jjazznola said:

So how many of these songs can we expect to hear Prince play at his next batch of shows? Anyone notice that he hardly plays any new songs? And why is that? HitNRun is an appropriate title. I'd run as fast as possible from this mess. He said that it was recorded in a short period of time. It sounds like it. Oh wait, is there a Phase Two? It can't be any worse that this. If he wanted to make an album with a curent, modern sound, at least get a talented, current producer. Most would kill to work with Prince. Josh is an amatuer. Drop this 3rdEyeGirl crew and write some decent songs!

[Edited 9/8/15 13:00pm]

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First rule of Fight Club is that you don't talk about Fight Club. The new stuff is just so good that he can't play them better than himself as he already did once, he already recorded them, he had super-producer Joshua . Just buy the record if you wanna hear the new songs. Maybe you could play them better live yourself? No real fan is buying tickets to a Prince show to hear "TicTacToe" or "Lavaux".

Long time Prince fan, since around 1982. Gonna start posting here. I see the ONE thing thats never changed with Prince, he ALWAYS leaves you wishing for more of his good stuff. If the other tracks were on the level of June, he would have a number 1 album.

June could've been a David Bowie song, or am I the only one who hears a Bowie ballad in it? In other words, imagine Bowie singing this song

[Edited 9/8/15 13:12pm]

jjazznola said:

So how many of these songs can we expect to hear Prince play at his next batch of shows? Anyone notice that he hardly plays any new songs? And why is that? HitNRun is an appropriate title. I'd run as fast as possible from this mess. He said that it was recorded in a short period of time. It sounds like it. Oh wait, is there a Phase Two? It can't be any worse that this. If he wanted to make an album with a curent, modern sound, at least get a talented, current producer. Most would kill to work with Prince. Josh is an amatuer. Drop this 3rdEyeGirl crew and write some decent songs!

[Edited 9/8/15 13:00pm]

Thats a good point.

Bearing in mind his lack of willingness to play new songs, will the next Hit n Run tour really confuse people when he doesn't perform any of the tracks off the Hit n Run album?

That said, you know we'll get a tiny slice of Shut This Down and Ain't About To Stop in the sampler set.

kapo74 said:

June could've been a David Bowie song, or am I the only one who hears a Bowie ballad in it? In other words, imagine Bowie singing this song

[Edited 9/8/15 13:12pm]

This Could B Us remix could certainly be on Never Let Me Down.

SquirrelMeat said:

jjazznola said:

So how many of these songs can we expect to hear Prince play at his next batch of shows? Anyone notice that he hardly plays any new songs? And why is that? HitNRun is an appropriate title. I'd run as fast as possible from this mess. He said that it was recorded in a short period of time. It sounds like it. Oh wait, is there a Phase Two? It can't be any worse that this. If he wanted to make an album with a curent, modern sound, at least get a talented, current producer. Most would kill to work with Prince. Josh is an amatuer. Drop this 3rdEyeGirl crew and write some decent songs!

[Edited 9/8/15 13:00pm]

Thats a good point.

Bearing in mind his lack of willingness to play new songs, will the next Hit n Run tour really confuse people when he doesn't perform any of the tracks off the Hit n Run album?

That said, you know we'll get a tiny slice of Shut This Down and Ain't About To Stop in the sampler set.

I agree, theres a reason he's playing a mostly 80's set list night after night, because none of the new stuff holds up. He used to put out B SIDES like "She's Always in My Hair" and "Hello" and now those are way better than his A sides.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

ZiggmanZoo said:

Still haven't listened but reading the comments. I'm an oldy Prince fan and it was a general attitude, also in the 80's, that you really needed to listen many times to new Prince music to be able to rate it. For instance, I remember many people didn't fancy Kiss until after multiple listening. I rembember when I heard Kiss the first time, I thought "wow, what a simple song and not catchy at all, this is not gonna be popular." A week later I loved it and I still do. Sign of the times...hmm... many people were not appreciating this song in the beginning, then I witnessed that it got many new fans on the Prince boat and got to be a hit.

My point is, I am reading many negative posts after short listening experience. Is it possible that a longer digestion is needed for this new music?

That is simply not true.

It's kind of true. I'm about to start on it as a matter of fact (growers/first impressions then and now). SOTT, Lovesexy, Batman and especially Around the World in a Day and Parade were very hard to penetrate and absorb and took several listens to dig your teeth into. Everything in the 80's past Purple Rain and arguabley SOTT took a long time to get into.

SHUT THIS DOWN is like the 2015 version of 7. Need more sitar.

Million Dollar Show
This is a great opener. I love the intro, like the way the guitar fades in at the start. There are some fantastic horns in there if somewhat buried in the mix. Judith sounds great. Funky, upbeat, whats not to like?

Shut This Down
Another decent track. Rare song in the sense Prince is taking the masculine approach. When the bass starts playing everything goes up a notch. I wish it'd been louder in the mix.

Aint About To Stop
This is completely different to the song aired on the Yahoo Stream. Rita was lead vocal and the chorus was about London. Still a banger though. Another masculine song, Prince sounds great as does Rita. The Arabian motif sounds fantastic juxtaposed against the industrial drum and bass line. A short but sweet guitar solo into the bass breakdown. Awesome track. I want the original and a few more remixes.

Like A Mack
Opens with the line you never thought you'd hear on a Prince album. Nice funky track. Curly Fryz seems like an unfortunate name, but she can rap, and she's not dull. I don't feel like I'd miss this song if it wasn't here, but I don't mind it being on the album. I've not taken to skipping it yet.

This Could Us
Awesome remix, I've already listened to it more than the original. I love the part where the guitar just flys off the chart. I like it.

Fallinlove2nite
Much better without Zoe. Still quite cheesy pop, but it's fucking catchy stuff. It kind of reminds me of some of the dancey Mayte tracks.

X's Face
Love this song. TSo glad the majority of the "purple banana" dialog is gone.

Hardrocklover
Another decent song.

Mr Nelson
I'm not sure if this was just a way to get Lianne La Havas onto the album. I don't hear anything original, it's all samples. It's like "Affirmation III part 2". Weird. At about the 1 minute mark things pick up and it becomes a club track, then at 1.30 things escalate even more, that insane bassline rumbles in, then the classic Prince turnaround then the guitar which also sounds like a classic Prince riff, but played without his usual sense of urgency.

1000 x's & o's
This was a wow moment. It's a completely different song to the original. He sounds sincere in a way he hasn't in many recent ballads.

June
Great closer.

TheGoldStandard said:

jjazznola said:

So how many of these songs can we expect to hear Prince play at his next batch of shows? Anyone notice that he hardly plays any new songs? And why is that? HitNRun is an appropriate title. I'd run as fast as possible from this mess. He said that it was recorded in a short period of time. It sounds like it. Oh wait, is there a Phase Two? It can't be any worse that this. If he wanted to make an album with a curent, modern sound, at least get a talented, current producer. Most would kill to work with Prince. Josh is an amatuer. Drop this 3rdEyeGirl crew and write some decent songs!

[Edited 9/8/15 13:00pm]

.

No real fan is buying tickets to a Prince show to hear "TicTacToe" or "Lavaux".

No sure what a real fan is, but most of the hardcore fans I know would rather Lavaux be played live than Raspberry Beret and Play that funky music.

SquirrelMeat said:

DMSR said:

Ya, check out the other Prince cd's on Tidal, he put up NPG cd's and they are funky fresh compared to this HitnRun album. I would like to hear what Joshua recorded before Prince.

For the 90's!? Funky they are, fresh they are not.

They weren't particularly well received back then (B side at best was the common description) but with every new year that follows, people look back at the mediocre with fondness.

Prince spends years under attack for becoming stale, then he comes out with the most modern sounding set in a decade and he's a blamed for not sounding like he used to.

I think we expect Prince to always be the trend setter and the influencer that he was in the 80's and part of the 90's and maybe he just can't relate or do it anymore. He gave us more great songs and tours than we could ask for, but for someone who lives in the studio 24X7 when hes not on tour, I just want to be surprised and in awe like I was the first time I heard any of his hits. They grabbed you from the first note. And no one could touch him.

SquirrelMeat said:

jjazznola said:

So how many of these songs can we expect to hear Prince play at his next batch of shows? Anyone notice that he hardly plays any new songs? And why is that? HitNRun is an appropriate title. I'd run as fast as possible from this mess. He said that it was recorded in a short period of time. It sounds like it. Oh wait, is there a Phase Two? It can't be any worse that this. If he wanted to make an album with a curent, modern sound, at least get a talented, current producer. Most would kill to work with Prince. Josh is an amatuer. Drop this 3rdEyeGirl crew and write some decent songs!

[Edited 9/8/15 13:00pm]

Thats a good point.

Bearing in mind his lack of willingness to play new songs, will the next Hit n Run tour really confuse people when he doesn't perform any of the tracks off the Hit n Run album?

That said, you know we'll get a tiny slice of Shut This Down and Ain't About To Stop in the sampler set.

Realistically, I dont think many of these songs will work live. I could imagine a few of them being dropped into the sampler set. They suffer from the same problem as Kiss/Cream.

herb4 said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

That is simply not true.

It's kind of true. I'm about to start on it as a matter of fact (growers/first impressions then and now). SOTT, Lovesexy, Batman and especially Around the World in a Day and Parade were very hard to penetrate and absorb and took several listens to dig your teeth into. Everything in the 80's past Purple Rain and arguabley SOTT took a long time to get into.

I don't agree at all! The first time I heard Kiss on thr radio, I literally pulled the car over to listen. It sounded like James Brown meets Mick Jagger, and I had never heard something so minimalist on the radio, ever I don't think. I loved it. when I heard "Sign O the Times" same thing. That intro was captivating and the song just got better. Same with When Doves, 1999, Little Red, Let's go Crazy, Cream, Private Joy, Controversy, Beret, pretty much all his hits got me the very first time and I am still not sick of most of them. the latest stuff is just too gimmicky and rehashed to have that effect on me. Its not a new sound like all of his hits were.

SquirrelMeat said:

TheGoldStandard said:

.

No real fan is buying tickets to a Prince show to hear "TicTacToe" or "Lavaux".

No sure what a real fan is, but most of the hardcore fans I know would rather Lavaux be played live than Raspberry Beret and Play that funky music.

I've been a fan since the first 45, and I would definitely buy a ticket to hear "Lavaux".

Good lord. I'll say this about this record: I've never heard two shittier opening tracks before. Art O Ficial Cage and Million Dollar Show are silly and turn people off to the whole album right away

I'm letting this album sink in a bit.

It's nowhere near as awful as peoplare saying but it fees like Prince is trying to find his way. I knew as soon as I read the hate that the album was R&B/Electronic heavy and I was right, but the people that say that it sounds like it needs more work, originality and that it feels like a remix are right.

.

But most of it's quite good. The trouble is the filler. We've already beaten HardRockLover and The X's Face to death. This Could be Us was on the lst album and was never that great to start with. Fall In Love Tonight was and reamins terrible. There's a song, Mr. Nelson, that's not much more than a remix of Clouds (even though it's a bit nifty and hypnotic), so right off the bat that's 6 trax that have been analyzed to death and already experienced. That leaves:

MILLION $ SHOW - uncreative shit. It sounds like a DJ got ahold of some classic tracks, remixed it over a house beat and threw some karaoke voclas on it. 1/10

.

SHUT THIS DOWN - I LOVE this kind of shit and this style of vocal delivery. Funky as all get out. The bass is banging. My favorite track on the album 9/10

.

AINT ABOUT 2 STOP - I like this too. It's weird and experimental but needs a hook or something. Or a bridge. Or a melody. Reminds me of offbeat stuff like "I Wonder U" only thicker and funkier. I like it but it's not really a SONG such at it is. 7/10

.

LIKE A MACK - I know a lot of people hat this sort of song when Prince does it but I always enjoy it so I'm in on this one. I like his forays into hip hop and rap. I'll take this style over "ooo, baby, by-the-book ballads any day. 7/10

.

1000 X's & O's - I like it well enough. It's a nice breather and slows down the album a bit. It's breezy and feels like a "put the top down" type of tune. Never heard the original. I need to listen to it more but for now 6/10.

.

MR. NELSON - Is quirky and, again, is a nice change of pace but it's just a re-done segue, not really a SONG 5/10

.

JUNE- Could be a grower but doesn't really grab me. 5/10

.

HARDROCKLOVER, The X's FAce are great. HRL, along with Shut This Down are the two standout tracks for me. I like tracks 2 -9 straight through, minus 5 & 6 but I'm already burnt out on 2 others. I'm not entirely sure what Prince is trying to do here. From the cover, to the rehashed remixes, it mostly sounds like he threw another layer of cheese onto AOA, which was fine as it was.

.

I also think the sequencing could use some work. I burnt a CD, swapped out FILT and TCBU with Baltimore and Stare, opened with the noisy and weird "Aint About to Stop" into "Shut This Down". slowed it down a notch with "1,000 X's & O's" and went on from there and already the album has a better flow.

.

Overall. I dunno. It's hard to judge having heard so much of it before and not caring a whole lot for hald of the new tracks but my remix is solid. I'd give it a 7 so far but it's not for everyone. It reminds me some of Chocolate Invasion and Slaughterhouse which i like but I know a lot of people here don't care for the electronic, synthetic sound so buyer beware.

only songs I keep listening to is MILLION $ SHOW, 1,000 X's & 0's and June... (I've heard HardRockLover enough the past 2 months).

Million $ Show would be perfect if was without that intro of samples (it only worked for the recent concerts) and if it was longer and went different places instead of just repeating itself too much a little bit at the end..

[Edited 9/8/15 14:04pm]

I thought it was complete crap until almost the end. A Thousand Hugs and Kisses achieved average, and then June knocked it out of the park by being slightly above average.

But every time I think a Prince album couldn't be any worse, he proves me wrong. Planet Earth feels like a classic compared to this. LotusFlower feels like a 'good album', and AOA feels like it was better than we should have ever expected from him at that time.

He's shot. Utterly shot. He has as much chance of becoming a notable recording artist again as Mohammed Ali has of regaining the world heavyweight title.

i really wonder if half the people saying they like/love it are brainwashed purple zombies or they just have different tastes. like i tried. i really tried to like this shit but it's just not good. the nude tour intro is the best part of Million $ Show. the song doesnt fit on the album. the best 2 songs on this album is an early 90's redo and a song about pasta burning on the stove. what in the fuck Prince? it's like watered down versions of today's edm sound or something. it's just bad. there's alot more Prince music i like than i don't but i doubt i listen to it again.

and it's not so much wanting him to sound like 1984 or whatever year people love. i'm all for new and different long as it's good...this shit is whack. IN MY OPINION. drop the "producer" drop his "band" and start from scratch.

herb4 said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

That is simply not true.

It's kind of true. I'm about to start on it as a matter of fact (growers/first impressions then and now). SOTT, Lovesexy, Batman and especially Around the World in a Day and Parade were very hard to penetrate and absorb and took several listens to dig your teeth into. Everything in the 80's past Purple Rain and arguabley SOTT took a long time to get into.

I loved all of those albums on the first spin and to suggest that HITNRUN belongs in the same category - even on this limited basis - is a sacrilege.

herb4 said:

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

That is simply not true.

It's kind of true. I'm about to start on it as a matter of fact (growers/first impressions then and now). SOTT, Lovesexy, Batman and especially Around the World in a Day and Parade were very hard to penetrate and absorb and took several listens to dig your teeth into. Everything in the 80's past Purple Rain and arguabley SOTT took a long time to get into.

Speak for yourself. Hard to penetrate? Around the World in a Day was different coming after Purple Rain so it did take a few listens to get into but I loved Parade, Lovesexy & especially SOTT immediately upon hearing them. Batman I was never too crazy about altough it sounds wonderful compared to his output over the last 10-15 years. This new album is the worst thing that he has ever recoreded. Even the best songs would not have made it as b-sides back in the day.

TheGoldStandard said:

jjazznola said:

So how many of these songs can we expect to hear Prince play at his next batch of shows? Anyone notice that he hardly plays any new songs? And why is that? HitNRun is an appropriate title. I'd run as fast as possible from this mess. He said that it was recorded in a short period of time. It sounds like it. Oh wait, is there a Phase Two? It can't be any worse that this. If he wanted to make an album with a curent, modern sound, at least get a talented, current producer. Most would kill to work with Prince. Josh is an amatuer. Drop this 3rdEyeGirl crew and write some decent songs!

[Edited 9/8/15 13:00pm]

.

First rule of Fight Club is that you don't talk about Fight Club. The new stuff is just so good that he can't play them better than himself as he already did once, he already recorded them, he had super-producer Joshua . Just buy the record if you wanna hear the new songs. Maybe you could play them better live yourself? No real fan is buying tickets to a Prince show to hear "TicTacToe" or "Lavaux".

Fight Club? super-producer Joshua? Maybe you could play them better live yourself? What are you talking about? Joshua is a hack with zero originality. No real fan is buying tickets to a Prince show to hear "TicTacToe" or "Lavaux"? Most "real" Prince fans are tired of hearing the same 80s hits and 70s soul/funk covers but the problem is Prince knows that plenty of casual fans come to his shows and they woild be not be happy to hear many of the mediocre songs that he has been churning out for years now.

Genesia said:

herb4 said:

It's kind of true. I'm about to start on it as a matter of fact (growers/first impressions then and now). SOTT, Lovesexy, Batman and especially Around the World in a Day and Parade were very hard to penetrate and absorb and took several listens to dig your teeth into. Everything in the 80's past Purple Rain and arguabley SOTT took a long time to get into.

I loved all of those albums on the first spin and to suggest that HITNRUN belongs in the same category - even on this limited basis - is a sacrilege.

They weren't saying that at all though, they were just talking about how the general principle that often albums take several spins to fully appreciate, and using several past Prince albums as examples to illustrate this. There was no comparison between those records and this one. Though I think you're right, I highly doubt this record is going to endear itself to me more as I spin it, although I am kinda getting a so-bad-it's-good vibe from it, but frankly I could just listen to something good instead.

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

Genesia said:

I loved all of those albums on the first spin and to suggest that HITNRUN belongs in the same category - even on this limited basis - is a sacrilege.

They weren't saying that at all though, they were just talking about how the general principle that often albums take several spins to fully appreciate, and using several past Prince albums as examples to illustrate this. There was no comparison between those records and this one. Though I think you're right, I highly doubt this record is going to endear itself to me more as I spin it, although I am kinda getting a so-bad-it's-good vibe from it, but frankly I could just listen to something good instead.

I am beyond proud of myself that I held on through the dookie that is the bulk of this album to find the few tracks that are worth listening to.

hollywooddove said:

I would bet that Josh had nothing to do with X's Face or HardRockLover --- these two tracks are Prince really tinkering around, himself. They really work well next to each other ---- I could get with a whole album in this vein......

Here's the thing...

Everyone who said they weren't going to like the album before hearing it - they don't like it. No surprise. They're trying extra hard with this one because for the first time in a long time, Prince on record, sounds like he understands contemporary music. It's the binality of the comments I read that makes me laugh. So generic and non-specific.

It's far from perfect, but there is no such thing. It's definitely experimental, it's been years since Prince has released a song you can actually dance to, and he's rarely if ever dived into the EDM sub-genres like he has on this album. I'm glad it's upbeat and not ballad-heavy.