gamera said:

Agreed.

I loved the album from the first listen. Musically, I thought it was the most inspired and interesting piece of work he had done in years. I couldn't care less about lyrics, so that's why I can still enjoy it despite the fact that the album's religious themes go against everything I believe.

As a musician with a group, the band is in tight form. The spirituality is too deep at times but it doesen't mean I can't appreciate the music. Mind you, it took about 2 or 3 listenings to get into it.

The opening track is a jazzy groove that features some of the best studio guitar playing Prince has ever published to this date. The sound turns into a freaky kind towards the end but it's all good.

Some of the songs you could probably call "organic soul", such as Mellow and The Muse. The overall sound is very warm, kind of like india.arie and Erykah Badu but totally still sounding like Prince at the time. Nothing wrong with warm!

The funk is very deep in some songs, like Family Name and Everlasting now. The Family Name's drumming is the funkiest thing I have heard in a long time by anyone. Kind of reminds me f Lenny Kravitz's "Come on and Love me", another very funky groove, I listen to these quite often still today.

Everlasting Now... Some of you folks were fortunate to hear this played live. Blackwell is doing a fantastic job on this and again, Prince's guitar playing is totally in place here.

If you're looking for another hit in the vein of Let's go crazy or whatever, it may not be for you. Lovesexy and Graffiti Bridge are not for everyone either. In a way these albums are kind of related to this project and when compared, Prince seems to have finally come closer to what he is searching for in spritual sense.

A musician might pick this up and try to play along, it really is a fascinating piece of work in my opinion. Soul, jazz and funk diggers might be into this too, check out the album first before buying it though!

loved it at first listen. IN SPITE OF the darth vader voice. i understood (even if disagreed with) his "spiritual politics" but it didn't alienate me or overshadow how good the music is.

There are a few really good moments (in particular She Loves Me 4 Me, which is just lovely), but overall its a nasty, obsessive, delusional mess.

Stiil think it's one of his best in years... The mere fact that there is still hate out for it proves that it classic Prince... Quality work that is "controversial."

JudasLChrist said:

this album took a onve-unified group of fans and split us down the middle. ain't been back together again since

fever said:

Its a masterpiece and easily the most underrated Prince album.

XxAxX said:

so what? that fan nonsense is for losers anyway

Yes his ramblings are not everyone's cup of tea, but musicaly it's awash with all those little idiosyncratic little trinkets we had grown accustomed to.
For me it's a top three album, i just love it...

fever said:

Didn't like it when I 1st heard it but after puttin' that sucka on heavy rotation. I appreciate it a lot better.

XxAxX said:

What kinda bs is this? You know Prince fans have been pissing and moaning with each other since at least the dawn of the internet. Maybe even as early as 1985.

JudasLChrist said:

lmaoo.
The Rainbow Children has to be one of his most uplifting albums
where the heck did you dig up anti-semeticsm?

Anyways, I didn't think i'd like this album but at the first run through it quickly became one of my favorites.
Last December totally defines who he is as an insanely capable musician.

Musically brilliant.
To my ears, it was the last record to have it's own 'sound' (save for the instrumental albums 'Xenephobia' &'N.E.W.S.').
The lyrics, to me, are just a story.

Prost!

JesusFreak said:

Musically, TRC is genius IMO. It's his best work in years. Listen to the guitar work. It's awesome.

Lyrically, it's whack. I hate all the religious mumbo-jumbo. So unnecessary for a musician with such great talent.

ernestsewell said:

This is the biggest lie siince iraq had wmd's.....
Face it people prince has been singing about god since 1978 ... Get over it ... Prince has never hidden his faith .... When did a black man born in 1958 in the usa become racist...thats just bulls***

oh TRC is great and will forever be in the top 10 greatest Cd's he has ever released...

ernestsewell said:

Great album 2 get Blaze to I thought "Last December" could have been a great hit single! The musical arrangement to this song is bananas! Aaron6ix

I need to force myself to listen to it from beginning to end again.

I can't play any songs on it all the way through anymore. Not a single one.
I haven't attempted playing any in a very long time, so maybe I should try now.


It's got really brilliant parts in it, but the songs are just so long
and so boring...and Darth Vader telling the story is a turnoff.

LATEST opinions? The album is TEN years OLD!! For crying out loud!

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

Thats nice, compare Princes work to shit...

KatSkrizzle said:

Because if you read the thread, instead of just the original post, you can see that some opinions have changed about this "controversial" album over the years.

And it's just over eight years old, having been released in November 2001. Ten years will be November 2011, well over a year and a half from now.

it symbolises Prince at a stage where the instruments and instrumental sound took center place in the production process

LondonStyle said:

Exactly. Prince put the Lord's Prayer in one of his most popular songs.

Probably mentions God as much as any secular artist does.

During the Purple Rain Tour he said that "There's only one Lord, Jesus".

People talk about Prince using the theme of a "Universal God" in his music, but that's a load of bullshit.

He's had Christian Religious imagery in his music since the very beginning.

I'm not even gonna dignify the racism accusations, because it's just stupid!!!

Paris9748430 said:

I'm glad not everyone on the org follows the music media, who made this whole TRC is racist and anti-jewish rubbish up ... I find it hard to understand why this lie keeps being told by so called "fans" of his music...

And your so right in pointing out prince has talked about God from day one ... why people are shocked to hear Christian Religious themes in his music still makes me go crazy....

LondonStyle said:

Prince before 2000 and after 2000 are two totally different things, and you know it.

TheVoid said:

Come over to mine - I'll tie you down, and slip in the disc.

ernestsewell said:

I don't find it racist at all.
[Edited 2/19/10 9:22am]

2elijah said:

Laugh all you want, but it's true. There is nothing redeeming about that record.