Pretty thin gruel.

I wasn't even able to listen to the whole thing, I had to start fast forwarding through tracks by the time I got to Act of God. There's a few okay numbers and plenty of embarrassing moments, in other words, another post TGE Prince album.

I've never been one to begrudge a man to follow whatever religion they need to get through the day, but I do think Prince's conversion to JW, while likely not harming his musical ability, has seriously hindered his ability compose lyrics to go with such embarrassing cuts as the track where he calls himself Yoda, or the opening number where he just repeats the same platitude over and over and over and over... Like many Prince albums of recent memory, the most interesting bits of the songs are the last 20-30 seconds where's he's not singing and he mucks about with the music til the fade.

In hindsight, I think what Prince does best these days are works like Lotusflower or Rainbow Children, where even if he's not creating a musical revolution, at least the music and lyrics aren't something you'd find on Disney sanctioned pop star.

Prince can still mimic his old sound, at least to an acceptable level, but the fire has long since burnt, making it all a rather empty affair. The passion is fabricated, the funk is formulaic. Future Love Song is a fine enough composition, the second track was okay, I'm sure there's a few musical breaks that are funky, but ultimately, this is 45 minutes of filler. Get back Sonny Thompson, Michale Bland, and Mr. Hayes for a record. Play with some adults. Enough of this crap. C- (at best)

BartVanHemelen said:

prijsbeestje said:

and the award for the most friendly org member is tataraaaa !!!! bartvanhemelen .he is always so friendly and positive .

Yes, evil me, pointing out the lies people say.

Let's see:

- people lying = a-okay

- people pointing out lies = evil

Hi Bart,

As the Guardian of the True Prince Legacy, you understandably feel a responsibility to dispel any notion that anything Prince has done in the last 15 years can be enjoyed on any level by anyone with half a neuron to spare. It is an heavy burden that can make one look like a crusty intellocrat that only has contempt for individuals of mediocre intellect. May you keep your strength and health for the many albums that are sure to be unloaded on the unsuspecting public in the next two or three decades!

Damn prince threw down. this here is phat, where u been welcome back my brother. great cd, sometimes less is more and here is a perfect example of not over playing and just making great melodies and great song structure. sticky like glue is all that. good job prince.

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.

Co-sign!! The whole damn album sounds the same with most of the tracks barely distinguishable from one another.

Again, he hopes the sound of the Linn will make the listener overlook the substandard songwriting. Mmm, not so much, bud.

The whole AutoTune thing in Beginning Endlessly, so not necessary.

As Bart said, if you HAVE to try to listen to something over and over again to appreciate it, something's wrong there. Lol! "I'm gonna force myself to like this rubbish even if it kills me, dammit!!"

WOW, for the first time in years I can see the potential in a Prince album. I thought MPLSound was pure crap minus Better With Time and Lotusflower close to crap. 3121 was about half good and Planet Earth completely forgettable. And Hot Summer is BRUTALLY TERRIBLE!!!

BUT this has some interesting hooks here, It seems the music for the most part is very interesting and sounds great, the only song I can see as being bland is cookie-cutter Walk In Sand. Open your eyes naysayers, I will definltely keep playing this for a long time..

OnlyNDaUsa said:

why has no one reviewed reviewed tracks 10-76

.

.

.

10 was a surprise to me, definitely understated and much more mellow that the first 9 songs

11 now we are talking. A very nice (but short) acappella song but with a twist no lyrics or vocals

12 was a let down. It is a cover of a song from RAVE. I wonder if it was not a MJ tribute as the one on Rave was to be for Miles Davis. But still it was better than his last 20 albums.

[Edited 7/9/10 8:14am]

Tracks 10-76 are better than ANY thing on the rest of the album or the last 3 albums, bar none. I will definitely say that!

One final thought;

"The internet's completely over."

Well now that I have heard the new album it's now apparent to me that the internet is not the only thing completely over!

Alamine said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Yes, evil me, pointing out the lies people say.

Let's see:

- people lying = a-okay

- people pointing out lies = evil

Really you think The Roots album is good, LOL man

'How I Got Over' is a really good album, imho.

whether this album sucks or not(its on par with planet earth)its still a better publicity stunt than the mail on sunday was.no-one wonts to buy right wing shit on a sunday(even with a prince disc).even though the publicity got crapper the further we went it still makes me optimistic for the future.when i say the record got crap by thursday it was the brain-dead balls that came from paulo nutini's mouth and even slash saying the album was so awesome its a return too the 80's.the 1980 period is long gone but that doesnt stop it being a 2010 classic compared to some crap ive heard.only scissor sisters-nightwork was good this summer along with prince.but prince needs a new strategy even if he hates the internet.i-tunes may not give him an advance but it gives him publicity if he dishes out e.p.'s.if prince uses the net and newspapers the future is his oyster.there was a reason lotusflow3r(even if it was good flunked).he really needs a good think.HE CAN BE GREAT AGAIN,IT JUST NEEDS HANDLED RIGHT AND MAYBE HE SHOULD LISTEN TO OTHERS TOO.

alexnvrmnd777 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.

Co-sign!! The whole damn album sounds the same with most of the tracks barely distinguishable from one another.

Again, he hopes the sound of the Linn will make the listener overlook the substandard songwriting. Mmm, not so much, bud.

The whole AutoTune thing in Beginning Endlessly, so not necessary.

As Bart said, if you HAVE to try to listen to something over and over again to appreciate it, something's wrong there. Lol! "I'm gonna force myself to like this rubbish even if it kills me, dammit!!"

Wait... that was autotune in "Beginning Endlessly"???

In the middle of my first listen... about halfway through. Some quite nice tracks so far. Only thing that sticks out is how crap 'Act of God' is.

It sounds like grower music to me. Hooks inside hooks, suddenly boring, then playful, then back to boring.

I like it though. It's alright. His lyrics are becoming less interesting, but that happens when you totally remove yourself from humanity. Paging Mick Jagger.

Speaking of, 32 years in the Stones were suddenly embracing electronica, Ray Charles was making Diet Pepsi commericals, and Bob Dylan was releasing cover albums.

It's alright.

Nah, I don't like it. No track grabs me at all. It's not nearly as good as, say, 'Musicology', and that was a pretty average album. Probably not as good as 3121 either. PE, I can't even remember to compare it to lol. I do recall the few tracks I liked on lotusflower/mplsound I preferred to anything on this new one though. This album's just dull, musically, and the lyrics and hooks are weak. Kinda fun in some ways, I guess, but even though I want to like it, I just can't. It's not very good.

2020 said:

Damn! The reviews started flooding in and the positivity seen on this boards for this new joint has been unseen in a while which is maybe the best part!

Compassion

The snippet we heard was nothing! This songs definitely rivals Play in the Sunshine with a progression in a song we have not seen in a while! It builds and builds and yes hearing the Linn thrown in for 1999 effect is very nice! We all need to be friends again...catchy as hell!

Beginning Endlessly

Damn P is back in the funk and its slammin'! This was my favorite snippet and now I know why! I'm only 1/4 way through and I gotta go back to the beginning to hear this...beginning - bad ass beat - futuristic layers in choclate funk! damn! YES! Layers and layers of vocals too! This is a killer track and a sound I've not quite heard from Prince before. Shit the showman is back with this track. Live this will be bad ass! I could go on and on about this song! Classic old skool P ending - lovin it!

Future Love Song

Wow! I love great Prince ballads and this is now one of them. He kills it with his voice and the amazing layers! Damn! MBGITW mixed with Shhh. This is how I used to listen to Prince CDs - with each song just driving me nuts and just wanting to hear each song again. Classic.

Sticky Like Glue

This production on this song and CD is fantastic! P is actually pulling off some new vox and I'm diggin it! A totally different song again - and Prince rappin' niiiiiiice. A great summer song with the top down thats for sure! Prince has passion on this one and his voice is dope!

Laveaux

From the beginning he goes deep on this one all the way back to 82! The snippet was promising and he is outdoing himself again! I can see this being an outtake from 1999.

Act of God

I can instantly see the comparison to Mr Man and Money Dont Matter Tonight. I like it - its preachy but in a good way and he is groovin on all these tracks. His lyrics have been consistently good and not cringe worthy which has been the case with the 00's

Walk In Sand

A great ballad again - very jazzy with P at the piano. I bet Alicia Keys will love this song!

Sea of Everything

As others have mentioned this is very similar to Scandelous/Somewhere Here On Earth yet with a cool different 70's vibe twist. Yet another great song - better than SHOE.

Everybody Loves Me

A great way to close out a very diverse and solid CD. The descriptions of other reviews didn't really prepare me for this one. It is a bit Controversy/Horny Toad and the piano riff its hilarious and fits so well! "Their aint nothing 2 it but 2 do it!" I likey!

77 Laydown

Damn! The Purple Yoda is one for the records! haha! I dont see the BEP produced similiarity. This is very much a Prince out there track. Damn he's funky! Guitar is off the hook on this one and his use of Pro Tools paid off on this one!

He finally did it and brought the funk back and a excellent CD front start to back.

Hot Summer indeed!

9.5 outta 10

[Edited 7/8/10 21:57pm]

[Edited 7/8/10 21:59pm]

Ditto!

alexnvrmnd777 said:

Again, he hopes the sound of the Linn will make the listener overlook the substandard songwriting. Mmm, not so much, bud.

Prince has been using this Pavlovian device since Rave. What makes it humorous is, the hordes of starry eyed fams always try to stifle any criticism of Prince's work with "You people just want to hear (fill in 80s album) part 2!" When in reality, most criticisms are leveled at his inability to come with anything new in terms of sound, and more than that, its the fams that always drool over these repeated linn sounds, as if he's reinvented the wheel, when all he's doing is dusting off 1982.

People who were pining for "old" Prince should be very happy with this album. Each track reminded me of an old Prince song and for me, that is not a good thing. The only track I dig is Laydown.

It's not my cup of tea but I wish Prince all the best.

20TEN (Prince)

88/100

1. Compassion -- A twisted sounding, ever changing funky face jam. As crazy as this song sounds, the lyrics are even more impressive and dare I say, important. "Whatever skin you're in, we all need to be friends."

10 out of 10

2. Beginning Endlessly -- Slowly building, left of center, untouchable and dripping with funk masterpiece that only Prince could create. Try to touch the funk and your hand will catch on fire. Absolutely killer. "They know me around the world you want me just the same."

10 out of 10

3. Future Soul Song -- 20TEN's first slow jam sounds like something from the Superfly soundtrack. It would not be out of place if played during a love making scene from any blaxsploitation film. It's nice if you enjoy this kind of vibe. "This is the future soul song."

7 out of 10

4. Sticky Like Glue -- Back to the up tempo tracks and this one is a winner. This song even has a funny rap from Prince in the middle of it. It's a good funk workout from the master. "Everybody under me make a toast."

8 out 10

5. Act of God -- Another funk masterpiece, this time about the evils of dirty bankers, the unfairness of life, and what a human can do to overcome it all. Act of God is reminiscent of We Can Funk, Witness 4 the Prosecution, and 1+1+1 is 3. "Dirty old banker sold a house today."

10 out of 10

6. Lavaux -- Fast-paced, beautifully made synthesizer driven pop song about the best way to enjoy life... being completely free. "I'm the y in mystery."

10 out of 10

7. Walk in Sand -- The first of two perfectly segued ballads, this song is nice but I would rather keep the high speed tempo of the album going strong. "There's nothing better than to walk in sand hand in hand with you."

7 out of 10

8. Sea of Everything -- The second ballad is an improvement from Walk in Sand with deeper lyrics. Prince really seems to enjoy segueing ballads or placing them back to back. (Into the Light/I Will, U're Gonna C Me/Here). "Would you settle for a Prince and a sea of everything?"

8 out of 10

9. Everybody Loves Me -- Hilarious New Wave style track that sounds as if it came from the Summer of 1981 during an episode of Square Pegs. Prince should write children's songs, as this would also fit perfectly on an episode of Barney or Lazytown. This song brings a smile to your face and joy to your heart. "Tonight I love everybody, that's right, EVERYONE!"

9 out of 10

10. Laydown -- The mid to late 90's NPG funk sound is back with this hard hip hop/rap track. It's the perfect song to blast while driving around in your town. Just make sure your car isn't covered with bird sh*t. Sounds as if it is from the Newpower Soul era, but has better production. "Lay down!"

9 out of 10

[Edited 7/9/10 20:35pm]

first impression - 3.5 out of 5 stars

It took Prince 15+ years to realize that people prefered the Linn drum to out-dated R&B loops (Kirky J was the worst)..... I'm now hoping in maybe another 15 years he'll realize that people don't want to hear the same Linn snare drum on every god damn song.

What was great about the Linn drum before that he messed with the tuning, ran it through effects etc. Now we get the same (probably a sample of a Linn drum) in every song.

It's always fun to hear a new Prince record, but he really does sound like he's out of (real) ideas.... the songwriting lacks any spark, and as for the vocal delivery on some of the tracks, it sounds like he's even boring himself.

He has this knee jerk reaction whenever asked about his past... he does not like to talk about it, he's all about the future... he's different now, it's all about the new music etc .... But he seems to be doing everything to sound like his past, without even a hint of something 'new'. (not to mention concert set lists that are all 25 years old songs).

I'll give the album a few listens, but at best some tracks sound like outtakes from the past that i personally would think are 'ok ...but would not put them on a best of unreleased Prince'.

If he really wants to be noticed again as a 'musical force' he's going to have to work harder than this in the studio. If he wants an album to get him some PR for yet another greatest hits tour then this kind of stuff will do the trick.

Vendetta1 said:

People who were pining for "old" Prince should be very happy with this album. Each track reminded me of an old Prince song and for me, that is not a good thing. The only track I dig is Laydown.

Hmm, not necessarily. I thought MPLSoUND was a good example of Prince dabbling in his "old" sound... the tracks here aren't all exactly a "good" examples, imo.

Probably the first time, I haven't bought one of his albums on release day. But from what I have read it sounds very average. I was hoping for a new trendsetter, but it seems its just more dross that we have come to expect off Prince. I will post again when and if he decides to release it in New Zealand.

The Mirror are comparing it to Purple Rain. Man these people say anything to sell some newspapers.

Id be lying if i was to say it's a perfect album, but there is enough tight, funky and melodic songs on here for me to call it a success. What Prince does with the Linn/chicken grease combo is trademark Prince in my view. No he is not bringing earth shattering innovation to the table, but what he is doing is something that others have tried and failed to replicate since the early eighties and missed. The production on songs such as "Beginning Endlessly", "Future Soul Song", "Lavaux" and "Laydown" is exquisite, and he has delivered a 9/10 record.

Huggiebear said:

Probably the first time, I haven't bought one of his albums on release day. But from what I have read it sounds very average. I was hoping for a new trendsetter, but it seems its just more dross that we have come to expect off Prince. I will post again when and if he decides to release it in New Zealand.

This isn't an average album. I suggest you read some real, honest reviews. Like mine.

NeoGeo24bit said:

Huggiebear said:

Probably the first time, I haven't bought one of his albums on release day. But from what I have read it sounds very average. I was hoping for a new trendsetter, but it seems its just more dross that we have come to expect off Prince. I will post again when and if he decides to release it in New Zealand.

This isn't an average album. I suggest you read some real, honest reviews. Like mine.

2020 said:

Damn! The reviews started flooding in and the positivity seen on this boards for this new joint has been unseen in a while which is maybe the best part!

Compassion

The snippet we heard was nothing! This songs definitely rivals Play in the Sunshine with a progression in a song we have not seen in a while! It builds and builds and yes hearing the Linn thrown in for 1999 effect is very nice! We all need to be friends again...catchy as hell!

Beginning Endlessly

Damn P is back in the funk and its slammin'! This was my favorite snippet and now I know why! I'm only 1/4 way through and I gotta go back to the beginning to hear this...beginning - bad ass beat - futuristic layers in choclate funk! damn! YES! Layers and layers of vocals too! This is a killer track and a sound I've not quite heard from Prince before. Shit the showman is back with this track. Live this will be bad ass! I could go on and on about this song! Classic old skool P ending - lovin it!

Future Love Song

Wow! I love great Prince ballads and this is now one of them. He kills it with his voice and the amazing layers! Damn! MBGITW mixed with Shhh. This is how I used to listen to Prince CDs - with each song just driving me nuts and just wanting to hear each song again. Classic.

Sticky Like Glue

This production on this song and CD is fantastic! P is actually pulling off some new vox and I'm diggin it! A totally different song again - and Prince rappin' niiiiiiice. A great summer song with the top down thats for sure! Prince has passion on this one and his voice is dope!

Laveaux

From the beginning he goes deep on this one all the way back to 82! The snippet was promising and he is outdoing himself again! I can see this being an outtake from 1999.

Act of God

I can instantly see the comparison to Mr Man and Money Dont Matter Tonight. I like it - its preachy but in a good way and he is groovin on all these tracks. His lyrics have been consistently good and not cringe worthy which has been the case with the 00's

Walk In Sand

A great ballad again - very jazzy with P at the piano. I bet Alicia Keys will love this song!

Sea of Everything

As others have mentioned this is very similar to Scandelous/Somewhere Here On Earth yet with a cool different 70's vibe twist. Yet another great song - better than SHOE.

Everybody Loves Me

A great way to close out a very diverse and solid CD. The descriptions of other reviews didn't really prepare me for this one. It is a bit Controversy/Horny Toad and the piano riff its hilarious and fits so well! "Their aint nothing 2 it but 2 do it!" I likey!

77 Laydown

Damn! The Purple Yoda is one for the records! haha! I dont see the BEP produced similiarity. This is very much a Prince out there track. Damn he's funky! Guitar is off the hook on this one and his use of Pro Tools paid off on this one!

He finally did it and brought the funk back and a excellent CD front start to back.

Hot Summer indeed!

9.5 outta 10

I agree with ur review....

20TEN reminds me of the Prince that made me a fan. Its a mixture of the albums Controversy & 1999 & SOTT with a new slick dirty twist sound. I like the scratchy rhythm guitar & slick keyboard chords, Also like the not overdone but just enough Lynn drum machine. Each song is edited tightly just enough to make U want more.The lead guitar is not prominent on this Cd. But its not missed, Just like his early work. The energy & lyrics is fun & playful & not forced or preachy. Its a very even album evry song goes together... Can't stop playing it..........I give it 10 stars...Its another masterpiece.

Shit!

Very average music. He must have wrote it while gardening.

I'm fed up with the crap prince is serving us.

For the first time in my life, I won't buy or download a Prince CD.

Internet is not dead but Prince the songwriter is certainly in inactive mode for good.

i liked it...thought it was very cool

damn..the majority of you are just a bunch of whining little %#$#$# arent you?

please review this album without any reference to older albums. that is soooo boring and 95% of the time peoples comparisons are wrong. Listen and let those of us who have not heard get a true evaluation of how you feel. Instead of some tired azz "it sounds like something from NPS or Controversy or Batman etc.