VelvetKittyKat said:

bigd74 said:

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me is probably the worst song to bear the Prince name

You must have never heard Arms of Orion.

herb4 said:

Re-spinning this one a lot lately to figure out reasons to hate it. I never realized how much "Dance 4 Me" sounds like "When Doves Cry". The beat and the keyboard sound are very similar.

bonatoc said:

Can't see the relation between the two.

There was this evening were I listened to MPLs and thought it was a decent exercice in today's production.
Problem is, what's the point of Prince lowering himself to what's ruling the charts in the 10's ?

Also, I was pretty loaded.

Me niether.

What did you think of AOA? I thought that was a much better attempt at Prince embracing a modern sound. Nothing wrong with getting loaded/high and listening to music either so i'm not sure why that's a qualifier.

Well, it can trick the brain into temporarily finding things with not much substance utterly great.
Or rather, it can turn off the musicologist in you and appreciate fun music for what it is.

I think Prince is sincere when he grabs a style he's not so familiar with and tries to mold it.
But he's maybe too demanding when he expects listeners to consider his work without considering his previous output,
or ignoring the current musical trends.

The fact that all MPLS ushers in Usher's territory doesn't help.
That said, when he overdoes it, like on "Laydown", the fun takes over the considerations.
I do find "Chocolate Box" and "Ol' Skool Company" good fun grooves, considering the exercise.

The sad thing is that a bunch of MPLS songs could have been easily given away to contemporary pop performers
and do well. But the reclusiveness of the Purple Yoda prevents this from happening.

I would rather see him trying salsa or african music than over-compressed R'n'B schmaltz,
but hey, it's hard to admit you're not the ladies man anymore ("Lolita" being the major confession).
He was obviously trying, once again, to appeal to generation Z.
Even if "Plectrum" should have been a live documenting the 3rd Eye Girl tour
instead of pompously trying to redefine the rock'n'roll territory, it was a sane reaction.
Programming bored him quickl and he preferred grabbing his axe and shredding it, and I think it's a good thing.

AOA ? I love it. It's the first successful experiment in taking the latest fashion sounds and production quirks
and giving them the P treatment. The thing I love the most is the economy of it.
FX (Lasers, toilets flushing/gargarisms, Eurodance gigantic synth pads) would have you think they're a gazillion tracks on each song,
but I'm pretty sure it boils down to 8 tracks maximum (again, decorum segues and background vocals not included).
It relies on his voice, guitar, bass and rhodes for the most. I think most of AOA songs could go through acoustic versions, à la "Love" (3121), and still be relevant.
But what ultimately elevates AOA is focus. This is an album. Not disparate songs collected on the same disc, like MPLS.
The "redemption" trilogy ("The Breakdown","Way Back Home" and "affirmation III") is on par with Prince talent.

steakfinger said:

bigd74 said:

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me is probably the worst song to bear the Prince name

You must have never heard Arms of Orion.

More Sea of Tranquility bashing?

Leave the poor song alone, it's not that bad. You have the second part, the instrumental,
that is kind of like waltzy version of the instrumental part of "Glam Slam".
It has that retro grand orchestra 1920's feel. It's Prince trying to write for Hollywood, and he did a pretty good job.
I think the song suffers primarily of poor lead vocal performance from Sheena and him.
But imagine a more operatic voice over it, and you get something that could have fit on the "Moulin Rouge" OST.

bigd74 said:

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me is probably the worst song to bear the Prince name

Hopefully the song is about itself and there will indeed never be another like it.

Overall the album lacks punch. Like Herb said, theres no oomph..... Oh, and the songs suck.

OldFriends4Sale said:

One reason is it's titled MPLSound Minneapolis Sound, and it isn't

It's an absurd statement. If this album isn't mpls sound then nothing is.

databank said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

One reason is it's titled MPLSound Minneapolis Sound, and it isn't

It's an absurd statement. If this album isn't mpls sound then nothing is.

Well then nothing is

He tried more with 20Ten, but nothing about MPLSound is the Minneapolis Sound

refer 2 reply #11

"Here" is by far the best song on the album

"Dance 4 Me" is decent but he does the chorus a couple times too many

the rest is kinda meh

not terrible, but not an album i need to hear too often

steakfinger said:

bigd74 said:

(There'll Never B) Another Like Me is probably the worst song to bear the Prince name

You must have never heard Arms of Orion.

Arms Of Orion is great

I LOVE "Better with Time"

"Here" is great

Dance 4 Me is ok..

Old School Company is good.. but some of the lyrics at the end semi-ruin the experience

I don't care for the lyrics of TNBALM or Valentina

The redo of Ure gonna C me is kind of unnecessary, I always skipped that

No more candy 4 u is awesome.

OldFriends4Sale said:

databank said:

It's an absurd statement. If this album isn't mpls sound then nothing is.

Well then nothing is

He tried more with 20Ten, but nothing about MPLSound is the Minneapolis Sound

refer 2 reply #11

I so totally disagree with u and KoolEaze on this one. Regarding KE's statement Jam é Lewis might be credited to have created new jack swing but they had nothing to do with the birth of the mpls sound (unless one considers every musician in mpls was). In terms of the use of keyboards and the Linn alone Mpls is filled with typical mpls sound elements. Had it been released by a rookie it would have been praised by the very same people who say it ain't mpsl sound as the most vibrant homage to the mpls sound ever. One can dislike it but saying it had nothing to do with the mpls sound is absurd.

databank said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Well then nothing is

He tried more with 20Ten, but nothing about MPLSound is the Minneapolis Sound

refer 2 reply #11

I so totally disagree with u and KoolEaze on this one. Regarding KE's statement Jam é Lewis might be credited to have created new jack swing but they had nothing to do with the birth of the mpls sound (unless one considers every musician in mpls was). In terms of the use of keyboards and the Linn alone Mpls is filled with typical mpls sound elements. Had it been released by a rookie it would have been praised by the very same people who say it ain't mpsl sound as the most vibrant homage to the mpls sound ever. One can dislike it but saying it had nothing to do with the mpls sound is absurd.

I don't think it's absurd at all.

.

In a 1990 interview Prince said:

Despite the rap, Prince says, he harbors no ill will toward the now-famous producers working across town from Paisley Park at their Flyte Time studios. "We're friends," he says. "We know each other like brothers. Jimmy always gave me a lot of credit for getting things going in Minneapolis, and I'm hip to that. Terry's more aloof, but I know that." And their music? "Terry and Jimmy aren't into the Minneapolis sound," Prince says. "They're into making every single one of their records a hit. Not that there's anything wrong with that, we're just different."

Really bad album... Dance 4 Me Remixes were cool though, sounded fresh especially for 2009. Very underrated by the "older" fans here.

feeluupp said:

Really bad album... Dance 4 Me Remixes were cool though, sounded fresh especially for 2009. Very underrated by the "older" fans here.

They sounded so outdated. Do u listen to house/electronic music at all?

OldFriends4Sale said:

databank said:

I so totally disagree with u and KoolEaze on this one. Regarding KE's statement Jam é Lewis might be credited to have created new jack swing but they had nothing to do with the birth of the mpls sound (unless one considers every musician in mpls was). In terms of the use of keyboards and the Linn alone Mpls is filled with typical mpls sound elements. Had it been released by a rookie it would have been praised by the very same people who say it ain't mpsl sound as the most vibrant homage to the mpls sound ever. One can dislike it but saying it had nothing to do with the mpls sound is absurd.

I don't think it's absurd at all.

ab·surd

əbˈsərd,əbˈzərd/

adjective

adjective: absurd; comparative adjective: absurder; superlative adjective: absurdest

1. (of an idea or suggestion) wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate.

.

In a 1990 interview Prince said:

Despite the rap, Prince says, he harbors no ill will toward the now-famous producers working across town from Paisley Park at their Flyte Time studios. "We're friends," he says. "We know each other like brothers. Jimmy always gave me a lot of credit for getting things going in Minneapolis, and I'm hip to that. Terry's more aloof, but I know that." And their music? "Terry and Jimmy aren't into the Minneapolis sound," Prince says. "They're into making every single one of their records a hit. Not that there's anything wrong with that, we're just different."

I daresay the statement that Mpslsound has nothing to do with the musical genre it's named after is wildly unreasonable, illogical AND unappropriate.

I don't see how that quote by Prince makes Jam & Lewis any more responsible for the Minneapolis Sound. The mpls sound was drafted as early as For You and took its full shape between Dirty Mind and 1999. One could argue that everyone from the Mpsls scene, at least P's childhood/teenage years friends possibly contributed to the Mpls sound by influencing Prince, and that P's bandmembers even those not from Mpls did too, I will agree with this claim, but Jam & Lewis were no more instrumental in this than any other.

We must stop making delirious statements on the Org. I suggest we stick to known facts and common sense instead of making statements that reflect one's personal belief/sensibility and trying to make a point out of them.

Mpslsound DOES contain many typical elements of the genre dubbed as the Minneapolis Sound, this is not subject to debate regardless of anyone's appreciation of it. And Jam & Lewis had no more nor less to do with the birth of said genre than anyone surrounding Prince in the 1970's and early 1980's. I don't even see why we have to debate those facts.

Peace.

databank said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I don't think it's absurd at all.

ab·surd

əbˈsərd,əbˈzərd/

adjective

adjective: absurd; comparative adjective: absurder; superlative adjective: absurdest

1. (of an idea or suggestion) wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate.

.

In a 1990 interview Prince said:

Despite the rap, Prince says, he harbors no ill will toward the now-famous producers working across town from Paisley Park at their Flyte Time studios. "We're friends," he says. "We know each other like brothers. Jimmy always gave me a lot of credit for getting things going in Minneapolis, and I'm hip to that. Terry's more aloof, but I know that." And their music? "Terry and Jimmy aren't into the Minneapolis sound," Prince says. "They're into making every single one of their records a hit. Not that there's anything wrong with that, we're just different."

I daresay the statement that Mpslsound has nothing to do with the musical genre it's named after is wildly unreasonable, illogical AND unappropriate.

I don't see how that quote by Prince makes Jam & Lewis any more responsible for the Minneapolis Sound. The mpls sound was drafted as early as For You and took its full shape between Dirty Mind and 1999. One could argue that everyone from the Mpsls scene, at least P's childhood/teenage years friends possibly contributed to the Mpls sound by influencing Prince, and that P's bandmembers even those not from Mpls did too, I will agree with this claim, but Jam & Lewis were no more instrumental in this than any other.

We must stop making delirious statements on the Org. I suggest we stick to known facts and common sense instead of making statements that reflect one's personal belief/sensibility and trying to make a point out of them.

Mpslsound DOES contain many typical elements of the genre dubbed as the Minneapolis Sound, this is not subject to debate regardless of anyone's appreciation of it. And Jam & Lewis had no more nor less to do with the birth of said genre than anyone surrounding Prince in the 1970's and early 1980's. I don't even see why we have to debate those facts.

Peace.

The quote was not about JJ & TL being responsible for the Minneapolis Sound
Prince saying they were not into the Minneapolis sound is absurd

That quote is absurd, that Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were not doing the Minneapolis Sound
MPLSound does not represent the Minneapolis sound.

databank said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I don't think it's absurd at all.

ab·surd

əbˈsərd,əbˈzərd/

adjective

adjective: absurd; comparative adjective: absurder; superlative adjective: absurdest

1. (of an idea or suggestion) wildly unreasonable, illogical, or inappropriate.

.

In a 1990 interview Prince said:

Despite the rap, Prince says, he harbors no ill will toward the now-famous producers working across town from Paisley Park at their Flyte Time studios. "We're friends," he says. "We know each other like brothers. Jimmy always gave me a lot of credit for getting things going in Minneapolis, and I'm hip to that. Terry's more aloof, but I know that." And their music? "Terry and Jimmy aren't into the Minneapolis sound," Prince says. "They're into making every single one of their records a hit. Not that there's anything wrong with that, we're just different."

I daresay the statement that Mpslsound has nothing to do with the musical genre it's named after is wildly unreasonable, illogical AND unappropriate.

I don't see how that quote by Prince makes Jam & Lewis any more responsible for the Minneapolis Sound. The mpls sound was drafted as early as For You and took its full shape between Dirty Mind and 1999. One could argue that everyone from the Mpsls scene, at least P's childhood/teenage years friends possibly contributed to the Mpls sound by influencing Prince, and that P's bandmembers even those not from Mpls did too, I will agree with this claim, but Jam & Lewis were no more instrumental in this than any other.

We must stop making delirious statements on the Org. I suggest we stick to known facts and common sense instead of making statements that reflect one's personal belief/sensibility and trying to make a point out of them.

Mpslsound DOES contain many typical elements of the genre dubbed as the Minneapolis Sound, this is not subject to debate regardless of anyone's appreciation of it. And Jam & Lewis had no more nor less to do with the birth of said genre than anyone surrounding Prince in the 1970's and early 1980's. I don't even see why we have to debate those facts.

Peace.

Personally I think MPLSound contains the elements of the MPLS sound but not the vibe. Linn drum check, Oberheim check, raw synth-rock vibe uncheck. Maybe it is down to the song writing. Maybe it is down to the recording process. Maybe it is down to using digital samples of said instruments in ProTools. I dont know, cant put my finger on it. So i would agree with all of you on this particular debate.

Of the Jam and Lewis debate I would agree they were not really a part of creating the mpls sound. They formed part of its evolution and contributed towards it. But it all started with Prince. The first Time album didnt even have Jam and Lewis on it.

Rebeljuice said:

databank said:

I daresay the statement that Mpslsound has nothing to do with the musical genre it's named after is wildly unreasonable, illogical AND unappropriate.

I don't see how that quote by Prince makes Jam & Lewis any more responsible for the Minneapolis Sound. The mpls sound was drafted as early as For You and took its full shape between Dirty Mind and 1999. One could argue that everyone from the Mpsls scene, at least P's childhood/teenage years friends possibly contributed to the Mpls sound by influencing Prince, and that P's bandmembers even those not from Mpls did too, I will agree with this claim, but Jam & Lewis were no more instrumental in this than any other.

We must stop making delirious statements on the Org. I suggest we stick to known facts and common sense instead of making statements that reflect one's personal belief/sensibility and trying to make a point out of them.

Mpslsound DOES contain many typical elements of the genre dubbed as the Minneapolis Sound, this is not subject to debate regardless of anyone's appreciation of it. And Jam & Lewis had no more nor less to do with the birth of said genre than anyone surrounding Prince in the 1970's and early 1980's. I don't even see why we have to debate those facts.

Peace.

Personally I think MPLSound contains the elements of the MPLS sound but not the vibe. Linn drum check, Oberheim check, raw synth-rock vibe uncheck. Maybe it is down to the song writing. Maybe it is down to the recording process. Maybe it is down to using digital samples of said instruments in ProTools. I dont know, cant put my finger on it. So i would agree with all of you on this particular debate.

Of the Jam and Lewis debate I would agree they were not really a part of creating the mpls sound. They formed part of its evolution and contributed towards it. But it all started with Prince. The first Time album didnt even have Jam and Lewis on it.

There was no J & L debate. Datebank blew that out of proportions

I quoted that to say how absurd it was for Prince to say JJ &TL were not into the Minneapolis sound

OldFriends4Sale said:

Rebeljuice said:

Personally I think MPLSound contains the elements of the MPLS sound but not the vibe. Linn drum check, Oberheim check, raw synth-rock vibe uncheck. Maybe it is down to the song writing. Maybe it is down to the recording process. Maybe it is down to using digital samples of said instruments in ProTools. I dont know, cant put my finger on it. So i would agree with all of you on this particular debate.

Of the Jam and Lewis debate I would agree they were not really a part of creating the mpls sound. They formed part of its evolution and contributed towards it. But it all started with Prince. The first Time album didnt even have Jam and Lewis on it.

There was no J & L debate. Datebank blew that out of proportions

I quoted that to say how absurd it was for Prince to say JJ &TL were not into the Minneapolis sound

I so totally misunderstand the purpose of ur quote, my bad. They were there, they were part of it yeah. But by 1990 they were doing something else entirely... and so was Prince (though the GB/CW phase was something of a partial return to form), so his claim was indeed absurd.

databank said:

feeluupp said:

Really bad album... Dance 4 Me Remixes were cool though, sounded fresh especially for 2009. Very underrated by the "older" fans here.

They sounded so outdated. Do u listen to house/electronic music at all?

databank said:

feeluupp said:

Really bad album... Dance 4 Me Remixes were cool though, sounded fresh especially for 2009. Very underrated by the "older" fans here.

They sounded so outdated. Do u listen to house/electronic music at all?

It sounds outdated for the 80's. Just pure crap. I would say it's the most unlistenable Prince album if their werent others competeing with it like Art Official Age. They are like kissing cousins. But I fault AOA more becasue as outdated as MPLSound sounds, AOA is just as old fashioned but on top of that the soundscape is so shrill and tinny that if my ears could throw up, they would.

bonatoc said:

herb4 said:

Re-spinning this one a lot lately to figure out reasons to hate it. I never realized how much "Dance 4 Me" sounds like "When Doves Cry". The beat and the keyboard sound are very similar.

Me niether.

What did you think of AOA? I thought that was a much better attempt at Prince embracing a modern sound. Nothing wrong with getting loaded/high and listening to music either so i'm not sure why that's a qualifier.

Well, it can trick the brain into temporarily finding things with not much substance utterly great.
Or rather, it can turn off the musicologist in you and appreciate fun music for what it is.

I think Prince is sincere when he grabs a style he's not so familiar with and tries to mold it.
But he's maybe too demanding when he expects listeners to consider his work without considering his previous output,
or ignoring the current musical trends.

The fact that all MPLS ushers in Usher's territory doesn't help.
That said, when he overdoes it, like on "Laydown", the fun takes over the considerations.
I do find "Chocolate Box" and "Ol' Skool Company" good fun grooves, considering the exercise.

The sad thing is that a bunch of MPLS songs could have been easily given away to contemporary pop performers
and do well. But the reclusiveness of the Purple Yoda prevents this from happening.

I would rather see him trying salsa or african music than over-compressed R'n'B schmaltz,
but hey, it's hard to admit you're not the ladies man anymore ("Lolita" being the major confession).
He was obviously trying, once again, to appeal to generation Z.
Even if "Plectrum" should have been a live documenting the 3rd Eye Girl tour
instead of pompously trying to redefine the rock'n'roll territory, it was a sane reaction.
Programming bored him quickl and he preferred grabbing his axe and shredding it, and I think it's a good thing.

AOA ? I love it. It's the first successful experiment in taking the latest fashion sounds and production quirks
and giving them the P treatment. The thing I love the most is the economy of it.
FX (Lasers, toilets flushing/gargarisms, Eurodance gigantic synth pads) would have you think they're a gazillion tracks on each song,
but I'm pretty sure it boils down to 8 tracks maximum (again, decorum segues and background vocals not included).
It relies on his voice, guitar, bass and rhodes for the most. I think most of AOA songs could go through acoustic versions, à la "Love" (3121), and still be relevant.
But what ultimately elevates AOA is focus. This is an album. Not disparate songs collected on the same disc, like MPLS.
The "redemption" trilogy ("The Breakdown","Way Back Home" and "affirmation III") is on par with Prince talent.

Thanks for the well thought and well wriiten reply. I like MPLSound and AOA. I like AOA better, mostly for the reasons you pointed out, but I think MPLSound gets a bad rap.

MPLSound is a very bad album... But even though it's mostly unlistenable... It's not as boring and bland as Planet Earth

feeluupp said:

MPLSound is a very bad album... But even though it's mostly unlistenable... It's not as boring and bland as Planet Earth

Nothing's as boring as Planet Earth. I think it's the most boring and bland record Prince has ever made. The worst thing I can say about MPLSound is that it sounds plastic and synthetic. But remember, in the days of Erotic City, Irresistable Bitch and When Doves Cry, a lot of true rock and roll fans said the same thing.

.

I was there and it was true. To a large extent, they were right too. But plascicity is part of the MPLS sound. Always has been.

herb4 said:

KingSausage said:

I started the "most unlistenable Prince album" thread after trying and failing to listen to MPLSound. I enjoy it so much less than any other Prince album (not counting instrumental albums or that Indigo Nights horseshit). I have a hard time finding anything redeeming about it, other than maybe Dance 4 Me. I think 20ten covers a lot of the same ground as MPLSound, but in a significantly improved way. With most Prince albums I dislike, I can go back years later and find things to appreciate. Not MPLSound. It's just torture.

herb4 said:

feeluupp said:

MPLSound is a very bad album... But even though it's mostly unlistenable... It's not as boring and bland as Planet Earth

Nothing's as boring as Planet Earth.
I think it's the most boring and bland record Prince has ever made.
The worst thing I can say about MPLSound is that it sounds plastic and synthetic.
But remember, in the days of Erotic City, Irresistable Bitch and When Doves Cry, a lot of true rock and roll fans said the same thing.

.

I was there and it was true. To a large extent, they were right too. But plascicity is part of the MPLS sound. Always has been.

Wow, stop the press.

You cannot compare the real "Minneapolis Sound", which was a sound previously unheard of,
to the photocopies of Euro-Dance and modern R'n'B that brings MPLS down.

I don't care what "true" rock'n'roll fans have to say (are we talking Foreigner, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden or Mötorhead?),

the sound(s) Prince invented during the eighties still resonates to this day.
Without it, Williams and Mars would not make a single sell.

Maybe that's what pisses Prince off nowadays. That a fair bunch of so-called artists serve to the public
an edulcorated version of his 80's production quirks.

To me, the song you mentioned sound organic, even the keyboards.
The dirty, lo-fi sound of the synths is a characteristic of Prince's sound, and the first time he started
to really sound synthetic was maybe Lovesexy.
Before, Prince always treated keyboards in a more rock'n'roll way than anyone else.

Now Prince is not My Bloody Valentine, or Jesus and The Mary Chain.

V10LETBLUES said:

herb4 said:

Nothing's as boring as Planet Earth. I think it's the most boring and bland record Prince has ever made. The worst thing I can say about MPLSound is that it sounds plastic and synthetic. But remember, in the days of Erotic City, Irresistable Bitch and When Doves Cry, a lot of true rock and roll fans said the same thing.

.

I was there and it was true. To a large extent, they were right too. But plascicity is part of the MPLS sound. Always has been.

That you can't tell the difference is the real story. You simply can't compare the two. There is a huge chasm to bridge and say it's the same thing.

I CAN tell the difference and didn't say were the same I said "a lot of true rock and roll fans said the same thing". What I meant was that that people who liked U2, Zeppelin, Ozzy, Stones, etc. didn't like Prince because they thought he was all studio wizardry, drum machines and synthesizers. I said they were similar, and they are, at least the basic elements of it.

bonatoc said:

herb4 said:

Nothing's as boring as Planet Earth.
I think it's the most boring and bland record Prince has ever made.
The worst thing I can say about MPLSound is that it sounds plastic and synthetic.
But remember, in the days of Erotic City, Irresistable Bitch and When Doves Cry, a lot of true rock and roll fans said the same thing.

.

I was there and it was true. To a large extent, they were right too. But plascicity is part of the MPLS sound. Always has been.

Wow, stop the press.

You cannot compare the real "Minneapolis Sound", which was a sound previously unheard of,
to the photocopies of Euro-Dance and modern R'n'B that brings MPLS down.

I don't care what "true" rock'n'roll fans have to say (are we talking Foreigner, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden or Mötorhead?),

the sound(s) Prince invented during the eighties still resonates to this day.
Without it, Williams and Mars would not make a single sell.

Mainly I was talking about people who listened to classic rock and worshipped at the alter of Zeppelin, the Stones, Van Halen and the Grateful Dead but hated disco and people like Michael Jackson and Howard Jones, for the same reason. People who gave up on VanHalen after "Jump" came out.

.

When I listen to "Irresistable Bitch" or 'Let's Pretend We're Married" I don't hear "organic" at all. I hear a great musician and a studio wizard at the top of his game. I love that stuff and certainly think it's better than MPLSound but I don't see the difference as vast, necessarily, no. I hear a lot of "When Doves Cry" in "Dance 4 Me", for instance, and a little bit of "DMSR" in "Ol Skool Company".

.

Maybe I'm just not as smart as you dudes and listen to music wrong.

[Edited 5/14/15 9:05am]