2000-2001: weird stuff; amazing organic jazz-funk sound, but bad marketing and the whole JW conversion affair was personal stuff that pretty much ruined all the enjoyment of the TRC lyrics...

2002-2003: bad NPG albums, and awful, disposable jazz records, C-NOTE, NEWS, etc. The ONA album is respectable but it bores the hell out of me...

2004: GOOD comeback and great tour, Musicology. A couple of weak tracks (Reflection, LOTP) but it featured a very fresh rock/funk sound

2006: his best album of the decade, 3121, his best since TGE

2007: one of his most memorable days of his career (Superbowl gig); uneven new album, Planet Earth

2008-2010: he's losing it; he has released another crappy triple album again, he hates the Internet, he has lost his mind and he cannot release albums in the USA anymore; sad, bizarre...

[Edited 8/7/10 15:14pm]

oh and how could I forget, he and Beyonce onstage at the Grammys, I went crazy!

Dauphin said:

Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999)
Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic (2000):

Tangarine, I Love U but I Don't Trust U Anymore, and Undisputed (Remix)

Overall, this album is a bust for me. I skip past many songs.

The Rainbow Children (2001)

Muse 2 the Pharoah, The Work, She Loves Me 4 Me, Family Name, The Everlasting Now, Last December

Overall, I do enjoy The Rainbow Children. 1+1+1=3 is kinda played out to me now. I like the live versions with Love Rollercoaster.

One Nite Alone... (2002)

Pearls B4 the Swine, Avalanche

I enjoy the composition of Pearls, and the voice on Avalanche is incredible. Other then that....

Xpectation (2003)

While not on the album, I love Xenophobia. But I haven't played this CD in a LONG time.

C-Note (2003)

I don't really count this as an album, even though I guess I should. While I love Blackwell, Dulfer, and Neto... Najee had so completely killed the "jazz" theme for me that I never took well to the jazz instrumentals.

N.E.W.S (2003)

I remember enjoying one of these songs, but it's been so long in listening to them, that I couldn't tell you which one. I think it was West.

Musicology (2004)

All songs

I love this album! Every song except "On the Couch". But I enjoyed listening to it live. This was his best tour. Great production, solid promotion, and probably his best touring band in his career. I will not mince words on this!

The Chocolate Invasion (2004)
The Slaughterhouse (2004)

When I Lay my Hands on U, Vavoom, Supercute, Underneath the Cream, Silicon, Peace, S&M Groove

Continuing a solid year, the NPG Music Club seems like a godsend in retrospect to the future internet offerings! I don't know where "When I Lay" came from, but holy geez is that a bad assed song!

3121 (2006)

Lolita, Love, Love (Acoustic), and Fury

Highlights on an otherwise (suprisingly) mediocore album. Something about the song "3121" throws me off. I can love it one day and quick skip it the next.

Planet Earth (2007)

Guitar, The One U Wanna See

Guitar sounds SO awesome live. I also enjoy the production on The One U Wanna See. But the other songs just bland me out.

Lotusflow3r (2009)

MPLSound

Pretty much the only album I listen to. And FREQUENTLY!!!! I felt this was Prince's return to form. I even turn up "Chocolate Box"!!!

20Ten (2010)

???

I haven't gotten this yet. Waiting on release.

I like many of your choices, but I wondering why you liked Mplsound ? I found it to be cold and lifeless, for lack of a better description. Just the opposite with Lotusflower. Seems very much alive to me, similar in some ways to Lovesexy or TRC. Just wondering why you liked it.

alphastreet said:

oh and how could I forget, he and Beyonce onstage at the Grammys, I went crazy!

I was surprised too, that he got on stage with someone of lesser talent.

I dont listen to the last ten years very much. I have one cd that I made of the best of and I still have a hard time filling up one GREAT cd worth of music. When I listen to Prince I usually listen to the 90's. To me that was his best music. Come to think about it the 90s era is really all that I still like nowadays from Prince. 70 and 80s just sounds too dated. 2000's stuff is boring. 90s has lasted the test of time and still sounds fresh and its GREAT music!! Especially the 91-96 period

I think Prince made several good albums in the last decade but I prefer the second half of the decade.

The Rainbow Children is the best from the first half, it contains several very good songs but also several that aren't that good. Songs like Family Name and She Loves Me 4 Me are to me classics but songs like Muse 2 The Pharao are rather uninteresting. Albums like The Chocolate Invasion and especially The Slaughterhouse and N.E.W.S. are weak albums.

The album I like the most from the last decade is 3121, then Planet Earth. 3121 contains several very good songs like Lolita, Te Amo Corazon, Incense And Candles and Love. The rest is well worth listening to as well. Highlights on Planet Earth are The One U Wanna C, Future Baby Mama and Chelsea Rodgers but several of the other songs are also above average.

As for the new decade, I think 20Ten is a promising start.

XNY said:

I like many of your choices, but I wondering why you liked Mplsound ? I found it to be cold and lifeless, for lack of a better description. Just the opposite with Lotusflower. Seems very much alive to me, similar in some ways to Lovesexy or TRC. Just wondering why you liked it.

The sound engineering on the album is just as good as Exlir and Lotuslow3r, of course. But the content of MPLSound is a lot less serious. It contains a lot of elements of other songs throughout his career that I like to listen to. I'll shoot down the list one by one

"(There'll Never B) Another Like Me" - Reminds me of songs like Supercute, My Medallion, but adds in a dance beat that I enjoy. I know some people get turned off by the "Woooo!" exclaimations, but it's part of the fun of the song. The lyric content is suspect, but I usually let this song just play. The chorus works for me.

"Chocolate Box" - Just sounds good in my car! That damn chorus is hella catchy. I also like the various changeups throughout the song.

"Dance 4 Me" - This song is a favorite that I have seen on these forums so I guess I don't have to go into it too much. But when I saw him play this live at PP, it was even BETTER.

"U're Gonna C Me" - Of course it's not Adore or anything, but it just fits so nice in the album sequence. For all of us falsetto sing alongers, this song is great and easy to remember

"Here" - I play this song OFTEN. Every now and then there are songs of Prince's that I just click with. The music, the lyrics, the rhythm, the sequencing. I just feel good when I sing along with this one.

"Valentina" - Usually I don't like it when Prince builds a songs structure up over the course of many minutes. It's cool on this one because a lot of latin music is instantly WHAM right in your mug. Again, the change up in lyric delivery is great for the album sequencing.

"Better with Time" - I usually skip this one.

"Ol' Skool Company"

"No More Candy 4 U" - While both of these are songs that are hit and miss for me on the album, I LOVE these songs live. He opened the PP Last jam of 2009 with No More Candy 4 U and I was suprised that I was able to sing along with every word.

Overall, it's not that this is his best album contentwise, but for me, I enjoy the overall flow of the album, and the songs are interesting enough and well spaced out with instrumentation. I don't get the feeling that he overproduced or underproduced it.

The last decade is better than the 90's imo.

OK, D&P and TGE are great albums, something he hasn't achived in the last decade..but if U compare the whole decade than the last one is my second fav.

Rainbow Children (I've listened 2 it,tried 2 love it but I only love She loves me 4 me and 1+1+1=3

...and maybe Everlasting Now)

ONA..live (at first I thought it sounded flat, but I love the piano medley and Strange Relationship and 1+1+1=3.... songs I still listen 2 alot)

Musicology (6 great songs, love it)

3121 (best album since TGE and it stays in my top 10!)

Planet Earth ( I was really dissapointed, but now I like a few tracks;The 1 U wanna C, Guitar, CR)

Lotus& Mplsound (first P albums I only have downloads, not my cup of tea but a fewgood songs on Mplsound)

20Ten ( love the album, my fav along with 3121)

And the performances!! (Superbowl, Leno, RTL France, MTV Musicology, Fury, RRHOF..)

[Edited 8/8/10 11:23am]

It started wonderfully: NPGMC 2001 felt as if he was opening the Vault at last, and there was so much great stuff released.

Then there was the jazz era, from TRC to N.E.W.S.: Prince was xploring new grounds, getting a bit more xperimental and less pop: by 2003 i really had high hopes 4 the future.

And then something called Musicology happened and Prince was back recording mainstream music and kept doing what he does over & over again ever since. I really enjoyed each album he released ever since because it's Prince and i like what Prince does, but there's less excitment.

He can keep going like that, i'll still enjoy it, but i still hope he'll get back to releasing more jazz material or try to xplore new musical grounds whatever they are.

So what to say? Prince's career was always about excitment. In the 80's you never knew how the next album would sound. In the 90's you never knew where his career would lead him next. The 2000's started with excitment with the possibilities offered by the internet and the new jazz directions, but in the end this decade was mostly about Prince re-establishing himself as a major player in the industry. The work's been done, so... let's see what comes next...

[Edited 8/8/10 15:24pm]

rusty1 said:

Prince will never create anything worthy again... unless he releases the vault material.. which he'll ruin... because he'll change the lyrics.. Prince is out of his mind now.... has lost touch to what is kick-ass and vital music these days.. it's a shame....

Sing it Brother. Truer words have never been spoken on the org.

I don't think he's a total loss. Remember how terrible Graffiti Bridge was? He came back after that with some good material. Prince doesn't have another Purple Rain in him, but I think he could do another 3121 if he could get his head out of his ass

TRC was a masterpiece, Xpectation was very good and even NEWS was interesting (even if unfocused).

As for the rest...

gimme a C

gimme an R

gimme an A

gimme a P

What's that spell...?

Dauphin said:

XNY said:

I like many of your choices, but I wondering why you liked Mplsound ? I found it to be cold and lifeless, for lack of a better description. Just the opposite with Lotusflower. Seems very much alive to me, similar in some ways to Lovesexy or TRC. Just wondering why you liked it.

The sound engineering on the album is just as good as Exlir and Lotuslow3r, of course. But the content of MPLSound is a lot less serious. It contains a lot of elements of other songs throughout his career that I like to listen to. I'll shoot down the list one by one

"(There'll Never B) Another Like Me" - Reminds me of songs like Supercute, My Medallion, but adds in a dance beat that I enjoy. I know some people get turned off by the "Woooo!" exclaimations, but it's part of the fun of the song. The lyric content is suspect, but I usually let this song just play. The chorus works for me.

"Chocolate Box" - Just sounds good in my car! That damn chorus is hella catchy. I also like the various changeups throughout the song.

"Dance 4 Me" - This song is a favorite that I have seen on these forums so I guess I don't have to go into it too much. But when I saw him play this live at PP, it was even BETTER.

"U're Gonna C Me" - Of course it's not Adore or anything, but it just fits so nice in the album sequence. For all of us falsetto sing alongers, this song is great and easy to remember

"Here" - I play this song OFTEN. Every now and then there are songs of Prince's that I just click with. The music, the lyrics, the rhythm, the sequencing. I just feel good when I sing along with this one.

"Valentina" - Usually I don't like it when Prince builds a songs structure up over the course of many minutes. It's cool on this one because a lot of latin music is instantly WHAM right in your mug. Again, the change up in lyric delivery is great for the album sequencing.

"Better with Time" - I usually skip this one.

"Ol' Skool Company"

"No More Candy 4 U" - While both of these are songs that are hit and miss for me on the album, I LOVE these songs live. He opened the PP Last jam of 2009 with No More Candy 4 U and I was suprised that I was able to sing along with every word.

Overall, it's not that this is his best album contentwise, but for me, I enjoy the overall flow of the album, and the songs are interesting enough and well spaced out with instrumentation. I don't get the feeling that he overproduced or underproduced it.

Thanks for the detailed break down. I'll have to give this cd another chance to grow on me. I, too, was at the last Paisley show in Oct (great show by the way! He walked right by me 5 or 6 times) and loved these songs live too. I think the hard part for me was hearing the songs live on Leno first- which I taped and replayed quite a few times - and then hearing them on the album was so different.

Thanks again!

This decade is perhaps better than the 90's, more consistent, the music makes sense, and is fairly strong. But it is safer, and as a result it is less interesting.

The Rainbow Children is the only album that takes risks like a proper Prince album should.

NDRU said:

This decade is perhaps better than the 90's, more consistent, the music makes sense, and is fairly strong. But it is safer, and as a result it is less interesting.

The Rainbow Children is the only album that takes risks like a proper Prince album should.

Well, technically Xpectation, N.E.W.S, C-Note and even One Nite Alone... are muuuuch more risky that The Rainbow Children. The latter was a great album, don't get me wrong, but it's Prince doing what Prince does. The other albums i mentioned were Prince trying things he didn't do before (or at least didn't do to such an extent). The 1st few minutes of East may be the most risky thing Prince ever attempted alongside The War and a few others like this.

Now, weither you consider them good or bad is another matter entirely (Kamasutra WAS daring and risky but, well... let's say we can't blame a guy 4 trying...). But they DID take MUCH more risk than TRC which, in the end, was as safe and comfortable a challenge for Prince than his later "pop" albums.

databank said:

NDRU said:

This decade is perhaps better than the 90's, more consistent, the music makes sense, and is fairly strong. But it is safer, and as a result it is less interesting.

The Rainbow Children is the only album that takes risks like a proper Prince album should.

Well, technically Xpectation, N.E.W.S, C-Note and even One Nite Alone... are muuuuch more risky that The Rainbow Children. The latter was a great album, don't get me wrong, but it's Prince doing what Prince does. The other albums i mentioned were Prince trying things he didn't do before (or at least didn't do to such an extent). The 1st few minutes of East may be the most risky thing Prince ever attempted alongside The War and a few others like this.

Now, weither you consider them good or bad is another matter entirely (Kamasutra WAS daring and risky but, well... let's say we can't blame a guy 4 trying...). But they DID take MUCH more risk than TRC which, in the end, was as safe and comfortable a challenge for Prince than his later "pop" albums.

I definitely see your point (and I was not really including those albums in my line of thinking), but in the context of instrumental jazz music I don't think those albums are particularly risk taking. I do like some of it, like West particularly.

The fact that he can pull them off at all says a lot about him, though.

For heavens sake give Prince a break.

I'm sick and tired of "fans" always wishing for P to produce albums "like he did in the 80's".

If you remember, towards the end of P's time at Warner bros he was being continually slagged of by the critics for his albums sexual references and bad language.

The general consensus was his albums would be better if he cleaned his act up. Now he has cleaned his act up he's accused of having "lost it" or being "lame".

Let's face it P's worst is better than most other artists best. Just listen to the drivel in the charts that is selling shed loads and it's not that hard to see that Prince's output post 1996 is far superior to any of the popular crap nowadays.

The 80's was 30 years ago, by Prince's own admission he had to stand outside McDonalds smelling the food because he was so poor, he needed hits and mega selling albums etc to make sure he was never in that situation again.

Now he's worth God knows how much and he no longer has to prove himself.

By his own admission and career choices Prince doesn't want to be part of the hit making process, he's proved with his 21 nights at the O2 that he can still outsell any modern artist if he wants to.

Think about it from 1980 till 1988 Prince pushed the boundaries in every way and in the process gave us 8 totally unique and groundbreaking albums. How many other artists had a creative run which lasted that long before the first "OK" album came along?

Yes Prince's albums are still good and in most cases if compared to what the other so called greats have been churning out over the last decade, you'll realise at 52 how Prince is still funkier than them all put together.

Prince just wants to make albums. No hits or massive tours, just albums of good music. Deal with it.

I agree with a lot of what por69 said. Although I admit that I don't like a lot of Prince's CDs after 1995 („The Gold Experience“ was my last real favorite), which is the reason why I ignored NPGMC and did not buy any of his CDs in the last ten years, except for Musicology, I would never say he has lost it. He's a real artist, he changes his style, tries out different things – of course I won't like everything he does, but that does not mean that it's no good.

In my opinion Prince is far more creative and writes better songs than most of the stuff that's in the charts nowadays!! And he is always good for surprises! For me „Lotusflow3er“ was a wonderful surprise – which I only discovered thanks to him playing „Dreamer“ live in Vienna in July. Because I'm primarily a rock music fan, I love especially his guitar-driven songs and therefore I'm extremely happy with Lotusflow3er, which I bought immediately after the concert! (It has also made me wonder what else I missed in the last years and so I am now getting „3121“ and „Planet Earth“ - just to be sure there's not another pearl like "Dreamer" on it.)

Now with „20ten“ he is back to the kind of sound that doesn't do much for me. But I'm not complaining, just hoping for more songs like „Dreamer“ „Boom“ and „Colonized Mind“ in the future.

Aside from his CDs, he has proven that he is still one of the best live performers!!! And for me, far better than in the old days! Whether I like his CDs or not, I will always go to see him on stage again – because live every song he plays sounds fantastic!!!

3121 and Lotusflow3r are ace. 20Ten's good as well.