jockeyb4u said:

Vendetta1 said:

Don't agree with someone so you resort to personal attacks. That's a real grown up thing to do.

Don't agree with someone who don't agree with someone else so you resort to personal attacks. That's a real grown up thing to do. (This could go on forever)

Compassion, Beginning Endlessly, Sticky Like Glue, Walk In Sand, and Laydown are all real keepers for me.

The only what the fuck moment for me is Everybody Loves Me. I understand tongue in cheek, but I'm not certain that is what Prince was going for here. If he was, it just doesn't work with me.

I played it for my six year old and he said, "Dad, you know I'm too old for this shit."

Hey Prince, work on the melodies. You're on the right track.

nevermind.

[Edited 7/11/10 8:24am]

I have noticed one thing about 20ten that's refreshing; it seems to me, unless I missed it, that maybe he has finally quit bitching about him & Warner Brothers / contracts. About time!!!

PEACE!

Not a great album but it doesn't suck neither (can we say that nowadays or is that a 90's word?)


Sounds like a better version of MPLS sound with a few throwbacks to the old school for sure.


However, it's one of his more better 'efforts' since Musicology - which admittingly ain't hard to do, Planet Earth anyone?


'dre

damosuzuki said:

murph said:

I hear a lot of talk about this album sounding like a demo....But i say that's what gives 20TEN its cool little mojo....I think Prince approached 20TEN the same way he did Dirty Mind, in terms of making sure the songs all fit in the same sonic feel, groove and production pocket...Short and to the point...

I remember talking to a friend of mine who became a hardcore Prince fan after 1999 and Purple Rain...She had never heard the Dirty Mind album and during her first listen she said: "The songs sound all the same; they sound rushed..." ....It took her a couple of years to see that this was all by design...

To me, the feel of 20TEN is a nod to all of Prince's work from For You to Purple Rain....While it never reaches the artistic heights of his best albums, it has something that a lot of Prince albums have lacked over the last few years: True heart....

This is a quite simply a good, solid and (gasp!!!) fun album....That's what I always looked for when picking up Prince releases back in the days...

Sure, I can understand some folks charging that its "lazy"....But what's so lazy about someone doing THEM?

All in all, some Prince fans seem to take themselves and the man much too seriously...Guys: breath a little, enjoy the world and understand that music does not always have to be a groundbreaking, life-changing experience....

Yep...

I like the slightly crude, offhanded feeling of the album. For me, the problem is (as a few have mentioned) the overall lack of distinguishing melodies or hooks. I've given the album four run-thoughs & I'm still having trouble retaining any of the songs. They sound fine for the most part and there are, as always, some very nice grooves, but there seem to be very few memorable moments.

At this point it sounds like a fun but very slight throw-away.

[Edited 7/11/10 8:28am]

I agree that it sounds "fun".....And to me that's why it's not a "throw-away"...Because I haven't heard Prince have fun like this since the late '80s....No pretense....I find that very refreshing...

The fact that this album has a musical theme makes it work for me...Like I said, Dirty Mind fits that very same mode you are talking about in terms of the production....It's one long song, which is what gives the album its cool charm...

I think 20TEN will be the album when Prince fans look back over the decade will be the true highlight...Trust me, it will sink in....

NeoGeo24bit said:

Wall said:

Prince's forumla for songwriting seems to be to take a platitude and repeat it ad nauseum. Just keep hammering those few lyrics--usually the title--until the ears bleed. It's either a generic boasting--such as the number which kicked off MplsSound or, just when you thought that was bad--here comes Everybody Loves Me (possibly the worst song he's ever recorded, which is saying a lot) or a everybody should love everyone, we're all happy, such as the chugging wreck which opens this latest collection of songs. Then when you take into account the lyrical mastery in Hot Summer, it becomes pretty evident this guy is simply out of things to talk about. It's to be expected when you think you've got the universe figured out courtesy of your latest cult, but my god, talk about running on fumes. I know he had to take out the dirty words from his lexicon, but did he have to restrict himself from the rest of the dictionary while he was at it? We get it. This is where the party be. We up in this thing. Yeah, we gonna bounce and feel good cos we all get it on, feel good, party right on, hot summer, y'all. Yes, such good stuff there.

And it's like the last half of the album Prince just couldn't decide, Which would be the worst song I could end this on? Well, here's a drawn out boredom suite, no wait--I've got a jingle readymade for the 3-5 year old crowd--I'll beat them over the head with that for about 4 minutes and they'll eat it up. But, wait, what am I saying? Scratch that, here's my latest club number, where this 53 year old JW is gonna do his darndest to mime some southern sounds that were dated in 2005. The Purple Yoda line is fine, the rest of the song, like 80% of this album, is embarrassing.

I don't believe a word you say. Your opinion is worthless after all of your posts over the years, because I can predict exactly what you're going to say before you even say it. With every new album Prince releases, every million dollars he makes, every show he plays, here you are... criticizing your idol on a message board with the same predictable posts... butt hurt like your friend Bart. You and him MUST be secret lovers. Do you sit on his lap while your construct a post?

<3

[Edited 7/11/10 0:54am]

I think Wall made some valid points.

murph said:

damosuzuki said:

I like the slightly crude, offhanded feeling of the album. For me, the problem is (as a few have mentioned) the overall lack of distinguishing melodies or hooks. I've given the album four run-thoughs & I'm still having trouble retaining any of the songs. They sound fine for the most part and there are, as always, some very nice grooves, but there seem to be very few memorable moments.

At this point it sounds like a fun but very slight throw-away.

[Edited 7/11/10 8:28am]

I agree that it sounds "fun".....And to me that's why it's not a "throw-away"...Because I haven't heard Prince have fun like this since the late '80s....No pretense....I find that very refreshing...

The fact that this album has a musical theme makes it work for me...Like I said, Dirty Mind fits that very same mode you are talking about in terms of the production....It's one long song, which is what gives the album its cool charm...

I think 20TEN will be the album when Prince fans look back over the decade will be the true highlight...Trust me, it will sink in....

From the production point of view, I mentioned on my review that it had a "look mom" homemade feel because it sounds like an amateur production, not because its sounds like a demo. There is a difference to me between a talented producer who "gets it" and creates a demo sounding record, and someone who doesn't get it and produces something sounding worse than the kids on their pc's.

Today more than ever we are bombarded daily with great sound production in our everyday lives, in commercials, records, films and documentaries in both slick and avant-guard ways that's why this record's production stood out to me like a sore thumb. Very clunky and unsophisticated and too slick for a demo...... other than the slower tracks which I'm sure he had a lot more help on.

His isolationism as an artist is clearly visible, as this is not a terrible album, it offers nothing new. He is working on the same exact same themes and sounds. He is working on purple vapors.

An artist must continue to grow and learn and take in as much as possible to develop. While it's true that his playing ability has gotten better from years and years on constant touring, he has kept a very closed off mind that has not matured or grown as an artist from his peak as he rehashes JB and his early hero's without anyone in his company to expand his horizons.

Truthfully to me 20ten and MplSound and like most evrything for the longest time sound like the mongoloid offspring of inbred unions. He needs to deversify the gene pool, move and expand instead of doing the same sound for 25 years. Even crops need to be changed from season to season as the the soil needs to be replenished with nutrients or will not grow. He should take a page from his friend Miles Davis who fed off innovation, who's mind was always open to fresh new sounds, an openness that led him to seek out Prince when he was at his peak in the first place. If Miles was alive today I am sure he would be very bored and stunned by Prince's stagnation.

[Edited 7/11/10 12:36pm]

If listened to all at once, in sequential order, the album is kind of boring. However, I could find myself enjoying it if my music is played on shuffle. Also, I enjoy his older sounds being incorporated into new songs.

Compassion - I agree with others that this sounds a bit like Can't Stop This Feeling I Got. It's upbeat and happy, but kind of long.

Beginning Endlessly - kinda boring....It reminds me of something off of Planet Earth.

Future Soul Song - lol. The beginning makes me think of When 2 R in Love. [yawn]

Sticky like glue - This sounds like something you put on in the car when it's too quiet, but you don't necessarily feel like listening to anything. Then you turn it off when he starts speak-singing.

Act of God - Good after the first 2 minutes.

Lavaux - ummm. Is it just me, or does it sound like it should be on Parade?

Walking in the sand - Simple and catchy. Mellow. It reminds me of something from his 'For You' days, yet current.

Sea Of Everything - Hmmm... I could like this one, but not if it's always played directly after Walking in the Sand. It put me to sleep a little bit. The end was nice.

Everybody Loves Me - Love the funky intro and the piano after the refrain. Glad to know that everyone loves you...? [] Shake it like a what? loop-de-loop? hoop-de-hoop? This song would better if kept short. There can be too much of a good thing.

Laydown (hidden track) - This sounds a little dark at first, but the music is great, aside from P rapping. First reaction: Oi. Purple Yoda? This one might grow on me though, since I'm a fan of Prince rapping, (mostly because it makes me laugh).

I have listened to this twice, and it isn't terrible, and there are spots that I really enjoy. Purple Yoda? Stuff like that is hilarious to me. Musically I think the whole cd flows well, everything fits onto this particular cd. Not a "rocker," but the funk guitar is all over, and I really like that. It's old school Prince, with a modern sound to it.

I was ready for something terrible since it was being given away in newspapers and such. I like it a lot more than Planet Earth, which I think only has a few listenable tracks on it.

Business wise this had to be a good thing for Prince to do. Make an album over a few months, I would imagine, and get a fairly large payday to release it to newspapers in Europe. How great is that for him? Doesn't have to promote it very much, everyone gets one. The music gets out there, he gets paid, etc. Business wise this has to be better than the "dead" internet distribution deals everyone makes today. He could do this as much as he wants, as quickly as he wants. He may be on to something. I wonder how much he received for this? Half a million for each paper? Not bad. From the sounds of it, he did most of the cd by himself, with a few backing singers. I bet the instrumentation was all him for the most part...

Overall, it is of course not his best, but on the first few listens I like the overall feel to it. I don't like everything he does anymore, but I don't hate this. Thought I would because it was "free."

alexnvrmind said:

I have noticed one thing about 20ten that's refreshing; it seems to me, unless I missed it, that maybe he has finally quit bitching about him & Warner Brothers / contracts. About time!!!

PEACE!

Translation: they'll pay me in advance.

Fair review in De Standaard (belgian newspaper) http://www.standaard.be/a...d=1E2SL656

in English (with translate Google)

http://translate.google.c...&tl=en

Surprise, surprise, The Daily Mirror review gave the album 5/5:-

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk...eview.html

Didn't do it for me, just not enough stand out tracks and too much of it was forgettable. Still waiting for a Prince album to blow me away (Gold Experience was last time for me)...thing is, if he took the best tracks off of his last four or five albums and put them together, there's a killer album there.

My thoughts keep changing and now I can tolerate songs I initially gave the to.

Walk in Sand now gets an 75 rating from me. Sea of Everything gets an 80.

Nice "baby-making" ballads.

"Everybody Loves Me" is strangely tolerable and silly.

"Lay Down" is turning into a banger.

"Compassion" is back in my "best album track". "Beginning Endlessly" is nice overall though I still think it drags.

"Future Soul Song" is still the shit. "Sticky Like Glue" is now my favorite song on the record. "Act of God" has turned into a jam of mine's. "Lavaux" has a nice groove.

Overall it's probably his best record since 2006.

[Edited 7/11/10 13:28pm]

violetblues said:

Today more than ever we are bombarded daily with great sound production in our everyday lives, in commercials, records, films and documentaries in both slick and avant-guard ways that's why this record's production stood out to me like a sore thumb. Very clunky and unsophisticated and too slick for a demo...... other than the slower tracks which I'm sure he had a lot more help on.

Why do you think that?

For me, this is the best Prince album in the past 10 years. Superb.

Here is my review taken from my blog:

Prince - 20Ten
"Here comes the Purple Yoda!!! "
Although I am a massive fan of Prince, I must say that over the past 10 years, I have been more than disappointed with the mediocre output from the purple one. With a few exceptions, the lack of quality control since leaving Warner Bros. has left me and fans around the world frustrated and sometimes alienated.

This album was released in the uk as a free CD with the Mirror newspaper. The newpaper cost 65p. To be honest, I didn't think it would be worth the money.

Now I'm not going to give a track by track analysis of 20Ten, but I will say this - If you are a music fan, it would be the best 65p you could ever spent. If you are/were a Prince fan - you need this CD. Quite simply - I love this album!! Prince finally gives us an album that is smooth, cool, understated, funky and organic. The mix of linn drum, synths, guitar, bass, occasional horns and supreme vocals is just right. This is a well executed pop album pure and simple. No over the top brass sections, no crazy chord progressions, no pretentious self indulgent cheezy lyrics and no over produced guitar, brass and midi arrangements.

The whole album flows and grooves from beginning to end. There are a few ballads which seem timid on first listening, but work in the album context regardless. Even the Prince rap parts are fresh - the secret track 'Laydown' had me get up n start groovin to 52 year old MC Prince.

I listened to the album on my laptop with itunes and interestingly, when the album finished ( unbeknown to me ) the next ablum itunes loaded up was 'The Glamorous Life' by Sheila E - Produced by Prince in the 80s. I was so lost in the music that I didn't realise that I was no longer listening to 20Ten until Sheila E's vocals came in. This for me is most definatly an indication that Prince has got his production mojo back.

"From the heart of Minnesota, here come the purple yoda"

[Edited 7/11/10 14:50pm]

DaveT said:

Surprise, surprise, The Daily Mirror review gave the album 5/5:-

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk...eview.html

Didn't do it for me, just not enough stand out tracks and too much of it was forgettable. Still waiting for a Prince album to blow me away (Gold Experience was last time for me)...thing is, if he took the best tracks off of his last four or five albums and put them together, there's a killer album there.

Freedom Train gave the album glowing reviews as well. So did Tony Parsons. Are you saying your opinion has more credibility than Tony Parsons?

Timmy84 said:

My thoughts keep changing and now I can tolerate songs I initially gave the to.

Walk in Sand now gets an 75 rating from me. Sea of Everything gets an 80.

Nice "baby-making" ballads.

"Everybody Loves Me" is strangely tolerable and silly.

"Lay Down" is turning into a banger.

"Compassion" is back in my "best album track". "Beginning Endlessly" is nice overall though I still think it drags.

"Future Soul Song" is still the shit. "Sticky Like Glue" is now my favorite song on the record. "Act of God" has turned into a jam of mine's. "Lavaux" has a nice groove.

Overall it's probably his best record since 2006.

[Edited 7/11/10 13:28pm]

Timmy... why don't you hold off posting "reviews" until your opinion is final? Two days ago you were blasting the album, and now it's his best since 2006? Are you two years old or what?

jockeyb4u said:

murph said:

All in all, some Prince fans seem to take themselves and the man much too seriously...Guys: breath a little, enjoy the world and understand that music does not always have to be a groundbreaking, life-changing experience....

Co-sign.

Remember when we used to play a Prince CD to hear songs. Now it has to cure cancer, clean up the oil spill and fix whatever wrong in someones life! It's only music people not an Act Of God!

lamusica2000 said:

NeoGeo24bit said:

I don't believe a word you say. Your opinion is worthless after all of your posts over the years, because I can predict exactly what you're going to say before you even say it. With every new album Prince releases, every million dollars he makes, every show he plays, here you are... criticizing your idol on a message board with the same predictable posts... butt hurt like your friend Bart. You and him MUST be secret lovers. Do you sit on his lap while your construct a post?

<3

[Edited 7/11/10 0:54am]

I think Wall made some valid points.

Like what good points? Saying Prince's lyrics are repetitive and not good? Then I listen to songs such as Act of God and Lavaux and hear great lyrics and music. But if you really think so, show me where the lyrics are "bad", then compare them to a song where Prince's lyrics are "good".

Wall doesn't offer any real objective criticism. He sounds just as butt hurt as Barty, therefore his subjective opinion is worthless because you can predict exactly what he's going to say time and time again. Why would I care what Wall thinks, as opposed to say, Tony Parsons, who is a respected writer and music critic, or Michael Dean, who wants you to get your free audio book at audible.com?

paulludvig said:

violetblues said:

Today more than ever we are bombarded daily with great sound production in our everyday lives, in commercials, records, films and documentaries in both slick and avant-guard ways that's why this record's production stood out to me like a sore thumb. Very clunky and unsophisticated and too slick for a demo...... other than the slower tracks which I'm sure he had a lot more help on.

Why do you think that?

Great sound production? Where? You mean when you're watching TV and the commercial volume is ten times higher than the show you were watching? Or how about when you watch a DVD or Blu-ray, and no matter how you adjust the sound, the sound effects and music are so loud but you can't hear a word they're saying? Give me some examples of great sound production and I might take your opinion more seriously.

HonestMan13 said:

Remember when we used to play a Prince CD to hear songs. Now it has to cure cancer, clean up the oil spill and fix whatever wrong in someones life! It's only music people not an Act Of God!

78-88 DID cure cancer. 20Ten couldn't even Febreze a fart.

NouveauDance said:

HonestMan13 said:

Remember when we used to play a Prince CD to hear songs. Now it has to cure cancer, clean up the oil spill and fix whatever wrong in someones life! It's only music people not an Act Of God!

78-88 DID cure cancer. 20Ten couldn't even Febreze a fart.

This was hilarious (!), even if I don't agree with any of this shit...

Timmy84 said:

My thoughts keep changing and now I can tolerate songs I initially gave the to.

Walk in Sand now gets an 75 rating from me. Sea of Everything gets an 80.

Nice "baby-making" ballads.

"Everybody Loves Me" is strangely tolerable and silly.

"Lay Down" is turning into a banger.

"Compassion" is back in my "best album track". "Beginning Endlessly" is nice overall though I still think it drags.

"Future Soul Song" is still the shit. "Sticky Like Glue" is now my favorite song on the record. "Act of God" has turned into a jam of mine's. "Lavaux" has a nice groove.

Overall it's probably his best record since 2006.

[Edited 7/11/10 13:28pm]

I feel the exact same way you do Timmy. 3121 was the last CD I was feeling like this. I liked Lotus/MPLS but this is different. I'm loving that the CD is growing on me and I liked it a lot when I first heard it. I didn't realize how long it had been since I enjoyed a Prince CD like this!

NeoGeo24bit said:

paulludvig said:

Why do you think that?

Great sound production? Where? You mean when you're watching TV and the commercial volume is ten times higher than the show you were watching? Or how about when you watch a DVD or Blu-ray, and no matter how you adjust the sound, the sound effects and music are so loud but you can't hear a word they're saying? Give me some examples of great sound production and I might take your opinion more seriously.

The production on this album is superb!! Prince is without a doubt a Producer who needs no help in the studio. His production is only let down when the song material is week, in which case he seems to over-produce to compensate. He's been spewing out too many over-produced, over-populated MIDI-fest songs over the past few years. 20Ten is a refreshing return to form for Prince as a musician, vocaist and producer imo.

Just off of my first impression, I'm REALLY enjoying it. 3121 was when I really got into Prince so that album is special to me, and I thought Lotus/MPLS was a strong effort - having said that, I'd say this is tighter and more polished than 3121, which at times seems a tad bloated, on par with Lotus, and, for me, a half-notch lower than MPLS (if not solely for how much I love "Dance 4 Me"). Over time I think I'll be coming back to it more than half of his other albums, and I foresee this being a 3121-esque album concert-wise, as he pulled out some great tracks that he could tear up live from that (Black Sweat, Lolita, 3121, Fury).

I have to give each track more time before I give a track by track review though. I love seeing the different reactions to this set.

NeoGeo24bit said:

Timmy84 said:

My thoughts keep changing and now I can tolerate songs I initially gave the to.

Walk in Sand now gets an 75 rating from me. Sea of Everything gets an 80.

Nice "baby-making" ballads.

"Everybody Loves Me" is strangely tolerable and silly.

"Lay Down" is turning into a banger.

"Compassion" is back in my "best album track". "Beginning Endlessly" is nice overall though I still think it drags.

"Future Soul Song" is still the shit. "Sticky Like Glue" is now my favorite song on the record. "Act of God" has turned into a jam of mine's. "Lavaux" has a nice groove.

Overall it's probably his best record since 2006.

[Edited 7/11/10 13:28pm]

Timmy... why don't you hold off posting "reviews" until your opinion is final? Two days ago you were blasting the album, and now it's his best since 2006? Are you two years old or what?

Classy.

NeoGeo24bit said:

DaveT said:

Surprise, surprise, The Daily Mirror review gave the album 5/5:-

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk...eview.html

Didn't do it for me, just not enough stand out tracks and too much of it was forgettable. Still waiting for a Prince album to blow me away (Gold Experience was last time for me)...thing is, if he took the best tracks off of his last four or five albums and put them together, there's a killer album there.

Freedom Train gave the album glowing reviews as well. So did Tony Parsons. Are you saying your opinion has more credibility than Tony Parsons?

Tony Parsons was PAID to write a good review.

What? Did you think The Daily Mirrors was going to have a reveiw telling people NOT to buy the copy of the newspaper? The album is not terrible, but c'mon "Sign O' The Times? For anyone to take Tony Parson seriously ever again is going to take an "Act Of God"

violetblues said:

NeoGeo24bit said:

Freedom Train gave the album glowing reviews as well. So did Tony Parsons. Are you saying your opinion has more credibility than Tony Parsons?

Tony Parsons was PAID to write a good review.

What? Did you think The Daily Mirrors was going to have a reveiw telling people NOT to buy the copy of the newspaper? The album is not terrible, but c'mon "Sign O' The Times? For anyone to take Tony Parson seriously ever again is going to take an "Act Of God"

I doubt that Tony Parsons was paid to write a good review. Are you really saying a review from a writer of Tony Parsons caliber can't be trusted? Do you even realize who Tony Parsons is?

[Edited 7/11/10 17:27pm]

I love this!!

NeoGeo24bit said:

violetblues said:

Tony Parsons was PAID to write a good review.

What? Did you think The Daily Mirrors was going to have a reveiw telling people NOT to buy the copy of the newspaper? The album is not terrible, but c'mon "Sign O' The Times? For anyone to take Tony Parson seriously ever again is going to take an "Act Of God"

I doubt that Tony Parsons was paid to write a good review. Are you really saying a review from a writer of Tony Parsons caliber can't be trusted? Do you even realize who Tony Parsons is?

[Edited 7/11/10 17:27pm]

From the looks of it, a typical paid whore. Not that its anything new when it comes to checkbook journalism.

Cobblepot said:

I got it yesterday and listened to it in the car, I didn't care for it much. But during Werchter last nite it hit me...

Prince doesn't care much about his studio work anymore and writes most of his work in a live show fasion. Everybody Loves Me sound a thousands times better live. Most of these songs would work better live.

He should release these songs on a live album, I'm sure most of his recent work would benifit greatly from it.

Did he perform Everybody Loves Me??

Every time I read that title now, the chorus starts running in my head.