graecophilos said:

I believe that its his music, he just use her vocals.

I'm diggin' all the albums. Each one has its own flavor...
LotusFlow3r - guitar
MPLSound- a funky vibe
Elixer - slow groove

WOW, maybe it really was a good idea that he divided them.
Prince fans are a divided group.

Maybe that's the way to go, like Spielberg. For summer he releases something like "The Goonies" then in the fall he release "Saving Private Ryan"

keeps both camps happy and is profitable all the way around.

LOTUSFLOW3R - UTCM / THIRD STONE FROM THE SUN

MPLS - FUTURISM / UTMC

ELIXER - CLASSIC LATE 80's EARLY 90's R&B /UTMC


an its all good!





fan or not, if you dont ever here this set you are missing out

as i was listing to lotusflow3r it did remind me of Parade/UTCM era....
[Edited 3/29/09 14:57pm]

After listening and enjoying all three CDs my first choice was originally MPLS but now I cannot stop listening to LotusFlow3r to play the other two. So while they are all very good, complementary CDs I have to now say definitely LOTUS because I love every song.

LOTUS FLOWER no question

MPLSound, if only because it's a more consistent albums. My current feeling is they're both B+ albums, together, with a few trims, would have been a solid A.

Lotus Flower is missing a really kickass track up front.

MendesCity said:

"Boom" is the definition of a kickass track IMO. I really love it...and "LotusFlow3r" as a whole. 10 out of 10!!!

livewire said:

I like Boom a lot, just not really the kind of song I like my albums starting off with....maybe if it went somewhere other than verse, vamp, verse, vamp, etc

Well if I'm in a funky danc3 typ3 mod3 th3n Mplsound

But wh3n i want 2 rock.... lotusflow3r

but wh3n i want to sl33p /..... cartoon n3twork lol. (U thought I was going 2 say ELIXER lol)

MPLSound 4 me!!

I just can't say yet

My vote's for MPLSound, though I like LotusFlow3r a lot. Kind of surprised that I like LotusFlow3r as much as I do. But I was pretty blown away by a lot of MPLSound -- the last 2 songs in particular. Pretty incredible to get 2 cds of this quality. It's a good time to be a Prince fan.

I LOVE LOTUS FLOWER !


MPLSSOUND is great too(wouldn't classify it as a mpls sound.The long winded grit/grease aint on it a 10 min song( you need the pork and the chicken in frying pan at the same time).. I think he created a little something for everyone,those who like funk- Rock-Jazz R&B(Elixer) and no I'm not calling Bria a Jazz artist.


it's great for me when I know i'll be spinning these over and over.Just like I did 3121!

I prefer Lotusflow3r...so far.

Lotusflow3r reminds me of TRC while MPLSoUND reminds me of NPS. And I loved TRC!! NPS was a grower 4 me.

Close2u said:

oh all i've heard is bits of both ....and damn ...Prince has done it he has produced as one orger said on this website a "Sign of the Times" for 2009 ...damn ...I can't wait to get the CD in my hands....

How does he do it ?....The album is the perfect storm .....we are just feeling the wind ....when this get's out to the public ....oh man it's gonna rain purple.....

Unless MJ produces a knock out CD this year ..we will be talking about this come december .....

Lotus, because it has two songs on it that aren't bad (Colonized Mind and Dreamer).

popgodazipa said:

That's a good point, Pop. I did the same thing when I got Lostsflow3er and began to think it was a dud because I'd forgotten the 4 songs i'd already hear and loved. Colonized Mind is classic right out of the box. Of the songs remaining, 2 were the insufferable and unlistenable Love Like Jazz and The Morning After, two were intros/outros (and barely songs at all) and then there was "Boom" and "Feel Better..." which are quite good in their own right.

So after reflecting on it, I realized there's only really 2 clunkers on this record (which is good by Prince's modern standards) and 2 filler songs that both actually have their moments. It's actually quite good except i'd already beaten 4 of the best songs on it into the ground already.

MPLSound is ridiculous though. "Chocolate Box", "Valentina", "Old Skool Company and "Dance 4 Me" are insane fun(k) and sound real great with the top down on a Spring afternoon and probably almost as fun at a dance club right around midnight. "Never b Another", 'Here" and "No More Candy" are all fun in their own right - interesting, thick, danceable and layered and definitely not skippable embarrassing nonsense like "Wedding Feast" or "Te Amo Corezan" and such. The ballads you can keep, as usual.

They're pretty strong records, and I haven't even gotten to Elixer yet. The best Prince has done in a while taken as a whole in their entirety, and almost every song is on either record is better than ANYTHING on Planet Earth. The "skip song" to "play song" ratio is in a very positive balance

The lack of real clunkers, combined with quite a few songs I put on repeat when I'm taking a shower or driving around with my windows down, and the ones that I can already tell are growers leads me to agree that Prince has still got it - to some level- and can deliver it whenever the mood strikes him.

Certainly, the whole package is worth $12 and then some, hands down.
[Edited 3/30/09 9:02am]

bsk3601 said:

How come?
[Edited 3/30/09 9:02am]

edit: double post.

i suck.
[Edited 3/30/09 9:03am]

still up for review...can't pick

Having listened to these albums for the last week or more, and i can safely say, we wont be hearing much about MPLSound as a classic album in the future, it simply does not have the consistency, the ballads are weak, actually weaker than those on PE.

It has 3 brilliant tracks, Dance 4 me, Valentina and No more Candy 4 U. Valentina being the "If I was your girlfriend" of the album.

Lotusflow3r is on a different level, this an album that makes you shake your head in disbelief, similiar to Parade in that it has songs that make you think WHY?, 77 Beverly Park for example. $ is simply f.cked up brilliant, Wall Of Berlin...and so on

ah, i could go on, it is a straight up Nine out of Ten album

I agree that Mplsound will not be a looked upon classic in the future but, it will be remembered as the time Prince finaly brought his sound up to date whilst still maintaining the old qualities. I happen to think the ballads are one of the albums shining moments though, Here is now a Prince classic. I think the album will go down in the same vein as something like JTs Justified album, i'm not saying there similar albums in any way, just that i think Mplsound will go down like that...a fantastic pop record.

Lotus on the other hand, you have it spot on imo.
[Edited 4/5/09 6:14am]

WetDream said:

OK, that is the best ballad on the album, at least the only one I like, as for JT´s justified album, I cant make a comment, as I have never heard the album, is it the one with tracks produced from Pharrell?, if so, I can understand.

Pharrell, Dr.Dre and maybe Outkast are the only musicians i have heard in the last 15 yrs of black music, that seem to have imagination and offer something new. However, I admit, i may be abit ignorant to the scene, but nothing has really captured my imagination in this time

Whitnail said:

Yeah it is, Pharrell, Timbaland (don't like this one), Brian McKnight are the producers for that album but, as i said, i wasn't saying they are similar albums, just that i think it will go down the same way, remembered as a fantastic pop record. Having said that, Justified was great

Yeah i pretty much agree there for mainstream urban acts but, to totally brush off modern urban music would be a little misjudged, urban music still carries modern greats, they just don't get the recognition as i'm sure you know.

WetDream said:

Timbaland, Urrgh

This is a very good point, there are acts out there, who have alot of potential, but the industry defines what they should do, to cream out the money, this was what Princes fight was always about with the companies. If one looks at U2 for example, almost the same career span as Prince, their new album is their 11th studio album. Madonna a complete musical joke, good business women, but is that not selling out?. Springsteen, consistently the same and so on

Prince has the luxury, to know that he has a very loyal fanbase, as stated on the song Letitgo, but also knows, his fans are his biggest critics.

To put it another way, what artist has taken the career path prince has taken, in the last 20 yrs, probably no one, as they never had the chance. It is a killer industry, first album a hit, and you are a star, if not, you are F....

hope that makes some sort of sense

Whitnail said:

yup, one constantly underlooked and ignored act which annoys me is Rahsaan Patterson, such a talent but, tossed aside because he isn't commercial enough.
Yeah i agree but, it wasn't always that way, hence why Prince survived within the industry for so long during the 80s but, even then, it had it's moments, moments that hinted at whats to come. Remember the 'Let's Rock' one off single Prince wanted to release not long after Dirty Mind but, it was forbidden by his label? It appeared on Controversy as Let's Work instead. Then you had the Dream Factory/Crystal Ball riff...it was indeed a sign o the times.

I don't think Prince's path will ever be walked on again and he's lucky he can do all this independently and still top the charts today. As you say, this wont be repeated.

An independent, simultaneous 3 album release with mostly positive feedback from his biggest critics and good sales...looking at things overall and thinking about it, he seems to have hit a new high.
[Edited 4/5/09 8:12am]

Changes everyday right now. Still too new to say how i feel about these yet. I mean, i love em dont get me wrong but to compare them right now i couldnt. If i HAD to id say Lotusflow3r is a better album but there are times when i feel the opposite.

lotus would be my choiceit has more depth and also contains that awful song "the morning after". That song sounds like a 2nd rate Tom petty number. he was probably aiming for a raspberry beret.
I like "love like jazz", but the 2 ballads on MPLS are great.
In some places lotus has a TRC sound to it, and that´s, of course, an outstanding album!
Neither album is forward looking. I like the albums but he´s still playing it safe.

lotusflow3r easily..i cant understand personally that people would vote mplsound, i mean we heared that kind of songs and production too much, i thought?..but on the other hand..i am used too see people with totally different tastes enjoying Prince's music.

popgodazipa said:

What a sig! But we won't even go there . . .