U're Gonna C Me....
"I’ll hit you back with no delay." (Prince likes to two-way), "there’s never a minute that I find that you don’t ever cross my mind Darling", “you’re the reason I took a rope and lassoed the Moon", Wow! Those sound like the words of a man in LOVE.

PissedwithMoneymade said:

I thought those quotes were going to be the reasons you didn't like the song

I forgot about that line “you’re the reason I took a rope and lassoed the Moon." That's not really the same as saying "for you I would lasso the moon!" It doesn't actually make sense.

It's nice song, but some of those lyrics really bug me.

NDRU said:

I guess I'm a hopeless romantic in love with Prince.

phunkdaddy said:

That's just it right there. As long as people went into this CD expecting the 2nd coming of Let's Work, DMSR or Lady Cab Driver, they were were setting themselves up for disappointment but it's the same story with every album that the man does and no one ever learns. Those same people probably never compared SOTT with 1999 so why do it with MPLSound? People here are a hot mess.

purplecam said:

the only comparison i was doing was please let this b better than planet shit ..and it is! even lotus is better so i was pleased

L4OATheOriginal said:

I didn't dislike Planet Earth but with that said, anything was would be better than Planet Earth.

purplecam said:

well maybe we should rephrase that ..cause 1999 the new master is even worse than planet earth

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]

Bit late to the review party but just got the new CD this weekend in the UK...

Ok played the songs i've already heard and like first so now for a real review playing the album as a whole....out of 5 ***** stars

The Best Tracks on MPLSOUND for me are.....
Chocolate Box ... really like it now *** (it grows on you not bad)
Dance 4 ME ....A Classic Prince Track of the Future ***** (This should be a 10 out of 5 its so good)
U're gonna C Me ...very cool in the wrong place on the CD but good ****
Valentina ...funny / cool (lyrics are poor but it's fun ) ***
Here....EDIT...(Turn Me Loose on here)
Ol Skool Company ...like it good groove gets a **** (Could have been faster like the live version on Leno)
No More Candy 4 U .....funny lyrics...but poor track for a Album...(Prince should have put F.U.N.K on here then it would make the CD a true hit) **
There'll Never be ALM ....poor lyrics ...ok music ... **
Better With Time ....very good track ...music cool ...nice lyrics.. ***

Not bad P ...like it but get Turn me loose and FUNK on this Album and it would be a near classic for sure

I"m just amazed that I like MPLSound FAR MORE than LotusFlow3r. I never expected that to be the case. Not in a million years.

Boy oh boy was this a treat. I had Here looping one light for a minute. NBALM is a good party jam, along w/ CB and Dance4Me, and ol Valentina is clever and funky. Better w/ time is prolly a tearjerker if it hits u right, kinda reminds me of Mavis's Time cut. Ol Skool Company is the banger though. Good grief the mama jama broke the situation we find ourselves in down. I hope Obama hears it. No More Candy? Oh snap thats CLASSIC P. I thought it was 1982 again. This album is so just what fans needed. Unselfconscious, bold, and really not giving a duck what anybody thinks. He really is flying above all fears. After all this time, P aint changed at all.

April 4, 2009 Saturday (posted on my Myspace blog).



(There’ll Never B) Another Like Me....
As soon as this song begins I’m in party mode. I immediately think of the Minneapolis sound and a bit of Teena Marie, another artist I've studied and love. Right from the beginning I was hooked to this song with it's infectious hook that makes me want to bounce up and down on the bass and the boom. Lyrically, Prince is doing his whole braggadocious thing, and I do enjoy listening to him share how he gets out of bed late in the afternoon, uses olive oil in his hair (but of course), and Prince acTUally checks his OWN email! I’d sure like to know who the girl is Prince seems to be saying he's waiting on and singing, I can get you what you want anything at all girl all you gotta say is please? Wonder if Prince has anyone in mind? If she’s "thinker than before" perhaps she’s someone from Prince's past? The..I’m Rick James...probably made Rick James smile from Funk heaven since I heard him and Prince had a little beef back in the day. I'm not sure if they ever made up and were cool. I heard Vanity was with Rick James first. Prince has definitely made another fun party song I can shake my ass to. I like the part near the end when Prince keeps asking,"What you waitin for?" I wonder what in the world IS she waiting for. More than likely we know it’s probably Prince. Seems he's always making people wait.


Chocolate Box....
Prince is still in bragging mode with the, futuristic, cheeky yet cheerful I got a box of chocolates that’ll rock the socks of any girl that want to come my way". Catchy yet I’m not exactly sure what Prince means in this song. However, if he’s talking slick like he is in this song and flipping the bird while he’s in "Orwellian" mode, he should realize she’s probably confused as hell and this my may be the reason why ‘she’s frontin’. Perhaps Prince decided a guest appearance by one of Queen’s finest, rapper Q-tip, could deliver his "Love Divine" a matrix-mack rap? "...I’m your Willy Wonka come and take it..":)lol Prince was walking around at one time with the Willy Wonka look wasn’t he? Some of you know that look Prince had I’m talking about. In spite of all Prince’s frankness in this song, (I still can't believe he flips the bird in this video), this song Chocolate Box is one you can get your dance on to and I do love to dance. The heavy breathing in the hook is a reminder of Prince’s song "Sexy Dancer" from 1980. Wow! It’s 2009 and Prince can still rock my sox off.


Dance 4 Me....
This song is sure to be pumping in many clubs like Sin City in the Bronx and Club Onyx in Houston yet you wouldn’t know it from the beginning when Prince, along with his "Funky Congregation" gives praise and thanks to the Most High for Prince's sexy dancer. This sexy sonic funk groove has so many variations I think anyone alive would have a hard time not dancing or moving to the beat of Dance 4 Me. One of my favorite parts in this song is towards the end when Prince does a Larry Blackmon (Cameo "Word Up") voice and says, "Make me wanna...make me wanna pick up maracas and just shake". Yeah baby yeah!


U're Gonna C Me....
Wait one minute! Prince can’t sleep at night?! "I’ll hit you back with no delay." (Prince likes to two-way), "there’s never a minute that I find that you don’t ever cross my mind Darling", “you’re the reason I took a rope and lassoed the Moon", “there’s nothing I won’t do" (he’ll even stare into the sun for this one?) and "to all others I am blind". Wow! Those sound like the words of a man in LOVE. I love this song! After dancing and shakin' straight through the first three (3) songs on this MPLSound CD, I compare "U're Gonna C Me" to a warm bubble bath prepared and waiting for me. When I hear Prince’s adlibs around 3:51, he hits notes that make me so weak in the knees I would need to be carried into my bubble bath.


Here...
Now this is definitely one of my all-time favorite Prince love songs. It’s currently up there with "Adore" in my book and I loved "Adore". In MY mind Prince is singing to me! I'll have to agree with my friend who said "Here" is probably one of Prince’s most prolific songs ever written in 15 minutes. Well, I don’t know if Prince really wrote the song that fast yet I can feel Prince is singing words straight from his heart. Which is why I say this song has to be one of my all-time favorites. "HERE" is one of Prince’s greatest songs in my opinion. The line at the end..."Donny Hathaway’s ‘Song 4 U’ ain’t the same without you here" Go listen to that song by Donny Hathaway. Would love to hear Prince sing that song to me.


Valentina....
“Heeeyyyy Valentina!" Prince doing something for the kids..I gotta love that. If Valentina is as beautiful inside and out when she becomes a woman like her mom Salma Hayek, she’ll understand why Prince wrote this cute and playful song asking her to tell her momma to give Prince a call. If anyone deserves a song written about them, it’s her ambitious, beautiful, and nurturing mother, Salma Hayek, who must have apparently been quite the life of Prince’s "rock and roll meetings". Hmmm...The music is a Latin, salsa, and futuristic fusion with nice, Spanish guitar licks. I’m happy Salma Hayek got married on Valentine’s Day this year because had she not, this song would not have been reviewed. I'm hoping Penelope Cruz gets married to her boyfriend soon.


Better With Time....
From her first role in Prince’s movie Under The Cherry Moon to Confessions of A Shopaholic, and her many roles and accomplishments, this award-winning actress, Kristen Scott Thomas has indeed gotten better with time. Are you guys paying attention? The theme for MPLSound seems to be Prince singing dedications to people Prince feels are special to him. Something Prince has pretty much always done in his music. You just gotta love that Christopher Tracy.


OL’ Skool Company....
It took me a few days before I figured out why this song sounded so familiar. It has the Ol’Skool flavor and the Craig Mack "Flava In Ya Ear" beat I love so much. Prince is such an original and blends the old with the new very well while preaching the truth about music and radio today. All of you Old-heads and New Skool boys and girls should be able to appreciate Prince’s funky groove and rap throughout this song. This one reassures me that true artists will continue to create real music and keep it real because it’s real music that stands the test of time. I'm Ol’ Skool so this is a funky jam for me and I like it.


No More Candy 4 U...
I’m glad I’m not a big candy eater because straight out of the gate Prince is putting "all the freaks in magazines who never paid no dues" on blast. The same way I put Money Made on blast (lol) "You can’t sing it’s true" (Paris Hilton?) and Prince is calling out the "freaks walking into walls" (so that’s what they’re doing in Hollyweird/Lala Land..walking into walls?). Love the Chuck Berry, vintage Rock and Roll feel of this song. I can roll with it and in the words my wise yet drunk on too many occasions Uncle, "What fools are these mortals." Yes indeed, no more candy 4 U!


I give Prince’s MPLSound CD not 5 Stars but I give it all the Stars in his Purple Galaxy! I LOVE this CD and I’m totally satisfied with it. It was well worth the wait folks. Again, this is just my personal opinion. I'm no Billboard or Rolling Stone music critic; I just know GREAT music when I hear it.

NDRU said:

I guess I'm a hopeless romantic in love with Prince.

L4OATheOriginal said:

Oh God, that piece of shit. Yikes! This is the only time you'll ever hear me rip a Prince CD or whatever the hell that was, apart. God that was such a disgrace. The less said about it, the better.