cases I've ever heard.