emesem said:

In the sense of trying to that live track feel on an album. It feels like a progression of an idea, not the song.

I went to a house party last night and we played the CD. I watched people as they were visiting and a lot of people were moving to the music, even if they weren't really paying attention to it. It was a mixed-aged crowd, teens to grannies, and most everyone said they liked it. One of the copies I bought today will be a gift for the host.

PurpleKnight said:

AWESOME review, thanks!

Shawnt26 said:

You're right!

Riverpoet31 said:

After a few listens over the w/end, I don't mind 'Dance 4 Me', but I think we're so starved for a great dance track, 'Dance 4 Me' seems like a revelation for some, for me it's passable at best.

I can *just* about tolerate 'TNBALM', I wouldn't put it on, but it doesn't make my flesh crawl any more - the same cannot be said for Chocolate Box, Hey Valentina or Ol' Skool Company, *yuck*

I like all the ballads on the album, slushy, but enjoyable. Better With Time could actually be a really great track if it didn't sink under the crescendo of schmaltz at the end. It would be perfectly mature, maudlin and sweet if it came in @ about 2 mins. I always liked 'No More Candy 4 U', so that's half the album that's listenable at worst. This is the only track that will get a regular airing though thanks to iPod playlists, I still think it's one of his worst albums.

NouveauDance said:

Hmmmmm.....

IstenSzek said:

2 things:

1. yeah, i hope he puts Turn Me Loose on the website. it's much better than the live version, and i'll be damned if i'm going to include something with an album that has a stupid DJ talking over it.

2. did a version of Song of the Heart without the penguin ever surface? or did anyone ever *make* one by taking a clip of the movie and removing that "data" from the track, the way i've heard that instrumentals or acapellas can be created when the opposite is available? (that's way beyond my sound editing capabilities/skills.)

errant said:

well i agree that only a good studio version could be considered for inclusion
and as far as song of the heart is concerned, i made an edit by simply cutting
the penguin vocals out and glueing the rest together as good as possible. but
it wasn't seamless and i don't have an audio editor anymore now so...

but maybe one day

My impression after 3 listenings of the album, is quite positive. Althought there are some some songs which don't work for me (Valentina and Better With Time). The rest of the songs are very enjoyable.

My favorite song is No More Candy 4 U, which could easily have been a very good Dirty Mind/Controversy outtake. It sounds rough, edgy and Prince just going a little crazy, just the way I like it.

The album will get a solid 7. If he'd tossed out the two I mentioned above and put in (a longer) version of Disco Jellyfish and $ it could have been an 8.
Instead of $ on Lotusflow3r I'd would have like PFunk on that spot. But that is a minor point of critism on my part.

Finally got the CDs to listen to and I'm softening my dislike a bit of Mplsound for one reason alone, the production and mix.

Protools or not this album is less painful to listen to on earphones than the last couple of albums that have had a tendency to make my ears bleed. There seems to be a lot of compression here which kinda works with the sonic palette he's using here.

Not as embarrassing to play in public as I first thought. Is it me or does almost every song (except maybe the ballads) use a sample from When Doves Cry?

two words: "kicks ass"

This probably has already been said (too lazy to read through the whole thread). "No More Candy 4 U" reminds me of an outtake from the Dirty Mind/Controversy era. It's got the same vibe as the music that Prince was writing during that time. Love it!

I've been listening to Lotusflower so much, I forgot how great some stuff on MPLSound is. 'No more candy 4 u' gets better everytime, it's a trip.

SUPRMAN said:

Sounds like a bad version of Love Sign

murph said:

I know right

emesem said:

its u

Better With Time.... what a beautiful lyric, melody, multi-layer harmony & vocal delivery...

Alexandernvrmind said:

Look at his avatar, I totally agree with you!

thekidsgirl said:

Yea!

I cannot get over Here. Such an amazing song. I love how it opens, sounds for a second that its gonna launch into Forever in My Life. I love the acoutic guitar in it. Vocals are great. Lyrics.....superb. Second favorite track on the album. No. 1 being No More Candy 4 U.

FlashStabone said:

yeah i am really getting in to Here. it's a really nice song!

Astasheiks said:

'Ol Skool Company' sounds sooooo much better LIVE

I am very pleasantly surprised by this album. Much better than i thought it would be.

I pretty much agree with PurpleKnight's review!

Dance 4 Me is supurb! Great fun song!

NouveauDance said:

Some good points here. The ballads, while far from his best, at least sound like someone who is over fifty and still honing the craft of songwriting.

I can't think of a Prince album that opens with a bigger bore of redundant sounds than Mplsound. How anyone can stomach those first two clunkers is beyond comprehension. And Dance For Me isn't much better. It might have worked as a b-side as it sounds like a lesser Feel U Up but it's far from being a standout track. If you've heard the song once, you've heard it a thousand times. It's almost as if Prince is trying to set a record for how many times he can repeat the song's title within each composition (see the awful Forever or throwaway Feel Good, Feel Better on Lotusflower for further proof). And as far as No More Candy For You goes, it would have been nothing more than a b-side or fun filler back in the 80's and it's nothing more than that here.

Wall said:

B sides? ... Feel U Up?

I'm curious in what way other than the Camille voice does Dance 4 Me remind you of Feel U Up? Why not just say it reminds you of lesser Party Man and/or Good Love while your at it?

This board is just strange
[Edited 3/29/09 21:07pm]

Alexandernvrmind said:

It reminds me of lesser Party Man and Good Love.

Wall...I find myself agreeing with you more and more..

However, I've given a listen to MPLSound on a better sound system, and I've come to a few realizations::

There'll Never Be Another Like Me, Chocolate Box, Valentina, Ol'Skool Company, and No More Candy 4 U still suck. I hardly ever bother to listen to them. (HOWEVER, Ol'Skool sounds much better live and works well in that format..)

On the other hand:: Dance 4 Me, U're Gonna C Me, Here, and Better With Time are good songs. Especially "Dance 4 Me" and "Better with Time." Both stand out to me as great tracks. I listen to them multiple times in a row and keep on enjoying them more and more.. Rock solid tunes..

This album sinks HARD though when the over-bearing synths come in and drown out the groove. They just sound so very old and tired.. (I would literally be embarrassed to play "Valentina" in public. No jokes.)

Still, there are some keepers here.. Overall, it probably earns a B- from me. Somewhere around there, give or take.

klick2me said:

Love this song.... Love the beat