Finally. A good release.

The whole album is perfectly produced. Instead of that Linn Drum Machine which now bores even himself, he uses samples for drum programming.
He sings again!

It takes balls to overcompress this much and still look for the nuances. A pop tour de force.

It has to be noted that The Rainbow Children this ain't. Rather, Prince does a perfect pop album, without all the egomaniac shit that plagues past attempts.

I keep the tracks order, because it is more of a concept album this way.

Surprise : The Breakdown is in fact a great song.

But the end of the album really steals the show :

Way Back Home, FunknRoll, Time are nothing short but new entries into the Prince Classics catalog.

Way Back Home is the '10s The Cross. Which is kind of scary: while the SOTT track is a 60's Flower Power hippie-hendrixian hymn, today he's basically saying "Leave me alone". It's sad, and he knows it, it's maybe the first tune where Prince sings of (his own) mortality with absolute honesty.

FunknRoll Camille is back! And she's on fire.

Time OK, this is basically Desire from The Family in a lighter category. But the tension is there from start to finish. Kate Bush's influence is all over the place. And at last, another bass solo, after Dreamin' About U. 'Bout time.

And even affirmation III makes a perfect encore, and sounds like KLF under Valium.

To me it's the first exciting album (rolling for the third time from start to finish in my earphones as I type) since 3121.

[Edited 9/30/14 18:08pm]

[Edited 9/30/14 18:09pm]

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[Edited 9/30/14 20:51pm]

After a few listens since Friday... Way Back Home is still my favorite track of this album and my favorite track since The Gold Experience. Which brings my to The Gold Standard. Was very passive 4 days ago but it is so damn groovy and stellar. Time, U Know, What It Feels Like, Breakdown and This Could Be Us are all magnificent and stuff I never thought he'd be able to make again. Major kudos to Affirmation I/II/III because of their association to Way Back Home.

I'm just so over with Breakfast Can Wait, since that's one of the few we've only had during the beginning of this revival.

Art Official Cage, Clouds, and Funknroll are the only meh/filler tracks. Clouds is sort of boring outside of the album,

[Edited 9/30/14 19:00pm]

holy shit - this album is fantastic. carry on!

NDRU said:

Did I mention that BASS in "Time"!!!!!! It's on repeat because of dat bass! There's something so down and dirty, yet sexy and sensual (all at once) about the sound of a bass........when it's stroked right.......

Polo1026 said:

BobGeorge909 said:

Now the next step...is to see how this fool is gonna translate these gems to the stage...without ruining them.

Aw, c'mon!

Oh My.

I just had a thought listening (again?) to Way Back Home.

Could the song be about the loss of Gregory and his dream to rejoin him one day?
Or about his own childhood?

For Prince, "Home Sweet Home" will always be a concept hard to trust.
He says it himself in the lyrics.

[Edited 9/30/14 20:57pm]

herb4 said:

Happy to know I'm not a big giant nostalgic pussy who's gotten too old for breaking out into gooseflesh and welling up with tears listening to "Way Back Home". That track is just fucking beautiful. I've never heard him write a song like that. The closest thing I can think of is "Wasted Kisses".

.

It's weird listening to Prince open up like this and almost acknowledge his age and vulnerability. I love even more that he revisits it in "Affirmation 3", and "Time" is a great bridge. That's the other thing about AOA. The track sequencing is on point for a fucking change. I picked up the discs today and listened to them in the car, wanted to skip to "my jams", but found myself just letting it play. I drove out of my way and circled the block just to let it keep going and not skip ONE SONG.

.

Bravo, Prince.

I love this.

babynoz said:

bonatoc said:

Polo1026 said:

JoeTyler said:

well, to each his own, I consider FUNKROLL to be the (bad) rock number of AOA

Just a question, do you like 'pussy control'?

pussy control is as "classic" Prince as it gets. I still always spin it at patries.

herb4 said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

To be honest, I haven't heard the albums in full, just individual cuts and they aren't spectacular.

Go do that (listen to the album in full). Don't skip one track. I felt the same way as you did about the new stuff from AOA until I heard it all together and in context. There's no "Days of Wild" or "Housequake' on it, but there's lots of "If I Was your Girlfriend", "Superfunkcalifragissexy", "The Beautiful Ones" , "Space", "Come On", "Wasted Kisses", "Loose"...hints of Parade...and even a few surprises that don't quite sound like anything he's done before. "Way Back Home" is modern masterpiece. He's challenged me for the first time in a while with this release and has even managed to make the segues and theme interesting and unobtrusive for a change. I wonder how much of that has to do with working with WB again and a dedicated producer?

.

It's really good but I get it may not be for everyone. It's not as thick, bottom heavy and rich like Exodus or even the Black Album. It's not as subtle and straight forward as 1999 or Purple Rain, where the effects and the production take a back seat to the song structure. It's not even as funky as 3121 or MPLSound but it all fits somehow. A lot of the tracks are growers, and in a good way. There are LAYERS here for the first time in a long time and that's what drew me to Prince in the first place back in the 1999 days. The kind of shit that makes you wanna listen to the WHOLE CD again.

.

PE is good too but for different reasons. It's gonna catch a lot of undeserved shit but it's pretty banging overall. It's one of those records that you put on at a cookout or a party when you have friends over who don't know or like Prince but like rock and funk. Then they'll ask "who's this?" I finally picked up theses discs today and gave them a proper spin on a decent sound system and tehy sound great. I love me some Prince rock/funk and am happy he finally gave us a proper rock album that's about as organic and garage band/aftershow sounding as we're ever liable to get from him. There's one or two tracks that don't fit but there's a shit ton of guitar on the entire record for once which is something I've always wanted him to do. There's even a punk rock song on it that harkens back to Dirty Mind and Controversy.

Lastly: finally an album with no ballads (Plectrum Electrum).

.

^^^(I guess I should have posted that last graph in the PE thread but oh well).^^^

.

It's all really good stuff, both records, even if all of it's not up everyone's particular alley. Don't believe the haters who call it "bland" and "garbage".

haters? Give me a break. And there is nothing on either album remotely as good as "The Beautiful Ones". It's a decent Prince album. PE has some of the worst songs he has ever released, especially the ones the girls sing. He should have at least put Let's Go Crazy (reloaded) and Screwdriver on it.

This album will be nominated for a Grammy R&B album of the year and most likely win.

Aside from 2 songs (AOC and Breakdown) I absolutely adore it and rate it right at the top. I was surprised, didn't expect it to be that amazing. Not listened to PE album yet, going to love this one first and listen to that one in a few weeks as for now, this is enough for me. Bravo Prince.

There was a day and a time, when listening to a Prince album, the lyrics demanded that u paid attention. This album is the same. I find myself doing that.

There was a day and a time, when listening to a Prince album, that you listened to every little note intently, the music challenged you to pick it apart and delight in it.

I find the music on this album doing that.

Prince's music lost that somewhere along the way.

Will he make another album? I don't know. I hope so. For me, it is a sad day when I loose the joy of his artistic surprises, when he really shares his emotional turmoils.

kewlschool said:

This album will be nominated for a Grammy R&B album of the year and most likely win.

Yep.

dadeepop said:

kewlschool said:

This album will be nominated for a Grammy R&B album of the year and most likely win.

Yep.

I look forward to watching him accept the Grammy and saying "thank you" in such a low register that the entire audience has to lean forward to hear him.

TIME must be one of his most annoying songs, ever

[Edited 10/1/14 7:05am]

[Edited 10/1/14 7:51am]

Holy crap, I am surprised to find myself thinking this new album is a damn fine masterpeice!!!!

IT'S REALLY, REALLY GOOD and Prince sounds so invigorated and inspired!!!!!!

soladeo1 said:

currently Breakfast, This could be us & This is what it feels like have dropped off my radar - instant skips for me! Still love the album though. Strange though as even though they are IMHO average songs there's still enough going on in each to make them interesting.

Classic Prince music. I'm loving it so far.

I won't even bother to read through the pages on here, it will most likely be full of so called Prince fans hating on the project. The norm when it comes to the org.

Time has me legit nearly in tears. I love the song so much.

This album is a masterpiece.

Pr1nceQuik said:

Classic Prince music. I'm loving it so far.

I won't even bother to read through the pages on here, it will most likely be full of so called Prince fans hating on the project. The norm when it comes to the org.

It's actually 25 pages so far of praises.

Some hate-core hater here and there, but Lowd did they flee when they saw it comin'.