Polo1026 said:

Listening to AOA over and over you start to appreciate the detail and technical production aspects of each record. The vocals alone are layered with such depth throughout the record even the female vocal is superb. There are vocal tones that are reversed on some tracks and he even has vocals so low in the mix you may not hear it at first listen especially on tracks like Gold Standard and AOC and Way Back Home. There is a harmony when Prince says "I'm happiest when I can see" that you could almost miss because it's not panned but centered and low in the mix that is amazing. The edit screens on some these records must look like the best tutorials for protools anyone could ever study. I saw a couple comments about how this record was amateurish so being an engineer I decided to take a critical listen and I have to say that nothing is amateurish IMO. Perhaps there are some geniuses here that can accomplish some of the elements in these records in their sleep without much effort and that's cool. When you work with a musician like Prince you should give him a straightforward mix to record with because his playing is so clean and on time that you don't need to "spice" the parts up at all. If 808's and claps constitute amateurish sounds then that is your opinion. It's one thing to use 808's properly and another to just have them bumping loud in the mix for no purpose at all. The backbeat in Way Back Home is done to perfection, tap delayed, and swelled in specific spots for effect and its made up of multiple 808's and kicks, including what sounds like a live kick drum. The synths used for the bass lines are heavily doctored and definitely not the factory plug ins. They are definitely mixed with some analog because they have a warmth and bite quality that isn't easy to attain. I think that because we've heard some of the elements used on this record on popular radio, the listener starts believing that the creation of songs with these elements are child play. I could go into more details and chart each song elements bar for bar but that may come later because I am fascinated with this record but I just wanted to give my two cents.

Exactly. Of all the criticisms you could level at Prince, un-artful arrangements & amateurish orchestrations are not among them! That is one area in which I don't think his music has suffered at all. Ultimately, I don't think many listeners care about that, but it keeps things interesting for me.

Polo1026 said:

Listening to AOA over and over you start to appreciate the detail and technical production aspects of each record. The vocals alone are layered with such depth throughout the record even the female vocal is superb. There are vocal tones that are reversed on some tracks and he even has vocals so low in the mix you may not hear it at first listen especially on tracks like Gold Standard and AOC and Way Back Home. There is a harmony when Prince says "I'm happiest when I can see" that you could almost miss because it's not panned but centered and low in the mix that is amazing. The edit screens on some these records must look like the best tutorials for protools anyone could ever study. I saw a couple comments about how this record was amateurish so being an engineer I decided to take a critical listen and I have to say that nothing is amateurish IMO. Perhaps there are some geniuses here that can accomplish some of the elements in these records in their sleep without much effort and that's cool. When you work with a musician like Prince you should give him a straightforward mix to record with because his playing is so clean and on time that you don't need to "spice" the parts up at all. If 808's and claps constitute amateurish sounds then that is your opinion. It's one thing to use 808's properly and another to just have them bumping loud in the mix for no purpose at all. The backbeat in Way Back Home is done to perfection, tap delayed, and swelled in specific spots for effect and its made up of multiple 808's and kicks, including what sounds like a live kick drum. The synths used for the bass lines are heavily doctored and definitely not the factory plug ins. They are definitely mixed with some analog because they have a warmth and bite quality that isn't easy to attain. I think that because we've heard some of the elements used on this record on popular radio, the listener starts believing that the creation of songs with these elements are child play. I could go into more details and chart each song elements bar for bar but that may come later because I am fascinated with this record but I just wanted to give my two cents.

Yup. That's why I was saying this needs headphones. SO much going on.

xpertluva said:

JellyJam said:

I'm taking militant's wise advice and ignoring the obvious troll.

Back on track and AOA...

I remember many years ago when I was at school, the day SOTT came out. I sneaked out at lunchtime and bought the cassette (?!?). I had a shitty Walkman and listened to brief segments of the album. It was by no means a comprehensive analysis, but it felt like a great album. Later, when I got home, I shut the curtains and turned the lights out and listened to the whole album; in sequence, in its entirety. It was genius - unpredicable, esoteric and eclectic. And I still believe it's my favorite album of all time.

Many years later. Today I was at work and AOA happened to land in my possession. Being at work, I sneaked out at lunchtime and during the day I caught brief segments of the album. It was by no means a comprehensive analysis, but it felt like a great album. Later, when I got home, when my wife and son were fast asleep I turned down the lights and put my earphoneson and listened again to the whole album; in sequence, in its entirety. It's not SOTT but it shows why Prince is a genius - unpredicatable, esoteric and eclectic. And I still believe he's my favourite artist of all time.

[Edited 9/25/14 16:41pm]

I love this post! I remember listening to SOTT on cassette for the first time back in the day. It was on a walkman too. That album hit me hard. As you said, AOA isn't SOTT, but it definitely has flashes of brilliance and has moved me to put several of the songs on repeat.

Thank you! I actually tried to find my walkman today. It was battered and broken but reminded me when I heard SOTT the first time. Bittersweet.

I'm loving "This Could Be Us" right now. That synth riff is something....

2020 said:

2020 knows!

My initial impressions are that it's very strong, and that a lot of the songs that don't seem special at first (What It Feels Like, Time, This Could Be Us) get better on repeated listenings. I love how it's a completely unexpected turn and that he's trying new things with this record, while giving you bits of old school Prince so that you remember it's a Prince record after all.

1. ART OFFICIAL CAGE - Somewhat of an anomaly on this record. Sort of disco meets 90's house that turns into dubstep by the end. I like that it's adventurous and weird. The faux-operatic background vocals harken back to Get Loose from Crystal Ball. Also, I think that may be Josh doing the rap about upskirting the Statue Of Liberty. The way it starts reminds me of RuPaul's cover of "It's Raining Men." (7)
2. CLOUDS - This track is dope. The End. (10)
3. THE BREAKDOWN - I didn't like it as a single, but I like it in the context of the album. I also love the strings. I'm hearing the distortion some are talking about it, and I also hear it in the vocal tracks on The Gold Standard. (7)
4. THE GOLD STANDARD - Early favorite. Total throwback to classic Prince/The Time, but tasteful and natural. I love the Tear The Roof Of The Sucka by way of Bob George intro, the synth bass that takes you back to Cool by the Time, the chickengrease guitar, the synths before the first verse that take you back to Vicki Waiting, the banter at the end. So much to love about this track. An upper echelon groove, no doubt. (10)
5. U KNOW - This one is a grower and way better in headphones. There's a shuffling percussion sound that's super funky but you can't really hear it as well without headphones. (7)
6. BREAKFAST CAN WAIT - I've liked this since it came out last year, and I think it's a great fit on this record. (10)
7. THIS COULD BE US - I'm starting to really love this one. Future classic? The keys at the beginning remind me of the transition into Housequake from the SOTT film. It seems like he's dusting off some old synths on this record which is cool. "Sex with me ain't enought/That's why we got 2 do it metaphysically." I hope he's not referring to the pre-marital variety! <Clutches pearls> The way it ends is totally unpredictable, which is a classic Prince move. (10)
8. WHAT IT FEELS LIKE - Kind of a Golden Parachute vibe, but infinitey more interesting, and also sexy as hell. Maybe the sexiest track on the record? Wasn't expecting to care about this one. (10)
9. AFFIRMATION I & II - I like these odd little touches on a Prince record, but can also see people not being into them. Here, they work to perpetuate a concept, but not an overbearing one like on TRC. You could ignore this aspect of the record and still enjoy it.
10. WAY BACK HOME - This is exactly the kind of thing I want to hear from Prince at this point in his life. Finally, some lyrics that are revealing, and honest, and that make you feel something. "Power 2 the ones who can raise a child like me." God, I just want to quote the whole thing. So many good lines. Unlike any other Prince song for sure. (10)
11. FUNKNROLL - I love this one and I don't care if people think it's silly. Camille can pull it off. Also, after the first performance of this song leaked, I made the suggestion to put the breakdown at the beginning of the song. So, you're welcome. (10)
12. TIME - Another one that didn't seem like much at first and then grew to be a favorite. I was expecting something different considering the length of it and its placement on the album, but once I got over that and gave it a chance, I found there is lots to enjoy about it. I love that goes on forever like they have all the time in the world. Probably intentional. And I love that it's deceptively funky up until the bass solo, where it gets outright funky. "I'm sick and tired of playing hard 2 get with an animal half my age," as Andy laughs. HOT. (10)
13. AFFIRMATION III - Wonderful. The strings are divine, and I love Lianne's dialogue. It provides just enough meaning to the album without being too heavy-handed. (10)

dadeepop said:

Polo1026 said:

Listening to AOA over and over you start to appreciate the detail and technical production aspects of each record. The vocals alone are layered with such depth throughout the record even the female vocal is superb. There are vocal tones that are reversed on some tracks and he even has vocals so low in the mix you may not hear it at first listen especially on tracks like Gold Standard and AOC and Way Back Home. There is a harmony when Prince says "I'm happiest when I can see" that you could almost miss because it's not panned but centered and low in the mix that is amazing. The edit screens on some these records must look like the best tutorials for protools anyone could ever study. I saw a couple comments about how this record was amateurish so being an engineer I decided to take a critical listen and I have to say that nothing is amateurish IMO. Perhaps there are some geniuses here that can accomplish some of the elements in these records in their sleep without much effort and that's cool. When you work with a musician like Prince you should give him a straightforward mix to record with because his playing is so clean and on time that you don't need to "spice" the parts up at all. If 808's and claps constitute amateurish sounds then that is your opinion. It's one thing to use 808's properly and another to just have them bumping loud in the mix for no purpose at all. The backbeat in Way Back Home is done to perfection, tap delayed, and swelled in specific spots for effect and its made up of multiple 808's and kicks, including what sounds like a live kick drum. The synths used for the bass lines are heavily doctored and definitely not the factory plug ins. They are definitely mixed with some analog because they have a warmth and bite quality that isn't easy to attain. I think that because we've heard some of the elements used on this record on popular radio, the listener starts believing that the creation of songs with these elements are child play. I could go into more details and chart each song elements bar for bar but that may come later because I am fascinated with this record but I just wanted to give my two cents.

Yup. That's why I was saying this needs headphones. SO much going on.

i would like to hear your thawts on "u know'

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Again, to me "Way Back Home" is the best track on AOA. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving "The Gold Standard" etc., but my gawd "Way Back Home" is SUCH a stand out. It's a perfect Prince song that has shell-shocked me like "If I Was Your Girlfriend" did. (Just an example.)

Rorywan said:

The only thing I don't get on the entire album is the first half of the opening track. Art official Cage sounds like 90's euro club music. Very odd and dated, it even has a whistle blow. Thought it was someone having a laugh first listen.

The rest of the album is pretty great.

You're having a laugh. Whoever doesn't appreciate Prince style 90's euro club music surely belong to a group who think those Batman films are Chris Nolan's best collaborations with Christian Bale.

Art Official Cage is pure Lovesexy!

The real question is what does Bart think? Is it possible that he actually likes some songs on the album? I won't go so far as to actually say he likes the whole album! Where you at Bart?

divo02 said:

The real question is what does Bart think? Is it possible that he actually likes some songs on the album? I won't go so far as to actually say he likes the whole album! Where you at Bart?

If you are talking about Bart Van Halen, I promise he will give a grade of F- to every single song on both albums. There is no possible way he could like a single track. Can anybody name a single song post 1990 that he absolutely loves? I didn't think so.

Can someone confirm that AOA is IS a concept album, and if

... and if affirmation III is just an instrumental version of Way Back Home then really - there is only 12 tracks??

divo02 said:

TheEnglishGent said:

divo02 said:

The real question is what does Bart think? Is it possible that he actually likes some songs on the album? I won't go so far as to actually say he likes the whole album! Where you at Bart?

If he thought it was terrible I'm sure we'd have heard by now.

I'm sure he is confused and sharpening his prose. His will end up admitting that the back end of AOA has legs.

The rest, cannon fodder.

stillwaiting said:

divo02 said:

The real question is what does Bart think? Is it possible that he actually likes some songs on the album? I won't go so far as to actually say he likes the whole album! Where you at Bart?

If you are talking about Bart Van Halen, I promise he will give a grade of F- to every single song on both albums. There is no possible way he could like a single track. Can anybody name a single song post 1990 that he absolutely loves? I didn't think so.

If I recall, I think he liked "Sun, Moon and Stars"...

dadeepop said:

Again, to me "Way Back Home" is the best track on AOA. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving "The Gold Standard" etc., but my gawd "Way Back Home" is SUCH a stand out. It's a perfect Prince song that has shell-shocked me like "If I Was Your Girlfriend" did. (Just an example.)

Way Back Home is arguably Prince's best song in DECADES!!! At least I think so.

I'm still letting it all sink in but... does anyone else get the impression that Prince has been watching Vanilla Sky?

Picked up both cd's today..working my way through them.. This is phenomenal stuff.. The Kid has found his mojo!

Love AOA & Lovin' the Options! (AOA/PE)

Loving it!! Question - When I play on my computer Windows Media Player, it doesnt register the Album? Suggestions?

Beautiful01 said:

Loving it!! Question - When I play on my computer Windows Media Player, it doesnt register the Album? Suggestions?

I had the same problem as well. I also found my Windows media player did not register Diamonds and Pearls or Lovesymbol either. I just changed the album and track names. Added it was Prince and voila it went into the rest of my Prince folder. I always buy physical copies as I want them and if the computer dies or is stolen or anything else, I merely rip them to it again.

.

I have an old computer with only 1.8GB RAM and thus had to ditch itunes as it slowed the computer down majorly. All my Prince stuff is stored on a 2TB harddrive thing. Also when you have named the tracks,get the settings to arrange it so it plays the album in order - View, Sort tracks by - # in ascending order, and then close and reopen should play okay after that.

.

Loving the record more, Breakdown, Clouds, Uknow and Time stand out as best tracks.

langebleu said:

Please discuss the album and tracks from the album on this thread. Thank you

We wait 4 years. Barely any traffic (or at least anything to really discuss) for 4 years. Finally, 2 albums are released simultaeously and you want to contain the conversatio to 2 stickies?


If that's the case, cane we at least get them to the top of the sticky list by cutting out all the useless ones that appear above these? Stickies about people's podcasts shouldn't be obscuring the view of the conversation about the only important thing to happen in this forum in several years

omnithanos said:

theblueangel said:

omnithanos said:

You're having a laugh. Whoever doesn't appreciate Prince style 90's euro club music surely belong to a group who think those Batman films are Chris Nolan's best collaborations with Christian Bale.

Art Official Cage is pure Lovesexy!

I've read this comparison a few times on here, and I would really like some detail regarding how Art Official Cage supposedly resembles Lovesexy (not sure if you're referring to the track or the song, but either way). I think someone earlier compared it to Eye No, which is equally baffling. What elements of this song remind you of anything from the Lovesexy era? I don hear it in the lyrics, or the melodies, or the instrumentation, or the production, or anything else. Very confused.

The album itself, no way...Egg N Roll...I mean Funk N Roll...would've been great with Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss on it...but the PE version has more of a 1988 vibe to it. The lesser version on AOA only in the intro IMHO.

Adorecream said:

Beautiful01 said:

Loving it!! Question - When I play on my computer Windows Media Player, it doesnt register the Album? Suggestions?

I had the same problem as well. I also found my Windows media player did not register Diamonds and Pearls or Lovesymbol either. I just changed the album and track names. Added it was Prince and voila it went into the rest of my Prince folder. I always buy physical copies as I want them and if the computer dies or is stolen or anything else, I merely rip them to it again.

.

I have an old computer with only 1.8GB RAM and thus had to ditch itunes as it slowed the computer down majorly. All my Prince stuff is stored on a 2TB harddrive thing. Also when you have named the tracks,get the settings to arrange it so it plays the album in order - View, Sort tracks by - # in ascending order, and then close and reopen should play okay after that.

.

Loving the record more, Breakdown, Clouds, Uknow and Time stand out as best tracks.

Thank you so much for the advice!! xoxo

I am so amped for this to drop on the 30th. Was a bit worried when funknroll dropped but since the release of the snippets from Germany I'm not afraid anymore. In a world of so much negativity and hate, Prince gives those who would like, a positive pill with this one. I am truly fortunate to be living in a time when someone like Prince is making music like AOA. Love it beyond words. Thank you for sharing and being the hard worker you are Prince.

ThirdStrike said:

Where do you live if I may ask?

udo said:

Just (!) received my pre-sale copies...

Netherlands, Europe......