utopia7 said:

give P one thing, he has a great taste in women, who dosent think Salma is or was one of the most beautiful women ever, but in Princes case, a simple SMS text would have been enough

great piece of music though

Whitnail said:

Honestly how anyone could listen to NPS and think Mplsound is beyond me

VALENTINA WOULD BE BETTER without those lyrics ....guess only prince knows the meaning behind it .



IN any case it'll make you scratch your head just like SISTER

TESTING FOR SOUP NAZI ON COMPUTER ... ITS STILL THERE I HERE IT RIGHT NOW

Alexandernvrmind said:

That's a good question cause I don't see that AT ALL with this CD. That's extremely bizarre and it sounds like people are going out of their way to dog it as best they can, but then again, this is the org so it's to be expected. Can't say that p.org isn't consistant.

purplecam said:

Dont worry, I was not comparing NPS musically to MPLS, but titles sometimes can be misleading and effect ones judgement

"Dance 4 Me"

alexnvrmnd777 said:

I agree 100%. There's nothing on here that even sounds remotely like the MPLS sound. Using Linn samples or plugins doesn't make it so. Prince used to do crazy weird things with the Linn, these samples sound like they were straight out the box.

So - now that I've listened twice. I make my plea for a producer again..the drums KILL anything even good on it. They are SO in the front - the stuff used to lay below the tracks which made them work. The first 4 tracks are totally forgettable in my opinion. "Here" would be great imo with just the guitar and his vocals. All that other stuff just clutters it. "Valentina" is kinda funny, but that synth line kills me after a short time. The guitar part makes it interesting again for a minute. "Better With time"...done better many times by him. "Ol Skool" is funky, but that linn drum is killing me (as in annoying) here too. That is what I'm hearing right? Is his high range shot? Can he not hear how loud it is? Wicked rhythm and lead guitars, mostly an extended jam- but I'll take it. ALso- that synth sound - same as Valentina? I remember when he made sounds rather than taking them out of the box. No More Candy just sounds cheesy. It's something in the production. I don't mind the parts art all. Just the combination.Like some of the parts well enough. Wow. Huge not playing anytime soon. I must be a hater on the internet now. I honestly believe from this disk that he misses what it is that made the sound and feel (HIS sound and feel) from back in the day work, as it is an homage to his own sound that he created. I tell you- if someone else did this record- EXACTLY like this people would call it a pale impersonation of the early work of Prince. Please let me like Lotusflow3r. I am purposely avoiding commentary on his lyrics overall because I had almost no expectations in that department. oh yeah - all IMO.

I have not read all bazillion pages of this so I apologize if it has already been said but I wish Disco Jellyfish was on this album. Seems like it would be a good fit.

yes Prince is the king of cheesy... when it works (and it has alot in the past) its great. When it doesn't well you get songs like Gold or Graffiti Bridge

OK, on 1st listen "ure gonna C me" the remix is booty. The original was too pretty to turn into the throw away slow jam.

The original was for making love to. This version sounds like R Kelly is about to pee on my lady while I watch...that's not a good thing.

Wall said:

why do you torture yourself so?

MPLSound

(There'll Never B) another Like Me: ** 1/2
- Decent funky jam. Maybe not that memorable of a track, but its definitely funky

Chocolate Box: ****
- Contagious! After finally hearing the full version of this song... I can say with all honesty, this is the funkiest Jam in a decade. Q-Tips contribution fits in flawlessly. And the preview of the video looks absolutely hot. I hope for some remixes on a single release. (still pissed the whole vid wasn't up yet)

Dance 4 Me *****
- I thought the last track was the funkiest... but then came Dance 4 Me. The best one two punch of funk since.... ohhh hell.. I can't remember that long. This shit is the bomb!

U're Gonna C Me ***
- After the funky buildup of the first three cuts... this ballad was well placed... because I was so pumped a heart attack was imenent. Smooth mid tempo ballad. Nothing particularly intoxicating...but it is satisfying.

Here *** 1/2
- Continuing with the mid tempo romantic groove set up from the previous track... Here hits me right here. I love the lyrics and melody.

Valentina **** 1/2
- I'm trying not to sound all frantic... but damnit this cut rocks... who would have thunk it..?

Better With Time ***
- A true ballad. Prince continues to prove he can always make a quality slow jam. This is a serious grower.

Ol' Skool Company *** 1/2
- This funky track just has... swagger.

No More Candy 4 U ****
- Just cray Prince telling off everybody the best way he knows how. And yes.. it too is funky.

OVERALL.... 4 out of 5 stars.
This is one of the best albums Prince has produced in a very long time. The weakest track is the lead track... after that it just gets better. Of course among long time Prince fans.. there will be much controversy over this album. All I got to say is... funk all the haterz! This is what the funk we have been waiting for since forever. Some times we just want some pure unapologetic funk to groove to and this album delivers in spades.

IstenSzek said:

Let the funky congregation say "amen."

TNBALM - What twisted, vindictive Necromancer thought it was a good idea to ressurect the NPGMC-era sound? No redeeming features whatsoever - Run for the hills, pray for respite from this evilness, bind it with a spell of silence, put a hex on it, call an exorcist and kill it with fire.

Chocolate Box - Prince continues to try and play catch-up with last seasons trends in chart-impacting pop/R&B with his take on 'My Humps', etc. I think there's a level of Hell in Dante's Inferno where some poor souls are forced to listen to this for all eternity. No doubt I'm heading there myself if I don't eat my greens.

Dance 4 Me - Urgh, is this really only track 3? I've already had more than enough.... would slot on NPS in between the title track and Freaks On This Side.

U're Gonna See Me - Syrupy but mildly enjoyable. There's nothing here Prince hasn't done before, it's a ballad and sprinkled with those chord progressions Prince uses post-Emancipation to make them sound sentimental, maudlin, but at least different to your average syrupy ballad. Nice, but neither strong nor individual.

Here - Oh no, not another one. 'U're Gonna See Me' has a slightly uglier twin. They'll never find a date sitting together all glum, sagging down the middle of this already depressing album.

Valentina - What's worse than a Prince track that tries to sound like an R&B/pop dance hit? That's right, a Prince track that tries to sound like a mid-tempo R&B/pop hit. At least this one comes in under 4 minutes, 'Chocolate Box' was an excrutiating 6 minutes 14 seconds :-/

Better With Time - Starts out and I thought it sounded like 'Still Would Stand All Time' if it was recorded for Emancipation. The vocal is extraordinarily weak (a criticism I have with many of Prince's recent albums that I think is more a product of age than effort). The track is sedate, enjoyably so - and that's a first for MPLSound, so that's something.

Ol' Skool Company - Sped-up vocal takes the edge of another drippy hip-hop influenced R&B drawl. Reminded me of 'When Will We Be Paid' (which is a much better track).

No More Candy 4 U - Silly and throwaway. Like John Waters and Little Richard orchestrating a chorus of circus clowns in a rendition of 'Choas & Disorder' - best track on the LP and quite special.



Overall: Prince has been very considerate with his latest release, he's put all the crap on a single disc. Now, I don't know about diamonds in the rough, but dig through MPLSound and you might find the occasional QVC diamonique ring like 'Better With Time'. It's amazing how few twists and turns there are on this album, basically once you've heard the first 20 seconds of a track, you've heard everything they have to offer. MPLSound is to Prince as Hard Candy is to Madonna.


[Edited 3/25/09 11:15am]

Well I'll enjoy Prince doing R & B, I can imagine what you think of 'Love Like Jazz.'

Alexandernvrmind said:

hey that song is my jam

ok, on first listen, i am well impressed with Mplsound, has a real feel good vibe to it, No more candy 4u is f.... halirious, reminds of the music he used put on his b-sides back in the 80´s like horny toad, gotta stop messin about, totally tongue in cheek.

TESTING FOR SOUP NAZI ON COMPUTER ... ITS STILL THERE I HERE IT RIGHT NOW

ShadeoViolet said:

I'm going to agree with your bro, this one surpasses my hate for TRC, dim-witted musically and lyrically. I agree with another post that proclaims them to as bookends on either side of the worst Prince spectrum.

I am abit lost on one thing, what is all this talk of a remake of Ure Gonna C me, I have obviously missed out on something here