Art Official Age.

i like everything i've heard from it so far, including "what it feels like", which

was premiered during one of the live streams last year.

.

from the listening preview write up, we know that there is at least one very

weird electronic song on there. "the gold standard" was described as being

'percolating funk' and then there was that song with rita ora which they said

had 'a menacing beat'. i'm looking forward to those.

.

plus i'm expecting the theme of the album to be pretty far out weird sci fi

prince rantings i always love those. the spoked part in "clouds" and the

3 'affermations' on the album probably narrate the theme. (the names of

the songs on AOA are written in caps but the affirmations are just normal

letters, leading me to think they are not songs but some sort of narration)

.

looking forward to PLEC as well, but i don't really like the stuff i've heard

from that album so far. only really hoping there will be one or two other

tracks that feature only prince on vocals that i'll really like. but not holding

my breath right now. who knows, i might end up being pleasantly surprised.

More interested in a Prince album...

That's a hard question, bc they will be two different experiences. I'm really excited about both. PlectrumElectrum kind of has a "myth" quality to it, because we have known about it for so long. So I may be more excited about plectrum just because I have been looking forward to it for so long, as to where i'm just now finding out about AOA (which I am also extremely excited about)

PlectrumElectrum!! I am so glad he has seperated the two albums in to a rock and R&B cd seperately. I hope he sticks to this format as I get get Plectrum and fully enjoy it and pass on the other. In the past I had to buy his album and only liked about two or three songs per album as I am not a fan of his R&B. I like his pop and rock material and this cd seems GREAT so far to me. CAN'T WAIT for it!!I hope he helps his fans by continuing to do genre oriented albums so that the R&B fans will get what they want and the Pop Rock fans get what they want. The die hards that like it all will buy both anyway. Its us on the fence that will benefit from this because we will finally get an album that we have a really good chance of liking as an album.

Art Official Age. I haven't liked any of 3rdEyeGirl songs yet.

I would have said Plectrum Electrum, but actually I've changed my mind, as after I read the tracklist it's obvious Prince is not on lead vocals for at least 4/5 songs on the album. I'm still looking forward to Wow (which I like a lot), Plectrum Electrum (the song),Anotherlove and Funknroll. Can live without FixUrLifeUp and a bunch of others, hopefully my mind will change once I hear the actual album.

Which means I'm really looking forward to Art Official Age, I like the Sci-Fi hints in Clouds, I really like Clouds, The Breakdown, What It Feels Like and Breakfast Can Wait, and the description of the rest of the song is very very interesting, so I can't wait to hear those. Hopefully the Affirmation bits are not just narration parts...

[Edited 8/27/14 0:50am]

[Edited 8/27/14 0:51am]

[Edited 8/27/14 0:52am]

MajesticOne89 said:

Art Official Age. I haven't liked any of 3rdEyeGirl songs yet.

Plectrum by a mile. Haven't disliked the Prince stuff which I've heard, apart from Breakfast Can Wait but the synth pop style Prince isn't one that I usually turn to when there's other stuff to choose from. I've loved everything I've heard from PE so far and the rock stuff is easily my favourite Prince stuff.

That's not to say I won't play AOA to death, but I know I'll be turning to PE more.

aiden said:

I think I'm looking forward to Art more as I believe it's a continuation of the sound and composing style of 20Ten which I happened to absolutely love.. Just possibly a little more produced and thought out. The fact that Plectrum was re recorded straight to analogue tape intrigues me though... They are both possibly gonna be brilliant but yes Art is the one I'm most excited for..

Totally agree, I loved most of 20Ten as I felt that album finally sounded like Prince returning to his early funky RnB roots. The type of Prince music that made me a fan in the first place, and not like trying too hard to fit in with current pop music.

-

20Ten did suffer a bit from not having a very 'warm' and full bodied sound, especially the drums could have sounded more like his 80's Linn sound (lots of FX) but I enjoyed most of the songs and the actual playing.

I'm hoping that they'll balance each other out in a decent way. This has been musically a pretty schizophrenic era for Prince. It reminds me of the days when he put out C&D and at the same time was recording the R&B stuff that appeared on "Emancipation".

He went from releasing "Screwdriver" to releasing "Breakfast Can Wait" in, what, a few weeks? Now that type of a contrast is getting applied to these full-length album releases.

[Edited 8/27/14 3:46am]

Both.

I'm a music lover, and altho he doesn't always hit out of the park everytime (Planet Earth was terrible), it's at least interesting and there may be a 1 or 2 gems there. I get two new Prince albums this year. I can't complain. The man is 56, how much more innovative do you expect him to be? No expectations, I've been pleased thus far.

Plectrumelectrum. It sounds like it's going to be a great album, and 'Wow' is probably the best Prince song I've heard in years.

AOA ALL THE WAY!!!!!

trax said:

I can't really choose. I feel like in a way, I already know what to expect from PLEC, so I'm actually more intrigued by AOA. I'm fascinated/excited by IstenSzek's theory that AOA could be a true concept album with a quirky sci-fi theme tying it all together. That would be awesome! Then again, there are 3 PLEC tracks that absolutely blow me away -- WOW, the title track, and AINTURNINROUND. They all rock so hard that, for me, they're like "shots of musical adrenaline." I think I'm gonna love both albums.

I want to say AOA
Although beside the tracks and clips we've already heard there might not be much to look forward to

What if both albums fit on one 80 minute CD

TheEnglishGent said:

His solo one. My only wish is that it's better than 20Ten, then it will be enjoyable.

trax said:

PlectrumElectrum!! I am so glad he has seperated the two albums in to a rock and R&B cd seperately. I hope he sticks to this format as I get get Plectrum and fully enjoy it and pass on the other. In the past I had to buy his album and only liked about two or three songs per album as I am not a fan of his R&B. I like his pop and rock material and this cd seems GREAT so far to me. CAN'T WAIT for it!!I hope he helps his fans by continuing to do genre oriented albums so that the R&B fans will get what they want and the Pop Rock fans get what they want. The die hards that like it all will buy both anyway. Its us on the fence that will benefit from this because we will finally get an album that we have a really good chance of liking as an album.

I fully agree. I am intrigued to hear how Prince produced 3RDEYEGIRL as recording artists and musicians. Prince has released albums in the vein of ART OFFICIAL AGE (20Ten, MPLSOUND, 3121, Rave), but not since Gold Experience has Prince used a band he formed from scratch as a vehicle for a full length album. I would rather hear 3RDEYEGIRL on record finding their stride, than Prince trying to placate fans who are stuck in the '80s. I pre-ordered both albums, but PLECTRUM ELECTRUM if I can get on vinyl will be the one getting the most spins. Donna is the perfect foil for him, someone he can lean on for inspiration as a guitarist and challenge each other.

bluefish said:

I can't really choose. I feel like in a way, I already know what to expect from PLEC, so I'm actually more intrigued by AOA. I'm fascinated/excited by IstenSzek's theory that AOA could be a true concept album with a quirky sci-fi theme tying it all together. That would be awesome! Then again, there are 3 PLEC tracks that absolutely blow me away -- WOW, the title track, and AINTURNINROUND. They all rock so hard that, for me, they're like "shots of musical adrenaline." I think I'm gonna love both albums.

Your report after the listening party mentioned The Gold Standard as being a ballad, similar to Scandalous and The Beautiful Ones. Other people at the listening session report it as being a funky number. Did you get confused with another song?

Why doesn't one of the Mods make this a poll on the front page?

Askani said:

TheEnglishGent said:

but the synth pop style Prince isn't one that I usually turn to when there's other stuff to choose from

Really. 1999 and Purple Rain don't do it for you?

I wouldn't really call Purple Rain synth pop, that's more rock.

Not a massive fan of 1999. I don't like Lady Cab Driver, Automatic, All The Critics, or Something In The Water. Let's Pretend We're married goes on a bit but I still like that one. The main synth line in Delirious is a bit squeeky and mars an otherwise great track. Other than that, the rest is awesome.

TheEnglishGent said:

Askani said:

TheEnglishGent said: Really. 1999 and Purple Rain don't do it for you?

I wouldn't really call Purple Rain synth pop, that's more rock.

Not a massive fan of 1999. I don't like Lady Cab Driver, Automatic, All The Critics, or Something In The Water. Let's Pretend We're married goes on a bit but I still like that one. The main synth line in Delirious is a bit squeeky and mars an otherwise great track. Other than that, the rest is awesome.

Wow! You prefer Free over Lady Cab Driver, Automatic, All The Critics and Something In The Water?

AoA. What we've heard of Plectrum is pretty damn awful.