Sadly this is my least liked P album so far. Happy for those who are saying it’s his best since sign and all the other fams who truly adore it but I can’t get into it.

For the first time there’s not one redeeming brilliant song or possible single/s. Even during his patchiest periods there’s always been a few killers i.e., Rave's the surreal ‘Beautiful Strange’ (10/10), Musicology’s ‘Reflection’ (10/10) or 3121's ‘Black Sweat’ (10/10) (I know this song divided fans but I was proud of P knocking this out so late in his career). Even Planet Earth had ‘Chelsea Rogers’ (8/10)…what does 20Ten have that’s comparable or so great?

I like the first few songs but ultimately it’s a collection of average Prince songs capped off by a musical number with a title celebrating narcissism, says it all really.

1. Compassion – nice groove but goes nowhere, duff lyrics 4/10

2. Beginning Endlessly – Great hook, a fav track 7/10

3. Future Soul Song – good slow jam could be on Emancipation 6/10

4. Sticky like glue – nice cheesy funk 7/10

5. Act of God – what’s all the fuss about this song? 5/10

6. Lavaux – nice groovy blandness 5/10

7. Walk in Sand – like the cheesiest hallmark card on Valentines day 4.5/10

8. Sea of Everything – more cheesy romance 4.5/10

9. Everybody Loves Me – average musical number 4/10

77. Laydown – look at me everyone I’m still funky 4.5/10

78-88 Mind blowing

89-95 Still consistently good

96 - Patchy

Grateful that he’s still touring and amazing live – but he’s dead in the studio. Face down.

PurpleKnight said:

Man, logical fallacies annoy me. For the last time, people, Wall isn't claiming Prince is not a relevant figure. His claim is that he has not been relevant for a long time. Get that? As in Prince could have stopped writing music for the last many years and it would not have mattered to anyone outside his fanbase.

Come on Knight...You and I know that such posting is par for the course with Wall....The comments directed at him have little to do with his specific post and more to do with the fact that Wall is incapable of deviating from his "Prince has lost it" script...

If a poster on this site continually cranks out write ups about how Prince deserves to be worshipped on all fours, it becomes a silly exercise...But at least such foolishness is more than understanding (yet still frightening)given that this is a Prince fan site....With Wall his credibility on Prince has been shot to hell because his talking points have become more than a telegraphed formula...

I love the fact that the Org is one of the rare places where fans can speak their mind about Prince's legacy and current musical output without getting banished (this is the practice on mostly all other fan sites with other musical acts...)...But there are a few here that have taken advantage of this freedom in order to create some cult of personality....

Murph,

You're really restraining yourself not to fire off one of your call to arms, aren't you?

Relax, it's just music. No need to tell strangers to fuck off or get so worked up over online banter.

[Edited 7/14/10 2:24am]

Paul Morley in Sunday's Observer on Prince's 20Ten

http://www.guardian.co.uk...sic-prince

Sly said:

Paul Morley in Sunday's Observer on Prince's 20Ten

http://www.guardian.co.uk...sic-prince

He doesn't even mention the music - which is telling.

Hopefully, people remember ZTT before slagging Paul Morley off for not fainting in the presence of 20Ten.

Veej said:

Sadly this is my least liked P album so far.

1. Compassion – nice groove but goes nowhere, duff lyrics 4/10

2. Beginning Endlessly – Great hook, a fav track 7/10

3. Future Soul Song – good slow jam could be on Emancipation 6/10

4. Sticky like glue – nice cheesy funk 7/10

5. Act of God – what’s all the fuss about this song? 5/10

6. Lavaux – nice groovy blandness 5/10

7. Walk in Sand – like the cheesiest hallmark card on Valentines day 4.5/10

8. Sea of Everything – more cheesy romance 4.5/10

9. Everybody Loves Me – average musical number 4/10

77. Laydown – look at me everyone I’m still funky 4.5/10

78-88 Mind blowing

89-95 Still consistently good

96 - Patchy

Grateful that he’s still touring and amazing live – but he’s dead in the studio. Face down.

wow, you are really critical

give it time and the music rewards you.. I will rate the songs later.

Sly said:

Paul Morley in Sunday's Observer on Prince's 20Ten

http://www.guardian.co.uk...sic-prince

What exactly was that a review of?

Have not listened as closely as I need to, but on the surface this sounds like a very solid, if not quite brilliant Prince album.

The songs sound well thought out and generally pretty cool. The also don't sound as self conscious as some of his more recent material, where his intent seems to make us think a certain way rather than simply enjoy the music.

Strange, because this album is not "free" it's Prince so obviously bound to his old image and trying to match past achievements, or favorably compare his new self to his old self. And yet the music feels free, like it is done out of genuine enjoyment. I thought MPLSound was a move in this direction compared to Planet Earth, as 3121 was a a move toward it compared to Musicology. But this album moves even more in that direction. The hooks feel genuine, not forced, and the songs' composition are as important as the music, not always the case with Prince. And the instrumentation feels fairly natural, not gimmicky or outdated.

The beginning of the album is particularly strong. Compassion verges on cheese, but barely manages to rescue itself through some interesting musical changes, and it has a great energy and an actual melody! From there it just gets better--for a while. And where some recent albums suffer from a weak song early on (Te Amo Corazon comes to mind--hurting an otherwise strong album), this album gets some time to generate momentum. Tracks 2, 3, 4, are all really strong, and that is nearly enough to carry an album. But the rest is not bad either, if not quite as strong. There was only one song that stuck out as weak on first listen--Everybody Loves Me.

Good Job, Prince!

You know what's kinda strange about some of these reviews here?

Most of the good reviews seem to come from the more casual Prince fans rather than the "fams". Yeah there's a good portion of hardcore Prince fans who probably criticized his other albums but consider this one a great album. While others seem to think this album is "proof" Prince's relevance is over.

So the reviews are all mixed for the most part.

thedance said:

Veej said:

Sadly this is my least liked P album so far.

1. Compassion – nice groove but goes nowhere, duff lyrics 4/10

2. Beginning Endlessly – Great hook, a fav track 7/10

3. Future Soul Song – good slow jam could be on Emancipation 6/10

4. Sticky like glue – nice cheesy funk 7/10

5. Act of God – what’s all the fuss about this song? 5/10

6. Lavaux – nice groovy blandness 5/10

7. Walk in Sand – like the cheesiest hallmark card on Valentines day 4.5/10

8. Sea of Everything – more cheesy romance 4.5/10

9. Everybody Loves Me – average musical number 4/10

77. Laydown – look at me everyone I’m still funky 4.5/10

78-88 Mind blowing

89-95 Still consistently good

96 - Patchy

Grateful that he’s still touring and amazing live – but he’s dead in the studio. Face down.

wow, you are really critical

give it time and the music rewards you.. I will rate the songs later.

didnt u leave the org some time ago ???

Well - if so - welcome back

Timmy84 said:

You know what's kinda strange about some of these reviews here?

Most of the good reviews seem to come from the more casual Prince fans rather than the "fams". Yeah there's a good portion of hardcore Prince fans who probably criticized his other albums but consider this one a great album. While others seem to think this album is "proof" Prince's relevance is over.

So the reviews are all mixed for the most part.

I think they will always be mixed. People do not all want the same thing from Prince, so whatever he does it will be hated by someone and loved by someone else.

For me this is strong for late era Prince, not as good as the best Prince, but as consistent as anything of recent memory, ditto enjoyable.

Perhaps not as good as the best spots or bad as the worst spots on The Rainbow Children (my personal favorite of the last 10 years), but works a good middle ground.

Probably the most honest and well-written review of the new Prince album...My collegue Scott Poulson Bryant (former VIBE,SPIN, and Rolling Stone writer) pretty much nails it...

20TEN

Review

http://spbvip.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/princes-20ten-the-spb-review/#more-658

“My reputation precedes me/Call it a ‘claim to fame…’” ~ Prince, “Beginning Endlessly,” from 20TEN

Did you know that you can actually buy the 80s Prince drum sound? From places like here and here?

To be frank, I miss the creativity of Prince’s use of that rigidly rhythmic drop-kick of the early Linn-drum. There was something comforting in the way it introduced some songs and tricked up the backbeat of others, propping up the funk one minute (like “Kiss”) or rocking hard the next (like “Let’s Go Crazy”). Add the soaring and space-commanding keyboard work, and it was clear that Prince was doing nothing less than re-arranging the way pop/r&b/rock was supposed to sound on the radio and in clubs and concert halls. He’d had the ability to will music into his own distinct sound.

I haven’t played a lot of Prince’s recent music. Unlike him, I guess I was stuck in the past, reveling in the beauty and passion and ground-building of those early days. Sure, he was good for a great tune on some of those records, and as an artist he has every right to move beyond the sounds that made him famous, rich, popular, and my favorite artist. But I often felt as if he was either trying too hard to be relevant or legendary or contrary. I’m sad to say I just didn’t want to pay attention again. Then I heard 20TEN, and it feels odd to say: Only Prince would release his best, most consistent album in a while, for free in a European newspaper.

So this is a very selfish piece of writing. I got what I’ve wanted from Prince for a long time, a blast from the past that manages not to sound like a retread or placeholder. And I like it. So stop reading now, unless you just wanna hear the musings of a lifetime Prince fan who finds himself jamming to supposedly “lesser” Prince like Lovesexy and Batman almost as often as the standard-approved “great” Prince albums—and who prefers his Prince in full-on 80s/Linn-drum/vocal distortion/playtime mode.

Here’s what I’m not going to write about 20TEN: I’m not going to call it the best Prince record since The Gold Experience or The Symbol Album or Lovesexy or Sign ‘O’ the Times.

I’m not going to suggest that Prince has found his form again.

What I am going to write is this: If someone had given me this album to listen to and asked me my opinion of it as a piece of pop music this is what I’d say: Damn, this shit is good: It’s fun, topical, I can dance to the hot songs and might wanna fuck to the slow ones if I had someone to hook up with. I’d say, damn, these are some sturdy-as-fuck, sexy-ass, smart tunes, and gee, that Linn drum-machine sound is a real throwback to some 80s funk-pop that sticks in your mind, to quote one of the songs, “like glue.”

Something else I might say is this: Prince hasn’t sounded like he was having this much fun in years and years. I might say that this album sounds like Prince is finally cool with being Prince, the pop-funk-rock genius who changed the game so many times it’s sorta hard to name many of the players he left dry-heaving on the playing field. What I mean is, he doesn’t seem pre-occupied with declaring his greatness with this record. He seems fine with not changing the world and just being cool with entertaining us—which can all be summed up in one lyric: “From the heart of Minnesota comes the purple Yoda”, which he raps on the hidden track “Laydown.” I laugh at that line but then I also realize that I can’t really remember the last time I could imagine Prince smiling in the studio as he sang a lyric into the mic (okay, maybe 3121’s “Lolita”?)

My favorite Prince albums—Dirty Mind through to Batman—have always felt like they were recorded in bursts of sonic and thematic inspiration, one song flowing into the next with the same intensity of spirit. This record feels that way, almost orchestral in the way that musical themes recur from track to track, either slowed down for emphasis or enhanced by some exquisite musical detail. Like those sorts of Prince albums, this one feels organic, un-labored over, not tossed-off exactly but simply in the moment, vibrant with its own swagger, its own raw melodic and rhythmic exhibitionism.

The record feels nostalgic yet contemporary, reaching back to the sounds that made his name yet informed by maturity and life lessons. What this record does do is this: it reminds you that Prince actually came to maturity as the most creatively wily radio-ready star of the early 80s with a sound that was more New Wave-meets-Funk than anything. That percussive thrum of “Sexuality”? The cool bounce-to-the-ounce coyness of “Private Joy”? Both of those are from 1981′s Controversy, and 20TEN references the pluck and whimsy of that album more than any other Prince album I can think of, though much of this CD reminds me too of “Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got” from 1990′s Graffiti Bridge, where Prince worked that playful, go-for-baroque pop style to within an inch of its catchy life.

20TEN even has a touch of Prince’s old Utopian Visionary days, when the possibility of war, bombs, political corruption and social discontent threatened his (and our) desire to just dance, fuck and be free.

Track-by-track:

“Compassion”: Starts with a “Horny Toad”-ish blast of keys before a sinewy guitar wraps around the whole rave-up, before it dovetails into a wild pop tune asking listeners to look at the world with clear compassionate eyes—“the start,” Prince sings, “of a brand-new something.”(And does that keyboard riff sound like a big, bad updated and funky take on “It’s Not Unusual”? Tom Jones did cover “Kiss” back in the day!)

“Beginning Endlessly”: My favorite song on 20TEN: a bold mix of majestically martial drums and monumental-sounding 80s “Stand Back”-era keys. By the time the squiggly funk guitar laces the latter third of the track, Prince’s vocals take on a raw quality that feels so direct and honest it feels like the funkiest personal confession you’ve ever been privy to: “Maybe every shooting star is just another start/If you and I could ever open up our dirty hearts.”

“Future Love Song”: In terms of tempo, direction and multi-tracked lover man vocalizing this song is like a sequel to “The Beautiful Ones”—only without the glamorous cynicism. Lyrically, it’s just a straight-ahead seduce-you now love song that has one of the finest guitar parts he’s ever laid down—winding through the song like a lament of love lost and found. Only Prince would record a complete soul-man throwback to the kind of lush jam he invented (or at least perfected) and call it a “Future Soul Song.”

“Sticky Like Glue”: Tight little ditty sung with a clipped attitudinal delivery, driven by a walking bass and plucked guitar licks that’s like “Kiss”-meets-“Alphabet St.” The multi-tracked almost-gospel-ish background harmonies might be the best Prince backgrounds since the Rosie Gaines/Diamonds and Pearls days.

“Act of God”: Topical stuff, full of anger and blistering references to “fat bankers” and “tax dollars” and the politicos who “drop a bomb/supposedly to keep us safe from Saddam.” Tackles religious freedom, homeland security, foreclosures, and the “boogie man” that drives the Culture of Fear we all seem to be living in.

“Lavaux”: “Whatever path I choose will lead me home,” Prince sings here, and presents the funkiest geography/political lesson you’ve ever heard, narrating a tale of obtaining personal freedom referencing Switzerland, Portugal, and, I think, President Barack Obama (but don’t quote me!)

“Walk In Sand”: A shimmering, simple love song, a piano ballad poked through with guitar, light percussion, flute and one of the man’s sweetest falsetto vocals. It’s the romantic, be-together-forever song that mixes right into—

“Sea of Everything”: which is clearly meant to be the “I’m fucking you tonight” track. This is classic Prince-the-seducer mode, like Prince was the Chi-Lites all by himself.

“Everybody Loves Me”: “Ain’t no shame in having a good time,” Prince intones on this track, which seriously sounds like something left off “Controversy” or like one of the great early 80s b-sides: a bouncy, silly joyful romp of a sing-along, like “Jack U Off” or “Horny Toad”. Crackajack lyric: “If you’re the king of hate or the queen of misery/Tonight I love everybody and everybody loves me.”

Laydown” (hidden track): All I’ll say is a lyric of it goes: “Everybody wanna be me.”

Probably the best thing I can say about this record is this: 1983’s “Little Red Corvette” came on my iTunes just after 20TEN ended, and it sounded right, like these new songs could stand up to that classic 4 minutes of brilliance, a then-startling blend of soaring keys, squiggly-then-roaring guitar, metronomic beat and passionate scream-singing. Of course there are few songs (by Prince or anyone else in the pop genius pantheon) that can stand up to “Corvette,” and I’m not saying the songs on 20TEN do.

But I will say this: of course Prince has every right to be as deep or ambitious or ground-breaking as he needs to be, but it feels good to hear a Prince pop record that seems to just wanna make you sing along with the choruses and dance the end of the world (or just the workday) away.

murph said:

Probably the most honest and well-written review of the new Prince album...My collegue Scott Poulson Bryant (former VIBE,SPIN, and Rolling Stone writer) pretty much nails it...

Not bad but I find it odd he ranks BE as the best as its the most non-80s sounding track of the set. Not one of my favs.

Also, am I the only one that does not think of Future Soul Song as a "love song". It more of a sci-fi lulleby fantasy "we'll all come togother as one" kind of song desguised as a classic Prince 80s love song rock-ballad.

[Edited 7/13/10 13:17pm]

murph said:

Probably the most honest and well-written review of the new Prince album...My collegue Scott Poulson Bryant (former VIBE,SPIN, and Rolling Stone writer) pretty much nails it...

20TEN

Review

http://spbvip.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/princes-20ten-the-spb-review/#more-658

“My reputation precedes me/Call it a ‘claim to fame…’” ~ Prince, “Beginning Endlessly,” from 20TEN

Did you know that you can actually buy the 80s Prince drum sound? From places like here and here?

To be frank, I miss the creativity of Prince’s use of that rigidly rhythmic drop-kick of the early Linn-drum. There was something comforting in the way it introduced some songs and tricked up the backbeat of others, propping up the funk one minute (like “Kiss”) or rocking hard the next (like “Let’s Go Crazy”). Add the soaring and space-commanding keyboard work, and it was clear that Prince was doing nothing less than re-arranging the way pop/r&b/rock was supposed to sound on the radio and in clubs and concert halls. He’d had the ability to will music into his own distinct sound.

I haven’t played a lot of Prince’s recent music. Unlike him, I guess I was stuck in the past, reveling in the beauty and passion and ground-building of those early days. Sure, he was good for a great tune on some of those records, and as an artist he has every right to move beyond the sounds that made him famous, rich, popular, and my favorite artist. But I often felt as if he was either trying too hard to be relevant or legendary or contrary. I’m sad to say I just didn’t want to pay attention again. Then I heard 20TEN, and it feels odd to say: Only Prince would release his best, most consistent album in a while, for free in a European newspaper.

So this is a very selfish piece of writing. I got what I’ve wanted from Prince for a long time, a blast from the past that manages not to sound like a retread or placeholder. And I like it. So stop reading now, unless you just wanna hear the musings of a lifetime Prince fan who finds himself jamming to supposedly “lesser” Prince like Lovesexy and Batman almost as often as the standard-approved “great” Prince albums—and who prefers his Prince in full-on 80s/Linn-drum/vocal distortion/playtime mode.

Here’s what I’m not going to write about 20TEN: I’m not going to call it the best Prince record since The Gold Experience or The Symbol Album or Lovesexy or Sign ‘O’ the Times.

I’m not going to suggest that Prince has found his form again.

What I am going to write is this: If someone had given me this album to listen to and asked me my opinion of it as a piece of pop music this is what I’d say: Damn, this shit is good: It’s fun, topical, I can dance to the hot songs and might wanna fuck to the slow ones if I had someone to hook up with. I’d say, damn, these are some sturdy-as-fuck, sexy-ass, smart tunes, and gee, that Linn drum-machine sound is a real throwback to some 80s funk-pop that sticks in your mind, to quote one of the songs, “like glue.”

Something else I might say is this: Prince hasn’t sounded like he was having this much fun in years and years. I might say that this album sounds like Prince is finally cool with being Prince, the pop-funk-rock genius who changed the game so many times it’s sorta hard to name many of the players he left dry-heaving on the playing field. What I mean is, he doesn’t seem pre-occupied with declaring his greatness with this record. He seems fine with not changing the world and just being cool with entertaining us—which can all be summed up in one lyric: “From the heart of Minnesota comes the purple Yoda”, which he raps on the hidden track “Laydown.” I laugh at that line but then I also realize that I can’t really remember the last time I could imagine Prince smiling in the studio as he sang a lyric into the mic (okay, maybe 3121’s “Lolita”?)

My favorite Prince albums—Dirty Mind through to Batman—have always felt like they were recorded in bursts of sonic and thematic inspiration, one song flowing into the next with the same intensity of spirit. This record feels that way, almost orchestral in the way that musical themes recur from track to track, either slowed down for emphasis or enhanced by some exquisite musical detail. Like those sorts of Prince albums, this one feels organic, un-labored over, not tossed-off exactly but simply in the moment, vibrant with its own swagger, its own raw melodic and rhythmic exhibitionism.

The record feels nostalgic yet contemporary, reaching back to the sounds that made his name yet informed by maturity and life lessons. What this record does do is this: it reminds you that Prince actually came to maturity as the most creatively wily radio-ready star of the early 80s with a sound that was more New Wave-meets-Funk than anything. That percussive thrum of “Sexuality”? The cool bounce-to-the-ounce coyness of “Private Joy”? Both of those are from 1981′s Controversy, and 20TEN references the pluck and whimsy of that album more than any other Prince album I can think of, though much of this CD reminds me too of “Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got” from 1990′s Graffiti Bridge, where Prince worked that playful, go-for-baroque pop style to within an inch of its catchy life.

20TEN even has a touch of Prince’s old Utopian Visionary days, when the possibility of war, bombs, political corruption and social discontent threatened his (and our) desire to just dance, fuck and be free.

Track-by-track:

“Compassion”: Starts with a “Horny Toad”-ish blast of keys before a sinewy guitar wraps around the whole rave-up, before it dovetails into a wild pop tune asking listeners to look at the world with clear compassionate eyes—“the start,” Prince sings, “of a brand-new something.”(And does that keyboard riff sound like a big, bad updated and funky take on “It’s Not Unusual”? Tom Jones did cover “Kiss” back in the day!)

“Beginning Endlessly”: My favorite song on 20TEN: a bold mix of majestically martial drums and monumental-sounding 80s “Stand Back”-era keys. By the time the squiggly funk guitar laces the latter third of the track, Prince’s vocals take on a raw quality that feels so direct and honest it feels like the funkiest personal confession you’ve ever been privy to: “Maybe every shooting star is just another start/If you and I could ever open up our dirty hearts.”

“Future Love Song”: In terms of tempo, direction and multi-tracked lover man vocalizing this song is like a sequel to “The Beautiful Ones”—only without the glamorous cynicism. Lyrically, it’s just a straight-ahead seduce-you now love song that has one of the finest guitar parts he’s ever laid down—winding through the song like a lament of love lost and found. Only Prince would record a complete soul-man throwback to the kind of lush jam he invented (or at least perfected) and call it a “Future Soul Song.”

“Sticky Like Glue”: Tight little ditty sung with a clipped attitudinal delivery, driven by a walking bass and plucked guitar licks that’s like “Kiss”-meets-“Alphabet St.” The multi-tracked almost-gospel-ish background harmonies might be the best Prince backgrounds since the Rosie Gaines/Diamonds and Pearls days.

“Act of God”: Topical stuff, full of anger and blistering references to “fat bankers” and “tax dollars” and the politicos who “drop a bomb/supposedly to keep us safe from Saddam.” Tackles religious freedom, homeland security, foreclosures, and the “boogie man” that drives the Culture of Fear we all seem to be living in.

“Lavaux”: “Whatever path I choose will lead me home,” Prince sings here, and presents the funkiest geography/political lesson you’ve ever heard, narrating a tale of obtaining personal freedom referencing Switzerland, Portugal, and, I think, President Barack Obama (but don’t quote me!)

“Walk In Sand”: A shimmering, simple love song, a piano ballad poked through with guitar, light percussion, flute and one of the man’s sweetest falsetto vocals. It’s the romantic, be-together-forever song that mixes right into—

“Sea of Everything”: which is clearly meant to be the “I’m fucking you tonight” track. This is classic Prince-the-seducer mode, like Prince was the Chi-Lites all by himself.

“Everybody Loves Me”: “Ain’t no shame in having a good time,” Prince intones on this track, which seriously sounds like something left off “Controversy” or like one of the great early 80s b-sides: a bouncy, silly joyful romp of a sing-along, like “Jack U Off” or “Horny Toad”. Crackajack lyric: “If you’re the king of hate or the queen of misery/Tonight I love everybody and everybody loves me.”

Laydown” (hidden track): All I’ll say is a lyric of it goes: “Everybody wanna be me.”

Probably the best thing I can say about this record is this: 1983’s “Little Red Corvette” came on my iTunes just after 20TEN ended, and it sounded right, like these new songs could stand up to that classic 4 minutes of brilliance, a then-startling blend of soaring keys, squiggly-then-roaring guitar, metronomic beat and passionate scream-singing. Of course there are few songs (by Prince or anyone else in the pop genius pantheon) that can stand up to “Corvette,” and I’m not saying the songs on 20TEN do.

But I will say this: of course Prince has every right to be as deep or ambitious or ground-breaking as he needs to be, but it feels good to hear a Prince pop record that seems to just wanna make you sing along with the choruses and dance the end of the world (or just the workday) away.

Wow, that review is fantastic. My views on the CD are similar to his. I'm excited to have a Prince album that's fun to sing and dance to the whole way through, something that I haven't had in quite a while. Thanks for sharing Murph.

[Edited 7/13/10 13:35pm]

There's no way i'm going to try and better the above review but for my 2 cents:

It's taken a few listens for me to like this album but like it I do. Lyrically, in places, its banal but I agree that it does make a good summer album and its simplicity is quite infectious.

That said, not a big fan of Walk in the Sand and Sea of Eveything. Much too MOR for me. Undecided on Act of God and Laydown too but they could be growers. The rest of the tracks are pretty darn good by recent standards.

To sum it up, I love the fact that I don't press the skip button until track 7. Can't remember the last Prince album that I lasted that long.

TT

[Edited 7/13/10 14:11pm]

emesem said:

murph said:

Probably the most honest and well-written review of the new Prince album...My collegue Scott Poulson Bryant (former VIBE,SPIN, and Rolling Stone writer) pretty much nails it...

Not bad but I find it odd he ranks BE as the best as its the most non-80s sounding track of the set. Not one of my favs.

Also, am I the only one that does not think of Future Soul Song as a "love song". It more of a sci-fi lulleby fantasy "we'll all come togother as one" kind of song desguised as a classic Prince 80s love song rock-ballad.

[Edited 7/13/10 13:17pm]

I think it's much or less a spiritual ballad.

I think this album comes closest to answering the question of what genre of music Prince best fits. Some want rock, some want soul, some want funk, but the way he has done all of those genres best is when it's all combined into "Prince music" like this.

After repeated listenings, I dig the new album....but at the same time, the NME review nailed it when they said Prince's recent output is a "Xerox of a Xerox".

I'll always be in awe of Prince, eternally grateful for the joy his music brings, but he has the talent to expand his sound and be inventive, and he keeps repeating himself. Why?

NDRU said:

I think this album comes closest to answering the question of what genre of music Prince best fits. Some want rock, some want soul, some want funk, but the way he has done all of those genres best is when it's all combined into "Prince music" like this.

I agree it comes closest to answering that question, but I disagree with the answer you think it provides. I think it plainly shows that Prince is best now when he accepts his age and makes songs with a full band.

NeoGeo24bit said:

That's the same as any catalog artist though... after a certain amount of years, no matter what you create it will not be viewed in the same light as your earlier works. If Black Sweat was released by Usher, Justin Timberlake, or another artist in the "in crowd" it would have been a #1 smash. There is definitely a hidden bias against Prince for many reasons...

However there is really nothing Prince can do about it. Nothing. Look at Woody Allen. Every movie he releases, critics say it's not as good as his best. His movies don't make much money. But he finds ways to continue working and releasing movies. But in the end, he'll be remembered as one of the best ever. Same with Prince. Not bad company to keep...

That's not always true. Joni Mitchell is a case in point. She reached the height of her popularity in the 70's but thanks to really strong material was greeted with a resurgence in the mid-90's, and even won two Grammy awards, including Best Pop Album. She did it again in 2007 with her highest charting album in 30 years. She has remained an inspiration for numerous artists through out her career.

Not every artist can do this but if Prince can't, it's not just because he's a "catalog" artist.

PurpleKnight said:

NDRU said:

I think this album comes closest to answering the question of what genre of music Prince best fits. Some want rock, some want soul, some want funk, but the way he has done all of those genres best is when it's all combined into "Prince music" like this.

I agree it comes closest to answering that question, but I disagree with the answer you think it provides. I think it plainly shows that Prince is best now when he accepts his age and makes songs with a full band.

I'm personally open to either option, but there are times where the dynamic nature of the band seems to be a substitute for songwriting or interesting music, like in the case of 4Ever.

I am not saying I necessarily prefer one to the other (band or Linn/synth) but this style seems to straddle a happy medium of genres cohesively.

That Scott Poulson Bryant review posted above is the business. I agree 100 percent!

jtfolden said:

NeoGeo24bit said:

That's the same as any catalog artist though... after a certain amount of years, no matter what you create it will not be viewed in the same light as your earlier works. If Black Sweat was released by Usher, Justin Timberlake, or another artist in the "in crowd" it would have been a #1 smash. There is definitely a hidden bias against Prince for many reasons...

However there is really nothing Prince can do about it. Nothing. Look at Woody Allen. Every movie he releases, critics say it's not as good as his best. His movies don't make much money. But he finds ways to continue working and releasing movies. But in the end, he'll be remembered as one of the best ever. Same with Prince. Not bad company to keep...

That's not always true. Joni Mitchell is a case in point. She reached the height of her popularity in the 70's but thanks to really strong material was greeted with a resurgence in the mid-90's, and even won two Grammy awards, including Best Pop Album. She did it again in 2007 with her highest charting album in 30 years. She has remained an inspiration for numerous artists through out her career.

Not every artist can do this but if Prince can't, it's not just because he's a "catalog" artist.

But didn't Prince have a smash album with Musicology... a #1 album with 3121... a top five album with Planet Earth... and a #2 album with Lotusflow3r...

Prince has also won 2 or 3 grammys since 2004, a full 26 years after his first album... we're talking relevancy though, not awards.

[Edited 7/13/10 17:48pm]

PurpleKnight said:

NDRU said:

I think this album comes closest to answering the question of what genre of music Prince best fits. Some want rock, some want soul, some want funk, but the way he has done all of those genres best is when it's all combined into "Prince music" like this.

I agree it comes closest to answering that question, but I disagree with the answer you think it provides. I think it plainly shows that Prince is best now when he accepts his age and makes songs with a full band.

As cool as 20TEN is, I'd rather have Prince make music such as Fury, Planet Earth (the song), Guitar, The One You Wanna See, 77 Beverly Park, Wall of Berlin and Dreamer. That's when he reached his critical best... with rock and roll... not Prince, Dirty Mind or Controversy style sounds. Those albums were always fringe/cult albums.

Wow. All I gotta say that from start to finish, this is a great summer album.

While I don't like the way the album was mixed & mastered[along with his least few], To me this is the best Prince album in years. Now if only he would have put reverb on all of the drums & was a little more aggressive...." />" />

NeoGeo24bit said:

PurpleKnight said:

I agree it comes closest to answering that question, but I disagree with the answer you think it provides. I think it plainly shows that Prince is best now when he accepts his age and makes songs with a full band.

As cool as 20TEN is, I'd rather have Prince make music such as Fury, Planet Earth (the song), Guitar, The One You Wanna See, 77 Beverly Park, Wall of Berlin and Dreamer. That's when he reached his critical best... with rock and roll... not Prince, Dirty Mind or Controversy style sounds. Those albums were always fringe/cult albums.

I like your honesty......As much as I disagree with such a statement, I have to applaud you for zeroing in on your bottom line...I suspect the few folks (and UK critics) dismissing 20TEN feel the same way as you...But instead of coming out with your straight forward reasoning, they utilize code words like it's not "diverse" enough or "groundbreaking"....

Props...

murph said:

I suspect the few folks (and UK critics) dismissing 20TEN feel the same way as you...But instead of coming out with your straight forward reasoning, they utilize code words like it's not "diverse" enough or "groundbreaking"....

I don't see how standard Prince rock/pop affairs are "groundbreaking". Seems you're just trying to rely on the same old reasoning to justify why you think people don't like it.

Maybe they just didn't like the album because it's weak on fundamentals like song writing, composition, production, strong melodies and hooks, you know things like that.

NouveauDance said:

murph said:

I suspect the few folks (and UK critics) dismissing 20TEN feel the same way as you...But instead of coming out with your straight forward reasoning, they utilize code words like it's not "diverse" enough or "groundbreaking"....

I don't see how standard Prince rock/pop affairs are "groundbreaking". Seems you're just trying to rely on the same old reasoning to justify why you think people don't like it.

Maybe they just didn't like the album because it's weak on fundamentals like song writing, composition, production, strong melodies and hooks, you know things like that.