muleFunk said:

The love is scaring me.

Where is the Haterinas and Barts when you need them?

I suggest you reado some of the review here. Hint: one of them rates the album 42/100 "for effort". Let's have some quotes:

"this album is going to vanish like Planet Earth."
"this thing's gonna sink like Planet Earth."
"only 4 of the 10 songs really impressed me"
"maybe it's all a little too simple"
"Some could say its a backwards step, and it would be hard to argue"

Obviously a masterpiece, then.

It's just the same muzak he's been churning out for a decade and a half. There's nothing about this album that screams "2010", it could just as well have been recorded 5, 10 or 15 years ago. Same crap, different year.

Now I'll return to the music I'm actually listening to: M.IA.'s latest, Marina & The Diamonds, a couple of Duran Duran remasters, latest from The Roots, Balthazar's "Applause", Band Of Horses' "Infinite Arms", the remaster of Cure's "Disintegration", "Disco2" by Health, Otis Redding's "Live On The Sunset Strip", "LazerProof",...

vinx98 said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Bland, uninspired, Prince on autopilot. Instantly forgettable. Not an ounce of conviction. Completely lacks passion. The best bits on this album wouldn't have been considered good enough for filler on his 1980s albums.

If you need half a dozen listens to "start to get into it", it's a sign that it's rubbish -- and don't pretend it ain't.

yeah right, like you got into parade and lovesexy in the first listen?

I didn't think they sucked, no.

Oh, and how about you READ what I posted:

If you need half a dozen listens to "start to get into it"

I didn't say "on the first listen".

fabriziovenerandi said:

If you need half a dozen listens to "start to get into it", it's a sign that it's rubbish -- and don't pretend it ain't.

yes, like wagner. If you don't like it the first time is rubbish.

Hilarious. Prince makes pop music, dude.

gamera said:

BartVanHemelen said:

If you need half a dozen listens to "start to get into it", it's a sign that it's rubbish -- and don't pretend it ain't.

I disagree. It can just mean there's more going on than you might catch at a casual or first listen. The best albums and songs are always the ones that you find yourself hearing new nuances in years after you first heard them.

Which part of "half a dozen listens" is hard to understand?

STOP MAKING SHIT UP.

My one line review. This is bad, very, very bad.

BartVanHemelen said:

Hilarious. Prince makes pop music, dude.

Prince is a 52~ years old pop star, dude. Usually pop stars are not able to reach the 3rd album.

I think it is a miracle he can still make a nice-pop work like this one. You can still keep listen the " Duran Duran remasters" or "the remaster of Cure's "Disintegration", but I still prefer listen this man create his "wrong" albums instead listen the "Lovesexy remaster" or the "Purple Rain deluxe digital edition".

f.

And, btz, nothing personal, but you are not the only one that listen other music, my last cds are Spezzarotto's "Tredici canzoni", Jerry's "Jerry", Baustelle's "Amen" and "You can't make this on stange..." from Zappa. Don't think you are more cool because you listen Duran Duran.

20Ten to me is like what NPS-era Prince would come up with if he was trying to make an album like MPLSound. I agree with what errant said in the comparison thread about it being the 'MPLS Sound' album that MPLSound was trying to be/could've been.

It's got some 79-82 SOUNDS in it for sure, but the imagination isn't really there for me. You can use all the linn samples and synth basslines you want but that doesn't make them '80s sounding' songs, just draped in the same costume (I have never wanted Prince to go back to the 80s sound, I am just saying that he has gone for that here).

The tracks are short and never really go anywhere you didn't expect them to, and it has that clear/sparse sound like NPS. It's cohesive as an album; that's a good thing.

I would still like to hear the imagination fired up again on a Prince record. There is a certain auto-pilot element about 20Ten, and it sounds like another 'bunkered in at Paisley Park' record, very claustrophobic and cloistered. It sounds like it was made quickly, because there isn't much really going on in a lot of the tracks musically. It reminds me of the NPGMC material at times, but again, better that those songs.

I haven't really paid attention to the lyrics, but there are still those songs where there is a complete lack of melody and groove to their delivery, it makes them sound very flat and monotone. Again, quickly made.

I will say this: any positive reviews in the media this album is getting is largely down to it being cool to like Prince again. There is certainly NOT a huge step up on this album in his song-writing abilities compared to the past 10-15 years - So I attribute any fauning done to the fact that Prince is in vogue again (that is why he's on the MPLSound trip after all, right) -- Where were these media lovies who are such big fans when they heard 'Come On' or 'When I Lay My Hands On U', or TRC, ONA, etc, etc. Most of these people probably have a copy of the Hits and Diamonds & Pearls knocking around, and that's it.

It's way better than MPLSound, not as good song-writing as Lotusflow3r. Far, far better than either 3121 or Musicology, more cohesive than PE, although that had some really standout tracks of the 00s IMO. It's one I'll probably return too. Post millenium there's the two strains of Prince music - the organic TRC/Lotus stuff, and the more electronic 3121/MPLSound side - I think 20Ten is the best effort of the latter strand.

.

[Edited 7/9/10 1:50am]

fabriziovenerandi said:

Don't think you are more cool because you listen Duran Duran.

It's not often you hear that!

Hmm, I've been listening to this and I don't know how can someone compare it to Sign O' the Times... because it's just not.

NouveauDance said:

It's way better than MPLSound, not as good song-writing as Lotusflow3r. Far, far better than either 3121 or Musicology, more cohesive than PE, although that had some really standout tracks of the 00s IMO. It's one I'll probably return too. Post millenium there's the two strains of Prince music - the organic TRC/Lotus stuff, and the more electronic 3121/MPLSound side - I think 20Ten is the best effort of the latter strand.

Out of curiosity - which tracks do you have in mind?

paulludvig said:

Out of curiosity - which tracks do you have in mind?

Guitar, Future Baby Mama, Chelsea Rogers, ATMITW, SHOE, Resolution, maybe, LOJ.

If Planet Earth has some of your stand-out tracks of the 00's on it, you really need to listen to some better music.

Granted it's a lot better than this latest "effort" but it's no better than a 3 star album.

I often browse but rarely post. Can I just ask - is the only reason BartVH posts on here to 'shout' at us for being stupid/wrong for still liking some of the things Prince does?

NouveauDance said:

paulludvig said:

Out of curiosity - which tracks do you have in mind?

Guitar, Future Baby Mama, Chelsea Rogers, ATMITW, SHOE, Resolution, maybe, LOJ.

That's almost the entire album! I like SHOE

eggy said:

If Planet Earth has some of your stand-out tracks of the 00's on it, you really need to listen to some better music.

Come on. I was obviously talking about best of PRINCE in the 00s, sheesh.

I'm not gonna go there comparing Prince to other stuff, you'd never hear the end of it!

Hmmm, it's on the second spin as of speaking. Can't really remember any of the melodies from the first spin, but there wasn't anything that I disliked either.

It's stylistically a continuation of his previous albums - a mix of contemporary pop music and his own 80s flavour added to it. "Planet Earth" would be the closest thing to compare it to, but "Planet Earth" had a few songs that were stronger than anything on this one. On the other hand, "20ten" doesn't have any moments that would make you feel embarrassed as has been the case with most of his albums since, well, who knows how long. On the contrary, some of the silliness here just makes me laugh like a joke should evoke laughter. Thankfully, the choruses aren't of the "4ever" / "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful" -type, which wore me out quite fast on Lotusflow3r (I'd still consider it a stronger record than this one).

I don't think the arrangements are as simple as some people have stated here, Prince is just as good at using space in his arrangements as ever. He might be using some type of analog synths again instead of VAs, but they're still a bit too clean-sounding for my ears here. Nothing serious to complain about, though. At least it's not filled with all those ghastly rompler sounds as his records were filled with for far too long. The funk guitar licks are a bit busier than what he used to do earlier.

Like noted before me, the album has a quirkiness to it, but it doesn't really take you into any unexpected directions. Even when that plinky piano part on "Everybody Loves Me" I was just left to think "oh, that just had to be there". The song itself came off like a "happier" version of "No More Candy 4 U" and there's nothing wrong with that. Of the three songs previewed before this record "Cause & Effect" was the closest to what's here - the opener is somewhat reminiscent of it.

In short, nice record but lacks the "FUCK YEAH" -factor.

BartVanHemelen said:

gamera said:

I disagree. It can just mean there's more going on than you might catch at a casual or first listen. The best albums and songs are always the ones that you find yourself hearing new nuances in years after you first heard them.

Which part of "half a dozen listens" is hard to understand?

STOP MAKING SHIT UP.

Well constant listens and I'm starting to really not appreciate this. I'm not shaking my butt on none of the tracks I should be... guess because I don't hear any real liveliness. There's happiness but it's the kind of happiness that is more lazy and he seems to be settled into making what I would adult contemporary funk. Like he can prove he can lay down the funk in some songs but it's done in that glitzy Las Vegas-y feel, not so Minneapolis Sound-ish but a Vegas version of the Minneapolis sound, which is what MPLS was. Lotus Flower (or however you spell it) was a lesser evil but still... I don't wanna act like I'm desperate to love this (because it's simply Prince) but there's nothing to make me love it. There's minor occurrences where I'm like nodding and like "you go on Prince" but it's only in doses.

novabrkr said:

I don't think the arrangements are as simple as some people have stated here

I agree. My impression is Prince slaved away to make this 35 minutes album.

RichardS said:

I often browse but rarely post. Can I just ask - is the only reason BartVH posts on here to 'shout' at us for being stupid/wrong for still liking some of the things Prince does?

How about you READ what I post instead of making shit up?

Case in point!

fabriziovenerandi said:

novabrkr said:

I don't think the arrangements are as simple as some people have stated here

I agree. My impression is Prince slaved away to make this 35 minutes album.

I don't know about that, sounds like he slept on most of them lol

I'm so excited, just listened to it twice so far, I'm a happy little vegemite !

Loving track 77 and track 9, track 9 makes me jump around

I couldn't be happier, the prospect of hearing/watching these songs live is getting me excited

I'm listening to this right now.. 3rd time around !!!! I haven't done this for such a long time with prince's new albums, so I must like it !!! Really really happy... bloody needed this one !

track 4

track 77

track 9

so far are making me dance

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

How could U people do this 2 Prince????? I'm going to wait till Prince wants me 2 hear it.....

[Edited 7/8/10 23:14pm]

WTF, the album is released for free in the newspapers

PurpleKnight said:

BartVanHemelen said:

If you need half a dozen listens to "start to get into it", it's a sign that it's rubbish -- and don't pretend it ain't.

This part is empirically false. Many great albums have received initially lukewarm reviews only to be regarded as classics later on.

And don't even get me started on movies that did terrible at the box office in their initial runs, only to become classics over time. Wizard of Oz, anyone?

And, before anyone goes there...no, I am not putting 20ten in the same class as The Wizard of Oz.

Genesia said: