As my title suggests, it's been approximately 5 years since this group of his final four albums came out, and I had not given them a proper listening to in quite some time. I thought it might be as good a time as any to dust them off and re-visit them.


From memory, my expectations PRE-listening were as follows:


AOA - 5 out of 10 - A solid, but unspectacular album featuring one mammoth tune (The Gold Standard), and some other decent tracks.


Plectrum - 6 out of 10 - A nice counter balance to AOA, a full band production without a lot of solid songs, but few clunkers.


Hit n Run One - 2 out of 10 - An utterly vapid disgrace with two tunes at the end being moderately bearable.


Hit n Run 2 - 8 out of 10 - An absolutely astounding end to a magical career, featuring at least three songs I would rate as perfect. A real gem of an album.

Then.... I listened......

AOA - new rating = 2 out of 10. I was completely astounded to find this a soulless, lifeless album. There are a LOT of people on the Org communtiy who think this is a great album. And while I don't begrudge them their opinions, this is 100% not what I am looking for in music from anyone, let alone the Mozart of our times.

The opening track was insufferable. A dreadful opener. Clouds got us back on the right track as a nice, if not unspectacular song. Then we got to the Breakdown.

I had forgotten about the lasers!!!!!


I literally spit up my water. Laser beams.... activate!!!!!! Wow. What a disaster. Any atmosphere the song was trying to create was completely decimated by that silliness.


What follows for me, is Prince's last gem from an album outside of HnR2. The Gold Standard. Years ago, I think I referred to this song as the result of post Controversy/Pre 1999 Prince, hooking up with the Black Album Prince and making a baby. It's like a mash up of Turn It Up and SuperFragiCali. It's a totally and completely splendid master work. I wish it went on for 10 minutes.


After that, my ear can tolerate Funk n Roll. Nothing more. It saddens me to say, this album has dated FAR more poorly than I could have ever imagined.


Plectrum - new rating = 3 out of 10 It's funny. I had romanticized this album in my head a bit too much. I distinctly remembered the song Marz and thinking to myself, "this is kind of Prince's modern day Dirty Mind record". Prince is putting a less polished, "garage band" feel to this album as a counter point to AOA.


Man - WAS I WRONG.... First off - the playing on this album was FAR BETTER than I remembered/gave it credit for. In particular, Ida is a BEAST on bass. But the songs just aren't there.


Wow is an interesting, but at times lumbering 6/8 tune that overstays its' welcome. Fixurlife and Funk n Roll are respectable.


But the rest ranges from pedestrian to insufferable. Boy Trouble is just about the worst thing I've heard on a Prince record save for.......


Hit n Run One - 1 out of 10 - I mean - There's nothing to say. This is worse for me than any other album in the catalog except Karmasutra and maybe NPS.


The entire album is based around beats and relies on the rhythms/cadence behind the delivery of the vocals. Melody is absolutely nowhere to be found. A ghastly album from stem to stern. The Emancipation castaway (X and O) is certainly bearable, and June is interesting in that "A Life in the Day" Outkast sort of way.


Which brings us to HnR2. - New rating = 9 out of 10


Now - taking apart each song, this album would rate a little lower. But as a full body of work, (even though I know it's a compilation), it still feels very much like a cohesive album.


The opening track is the only song that flat out doesn't work for me. Perhaps extracting the anthemic chant and the misguided salutation to Michael Brown might make it work a little better for me. But at best, it's an OK song.


Summarizing the good songs: Rock and Roll Love Affair, 2Y2D, Xtralovable, Groovy, Screwdriver and Big City all range somewhere between pedestrian (Groovy) and excellent (Rock and Roll)



That leaves us with four master works:


Stare - 9 out of 10 The delivery of the lyrics, the horn stabs, the chorus. What a magnicient track. The incessant slap bass is the only thing keeping this from receiving a 10 from me.



Look at You, Look at Me - 10 out of 10 - Good Jesus. What a song. The subtlety of the horns. The delivery of the vocals. E-e-e-e-e ven Ray Charles can see (Stevie Wonder can too).. . Master class performance.


Black Muse - 10 out 10 - Two brilliant songs in one. Unlike the on the nose lyrics of Baltimore, this song hits so much harder. So much more uplifting.The mid section/transition to the outro is probably 15 seconds too long. But good heavens when the second part of the song kicks in.... tears of joy



Revelation - His last master work released on an album while he was still with us. Seriously. 1 zillion out of 10. This is a desert island song. Everything about it is p.e.r.f.e.c.t. The sparseness of that guitar solo. There are no words needed.



I will forever be grateful this beyond magical album was released during his lifetime. I've already re-listened to the album three more times.


As for the other three...... I might need another ten years before I can try again!!!!!

I'd love to hear some thoughts if you have recently re-visited this part of his catalog!!!!!

RJOrion said:

[Snip - luv4u]

How enlightening!!! Thank yo SO much for your contribution and your thoughts!!!!

Fenwick said:

[Snip - luv4]

RJOrion said:

Fenwick said:

How enlightening!!! Thank yo SO much for your contribution and your thoughts!!!!

[Snip - luv4u]

Ahhh. I see. You weren't contributing per se. Just insulting...

Thank goodness I don't come here very often anymore. Some of you lot......

And you might want to check out your reading skills. I don't think rating an album a 9 out of 10 constitutes jibberish. Either way - I'm only offering my opinions on something I thought make for an interesting discussion.


Again, thanks for the sanctimonious clarification regarding your intent. I just clicked on your user profile. I see you are one of "those types".

I hope you grow up. Internet keyboard warriors are so cool.....

P.S. I"m soooooo letting you have the last word!!!! I want the self value you derive from deriding others to be on a full tank!!!!!

[Edited 7/28/20 13:34pm]

RJOrion said:

[Snip - luv4u]

Did I get the wrong room? I thought this was where the adults were speaking. Anyhoo...

I talk to Fenwick regularly off the Org. We've discussed a lot about these four albums, our earlier impressions versus now. He called me about 2 weeks ago out of the blue to discuss One Night Alone Live, just because he'd never heard my thoughts on it, and he had his own to share. Oddly, neither of us got our panties in a twist when we disagreed on something. Funny, right?! Back to the matter at hand...

I never dug PE that much, only a couple of worthy songs on it (for me, "Marz," "Anotherlove," off the top of my head). AOA was a decent attempt at a WB-era comeback of sorts (yes yes, he never left, blah blah blah), but some of this is leftover internet stuff, some is new and lacking the intensity of the Prince we knew. Prince used to say that NewPowerSoul was the hypest and craziest album he'd done to date, and yet it sits there like a picture frame from the Dollar General store, circa 1974. I couldn't tell you the tracklist of either album by heart if my life depended on it.

HnR 1 is medicore at best. It does rely on beats, repeats, rebeats, and is a mish-mash of whoever singing whatever reminiscent of the lower points from Graffiti Bridge's compilation suffering.

HnR 2 defintely has the strong songs on it. "Big City" is a favorite, "Baltimore" is political Prince, and we all secretly love it because we've loved it from the beginning. "Partyup," "Ronnie Talk 2 Russia," "Uptown," "Annie Christian," ""Sexuality," etc etc. The delivery may be different, but the message is the same. "Rock and Roll Love Affair" is a bop, as is "Screwdriver" and "Groovy Potential." I know those are also leftover internet tracks, but they feel right on this record. They found a home. "Black Muse" actually reminds me of some of his jam sessions around that time. The hook is quite similar to "Big City," too. "When She Comes" is the cousin of "Satisfied." Heeyy sugah, "Xtralovable" is fun. The album is much more cohesive than Phase One.

We can't be that tenderheaded of a snowflake because someone has a different opinion about a damn Prince album. Of course, it is the Org, so...

TrivialPursuit said:

RJOrion said:

[Snip - luv4u]

Did I get the wrong room? I thought this was where the adults were speaking. Anyhoo...

I talk to Fenwick regularly off the Org. We've discussed a lot about these four albums, our earlier impressions versus now. He called me about 2 weeks ago out of the blue to discuss One Night Alone Live, just because he'd never heard my thoughts on it, and he had his own to share. Oddly, neither of us got our panties in a twist when we disagreed on something. Funny, right?! Back to the matter at hand...

I never dug PE that much, only a couple of worthy songs on it (for me, "Marz," "Anotherlove," off the top of my head). AOA was a decent attempt at a WB-era comeback of sorts (yes yes, he never left, blah blah blah), but some of this is leftover internet stuff, some is new and lacking the intensity of the Prince we knew. Prince used to say that NewPowerSoul was the hypest and craziest album he'd done to date, and yet it sits there like a picture frame from the Dollar General store, circa 1974. I couldn't tell you the tracklist of either album by heart if my life depended on it.

HnR 1 is medicore at best. It does rely on beats, repeats, rebeats, and is a mish-mash of whoever singing whatever reminiscent of the lower points from Graffiti Bridge's compilation suffering.

HnR 2 defintely has the strong songs on it. "Big City" is a favorite, "Baltimore" is political Prince, and we all secretly love it because we've loved it from the beginning. "Partyup," "Ronnie Talk 2 Russia," "Uptown," "Annie Christian," ""Sexuality," etc etc. The delivery may be different, but the message is the same. "Rock and Roll Love Affair" is a bop, as is "Screwdriver" and "Groovy Potential." I know those are also leftover internet tracks, but they feel right on this record. They found a home. "Black Muse" actually reminds me of some of his jam sessions around that time. The hook is quite similar to "Big City," too. "When She Comes" is the cousin of "Satisfied." Heeyy sugah, "Xtralovable" is fun. The album is much more cohesive than Phase One.

We can't be that tenderheaded of a snowflake because someone has a different opinion about a damn Prince album. Of course, it is the Org, so...

Thanks E!

I appreciate the words. I'm just gonna leave the troll alone. His user history does all the talking for him.

Your comments on NPS are hilarious, (not to mention spot on IMO).


Funny you mention Big City so much. When HnR2 first came out, Big City was actually my favorite song. I still like it alot. The Montreux performance was super fun. It's just that others have eclipsed it over time for me.

I can't even think of phase One as a proper album. It's so inconceivably horrible. It's like he compiled all his worst ideas EVER and put them on one disc.

[Edited 7/28/20 13:52pm]

RJOrion said:[Snip - luv4u]

[Ignore them. Stop antagonizing snip - luv4u]



Back to the thread...

Fenwick said:

Thanks E!

I appreciate the words.

Your comments on NPS are hilarious, (not to mention spot on IMO).

Funny you mention "Big City," so much. When HnR2 first came out, "Big City" was actually my favorite song. I still like it alot. The Montreux performance was super fun. It's just that others have eclipsed it over time for me.

I can't even think of Phase One as a proper album. It's so inconceivably horrible. It's like he compiled all his worst ideas EVER and put them on one disc.

I really love that live performace of "Big City," too. I wish he'd done it on Arsenio if it existed. Sorta like he did with ...shit, what was that song? (Edit: I was thinking of "Turn Me Loose" on Leno. The song never materialized on an album although a radio station in MPLS played a studio version.)

There's a big, fun factor on "Big City." The message is positive, it's upbeat and optimistic. Sort of a "live your best life with the one you love" shindig.

I like "Black Muse" because it's so similar to "Big City." It's that "Wet Dream" and "Wet Dream's Cousin," or "Take Me With U" and "Raspberry Beret" synergy.

[Edited 7/28/20 15:45pm]

RJOrion said:

[Snip - luv4u]

Just for the record, it was 986 words, not including the thread title.

TrivialPursuit said:

Fenwick said:

Thanks E!

I appreciate the words.

Your comments on NPS are hilarious, (not to mention spot on IMO).

Funny you mention "Big City," so much. When HnR2 first came out, "Big City" was actually my favorite song. I still like it alot. The Montreux performance was super fun. It's just that others have eclipsed it over time for me.

I can't even think of Phase One as a proper album. It's so inconceivably horrible. It's like he compiled all his worst ideas EVER and put them on one disc.

I really love that live performace of "Big City," too. I wish he'd done it on Arsenio if it existed. Sorta like he did with ...shit, what was that song?

There's a big, fun factor on "Big City." The message is positive, it's upbeat and optimistic. Sort of a "live your best life with the one you love" shindig.

I like "Black Muse" because it's so similar to "Big City." It's that "Wet Dream" and "Wet Dream's Cousin," or "Take Me With U" and "Raspberry Beret" synergy.

I hope those Montreux gigs get an official release some day soon.

They are so varied, so vibrant and so good.

I agree virtually word for word with the OP's comments on The Gold Standard, Look At Me and Revelation.
.
I still think AOA is a very good album. I love Time (best track on it IMO), Way Back Home / affirmation III, This Could Be Us, Clouds and U Know
.
PE was a disappointment after loving the live stuff with 3EG. Anotherlove is brilliant (irrelevant whether he wrote the lyrics). And I've weirdly got a soft spot for TicTacToe even though I think WTF when I sing along to the chorus about blind people
.
Phase 1 has a couple of moments like 1000 X's & O's and Hardrocklover but a lot of it is not for me.
.
Phase 2 is a great album. Only disappointment at the time was we had half the songs already.
[Edited 7/28/20 14:27pm]

RJOrion said:

[Snip - luv4u]

Look dude.


Whatever you want me to say to go away. Please let me know.

You win. You're right. You're the best. You're like..... mega awesome.


Can you please just leave the thread for those of us who might want to discuss it?

If preciesly no one else is interested in participating, so be it. If the merits of this idea are deemed unworthy of a back and forth by others on the Org, oh well. I'll survive!


But I'd at least like the opportunity to civilly discuss it without having to filter through your incessant barbs disguised as some form of moral/intellectual superiority.


Despite what you may think, you are not hurting my feelings. I require no safe space from the likes of you. Just a mute button.


You are a total stranger on the internet. Before this thread, I didn't even recognize your user ID. Again, please do some soul searching. You could have just ignored this thread. Or said you read it and said "I strongly disagree".

Instead, you posted a two word disparaging remark fit for a 9 year old.


But again, whatever makes you feel better to go away. Please ask and I will gladly provide the precise verbiage you require.

I prefer Hit N' Run, Phase One, to Phase Two. :boxed:

Don't get me wrong, Phase Two has a few classic songs, but it feels like a compilation.

Phase One flows as an album.

Plectrumelectrum is one of his worst albums ever. WHITECAPS is pretty, I suppose. MARZ is okay. The rest of the album is proof to me that there is no God.

Art Official Age is kind of odd. So that obviously makes it good.

dodger said:

I agree virtually word for word with the OP's comments on The Gold Standard, Look At Me and Revelation. . I still think AOA is a very good album. I love Time (best track on it IMO), Way Back Home / affirmation III, This Could Be Us, Clouds and U Know . PE was a disappointment after loving the live stuff with 3EG. Anotherlove is brilliant (irrelevant whether he wrote the lyrics). And I've weirdly got a soft spot for TicTacToe even though I think WTF when I sing along to the chorus about blind people . Phase 1 has a couple of moments like 1000 X's & O's and Hardrocklover but a lot of it is not for me. . Phase 2 is a great album. Only disappointment at the time was we had half the songs already. [Edited 7/28/20 14:27pm]

Hey Dodger!


Thanks for the comments. I think Revelation is possibly the most over-looked song in the cannon.

Your comments about tictactoe are flipping hysterical. The chord progression and vocal melody were surely interesting to me. But I couldn't get past those lyrics!!! Literally Same WTF for me. A total head scratcher!!!

I think PE is the only album of the three that has a chance to grab me again at a later date. I definitely appreciate the songs and the production more than the other two albums. I don't think anything can win me back for AOA and HnR1 - time will tell.

Glad to hear the love for Gold Standard and Look at Me.


Cheers mate.

GirlBrother said:

Plectrumelectrum is one of his worst albums ever. The rest of the album is proof to me that there is no God.

Greatness!!!!!! I think I'll steal that line for HnR1 if you don't mind!!!!!

Fenwick said:

Sharing is caring.

you are so triggered and bothered by comments from an alleged " 9 year old"...literally begging him to leave the thread...so what does that say about you?...if you and Ernestine would have simply ignored the 2 word thoughts of said "9 year old", that would have likely been my final comment of this thread...but you needed reassurance and cosigns to carry on ... if you cant handle criticism, or beliefs that are counter to yours, go hide in a closet and agree with yourself

RJOrion said:

You do know that this is The Org, don't you? :lol:

I think you're in the wrong place if you don't want verbosity.

Chill out.

My opinions on these albums haven't changed since their original releases.

AOA - 6/10
Decent album. Nothing groundbreaking and very much "Prince on autopilot" but not a bad album. Would probably be a 5 out of 10 if not for Clouds. I do like that song.

Plectrum Electrum - 5/10
Again, decent album with one or two standout tracks. Boy Trouble is fucking awful though and I'm not crazy about any song that Hannah sings on because her voice is flatter than a witch's tit.

Hitnrun Phase One - 3/10
Almost complete and utter garbage. I say "almost" because 1000 Hugs & Kisses saves it from that. Everything else on that album is shit though.

Hitnrun Phase Two - 9/10
If not for Baltimore, it would be perfect. In fact, I've long deleted Baltimore from my files so as far as my version of the album goes, it IS perfect. Several classic songs, some of which rank among my all time favourites, make this a true return to form for Prince as far as I'm concerned. Shame that this is his final album but at least he didn't go out with Phase One as his final word.

RJOrion said:

[Snip - luv4u]

[Ignore them. Stop antagonizing snip - luv4u]

EmmaMcG said:

My opinions on these albums haven't changed since their original releases. AOA - 6/10 Decent album. Nothing groundbreaking and very much "Prince on autopilot" but not a bad album. Would probably be a 5 out of 10 if not for Clouds. I do like that song. Plectrum Electrum - 5/10 Again, decent album with one or two standout tracks. Boy Trouble is fucking awful though and I'm not crazy about any song that Hannah sings on because her voice is flatter than a witch's tit. Hitnrun Phase One - 3/10 Almost complete and utter garbage. I say "almost" because 1000 Hugs & Kisses saves it from that. Everything else on that album is shit though. Hitnrun Phase Two - 9/10 If not for Baltimore, it would be perfect. In fact, I've long deleted Baltimore from my files so as far as my version of the album goes, it IS perfect. Several classic songs, some of which rank among my all time favourites, make this a true return to form for Prince as far as I'm concerned. Shame that this is his final album but at least he didn't go out with Phase One as his final word.

Whoah!


Outside of the actual album ranking bit, looks like we are in virtaul lock step agreement on most of the core tracks (both pro and con).

You mentioned Clouds on AOA. That's one of the two songs I like. How do you feel about Gold Standard?


And yes - in total agreement that Baltimore is the only stain on a tremendous piece of artistry stem to stern! So glad he went out on a master piece......

dodger said:

I love... Way Back Home / affirmation III

I did a mix of those two songs into one sllightly longer song. It turned out really well. I also took the girl talking about of "Clouds" and, to me, it's better.

Fenwick said:

The Gold Standard always felt out of place on that album for me. I like the song but I don't think it belongs on AOA. Tone down some of the effects and it could be a good opener for Hitnrun Phase Two. In fact, you could even rename the album The Gold Standard so as to distance it from Phase One.

EmmaMcG said:

[I]t could be a good opener for Hitnrun Phase Two. In fact, you could even rename the album The Gold Standard...

How dare you, madam!

I must have missed the interpersonal conflicts prior to this thread, because I didn't get how quieckly the thread went South. With all that is going on in the world and even on the org I don't get why the OP is so triggereing. I stand by this even if I totally disagree with part of it. Overall, I liked the variety of the last 4 albums, and think that AOA and HnR2 showed promise for his future if there would have been one.

Plectum was uneven and rather mediocre except for a few songs. It is hard to dismiss the Plectum era given how good much of the material was when it was in concert.

AOA - It is perhaps my favorite post-80s album. It is definitely the Prince album I played the most since Gold was released. I think it reflected the work of a artist who was maturing emotionally, which made it special to me.

HnR1 - A train wreck that still had some good songs, and the bad songs are so bad that they are almost good in some cheese Mac way.

HnR2 - Despite it being a complilation in some ways, I think it coheres really well as a fully realized album. It is his second best studio album this century IMO. The horn arrangements are great. Totally agree with your assessment of most of the songs. I actually cried when I heard Revelation for the first time, which was shortly after he died. Such a brilliant song that is unique in his discography.

I'd assume RJorion was having a bad day but that, besides this, his point was that if you don't have something particularly insightful or original to say about an album, if it's just a matter of expressing a personal opinion that is of little interest to anyone and that, before the internet, was quickly silenced, it's better to keep it for yourself.
This might be the expression of a very real difference of approach between different people regarding the internet in general and the Org in particular. Some of us believe it would be better for the Org to be a forum for elite reviewers, analysts and other knowledgeable people to discuss serious topics seriously, and that regular people are better off reading it than contributing. Others believe that this should be an open space for anyone to say anything because it's their prerogative and because they enjoy reading everyone's opinion a'and debating with everyone even if there are few real arguments in the debate.
Vertical vs. Horizontal. Elitism vs. Democratic discussion. Should the Org be an assembly of experts conferring or a bar where anyone can come and discuss Prince over a beer?
I don't have an answer for this. But until there are 2 distinct boards, this will always be s source of tension between members.

EmmaMcG said:

Fenwick said:

The Gold Standard always felt out of place on that album for me. I like the song but I don't think it belongs on AOA. Tone down some of the effects and it could be a good opener for Hitnrun Phase Two. In fact, you could even rename the album The Gold Standard so as to distance it from Phase One.

Hmmmm. A very interesting idea.

I would gladly replace Baltimore with many a song. As you say, the digitally effected aspects of the loop in the intro would most definitely need to be altered to something far more organic in nature. But that would surely make it even more classic.