Your opinions on this album?

I Love It. Vocally superb one of his best...

I really like it, when i am in a certain kind of mood i always play this and ONA piano back to back.

Animal Kingdom is the only poor track imo.

The album was recorded in the autumn of 1996 after prince had completed Emancipation.

It was originally going to be distributed by EMI, but a large scale release of the album was cancelled due to EMI going under.

Great songs, does not really show Prince at his best on the acoustic guitar, a true acoustic album would be knock out.

[Edited 6/21/10 10:24am]

Joyinrepatition said:

I Love It. Vocally superb one of his best...

i agree with u. very personal. my fav would be welcome 2 the dawn & don't play me.

a must 4 any p fan.

It always puts a smile on my face listening to this album. Pure Prince at it's best.....

i would love a piano & acoustic greatest hits album.

millwall said:

i would love a piano & acoustic greatest hits album.

There is not really enough acoustic guitar and piano music for a best of, never mind a greatest hits.

MikeyB71 said:

millwall said:

i would love a piano & acoustic greatest hits album.

There is not really enough acoustic guitar and piano music for a best of, never mind a greatest hits.

I think he means P to re-record his hits in that style.

And i agree, the best bits of the musicology tour boots are the acoustic sections.

Marrk said:

MikeyB71 said:

There is not really enough acoustic guitar and piano music for a best of, never mind a greatest hits.

I think he means P to re-record his hits in that style.

And i agree, the best bits of the musicology tour boots are the acoustic sections.

thats what i mean. he played piano on the lovesexy tour, guitar on musicology they sound sick.

would love him 2 re~record the old stuff in this way.. show of his musicianship. saw bonjovi @ o2

last night they did an unplug thing a few years ago & the same last nite they were sick. But had nothing on p.

Joyinrepatition said:

I Love It. Vocally superb one of his best...

Lyrically superb as well!

I love it !!!

Absolutely fantastic album.

I would love another acoustic based project.

Beautiful album-love it

Joyinrepatition said:

I Love It. Vocally superb one of his best...

Agree. Dionne is so perfect. Point to this album when people say he hasn't done anything since 1989.

Dionne is so perfect.

One of his most underrated songs imho.

"Don't Play Me" has claims in that category too.

PlusSign said:

Dionne is so perfect.

One of his most underrated songs imho.

"Don't Play Me" has claims in that category too.

"I already got laid"

Classic!

millwall said:

Marrk said:

I think he means P to re-record his hits in that style.

And i agree, the best bits of the musicology tour boots are the acoustic sections.

thats what i mean. he played piano on the lovesexy tour, guitar on musicology they sound sick.

would love him 2 re~record the old stuff in this way.. show of his musicianship. saw bonjovi @ o2

last night they did an unplug thing a few years ago & the same last nite they were sick. But had nothing on p.

Oh, quality of performance mustn't matter when it comes to getting into the RRHOF then...

millwall said:

Your opinions on this album?

This album showcases P's genius when he strips it down to just one or two instruments.

Anyone heard the acoustic version of 'Love' from 3121?

Great version.

Folk sounding and boring as hell. One of his worst albums ever.

His last great work, imo.

one of his best albums IMHO.... shame it never got a full scale release...my fav is circle of amour..but the whole album works as a whole.....

THE TRUTH

Part of the joy of Crystal Ball was the unannounced bonus discs of The Truth and Kama Sutra. If Crystal Ball was a peek into the Vault and the glory days of the past, then The Truth was an intimate glimpse into the present.

Even before the first note sounds Prince gears up the voice – is it a grunt or a clearing of the throat? Then the crystal clear strings of the acoustic guitar hit and we are invited to explore The Truth. With deep questioning lyrics, The Truth doesn’t come across as a demo as other acoustic tracks can, and despite the stripped back feel it still feels lush and rich. And the purity in Prince’s vocals come through almost as though he were sitting in front of you. Of course you’d get a bit of a fright when he hits that trademark scream but that would be half the fun. A perfect opener to this set.

Don’t Play Me had an instant hook in the rhythm of the strums, and once again the lyrics seemed more honest, as if Prince was willing to lay himself out without a myriad of verbal word play and allusions. My fave line – Don’t play me, I’m the wrong colour and I play guitar, my only competition is, well, me in the past.

With each passing song the overdubs and embellishments slowly creep in . With Circle of Amour we hear for the first time backing vocals, percussion, and a layering of instrumentation. A wistful song it portrays a true innocence of growing up and all that comes with it.

3rd Eye brings out the funk with a running bassline and raggedy guitar that jingles and jangles through the track. Initially I thought this was a reference to the eye of the mind, but the line “between Adam’s thighs and he tries to release up eve a nectar, the injector tries” place the geography a little below the belt.

Dionne is a truly playful tune right down to the sliding guitar plucks. Here someone is dealing with “tease” issues but delivered with the tongue firmly placed in the check. A fuller arrangement featuring layered vocals, effects, and the introduction of synths for the first time this song feels like it could have been placed in the jovial mood of Under The Cherry Moon. A “bring a smile to the face song”

Man in a Uniform never really hit me and even listening to it now I kinda think, yeah ok, what next.

Thankfully what is next is one of Prince’s most intriguing tracks. Probably the most “produced” track Animal Kingdom features treated vocals, animal noises, whale calls, and effects. Laying out his argument for veganism, Prince makes a catchy argument with this intriguing arrangement and song.

As if to counter the heavy message or intent of Animal Kingdom, the upbeat The Other Side of the Pillow is seductive and playful with Prince’s falsetto skirting around a blues meets jazz inspired track. So smooth. Bubbly bubbly. Wonderful backing vocals.

When I first heard Fascination I was reminded of Fleetwood Mac’s Rhiannon in the way the vocal of the title is delivered. But that’s where the comparison ends. The most plugged in song on the album, it’s a simmering funk groove with quirky singsong lyrics. Immediately I bought into this song and it’s vibe. Funny how an anti-drug song could be so intoxicating. One of the stand out tracks on the album for me.

With its seductive build, One of Your Tears is a blissfully spiteful song about betrayal. How can someone make heartbreak sound so appealing with one line “sometimes I wanna die and come back as one of your tears”. With bright melody most artists might turn it into a sappy love song, but here we delve into the darker side, and taste the bittersweet. And don’t it taste good.

Comeback is the haunter of the album. Dealing with death and the longing for reassurances the lyrics hit me hard “if you ever lose someone dear to you never say they words their gone, they’ll come back”. A wonderful sentiment and if on cue a tear dropped from my eyes just as filtered through my speakers.

For many us Welcome 2 the Dawn was a deliverance of such. With the wish of “may you live to see the dawn” littered through Prince’s work, W2TD was the arrival. A mix of faith and salvation both spiritual and in a sense in the Artist and his struggle, W2TD brought us into a new era of Prince’s musical journey either by design or by fate. It’s just a shame that along with the other stand out tracks on this album, W2TD doesn’t even register on most Prince “fans” radar let alone on the general listening public.

In a sense stronger as a complete disc than it’s Crystal Ball counterparts, The Truth heralded in turn in the career of Prince/The Artist. Where, for a period, his music would be more for the selective than the masses not only in the way it would be distributed but also in the way it would challenge the perceptions of what the next release would or should sound like.

So for all of you that have, like me, not taken this cd out of the fourth tray of the Crystal Ball circular setting as often as it deserved to be, do so now. And let us know what you’re thinking.

Swa

Marrk said:

love this album alot... love every song on it

"Don't play me" is one of my all-time favorites..I love the honesty of the song...I love the album also

For me it's like Lotusflow3r in that they both have a more confident original feel, but just like Lotusflow3r while both have excellent tracks, they both have glaringly bad clunkers that take them down a few notches from being perfect albums. For me the prime examples would be "Wall Of Berlin" "Forever" for LT and "Animal Kingdom" from The Truth, but overall are probably my two favorite Prince albums in the post 80's era.

Also, probably the least cringeworthy albums since the 80's, these two will least humiliate a Prince fan listening in public or a least a whole lot less than everything Prince released in the 90's.

[Edited 6/24/10 18:06pm]

I LOVE IT! One of my absolute favorite albums.

I it too... Think I'll go put it on right now!!

I love the sound , but I hate the songs...