I had not bought any Prince albums since 3121 until after he died ( . I had unfortunately believed the sterotype that his creativty had dried up, at least most of it. Now, I have bought and been listening to his last three albums (not counting ones in which he wasn't featured), and I have been so pleased to find out I was so wrong. To think that someone that had creaated so much already, was in terrible pain, and was on a lot of pain medicine would release such a diverse group of albums the last two year of his life is remarkable. That is not to say that there aren't any subpar songs and perhaps even albums, depending on your perspective. But the whole picture is greater than the sum of the parts: Prince put a wide array of music with some great songs! My snapshot opiniions at the moment are:

AOA - this is my favorite of the three. It actually reminds me of his albums of the 80s: Very original, consistent, diverse yet cohesive, and addictive. What I like best about it is that it seems to give a glimpse of Prince's pain toward the end of his life, with the achingly beautiful Breakdown, Way Back Home, and Affirmation III. The sadness of those songs are balanced by the true connection it allows one to have with him by his openness.

HitNRun Phase 1 _ This is the one I am least familiar with, as it is my recent buy and I am not as drawn to it as the others. It seems from the board and the reviews that it is the most polarizing. I can see why. There seems to be some weak songs and the electronic hip hop vibe throughout may turn off some people. Nevertheless, the fact that this vibe makes it so distinct from his other releases is something I can appreciate. There are some hypnotic soundscaapes and some good songs (June, This Could Be Us, and 1000 X's and O's).

HitnRun - Phase 2 - This has been the most surprising of the three in that I wasn't expecting much from what I had read on the board. Although I still prefer AOA, the musical arrangements are wonderful here. The jazzy tinged R & B is a far distance from the music on Phase 1 and AOA, again showing his unbelievable range. The article posted elsewhere on the org about how Prince was so brilliant in the creative processs in developing the arrangements for this album only deepens my appreciation. To me, there are no weak songs but the final three tracks are all standouts, especially Revelation.

Although I have rambled here, I am interested to here other people's perspectives on how these three albums have impacted their view on how prince finsihed his career, as well as any specific opinions about the albums and songs.

I was buying and listening to everything as it came out, and honestly those last few years were kind of overwhelming since in addition to those three albums there were all the non-album downloads and live streams and then the other "non-Prince" albums like the two Andy Allos and the Judith Hill. And I find it hard to ignore Plectrumelectrum, which, while it wasn't what I'd hoped it would be (more like the live shows with the band), is still Prince-enough to count, in my view.

Just the three you mention, though--

I rank AOA tops of the three. It really did have some incredible moments--Way Back Home even won my daughter over. She was 9 at the time and raised on a steady stream of Prince (well, when I had control of music) and it's the first Prince track I ever caught her singing along to. But I also loved the album's use of Andy Allo, and see it in part as a sort of continuation of some of what was on the Superconductor album. But a strong album, definitely.

HnR Phase One? I didn't hate it. Fallinlove2nite, X's Face, and Hardrocklover actually all seemed much better to me as individual tracks than they did within the album. I don't know if they just wore out quickly for me so that I didn't care for them any more by the time the album came out, or if it's that the album doesn't flow as a unit. I see no point for the remix of This Could Be Us, and the first 4 tracks don't really thrill me. I don't hate 'em, I just don't feel a whole lot about them. 1000 X's & O's is okay, but not one I think he really needed to dust off from the vault. June remains intriguing to me... but like Reflection in that I really like it while it's happening, but after it's over.... it quickly fades.

HitnRun Phase Two is stronger. In this case, the previously released tracks seem to fit together better as a part of an album experience (maybe it's the horns that unify things), and while I wouldn't necessarily cross the street to hear 2 Y 2 D or When She Comes if they were playing on my neighbor's stereo, I probably would for all the other tracks, just to hear them in a slightly different context than I nomally would. Musically, I like the arrangements quite a bit. Lyrically, I probably prefer AOA. If I Could Get Your Attention is a more worthwhile vault remake. Revelation is pleasantly loose and casual and a nice change of pace on an otherwise tight piece of work.
That's a fast response. I really haven't thought about the albums that much, though. Again, there was so much else to try to keep track of, and then the way they dropped two at a time (more or less--and I'm obviously including Plectrumelectrum here), I never sat with any of them enough for them to really gel in my mind as solid "albums" or prjects the way most others did, even when I didn't like them very much. It's more just a sense of the mixture of "Prince in the last three or four years" than "AOA" and "HnR 1" or "Hnr 2." I enjoyed those last few years quite a bit, but I just have the sense that he didn't quite get to where he was going--or if he did, we haven't heard it. And that's even with AOA, which like I said, I rate pretty highly.

Why skip PE. It has possiblly the best track in years in Anotherlove.

gandorb said:

What about PlectrumElectrum?
I do like AOA but I know I'm in the minority for liking PE more. They are both solid tho in my opinion I prefer HitnRun2 over phase 1. I've never been interested in much of his protégé projects, etc so I haven't bothered collecting any of those works. It's overwhelming just trying to keep up with him! Both of my son's like AOA the best of the four I mentioned. My 20 yo thinks the affirmations are sick lol he loves it

sonshine said:

gandorb said:

I had not bought any Prince albums since 3121 until after he died ( . I had unfortunately believed the sterotype that his creativty had dried up, at least most of it. Now, I have bought and been listening to his last three albums (not counting ones in which he wasn't featured), and I have been so pleased to find out I was so wrong. To think that someone that had creaated so much already, was in terrible pain, and was on a lot of pain medicine would release such a diverse group of albums the last two year of his life is remarkable. That is not to say that there aren't any subpar songs and perhaps even albums, depending on your perspective. But the whole picture is greater than the sum of the parts: Prince put a wide array of music with some great songs! My snapshot opiniions at the moment are:

AOA - this is my favorite of the three. It actually reminds me of his albums of the 80s: Very original, consistent, diverse yet cohesive, and addictive. What I like best about it is that it seems to give a glimpse of Prince's pain toward the end of his life, with the achingly beautiful Breakdown, Way Back Home, and Affirmation III. The sadness of those songs are balanced by the true connection it allows one to have with him by his openness.

HitNRun Phase 1 _ This is the one I am least familiar with, as it is my recent buy and I am not as drawn to it as the others. It seems from the board and the reviews that it is the most polarizing. I can see why. There seems to be some weak songs and the electronic hip hop vibe throughout may turn off some people. Nevertheless, the fact that this vibe makes it so distinct from his other releases is something I can appreciate. There are some hypnotic soundscaapes and some good songs (June, This Could Be Us, and 1000 X's and O's).

HitnRun - Phase 2 - This has been the most surprising of the three in that I wasn't expecting much from what I had read on the board. Although I still prefer AOA, the musical arrangements are wonderful here. The jazzy tinged R & B is a far distance from the music on Phase 1 and AOA, again showing his unbelievable range. The article posted elsewhere on the org about how Prince was so brilliant in the creative processs in developing the arrangements for this album only deepens my appreciation. To me, there are no weak songs but the final three tracks are all standouts, especially Revelation.

Although I have rambled here, I am interested to here other people's perspectives on how these three albums have impacted their view on how prince finsihed his career, as well as any specific opinions about the albums and songs.

What about PlectrumElectrum? I do like AOA but I know I'm in the minority for liking PE more. They are both solid tho in my opinion I prefer HitnRun2 over phase 1. I've never been interested in much of his protégé projects, etc so I haven't bothered collecting any of those works. It's overwhelming just trying to keep up with him! Both of my son's like AOA the best of the four I mentioned. My 20 yo thinks the affirmations are sick lol he loves it

I like PE too because I really enjoy the rock/guitar. Anotherlove and Funknroll are both great.

In order AOA, Phase 2 and the Phase 1

His creativity was in no way dried up.

EddieC said:

I was buying and listening to everything as it came out, and honestly those last few years were kind of overwhelming since in addition to those three albums there were all the non-album downloads and live streams and then the other "non-Prince" albums like the two Andy Allos and the Judith Hill. And I find it hard to ignore Plectrumelectrum, which, while it wasn't what I'd hoped it would be (more like the live shows with the band), is still Prince-enough to count, in my view.

Just the three you mention, though--

I rank AOA tops of the three. It really did have some incredible moments--Way Back Home even won my daughter over. She was 9 at the time and raised on a steady stream of Prince (well, when I had control of music) and it's the first Prince track I ever caught her singing along to. But I also loved the album's use of Andy Allo, and see it in part as a sort of continuation of some of what was on the Superconductor album. But a strong album, definitely.

HnR Phase One? I didn't hate it. Fallinlove2nite, X's Face, and Hardrocklover actually all seemed much better to me as individual tracks than they did within the album. I don't know if they just wore out quickly for me so that I didn't care for them any more by the time the album came out, or if it's that the album doesn't flow as a unit. I see no point for the remix of This Could Be Us, and the first 4 tracks don't really thrill me. I don't hate 'em, I just don't feel a whole lot about them. 1000 X's & O's is okay, but not one I think he really needed to dust off from the vault. June remains intriguing to me... but like Reflection in that I really like it while it's happening, but after it's over.... it quickly fades.

HitnRun Phase Two is stronger. In this case, the previously released tracks seem to fit together better as a part of an album experience (maybe it's the horns that unify things), and while I wouldn't necessarily cross the street to hear 2 Y 2 D or When She Comes if they were playing on my neighbor's stereo, I probably would for all the other tracks, just to hear them in a slightly different context than I nomally would. Musically, I like the arrangements quite a bit. Lyrically, I probably prefer AOA. If I Could Get Your Attention is a more worthwhile vault remake. Revelation is pleasantly loose and casual and a nice change of pace on an otherwise tight piece of work.
That's a fast response. I really haven't thought about the albums that much, though. Again, there was so much else to try to keep track of, and then the way they dropped two at a time (more or less--and I'm obviously including Plectrumelectrum here), I never sat with any of them enough for them to really gel in my mind as solid "albums" or prjects the way most others did, even when I didn't like them very much. It's more just a sense of the mixture of "Prince in the last three or four years" than "AOA" and "HnR 1" or "Hnr 2." I enjoyed those last few years quite a bit, but I just have the sense that he didn't quite get to where he was going--or if he did, we haven't heard it. And that's even with AOA, which like I said, I rate pretty highly.

Thanks for you input. You are coming from a different perspective in that you have stayed very up to date with his output, so apparently the albums seem just part of an onslaught of material, duplicatin some of it. I am impressed by your dedication to keep up with it.

sonshine said:

gandorb said:

I had not bought any Prince albums since 3121 until after he died ( . I had unfortunately believed the sterotype that his creativty had dried up, at least most of it. Now, I have bought and been listening to his last three albums (not counting ones in which he wasn't featured), and I have been so pleased to find out I was so wrong. To think that someone that had creaated so much already, was in terrible pain, and was on a lot of pain medicine would release such a diverse group of albums the last two year of his life is remarkable. That is not to say that there aren't any subpar songs and perhaps even albums, depending on your perspective. But the whole picture is greater than the sum of the parts: Prince put a wide array of music with some great songs! My snapshot opiniions at the moment are:

AOA - this is my favorite of the three. It actually reminds me of his albums of the 80s: Very original, consistent, diverse yet cohesive, and addictive. What I like best about it is that it seems to give a glimpse of Prince's pain toward the end of his life, with the achingly beautiful Breakdown, Way Back Home, and Affirmation III. The sadness of those songs are balanced by the true connection it allows one to have with him by his openness.

HitNRun Phase 1 _ This is the one I am least familiar with, as it is my recent buy and I am not as drawn to it as the others. It seems from the board and the reviews that it is the most polarizing. I can see why. There seems to be some weak songs and the electronic hip hop vibe throughout may turn off some people. Nevertheless, the fact that this vibe makes it so distinct from his other releases is something I can appreciate. There are some hypnotic soundscaapes and some good songs (June, This Could Be Us, and 1000 X's and O's).

HitnRun - Phase 2 - This has been the most surprising of the three in that I wasn't expecting much from what I had read on the board. Although I still prefer AOA, the musical arrangements are wonderful here. The jazzy tinged R & B is a far distance from the music on Phase 1 and AOA, again showing his unbelievable range. The article posted elsewhere on the org about how Prince was so brilliant in the creative processs in developing the arrangements for this album only deepens my appreciation. To me, there are no weak songs but the final three tracks are all standouts, especially Revelation.

Although I have rambled here, I am interested to here other people's perspectives on how these three albums have impacted their view on how prince finsihed his career, as well as any specific opinions about the albums and songs.

What about PlectrumElectrum? I do like AOA but I know I'm in the minority for liking PE more. They are both solid tho in my opinion I prefer HitnRun2 over phase 1. I've never been interested in much of his protégé projects, etc so I haven't bothered collecting any of those works. It's overwhelming just trying to keep up with him! Both of my son's like AOA the best of the four I mentioned. My 20 yo thinks the affirmations are sick lol he loves it

Any comments about PE are certainly welcome here. In my rush to catch up with what I missed out on, I guess I had incorrectly assumed that that album was more of a protoge album. I am interested in hearing the celebrated guitar work in it. By the way, that's great that you are sharing Prince with your family. Your sons have good taste!

bookwomen said:

sonshine said:

gandorb said: What about PlectrumElectrum? I do like AOA but I know I'm in the minority for liking PE more. They are both solid tho in my opinion I prefer HitnRun2 over phase 1. I've never been interested in much of his protégé projects, etc so I haven't bothered collecting any of those works. It's overwhelming just trying to keep up with him! Both of my son's like AOA the best of the four I mentioned. My 20 yo thinks the affirmations are sick lol he loves it

I like PE too because I really enjoy the rock/guitar. Anotherlove and Funknroll are both great.

In order AOA, Phase 2 and the Phase 1

His creativity was in no way dried up.

Thank God or whoever (Prince!)

gandorb said

Any comments about PE are certainly welcome here. In my rush to catch up with what I missed out on, I guess I had incorrectly assumed that that album was more of a protoge album. I am interested in hearing the celebrated guitar work in it. By the way, that's great that you are sharing Prince with your family. Your sons have good taste!

[/quote]


You are in for a treat. It's mos def a Prince album. Could be the most cohesive album of the bunch. I blame good old fashion sexism for its lack of universal props but I think most around here liked it.
[Edited 7/1/16 21:59pm]

emesem said: You are in for a treat. It's mos def a Prince album. Could be the most cohesive album of the bunch. I blame good old fashion sexism for its lack of universal props but I think most around here liked it.

It's not sexist to not like Hannah's voice. That's silly. The songs she sings on PE are not good.

However, Wow, Anotherlove, Plectrumelectrum, Marz are great & Funknroll, Fixurlifeup, Pretzelbodylogic are very good. That's enough to make it a worthwhile listen...

While you're at it, don't sleep on Lotusflow3r / MPLSound. Some great stuff on those.

[Edited 7/2/16 6:50am]

djThunderfunk said:

emesem said: You are in for a treat. It's mos def a Prince album. Could be the most cohesive album of the bunch. I blame good old fashion sexism for its lack of universal props but I think most around here liked it.

It's not sexist to not like Hannah's voice. That's silly. The songs she sings on PE are not good.

The songs are not bad. She just can't sing. That's the problem.

The last two years had been a renaissance for him.

If you exclude a few of the songs on HitNRun phase 1 and add Free Urself and If I Could get Your Attention, you have quite an impressive collection of songs and you see "the kid was in fine form".

ludwig said:

djThunderfunk said:

It's not sexist to not like Hannah's voice. That's silly. The songs she sings on PE are not good.

The songs are not bad. She just can't sing. That's the problem.

I don't know, doubt I'd like TicTacToe or Whitecaps even if Prince sang them.

++++ PE has grown on me but i find it patchy.

++++ AOA is better but still patchy

++++ i still haven't been able to listen to the H&R discs. i just don't know where to start with them. i'm not much a fan of the weltons. i just haven't found a taste for them.

djThunderfunk said:

ludwig said:

The songs are not bad. She just can't sing. That's the problem.

I don't know, doubt I'd like TicTacToe or Whitecaps even if Prince sang them.

Whitecaps is a wonderful song and Tictactoe is the best song on the album, imho. And Prince sings on Tictactoe.

[Edited 7/2/16 9:21am]

EddieC said:

I was buying and listening to everything as it came out, and honestly those last few years were kind of overwhelming since in addition to those three albums there were all the non-album downloads and live streams and then the other "non-Prince" albums like the two Andy Allos and the Judith Hill. And I find it hard to ignore Plectrumelectrum, which, while it wasn't what I'd hoped it would be (more like the live shows with the band), is still Prince-enough to count, in my view.

Just the three you mention, though--

I rank AOA tops of the three. It really did have some incredible moments--Way Back Home even won my daughter over. She was 9 at the time and raised on a steady stream of Prince (well, when I had control of music) and it's the first Prince track I ever caught her singing along to. But I also loved the album's use of Andy Allo, and see it in part as a sort of continuation of some of what was on the Superconductor album. But a strong album, definitely.

HnR Phase One? I didn't hate it. Fallinlove2nite, X's Face, and Hardrocklover actually all seemed much better to me as individual tracks than they did within the album. I don't know if they just wore out quickly for me so that I didn't care for them any more by the time the album came out, or if it's that the album doesn't flow as a unit. I see no point for the remix of This Could Be Us, and the first 4 tracks don't really thrill me. I don't hate 'em, I just don't feel a whole lot about them. 1000 X's & O's is okay, but not one I think he really needed to dust off from the vault. June remains intriguing to me... but like Reflection in that I really like it while it's happening, but after it's over.... it quickly fades.

HitnRun Phase Two is stronger. In this case, the previously released tracks seem to fit together better as a part of an album experience (maybe it's the horns that unify things), and while I wouldn't necessarily cross the street to hear 2 Y 2 D or When She Comes if they were playing on my neighbor's stereo, I probably would for all the other tracks, just to hear them in a slightly different context than I nomally would. Musically, I like the arrangements quite a bit. Lyrically, I probably prefer AOA. If I Could Get Your Attention is a more worthwhile vault remake. Revelation is pleasantly loose and casual and a nice change of pace on an otherwise tight piece of work.
That's a fast response. I really haven't thought about the albums that much, though. Again, there was so much else to try to keep track of, and then the way they dropped two at a time (more or less--and I'm obviously including Plectrumelectrum here), I never sat with any of them enough for them to really gel in my mind as solid "albums" or prjects the way most others did, even when I didn't like them very much. It's more just a sense of the mixture of "Prince in the last three or four years" than "AOA" and "HnR 1" or "Hnr 2." I enjoyed those last few years quite a bit, but I just have the sense that he didn't quite get to where he was going--or if he did, we haven't heard it. And that's even with AOA, which like I said, I rate pretty highly.

i HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE HODGEPODGE FRANTIC RELEASE OF PRINCE MATERIAL OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. I KNOW IT IS EASY TO SAY THIS IN RETROSPECT, BUT HE MAY HAVE BEEN FRANTIC KNOWING THAT HE MIGHT NOT HAVE LONG TO LIVE.

ludwig said:

djThunderfunk said:

I don't know, doubt I'd like TicTacToe or Whitecaps even if Prince sang them.

Whitecaps is a wonderful song and Tictactoe is the best song on the album, imho. And Prince sings on Tictactoe.

[Edited 7/2/16 9:21am]

This is why it's good that Prince liked to put out "too much" product, we all get what we like. I personally find nothing to like in either of those songs, you like them. More proof Prince was the greatest...

Really though, "Tictactoe is the best song on the album"?!?!? No way, I'd give that honor to Wow!

emesem said:

Why skip PE. It has possiblly the best track in years in Anotherlove.

I agree but he didn't write it.

Lots of great material on those four albums. Also some spotty shit. For example, BOYTROUBLE is one of the weakest songs ever associated with Prince, IMO. It's really bad.

I don't mind White Caps or Tictactoe (I'm too lazy to put them in all caps fuck it) but they're nothing to write home about.

If I took all the Prince-vocal songs on Plectrum, it would be a strong but unexceptional EP.

wavesofbliss said:

++++ PE has grown on me but i find it patchy.

++++ AOA is better but still patchy

++++ i still haven't been able to listen to the H&R discs. i just don't know where to start with them. i'm not much a fan of the weltons. i just haven't found a taste for them.

The good news for you is that the Weltons are not involved at all with the HnR2 album, unlike HnR1. If you haven't listened to it at all yet and think that you would like to hear some of his funkiest horn and sax arrangements, then dig in!

gandorb said:

wavesofbliss said:

++++ PE has grown on me but i find it patchy.

++++ AOA is better but still patchy

++++ i still haven't been able to listen to the H&R discs. i just don't know where to start with them. i'm not much a fan of the weltons. i just haven't found a taste for them.

The good news for you is that the Weltons are not involved at all with the HnR2 album, unlike HnR1. If you haven't listened to it at all yet and think that you would like to hear some of his funkiest horn and sax arrangements, then dig in!

thanks. i'll check out HR2. ++++ RE 'another love', prince "rewrote the lyrics quite a bit, form what i can tell. that's why i keep thinking it's about MT.