We've had the chance to listen to the album for some time now and are able to make a mature evaluation.

My ratings from 1 to 10:

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 5
Chocolate Box - 7
Dance 4 Me - 7
U're Gonna C Me - 5
Here - 6
Valentina - 6
Better With Time - 5
Ol' Skool Company - 8
No More Candy 4 U - 6

Total points: 55/90 = 61%.
(compared to his most interesting albums in the 2000s: Planet Earth - 66%, 3121 - 65%)

MPLSOUND is an album I enjoy but it's still only slightly above average. Though this rating is slightly higher than when I first rated it. Especially Ol' Skool Company has grown on me, but also Valentina.

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 4
Chocolate Box - 6
Dance 4 Me - 10
U're Gonna C Me - 7
Here - 9
Valentina - 3
Better With Time - 3
Ol' Skool Company - 9
No More Candy 4 U - 10

Total points: 62/90 = 68%.

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 7
Chocolate Box - 8
Dance 4 Me - 9
U're Gonna C Me - 7
Here - 9
Valentina - 8
Better With Time - 8
Ol' Skool Company - 10
No More Candy 4 U - 8

74/90 = 80%
[Edited 11/7/09 14:36pm]

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 7
Chocolate Box - 4
Dance 4 Me - 9
U're Gonna C Me - 9
Here - 9
Valentina - 7
Better With Time - 5
Ol' Skool Company - 9
No More Candy 4 U - 7

73%

def. a better album than 3121, Planet Earth..
[Edited 11/7/09 15:23pm]

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me
Chocolate Box
Dance 4 Me
U're Gonna C Me
Here
Valentina
Better With Time
Ol' Skool Company
No More Candy 4 U

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 6
Chocolate Box - 8
Dance 4 Me - 6
U're Gonna C Me - 10
Here - 8
Valentina - 6
Better With Time - 9
Ol' Skool Company - 2
No More Candy 4 U - 8

Total points: 63/90, he gets a 70% score

Wow, I think I was too generous!

Uh, I was told there would be no math...

Oh, well, here goes.


(There'll Never B) Another Like Me: 1
Chocolate Box: 3
Dance 4 Me: 5
U're Gonna C Me: 2
Here: 9
Valentina: 3
Better With Time: 2
Ol' Skool Company: 7
No More Candy 4 U: 7

Total score: 39/90 = 43%

And I think I was being generous with a couple of the ratings.

I can rate the whole album easy. In a word: SHIT!

After years of hearing fans say they would love an "1999/Purple Rain" sounding album he puts out MPLS Sound.

Great he's mad e a new album using the Linn Drum but there are no real great synth hooks like there should be and he sounds plain bored.

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 5
Chocolate Box - 4
Dance 4 Me - 8
U're Gonna C Me - 6
Here - 7
Valentina - 5
Better With Time - 4
Ol' Skool Company - 8
No More Candy 4 U - 6

My ratings from 1 to 10:

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 3
Chocolate Box - 1
Dance 4 Me - 8
U're Gonna C Me - 7
Here - 9
Valentina - 4 ( could be 7 if the lyrics weren´t so bad)
Better With Time - 6
Ol' Skool Company - 9
No More Candy 4 U - 1

My ratings from 1 to 10:

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 8
Chocolate Box - 7
Dance 4 Me - 8
U're Gonna C Me - 5
Here - 5
Valentina - 9
Better With Time - 7
Ol' Skool Company - 10
No More Candy 4 U - 10
Total 69/90 = 77%

Lost abit of its shine, but still a great album, ballads have grown on me a bit more. Chocolate box wears out quickly though. Last 2 tracks are pure genius especially Ol' skool company, we missed u Camille

my ratings from 1-10

There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 6
Chocolate Box - 7
Dance 4 Me - 4
U're Gonna C Me - 9
Here - 10
Valentina - 8
Better With Time - 9
Ol' Skool Company - 10
No More Candy 4 U - 5
[Edited 11/7/09 17:20pm]

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 1
Chocolate Box - 6
Dance 4 Me - 9
U're Gonna C Me - 7
Here - 9
Valentina - 5
Better With Time - 5
Ol' Skool Company - 9
No More Candy 4 U - 9

This album has got it made due to 4 songs:

Ur Gonna C Me (Beautiful)
Better With Time (Ditto)
Ol Skool Company (funky!)
No More Candy 4 U (cool song with attitude!)

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 6
Chocolate Box - 4
Dance 4 Me - 6
U're Gonna C Me - 8
Here - 5
Valentina - 6
Better With Time - 8
Ol' Skool Company - 8
No More Candy 4 U - 8
[Edited 11/7/09 23:51pm]

Great album

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 8
Chocolate Box - 9
Dance 4 Me - 9
U're Gonna C Me - 9
Here - 9
Valentina - 9
Better With Time - 8
Ol' Skool Company - 8
No More Candy 4 U - 9

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 0
Chocolate Box - 0
Dance 4 Me - 4
U're Gonna C Me - 2
Here - 2
Valentina - 0
Better With Time - 4
Ol' Skool Company - 0
No More Candy 4 U - 3

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 8
Chocolate Box - 9
Dance 4 Me - 9
U're Gonna C Me - 8
Here - 10
Valentina - 7
Better With Time - 8
Ol' Skool Company - 9
No More Candy 4 U - 9

NouveauDance said:

Wow, your review is even harsher than mine.

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 4
Chocolate Box - 3
Dance 4 Me - 5
U're Gonna C Me - 5
Here - 7
Valentina - 2
Better With Time - 10
Ol' Skool Company - 8
No More Candy 4 U - 2

Dance4Me: 9

The rest: -2 (Yes! It's meant to read MINUS TWO!)

(There'll never b) another like me --- 6
Chocolate box --- 6
Dance 4 me --- 8
U're gonna c me - 6
Here --- 6
Valentina --- 6
Better with time --- 7
Ol skool company --- 9
No more candy 4 u --- 7

61 / 90 = 67 %

it is a solid C- to D+ album.

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 4 (How many damn songs is he gonna do about hoe great he thinks he is???)
Chocolate Box - 5 (wasn't there a bootleg called that? and another damn song about how great he thinks he is)
Dance 4 Me - 5 (ANOTHER SONG about himself???!! at least this one is not so much about how great he thinks he is)
U're Gonna C Me - 3 (Yet another "I am so great" song! and seems like this same song was on the last 3 albums)
Here - 7 (decent song, but nothing special)
Valentina - 5(another song about himself?)
Better With Time - 6 (bland)
Ol' Skool Company - 7 (ok not great)
No More Candy 4 U - 6 (if only prince 1/2 as good as he thought he was!)
Crimson & Clover - 8 (best song on the set)
[Edited 11/8/09 9:49am]

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 5
Chocolate Box - 4
Dance 4 Me - 8
U're Gonna C Me - 6
Here - 6
Valentina - 6
Better With Time - 8
Ol' Skool Company - 7
No More Candy 4 U - 8

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 4
Pretty weak song, but I rather enjoy the coda. And the fact that it's a careless little ditty that it sounds like he made in about 45 minutes, start to finish.

Chocolate Box - 3
Look up "annoying" in the dictionary and wait for it. Bad programming, weak ass "toasting" on behalf of Prince and a total waste of Q Tip. But at least it's light hearted and fun. And it's not about the Larry translation of the Bible. I think...

Dance 4 Me - 9
"Aw funky congregation..." Brilliant. But what is that he's saying after the Jimmy Choo's? Lotusflow3r says that he offers "half", but that doesn't rhyme with "cash" and "ultralash", now does it?

U're Gonna C Me - 7
Beautiful, even though the fragility of the absolutely superior original is gone with the lightweight eighties production. "There's never a minute that I find - that you don't ever cross my mind" This is a song.

Here - 10
Top twenty ever Prince, imo. Flawless production, semi interesting lyrics and an absolutely irresistible melody. The fact that it sounds more like an outtake from "Fullfillingness' First Finale" and not really vintage Prince makes it all the more of an to all haters. More, please!

Valentina - 3
Idiotic. But I like some of the percussion.

Better With Time - 6
That first verse took some getting used to. Or rather, it took a while to be able to block it out. "... only one of us still look the same". How is anybody capable of writing something as lame as that? Even if they're Prince? Amazing. But this song is beautiful, even if he tries to fuck it up with his immature ramblings.

Ol' Skool Company - 7
This is pretty funky, but he's done it just as good a dozen times before. Without the weird ass lyrics about how America's neighbourhoods used to be "ruled" by God and Jesus. Loving the Camille voice and the funky ass rantings about... drummers and such in the end.

No More Candy 4 U - 3
This is something I don't get why everybody's so crazy about. All right, it has a lot of attitude, but musically it's rubbish, isn't it? And what's with the dumb ass lyrics? It has a good guitarr and piano, but I'll take Jack U Off or Horny Toad over this moralistic muddle any day of the week.

All in all: Best since 1995. Maybe '91. Love it. Love Lotusflow3r too. Just *skip* *skip* *skip* and dig the good stuff.
[Edited 11/8/09 9:17am]

Good thread idea.

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 5
Chocolate Box - 8
Dance 4 Me - 7
U're Gonna C Me - 10
Here - 10
Valentina - 4
Better With Time - 9
Ol' Skool Company - 4
No More Candy 4 U - 8
Crimson & Clover - 8

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 2
Chocolate Box - 2
Dance 4 Me - 4
U're Gonna C Me - 6
Here - 3
Valentina - 0
Better With Time - 4
Ol' Skool Company - 0
No More Candy 4 U - 4

Damn shame when a slow jam is the best thing on the album.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

Firstly C&C is not on it!

Secondly, I like your angle that a lot of the songs are narcissistic in nature, but you ommit the most blatant song 'Better with Time' which is disguised as a song about Christin Scott Thomas!

my list....
(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 3
Chocolate Box - 3
(1st two are the worst, if he had changed them for better songs this would be an excellent album).
Dance 4 Me - 6
U're Gonna C Me - 7
Here - 9
Valentina - 5
Better With Time - 8
Ol' Skool Company - 7
No More Candy 4 U - 6


.....

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me - 3
Chocolate Box - 5
Dance 4 Me - 8
U're Gonna C Me - 7
Here - 8
Valentina - 5
Better With Time - 5
Ol' Skool Company - 6
No More Candy 4 U - 6

never b another 6
u gonna c me 7
here 7
ole skool co 5
no more candy 4 u 10

the rest belong in the vault

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me = 7
Chocolate Box = 6
Dance 4 Me = 10
U're Gonna C Me = 6
Here = 8
Valentina = 5
Better With Time = 4
Ol' Skool Company = 9
No More Candy 4 U = 8