Just been listening to 20Ten, and although I always thought it was an entertaining album I found it a really pleasant listen this time round.

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Lots of songs that have a proper old school 80's Prince sound to them and are enjoyable and catchy in some form. Definately one of his better post-WB albums IMO. Wouldn't mind another album like that in the (near) future!

That album gets a lot of hate here, I don't know why. It's fun and catchy, and almost no tracks that I feel the need to skip. And it came free with a newspaper, so no complaints from me.

I don't think it sounds like 80's Prince at all. I liked the album when it came out but I haven't felt the desire to revisit it in a long time.

I've said it before on this site [more than a couple of times ], but '20TEN' suffers from poor mixing & mastering. I really don't think it's that bad of an album otherwise. Better mixing & mastering, I'd deem it a much better experience, for the most part.

dandan said:

I don't think it sounds like 80's Prince at all. I liked the album when it came out but I haven't felt the desire to revisit it in a long time.

What I mean that the songs sound like Prince songs and are not butchered too much with autotune and bad sounding 'modern' beats. The beats are mainly Linndrum (samples) but not as processed as back in the 80's. Which I prefer at least

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Plus there is quite a bit of that type of funky rhythm guitar he used to play on many songs in the early eighties. This was missing a lot in his more recent music IMO.

Tittypants said:

I've said it before on this site [more than a couple of times ], but '20TEN' suffers from poor mixing & mastering. I really don't think it's that bad of an album otherwise. Better mixing & mastering, I'd deem it a much better experience, for the most part.

Yeah, I think if the songs would have a 'bigger/fuller' production they would sound better than they do now. Would be interesting to have it mixed again by a big boy in the industry who really knows what he is doing.

funkaholic1972 said:

Tittypants said:

I've said it before on this site [more than a couple of times ], but '20TEN' suffers from poor mixing & mastering. I really don't think it's that bad of an album otherwise. Better mixing & mastering, I'd deem it a much better experience, for the most part.

Yeah, I think if the songs would have a 'bigger/fuller' production they would sound better than they do now. Would be interesting to have it mixed again by a big boy in the industry who really knows what he is doing.

There are no dynamics to the album whatsoever. It's all really just...flat & loud . I would LOVE to hear a re-mix/remaster of the album. Add a little more reverb too.

funkaholic1972 said:

Tittypants said:

I've said it before on this site [more than a couple of times ], but '20TEN' suffers from poor mixing & mastering. I really don't think it's that bad of an album otherwise. Better mixing & mastering, I'd deem it a much better experience, for the most part.

Yeah, I think if the songs would have a 'bigger/fuller' production they would sound better than they do now. Would be interesting to have it mixed again by a big boy in the industry who really knows what he is doing.

I agree, it would be fantastic to hear some other producers work with Prince's music in general. On the subject of 20Ten specifically, I think it's a good record. Like OP I've enjoyed it when it comes up on shuffle.

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Overall I like Prince's stuff from Rainbow Children onwards more than the Early-mid 90s. He just needs to do his thing and not try too hard for a throwback MPLS sound.

thx185 said:

funkaholic1972 said:

Yeah, I think if the songs would have a 'bigger/fuller' production they would sound better than they do now. Would be interesting to have it mixed again by a big boy in the industry who really knows what he is doing.

I agree, it would be fantastic to hear some other producers work with Prince's music in general. On the subject of 20Ten specifically, I think it's a good record. Like OP I've enjoyed it when it comes up on shuffle.

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Overall I like Prince's stuff from Rainbow Children onwards more than the Early-mid 90s. He just needs to do his thing and not try too hard for a throwback MPLS sound.

I don't think he tried hard enough. Prince used to program some of the best drum patterns of all time....for some reason.....those days are over. 'MPLSound' suffers the same fate [but with worse songs].

[Edited 7/13/14 12:05pm]

I got news for you...it didn't hold up well at the time.

I loved and still love the first 4 tracks (except for the rap in Sticky Like Glue), and then I love the slap in the face of "Everybody Loves Me". The rest seem more uninteresting or halfbaked to my ears.

I like it all bar Walk In Sand

bigd74 said:

bigd74 said:

I like it all bar Walk In Sand

Same here. Thats the only track I skip. Otherwise I love the album.

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[Edited 7/13/14 13:56pm]

Future Soul Song is great. Sticky Like Glue is solid, but nearly ruined by the rap shoved into the middle (also see: Love 2 the 9's), nice rhythm guitar toward the end. Beginning Endlessly, Lavaux, Walk in the Sand are good.

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Wish Prince had put more effort into the final result. Instead he tossed the album together and released it in a limited newspaper deal.

[Edited 7/14/14 10:44am]

I like Future Soul Song, Walk in Sand and Sticky Like Glue a lot. Laydown is enjoyable, too.

That´s three songs I find great and one decent song, and the rest is not really my cup of tea but four good songs on an album that was free is not exactly a bad album.

MPLsound had its moments, too, but all in all I think 20Ten is the better album in comparison.

MPLsound´s title is very misleading, that album had zero to do with the original Minneapolis Sound.

But 20Ten is an album that brings back fond memories and I still like it.

Tittypants said:

I've said it before on this site [more than a couple of times ], but '20TEN' suffers from poor mixing & mastering. I really don't think it's that bad of an album otherwise. Better mixing & mastering, I'd deem it a much better experience, for the most part.

Agree. Mixing issues are the biggest problems. I was listening to MPLSound, which could have been a better album, if it was mixed, mastered and edited better as well. But all the 'Bad Prince' albums, 20Ten included, have a failure at the songwriting stage as well: songs that are neither spot-on comparable to classic material, or lock down contemporary at the time of their release. That's what pros do. Prince always has an excuse why he doesn't hold himself to pro standards while putting his records together.

no love for Act of God ?

no love for laydown or layitdown or whatever it was called.?

those two are my favs.

I'll be able to answer this question when I can buy it in Canada.

Average, the cd is a 5 or maybe 6 out of 10.

4-5 good tracks, Beginning Endlessly, Future Soul Song and Laydown are my fave from the Cd.

Prince Discography, (scale 1 - 10)


1978: For You (8)
1979: Prince (8)
1980: Dirty Mind (10)
1981: Controversy (9.5)
1982: 1999 (10)
1984: Purple Rain (10)
1985: Around The World In A Day (10)
1986: Parade (10)
1987: Sign “☮” The Times (10)
1988: Lovesexy (10)
1989: Batman (8)
1990: Graffiti Bridge (8)
1991: Diamonds & Pearls (9)
1992: The Love Symbol Album '92 (9)
1993: The Hits / The B-sides (10)
1994: Come (9)
1994: The Black Album (9.5)
1995: The Gold Experience (10)
1996: Chaos & Disorder (7)
1996: Emancipation (8)
1998: Crystal Ball (8)
1998: The Truth (7)
1998: Kamasutra (0)
1998: Newpower Soul (4)
1999: The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale (6)
1999: Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (6)
2001: Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (Remix Album) (7)
2001: The Very Best Of Prince (10)
2001: The Rainbow Children (8)
2002: One Nite Alone... Piano (3)
2002: One Nite Alone... Live (2)
2003: Xpectation (2)
2003: N.E.W.S. (2)
2004: Musicology (7)
2004: The Chocolate Invasion (6)
2004: The Slaughterhouse (6)
2004: C-Note (?)
2006: 3121 (5)
2006: Ultimate Prince (Best Of) (10)
2007: Planet Earth (5)
2008: Indigo Nights (Book & CD) (2)
2009: Lotusflower (7)
2009: MPLSound (7)
2010: 20Ten (6)

imo......

thedance said:

lezama said:

bigd74 said:

I like it all bar Walk In Sand

Same here. Thats the only track I skip. Otherwise I love the album.

Sea Of Everything is the skipper for me. I enjoy all the rest and really like WITS.

I did an album tracklist with Laydown as the first track, replaced Sea of Everything with Hot Summer then ended the allbum with Cause & effect. I know HS and C&E seem to be mostly despised here but I love them both a lot.

I found that I like the album less as time has passed.

I think Beginning Endlessly is sublime, and Act of God, Everybody Loves Me, Sticky Like Glue and Laydown are cool, but the rest are a bit throwaway.

Like many, I prefer a mix up, where I added Hot Summer, Turn Me Loose, Purple and Gold and Cause and Effect.

The production bothers me. There is a duffness to it. Feels like a throwaway from MPLSounds.

I much prefer Planet Earth, which I think is a much more cohesive "giveaway" album.

ludwig said:

The overall reaction was very positive when it came out. It seems that the ones that are constantly bitching about his more recent output just bring up more frequently the albums that didn't do anything for them and that enforces the impression that most of us thought the releases were "bad". It's fine if people don't like something, but a lot of the bitching happens outside of the context of the threads. Somebody starts a thread on, say, Prince not wearing earplugs on stage and another person comments on how Prince must be deaf by this point and the quality of his new records functions as the "proof" of that.

It's definitely a good piece of work for such a limited release.