Another really good one, IMO. I just really wished he finally would go all rock. 'FBFGFW' can stay, but '77 Syrupy Place' has to go. I might actually like MPLSound more but that just might be because I knew more songs here beforehand.

I like Boom. The rest.....BOOOOMMMMM!

From The Lotus...
Ooooh, I like it when P does weird guitar noodling and disorientating effects, but that doesn't last long as it quickly turns into (like someone else here mentioned) the end part of the Undertaker version of Dolphin.

Boom
P plays his own personal version of Guitar Hero, interrupted occasionally by some ethereal talky bits.

The Morning After
"Teacher Teacher"... oh... no, it's a new track. Probably recorded in a rush.

4Ever
Don't hate this as much as I first did. Still crippled by cliché ridden lyrics and not particularly interesting musically.

Colonized Mind
I'm really trying to see what other people see in this poor imitation of 'The Love We Make' but I can't. P even sounds bored as he's singing the tedious hand-wringing lyrics. Very dour and dull.

Feel Better, Feel Good, Feel Wonderful
Can't remember what the original sounds like so I approached this with no preconceptions. What a contrast P's vocal delivery is in comparison to 'Colon-gaze Mind'. I like it and I can see it growing on me more in time.

Love Like Jazz
Not sure about this - too whimsical and insubstantial perhaps?

77 Beverly Park
Hey! This sounds interesting, loads of distortion, weird disturbing guitars, a woman out of breath and crying, David Lynch overtones and.... oh shit what happened! No, go back to the other bit! Why am I listening to the theme from 'Allo, Allo'?

Wall Of Berlin
Nah, still don't like it. "Where am I?" you're in a dull song, although he tries to rescue it with some frantic guitar work towards the end ably assisted by what sounds like Michael B working overtime.

$
Rockabilly-tastic! P will need to hire some 50's style dancers to perform on stage when he plays this live.

Dreamer
Still too indebted to Jimi, and a little too 'try hard' but... I still like it. Seems purely designed for P to show off to 'the yung-uns' that he can whup-ass on guitar. A guilty 'rocking' pleasure.

...Back 2 The Lotus
Back to the Undertaker version of Dolphin. P messes about with Autotune's voice distortion effects while continuing his guitar hero routine.

Overall: As with MPLSound, better than I'd expected because I'd had such low hopes for it in the first place. Both LF and MPLs seem more coherent and themed albums than the previous 3. I liked the hints of 'experimental' and 'weird' sounds on this album - I just wish there had been more of them.

veronikka said:

Hey, wheres your avvie gone?

was allot off stress but this album is coooool .Prince did a amazing job .

3121 said:

I get tired of looking at myself

veronikka said:

Heartbreaker!

BSK3478 said:

What a disgusting use of talent. What a negative ego driven act, meant to draw attention to yourself as u put somebodies elses art down. Prince is a million times more talented then u will ever be. Your childish act is embarrassing.
[Edited 3/25/09 16:02pm]

tricky99 said:

Oh, double your dosage. I don't agree with Dansa but she's free to express her feelings however she wishes. I wish all criticism was so creative in its damning.

?????nothing doing here.....

Number23 said:

Here, here.

NouveauDance said:

Your wish is my comand

Butchersdog said:

i've created a monster.

tricky99: intrnt. srs bzns.

BSK3478 said:

What Chaos and Disorder album are u listening 2? LOL I just don't see it, I rather like the wall of berlin I actually think it's a left over from 2131 because in the song 3121 he says "we're going down yall like the wall of berlin"

tricky99 said:

aaaaand all of prince's flirtations with negativity and sharing his opinion on things within his works gets a pass from you, correct?

It all sounds so vibrant and fresh with so many colors, tones, textures. I can't believe this man is 50 with 40 albums behind him.

asideorderofham said:

Yeah, I'm actually pretty surprised that Prince took this direction with the mixing/mastering. It sounds like they just set a hard-knee limiter cap at 0db and pushed every slider up to the max...even the tremolo organ pad in the background of "From the Lotus..." was constantly clipping....jeez.

I listened to it through my computer speakers only as it was streaming, so I don't have a great grasp on it yet. But here are my impressions so far.

The good:

• This album has a consistent feel to it. All of the tracks seem to be appropriate for this disc, and I tend to like Prince albums best when they expand upon one central musical palette rather than trying to showcase everything that Prince can do in the space of 50 minutes.
  
• The guitar work is superb!
  
• "Dreamer" really jumped out of the speakers and took a hold of my viscera- in a good way!
  
• This album doesn't seem to have the pretention of many of his albums of late. It makes the whole experience much more enjoyable!
  

The bad:

• Where is "Crimson and Clover"? It seems crass to try to force fans who shelled out $77 to buy the Target version as well. Not only that, but it's just bizarre that the lead single (and likely the focal point of the entire 3-disc set) remains unavailable at this point.
  
• There were moments when it ventured into territory that sounded too "pleasant" for my ears. It could have been my computer speakers, though.
  
• Other than "Dreamer", none of the tracks immediately announced themselves as stellar favorites. That said, I didn't hear any duds, either.
  

I'll have to listen to the album again on better speakers to get a better impression. I definitely enjoyed it as a whole, but I don't think it'll beat out 3121 as my favorite album of the decade. Still, I'll probably prefer it to The Rainbow Children, Xpectation, NEWS, the NPGMC stuff (The Chocolate Invasion/Slaughterhouse) and Musicology.

Oh, and one more thing. Dansa is awesome, and she has always been a vital part of this community. Her presence here was sorely missed, and I love reading what she has to say, even when I don't agree with her.

WetDream said:

Seriously. What an embarrassing review. Disenchanted ex-fan says what?
[Edited 3/25/09 18:13pm]

Another review from a self-imposed Hater...part 2

From the Lotus - It's ok, it's an instrumental!

Boom - Hated it!

Crimson and Clover - Eh! Not hating it but not loving it either. It's ok.

The Morning After - Hated it!

4EVER - Didn't hate it. Didn't like it. There is room for growth, though.

Colonized Mind - Feeling it, not loving it but definitely, feeling it.

Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful - Was definitely feeling it a few years ago. This has a chance of growing on me, a live performance of this on the Tonight Show could help this one significantly.

Love Like Jazz - Hated it!

77 Beverly Park - Hated it!

Wall of Berlin - Hated it!

$ - Hated it!

Dreamer - Hated it!

Back 2 The Lotus - Hated it!

Gohi said:

not an ex-fan by any means. i've always been on somewhat of a fringe, but never handed in my fan badge...or fan credentials...shit. what do prince fans carry around to prove that they are indeed fans, anyway?

at any rate...for those of ya'll who actually "got it" and respectfully disagreed with my opinions on the albums, thanks a lot. that's what i like about fandom: people getting together and saying variants of "i like it" and "i don't like it".

for those who are about as butthurt as prince was for a good chunk of the album (there's obvious disses towards a section of the online fanbase in it, y'know) upon reading my stuff (and even taking shit personally...it's music, wtf?!)...i'd hate to see what ya'll would do at an art museum, man. no fun.

myloveis4ever said:

i most certainly would...if the dude deserved my money this time around, that is.


gotta disagree with you on this.

Have only listened once but "Boom" is already my shit! "Dreamer" will be cranked in my car for many weeks to come. Need a few more listens to form a real opinion about the rest of the album.

BSK3478 said:

Why? very good production and the music is hot

myloveis4ever said:

because, like the last 2 albums, they're extremely meh to me. there's times where it'd have potential...and it just slides into meh-dom.

ian said:

My favorite album in along time! Better than MPLS sound and will become a classic.

thepope2the9s said:

LOL!! I just did the same thing...I was going to be all cheap and wait...but after reading these reviews I plopped down my $$ and downloaded these muthrs.

LOTUSFLOW3R is the best thing the guy has done since TGE...no question. The whole thing is killin me. $ is the one I can't get enough of, but all of em are top notch...even 77 Beverly Park. That one reminds me of something off Parade. REALLY wish Crimson & Clover was on this...real shame its not. But still rocks without it.

MPLSound...I love, but not quite as much as LOTUS (so far)...I am more of a guitar guy and I think LOTUS is also much more experimental...a side of Prince that made me a fan in the first place. BUT that doesn't mean I still don't love MPLS...Old Skool is simply kicking my ass. Getting a total Black Album vibe from that one.

Bria is surprising me...wasn't expecting much, but so far I am diggin it. I like her voice, and its easy to listen to. My girl LOVES it...she just put it on her ipod...and she is NOT a Prince fan. Need more time for it to sink in tho since I am playing the other two non-stop. MUCH better than his last few side projects.