KingSausage said:

No, sadly. I think the album still mostly sucks. I have no urge to listen to it. That's never happened with a Prince album before.

This, with the exception that i had/have the same feelings towards Emancipation and Planet Earth.

I gave it another try lately and although it wasn't the exact same loathing i had on the first 2 listenings it didn't really made me say "okay i feel slightly more convinced".

Pity, really....

I have to confess, I dont like it as much as I did. songs like even Shut it Down are starting to grate on my ears. I still like the album but not as much. I think the song Free Urself has given me a reality check. I like songs that sound like Prince sang and played most, or all of it!

I have since come to like June a bit more and sort of dislike X's Face. I think when you lower your expectations it is sort of a fun album. Does Ida play bass on HardrockLover and Stare? Or is that Prince?

No 180 degrees needed. I am not looking for Prince to write an album that provides a blue print to solving world hunger, ending senseless crime, or cures our growing national debt of uneducated youths.

He provided a hypnotic dance/club banger and I like it for what it is.

tollyc said:

No 180 degrees needed. I am not looking for Prince to write an album that provides a blue print to solving world hunger, ending senseless crime, or cures our growing national debt of uneducated youths.

He provided a hypnotic dance/club banger and I like it for what it is.

This. I dug the album upon release and I still dig it now.

thedance said:

I have hated this album with a purple passion since I first tried to listen to it. But I do plan to give it another listen some time in the future, because it's Prince.

emesem said:

After listening to Ryan Adams's 1989 which serves as a big reminder to us old folks that at the core of every great pop record there is an actual song with real lyrics written by a SONGWRITER.

HITNRUN made clear to me that Prince no longer is a songwriter. THe only real "song" there is one he wrote more than a decade ago. He's become what his critics used to accuse him of. He's basically now a very fancy parrot who mimics the styles of other people but there is no longer a "there" there.

Writing this post almost brings a tear to my eye. Almost.

[Edited 10/3/15 15:56pm]

so what is he a "fancy parrot" or a fancy lesbian...im confused

+1

RodeoSchro said:

I have hated this album with a purple passion since I first tried to listen to it. But I do plan to give it another listen some time in the future, because it's Prince.

I love the album! But I like every Prince album, this one is no exception... I do think AOA was a better album though... I still feel this is more rushed... The one thing that kinda bugs me is Josh.... While I really like his production, it just seems wrong that someone other than Prince is producing his music....

Gomp said:

I love the album! But I like every Prince album, this one is no exception... I do think AOA was a better album though... I still feel this is more rushed... The one thing that kinda bugs me is Josh.... While I really like his production, it just seems wrong that someone other than Prince is producing his music....

and thats why folks immediately discarded this album, they just cant wrap their heads around someone else producing Prince, regardless of the quality of the music. Some would go as far as to not listen to it for this simple reason, even if they do like songs on the album.

Folks need to get over this and just enjoy the music. If this came out as a pure Prince record, with no changes whatsoever, this would have been received in a very very different way.

I listened to it solid for 2 weeks but unfortunately there have been some other great albums that have come out in the last month which have grabbed me more, haven't listened to it for a week or so. it's ok. looking forward to the next cd more.

trax said:

I loved it on the first listen and still do now. Only two songs I really don't care for are Million $ show and this could be us. They are not terrible but just ok.

CLASSICS are Shut this down, aint about to stop, like a mack, fall in love 2night, the ex's face and hardrocklover. Every one of those is a five star classic to me!!

very good tracks - 1000 x's and o's and june..

To me this is a killer album and I am also surprised that the negativity its getting here. Finally Prince makes a party record and this is the funnest Prince album for me since The Rainbow Children. I love it!! I also like Free Urself even though it kind of feels unfinished and a little cheesy at times but I do like it. Stare is good also so I am really excited about the next album also. Hitnrun is not for everyone as not all people are fans of electronic and hip hopish style music, especially in the Prince world. I notice alot of Prince fans love him but they like him for different styles such as R&B, pop, rock etc. I think thats why Prince always puts every style of music on most of his recent albums so that there is something on there for everyone. I like the electro sound and more current sound as honestly I still stay up on todays music scene and this fits in nicely. ITs a great changeup and this one Prince album fits nicely into a huge discography of body of work. I have noticed though that on the facebook pages the attitude is much different than on the org. It really seems like most people really love this album but on the org it gets hate. Thank goodness the rest of the fans outside of here are not as negative as the ones here. Honestly I expect the negativity on pretty much everything he does now on this site so it really doesn't surprise me. ITs too bad people don't like it here but its ok, I will listen to it and enjoy it for the ones here that don't!! GREAT ALBUM!!

Come on, Hannah, it's not a big deal. Calm down.

leadline said:

Gomp said:

I love the album! But I like every Prince album, this one is no exception... I do think AOA was a better album though... I still feel this is more rushed... The one thing that kinda bugs me is Josh.... While I really like his production, it just seems wrong that someone other than Prince is producing his music....

and thats why folks immediately discarded this album, they just cant wrap their heads around someone else producing Prince, regardless of the quality of the music. Some would go as far as to not listen to it for this simple reason, even if they do like songs on the album.

Folks need to get over this and just enjoy the music. If this came out as a pure Prince record, with no changes whatsoever, this would have been received in a very very different way.

Come on, Josh, it's not a big deal. Calm down.

bonatoc said:

leadline said:

and thats why folks immediately discarded this album, they just cant wrap their heads around someone else producing Prince, regardless of the quality of the music. Some would go as far as to not listen to it for this simple reason, even if they do like songs on the album.

Folks need to get over this and just enjoy the music. If this came out as a pure Prince record, with no changes whatsoever, this would have been received in a very very different way.

Come on, Josh, it's not a big deal. Calm down.

Exactly, not a big deal at all, Props to Josh he did a great job.

Listened to it once. That was enough. Not strong enough songwriting for his capabilities, for me.

I'm still hoping Prince does a late period Bowie sometime soon, to redeem his reputation

RodeoSchro said:

I have hated this album with a purple passion since I first tried to listen to it. But I do plan to give it another listen some time in the future, because it's Prince.

I tried. No better for me the second time.

But on the other hand, I love "Free Urself".

.

[Edited 10/4/15 19:48pm]

I came across this quote in a Diffuser review of the Judith Hill album back when it was first offered as a free download and they dismissed the album saying this:

http://diffuser.fm/album-...k-in-time/

So months later Prince proves them wrong and the goalposts just keep moving.

Not me. I very much liked this album right out the gate. First time listening through the album every song connected with me. That hasn't happened for me since the '80s. And even back then, most of Prince's albums had one or two songs that needed a few listens before they connected with me. But all eleven songs on HnR I enjoyed the first time I heard them. I always enjoyed him doing electronic music ("Loose!" is a majore favorite) back when he was championing the Minneapolis Sound. But the magic was never in that particular style; the magic was always in PRINCE.

.

What surprised me a bit is this: a) the album is short at 37(?) minutes and 11 songs, and the individual songs are all just a few minutes long each, with the longest being 4 min. 28 seconds ("1000 X'S & 0's"). It also struck me as being one of the more (most?) cohesive sounding albums of his career outside of perhaps One Night Alone, For You, and Prince. I always enjoy the diversity of musical styles that usually color his albums--HnR has its share as well--but there is a notable change of tack here in terms of how he structured HnR. It has a logical and effective flow that I think, among other things, may make HnR easier for music listeners (fans & non-fans alike) to understand, and therefore appreciate. For all these reasons (plus the great music) I think HnR may have more commercial potential than any album he's put out in the past 20 years. (Sorry this is kind of turning into a general review when I'm supposed to be responding to the O.P.)

.

HnR is still makin' me move nearing four weeks out. I listen to it at home, at work, in the car, doing the laundry. Killer synths and beats (I all but lose my sh*t when "X'S FACE" comes on, or "AIN'T ABOUT TO STOP" starts throbbing in that stunning intro). Banging dance grooves. It's got that one chocolate ballad and then there is "JUNE" that makes you stop what your doing and tune in to the love story unfolding before you. Monster, lay-you-upside-yo-head-electronica. Intros that hook you immediately and with a vengeance. What's not to like about this album. (Don't reply--it's a rhetorical question )

.

Haven't gone deep into the lyrics just yet but I will. Count on it.

.

37 years into the game, P. can still release an album that sounds different from all the other albums. Incredible. He always has surprises up his sleeve for us.

.

Y'all keep overanalyzing the work of the genius from North Minne while I'm too busy having a ball with HITnRUN to care.

[Edited 10/4/15 23:38pm]

[Edited 10/4/15 23:39pm]

[Edited 10/4/15 23:40pm]

[Edited 10/5/15 0:07am]

Opinion hasn't changed, it's grand not great. I'm glad it exists, imho he can do better.

I enjoyed the first couple of listens, but quickly became bored with it.

I also find it to be an oddly imbalanced release. The first half is very aggressive-sounding by his standards, but the songs towards the end don't have the same energy. I still enjoy "Hardrocklover", but became disillusioned with the rest. For example, the new version of "1000 Hugs & Kisses" could have done with some more development. Once you've gotten half-way into the song, you've already heard everything it has to offer.

Not changed my mind, I had to shelve it. I found it the least interesting album by Prince so far. UNlike most Prince records there is nothing more really to discover after first listen so it can't really grow on me, more listens just makes it worse.

I did however make a new playlist and put 1000 X & 0, June and Hardrocklover along with Free yourself as these are pretty good, and included the best ones from AOA and PE and that is one stellar playlist

Looking forward to phase though.

redflag said:

I came across this quote in a Diffuser review of the Judith Hill album back when it was first offered as a free download and they dismissed the album saying this:

http://diffuser.fm/album-...k-in-time/

Look at the career of Hill’s new mentor, Prince: Once he defined the cutting edge of pop, but for years he has been content to sit back and preach the virtues of mild, innocuous funk, unable or unwilling to engage with new developments in hip-hop and electronic music.

So months later Prince proves them wrong and the goalposts just keep moving.

.

If this release was all retaliation for a quote from "Diffuser" about a free protege album that was taken as some conformist challenge.... it failed. I'm looking at Diffuser now the main site features Fiona Apple, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Morrissey... certain realities about modern music, as well as pigmentations and genres just happen to be absent.

JKOOLMUSIC said:

redflag said:

I came across this quote in a Diffuser review of the Judith Hill album back when it was first offered as a free download and they dismissed the album saying this:

http://diffuser.fm/album-...k-in-time/

So months later Prince proves them wrong and the goalposts just keep moving.

.

If this release was all retaliation for a quote from "Diffuser" about a free protege album that was taken as some conformist challenge.... it failed. I'm looking at Diffuser now the main site features Fiona Apple, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Morrissey... certain realities about modern music, as well as pigmentations and genres just happen to be absent.

There could be a great common ground if Prince did the EDM "his way" and didn't rely so heavily on Josh's input and some dated -- almost "stock" -- sounds.

Prince got a few things very right with the unreleased, techno version of Come. Loose! and Get Loose, Slave, New World, The Human Body and Dance 4 Me are all pretty good examples of him doing it "his way". Even the Hypermix for Come On was fun. Good, bad or indifferent, they're not stock-sounding. An album in this vein would be very welcome.

As for the OP's question: I did a 180 in the week or so after I got the album, and while I haven't done another 180, I haven't really listened to it much lately. Funny to say "lately" when it only came out a month ago, but that's where I stand right now.

I played it about a dozen times just in the first few days, but as someone else noted, there's not much to "discover". I think Free Urself knocked it to the back burner.