Though there are some standout tracks (The Gold Standard (one of the best pure funk tracks he's done in 20 years) and The Breakdown (which actually should've been on PE)), these songs could've easily been cushioned on any of his past efforts that both critics and fans/followers have panned, if you for a moment put aside bias, hype, anticipation and ... marketing.

"What It Feels Like" is a Kirky J. clone (perish the thought) and could be mistaken for an outtake from the New Power Soul era; just replace Andy Allo with any female he was working with at that time.

"Clouds", "U Know", "Breakfast Can Wait," and "Time" could've fit on MPLSound or 20Ten comfortably. Somewhat generic R&B (re: lazy/dense/plastic) drum programming like those aforementioned albums contained.

"Art Official Cage" would be hard to fit on a previous album, but that's not for its uniqueness. It's just not that interesting. There are moments w/ the voice pitching that it's somewhat funky but c'mon... the rap?

"This Could Be Us" would've fit nicely on Rave or even Musicology. But for a long anticipated album, it's a letdown. It's a nice song 'n all, but this overall AOA project seems less coherent than previous efforts.

All IMO. But reading all the praise (a recent review heaped praise on his usage of laser effects on The Breakdown... really!?) from critics, they could've easily hoisted Lotusflow3r up on a pedestel, as that was far more Princely (and musically deserving) of the praise.

clay said:

Thank you for that but publish your reviews on the sticky threads, no one is getting a featured review.

No, I disagree.

AOA is an adventurous album in itself, that is unlike anything else Prince has done before. There are similar elements of course, but it's a whole new, wide soundscape.

...

Of course, you might be entirely ironic. And so may I be.

[Edited 10/2/14 3:51am]

clay said:

Though there are some standout tracks (The Gold Standard (one of the best pure funk tracks he's done in 20 years) and The Breakdown (which actually should've been on PE)), these songs could've easily been cushioned on any of his past efforts that both critics and fans/followers have panned, if you for a moment put aside bias, hype, anticipation and ... marketing.

ABSOLUTELY true

if this had been released with the Daily Mirror, critics would have INGORED it, and the fams, at the very least, wouldn't have OVERRATED it that much...

as many people have said already, this album isn't a huge improvement (both in terms of quality and variety) from the albums he has released since 2004; personally, I think AOA is actually WORSE than ANY of those 2004-2010 albums, including MPLSound

There hasn't been any marketing for AOA.

It simply is a better album, in my opinion. Others seem to be suffering from a difficulty in letting go of their former negative views and are recycling previous criticisms that don't even apply to this release.

There is not a single production on AOA that sounds remotely like Kirky J's style of programming.

If anything, songs like 'What it Feels Like' and 'Time' recall some of Prince's 1990 outtakes and work with Martika, such as 'Open Book' and 'Love Thy Will Be Done' (albeit updated).

OperatingThetan said:

There hasn't been any marketing for AOA.

It simply is a better album, in my opinion. Others seem to be suffering from a difficulty in letting go of their former negative views and are recycling previous criticisms that don't even apply to this release.

There is not a single production on AOA that sounds remotely like Kirky J's style of programming.

If anything, songs like 'What it Feels Like' and 'Time' recall some of Prince's 1990 outtakes and work with Martika, such as 'Open Book' and 'Love Thy Will Be Done' (albeit updated).

Agreed.

The sound is wider and far more open than anything Kirk did. Some people are talking about songs when it's clear they've barely heard them.

clay said:

Though there are some standout tracks (The Gold Standard (one of the best pure funk tracks he's done in 20 years) and The Breakdown (which actually should've been on PE)), these songs could've easily been cushioned on any of his past efforts that both critics and fans/followers have panned, if you for a moment put aside bias, hype, anticipation and ... marketing.

"What It Feels Like" is a Kirky J. clone (perish the thought) and could be mistaken for an outtake from the New Power Soul era; just replace Andy Allo with any female he was working with at that time.

"Clouds", "U Know", "Breakfast Can Wait," and "Time" could've fit on MPLSound or 20Ten comfortably. Somewhat generic R&B (re: lazy/dense/plastic) drum programming like those aforementioned albums contained.

"Art Official Cage" would be hard to fit on a previous album, but that's not for its uniqueness. It's just not that interesting. There are moments w/ the voice pitching that it's somewhat funky but c'mon... the rap?

"This Could Be Us" would've fit nicely on Rave or even Musicology. But for a long anticipated album, it's a letdown. It's a nice song 'n all, but this overall AOA project seems less coherent than previous efforts.

All IMO. But reading all the praise (a recent review heaped praise on his usage of laser effects on The Breakdown... really!?) from critics, they could've easily hoisted Lotusflow3r up on a pedestel, as that was far more Princely (and musically deserving) of the praise.

Some of the songs on AOA, maybe say half of them, are clearly remixes, of rewrites, of unfinished outtakes from back in the day. I don't mind the approach at all, if he gets it right, but underneath the layers and layers of polish and production are poorly written songs, imo. I think some people are responding to the energetic production on the album as being a breath of fresh air, which I agree, but the songs themselves are still more weak than killer.

OperatingThetan said:

There hasn't been any marketing for AOA.

It simply is a better album, in my opinion. Others seem to be suffering from a difficulty in letting go of their former negative views and are recycling previous criticisms that don't even apply to this release.

There is not a single production on AOA that sounds remotely like Kirky J's style of programming.

If anything, songs like 'What it Feels Like' and 'Time' recall some of Prince's 1990 outtakes and work with Martika, such as 'Open Book' and 'Love Thy Will Be Done' (albeit updated).

Except there totally has been marketing for AOA. There has been on the internet anyway.

It's simple... Prince is held to a standard he'll never be able to meet again. I personally love AOA! From The Rainbow Children to 2010...I've hardy given the albums any repeat listens. But this one, I've already listened to a dozen times, and still love it. Only a couple of songs I skip over.
It is what it is. It's not Purple rain...it's not sign O the times, it's not Lovesexy... it's another Prince era, that I am really enjoying.
If this were any other mainstream performer, it would be an instant hit and be all over the radio. But, it's Prince, so people expect absolute perfection. They expect the same Prince that delivered top ten hits from 1982-1992. But it's 2014. And for a guy that's 36 yrs into his career to be delivering an album like this, while touring nonstop, and releasing music with 3rd eye girl... well... i find that quite freakn impressive.
All hail,the King is still in Town!

pureTsexy said:

It's simple... Prince is held to a standard he'll never be able to meet again. I personally love AOA! From The Rainbow Children to 2010...I've hardy given the albums any repeat listens. But this one, I've already listened to a dozen times, and still love it. Only a couple of songs I skip over. It is what it is. It's not Purple rain...it's not sign O the times, it's not Lovesexy... it's another Prince era, that I am really enjoying. If this were any other mainstream performer, it would be an instant hit and be all over the radio. But, it's Prince, so people expect absolute perfection. They expect the same Prince that delivered top ten hits from 1982-1992. But it's 2014. And for a guy that's 36 yrs into his career to be delivering an album like this, while touring nonstop, and releasing music with 3rd eye girl... well... i find that quite freakn impressive. All hail,the King is still in Town!

Why is it impressive? Rolling Stones, Springsteen, U2, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Carlos Santana, and many many others at Prince's echelon still put out records that are successful. Even Cher.

I dunno when people will stop using the same old reasons to defend his poorer output. It's not about comparing it to Sign o the Times. It's about it being an interesting record or not. Interesting being the key word. So much of his music lately is just not interesting.

Aerogram said:

clay said:

Though there are some standout tracks (The Gold Standard (one of the best pure funk tracks he's done in 20 years) and The Breakdown (which actually should've been on PE)), these songs could've easily been cushioned on any of his past efforts that both critics and fans/followers have panned, if you for a moment put aside bias, hype, anticipation and ... marketing.

"What It Feels Like" is a Kirky J. clone (perish the thought) and could be mistaken for an outtake from the New Power Soul era; just replace Andy Allo with any female he was working with at that time.

"Clouds", "U Know", "Breakfast Can Wait," and "Time" could've fit on MPLSound or 20Ten comfortably. Somewhat generic R&B (re: lazy/dense/plastic) drum programming like those aforementioned albums contained.

"Art Official Cage" would be hard to fit on a previous album, but that's not for its uniqueness. It's just not that interesting. There are moments w/ the voice pitching that it's somewhat funky but c'mon... the rap?

"This Could Be Us" would've fit nicely on Rave or even Musicology. But for a long anticipated album, it's a letdown. It's a nice song 'n all, but this overall AOA project seems less coherent than previous efforts.

All IMO. But reading all the praise (a recent review heaped praise on his usage of laser effects on The Breakdown... really!?) from critics, they could've easily hoisted Lotusflow3r up on a pedestel, as that was far more Princely (and musically deserving) of the praise.

Thank you for that but publish your reviews on the sticky threads, no one is getting a featured review.

apologies. but i didn't mean it as a review. just a commentary on the power of having WB in his backpocket pushing this through was a major asset as opposed to being an independent release.

DiscoBallz said:

This is your opinion, just as I have mine. I find it very interesting. But, you dont. Most Critics seem to approve of it, but there will be some that don't. Had Prince stayed with WB all these years, and held back a little, like they wanted him to...He would probably be a lot more successful with his album sales...but with that being said... does a successful selling album mean it's good? If so, we should all be in love with Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus.
Michael Jackson had great sales, yes. But he also handled his career a lot differently. He didn't saturate the market with killer albums and hits for 10 yrs straight (like Prince did from 82 to 92). He held back, and left the people hungry. As do most great artists. Prince is a different animal. He does what he wants when he wants. If he releases 10 "mediocre" albums for 10 yrs, he gets buried in a sea of insults, when in all reality, in those 10 albums lies just as many good songs as 2 albums MJ, or any other comparable artist, would have released in the same time frame.
How many albums of fresh new music has MJ,Madonna,The Stones, Etc etc..released in the past 20 yrs? Now take those albums, and tell me how many great songs are them. Do the same thing with Prince, and chances are you'll come up with just as many great songs, if not more.
That's how I view his output now. Not by album, but songs. Because who can release 34 awesome albums (some being 2,3 and 4 cd albums) in 36 yrs?

DiscoBallz said:

pureTsexy said:

It's simple... Prince is held to a standard he'll never be able to meet again. I personally love AOA! From The Rainbow Children to 2010...I've hardy given the albums any repeat listens. But this one, I've already listened to a dozen times, and still love it. Only a couple of songs I skip over. It is what it is. It's not Purple rain...it's not sign O the times, it's not Lovesexy... it's another Prince era, that I am really enjoying. If this were any other mainstream performer, it would be an instant hit and be all over the radio. But, it's Prince, so people expect absolute perfection. They expect the same Prince that delivered top ten hits from 1982-1992. But it's 2014. And for a guy that's 36 yrs into his career to be delivering an album like this, while touring nonstop, and releasing music with 3rd eye girl... well... i find that quite freakn impressive. All hail,the King is still in Town!

Why is it impressive? Rolling Stones, Springsteen, U2, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Carlos Santana, and many many others at Prince's echelon still put out records that are successful. Even Cher.

I dunno when people will stop using the same old reasons to defend his poorer output. It's not about comparing it to Sign o the Times. It's about it being an interesting record or not. Interesting being the key word. So much of his music lately is just not interesting.

I agree with you with Carlos Santana , but the rest is meeeeeer, Madonna really? U2?

pureTsexy said:

DiscoBallz said:

Why is it impressive? Rolling Stones, Springsteen, U2, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Carlos Santana, and many many others at Prince's echelon still put out records that are successful. Even Cher.

I dunno when people will stop using the same old reasons to defend his poorer output. It's not about comparing it to Sign o the Times. It's about it being an interesting record or not. Interesting being the key word. So much of his music lately is just not interesting.

This is your opinion, just as I have mine. I find it very interesting. But, you dont. Most Critics seem to approve of it, but there will be some that don't. Had Prince stayed with WB all these years, and held back a little, like they wanted him to...He would probably be a lot more successful with his album sales...but with that being said... does a successful selling album mean it's good? If so, we should all be in love with Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus. Michael Jackson had great sales, yes. But he also handled his career a lot differently. He didn't saturate the market with killer albums and hits for 10 yrs straight (like Prince did from 82 to 92). He held back, and left the people hungry. As do most great artists. Prince is a different animal. He does what he wants when he wants. If he releases 10 "mediocre" albums for 10 yrs, he gets buried in a sea of insults, when in all reality, in those 10 albums lies just as many good songs as 2 albums MJ, or any other comparable artist, would have released in the same time frame. How many albums of fresh new music has MJ,Madonna,The Stones, Etc etc..released in the past 20 yrs? Now take those albums, and tell me how many great songs are them. Do the same thing with Prince, and chances are you'll come up with just as many great songs, if not more. That's how I view his output now. Not by album, but songs. Because who can release 34 awesome albums (some being 2,3 and 4 cd albums) in 36 yrs?

But that is kind of my point - he releases stinkers or middling affairs that people totally boost up just because they like seeing him do the album release thing.

If people here at the org were to have Prince constantly on the television, like as a judge on a show or something, they'd love it. They'd eat u pe very moment they get to just stare at P. And this blindness extends to the music. AOA has more ballads than anything - same for 20TEN. It's clear that he doesn't have it in him to do an album of "Gold Standard" type tracks which is why it's relegated to the "Housequake" role on the album.

And speaking of those album roles, he still does it the same as he ever did. And I think some folks who drink the kool aid here resonate more with the role the song plays on an album than the song itself. "Housequake" is to "Sticky Like Glue" is to "Gold Standard" is to "Black Sweat" - same formula. But the further he gets from his creative core, the worse the songs get. Like how "AOA" is possibly the worst, most unlistenable album opener he's ever chosen. (Conversely, I think "Wow" is one of the best.)

[Edited 10/2/14 11:00am]

DiscoBallz said:

pureTsexy said:

DiscoBallz said: This is your opinion, just as I have mine. I find it very interesting. But, you dont. Most Critics seem to approve of it, but there will be some that don't. Had Prince stayed with WB all these years, and held back a little, like they wanted him to...He would probably be a lot more successful with his album sales...but with that being said... does a successful selling album mean it's good? If so, we should all be in love with Justin Bieber, Kanye West and Miley Cyrus. Michael Jackson had great sales, yes. But he also handled his career a lot differently. He didn't saturate the market with killer albums and hits for 10 yrs straight (like Prince did from 82 to 92). He held back, and left the people hungry. As do most great artists. Prince is a different animal. He does what he wants when he wants. If he releases 10 "mediocre" albums for 10 yrs, he gets buried in a sea of insults, when in all reality, in those 10 albums lies just as many good songs as 2 albums MJ, or any other comparable artist, would have released in the same time frame. How many albums of fresh new music has MJ,Madonna,The Stones, Etc etc..released in the past 20 yrs? Now take those albums, and tell me how many great songs are them. Do the same thing with Prince, and chances are you'll come up with just as many great songs, if not more. That's how I view his output now. Not by album, but songs. Because who can release 34 awesome albums (some being 2,3 and 4 cd albums) in 36 yrs?

But that is kind of my point - he releases stinkers or middling affairs that people totally boost up just because they like seeing him do the album release thing.

If people here at the org were to have Prince constantly on the television, like as a judge on a show or something, they'd love it. They'd eat u pe very moment they get to just stare at P. And this blindness extends to the music. AOA has more ballads than anything - same for 20TEN. It's clear that he doesn't have it in him to do an album of "Gold Standard" type tracks which is why it's relegated to the "Housequake" role on the album.

And speaking of those album roles, he still does it the same as he ever did. And I think some folks who drink the kool aid here resonate more with the role the song plays on an album than the song itself. "Housequake" is to "Sticky Like Glue" is to "Gold Standard" is to "Black Sweat" - same formula. But the further he gets from his creative core, the worse the songs get. Like how "AOA" is possibly the worst, most unlistenable album opener he's ever chosen. (Conversely, I think "Wow" is one of the best.)

[Edited 10/2/14 11:00am]

Agreed up to a point. For its time, Housequake was so left field. Sticky Like Glue is mediocre at best. But completely agree about the opener. Wow being one of his best (starting off with a coy "hello") to AOA being horrendously bad... for an opener.

DiscoBallz said:

I can see your point to an extent. Hence the reason I pick and choose songs, and just disregard if the album, as a whole, isn't great.
But, I have to disagree on AOA. I love the album. As far as the opener, I kinda dig it! And definitely like WOW as the opener for Plectrum.

u cant expect more than a handfull of quality Prince songs on his releases....he stretches it out like hes running out of material--but hes not

12 of 25 good tracks is still a full albums worth

luvsexy4all said:

Exactly!

PLECTRUM ELECTRUM blows aoa away