I’m sorry but TRC is just not very good. Simply stated, it’s like Prince trying

to make Jazz and not Prince being Prince. TRC reminds me of ATWIAD, like Prince

just started listening to the Beetles and made Sergeant Pepper inspired pop

songs without really letting the sound sink down to the bone. Compare a track

like “ATWIAD” with the real deal “I Could Never Talk the Place of Your Man” and

you see what I’m saying. One sounds like a half-digested influence regurgitated

and the other sounds like Prince with traces of the Beetles. It’s like the

rapping on Diamonds and Pearls and Symbol, Prince raps without really

understanding what rap is all about. P. ends up sounding like a naïve

interpreter of something he just does not really get. Prince’s busy and

impatient mind is always absorbing new and different forms of music but

sometimes the process of absorption is incomplete. TRC liked other failed

attempts to diversify, is stuck in this stage of incompletion. The funk songs

are weak (1+1+1 sounds like a watered down version of Erotic City and the work

is completely indistinct, the James Brown equivalent of Prince doing Sly on

“Make Your Mama Happy”). The title track is boring and without real

feeling. You think is Jazz? Please, this is the shell of jazz, hollow, empty,

and soulless. “Mellow” and “Muse 2 the Pharaoh” are aight but what’s new here?

“Everywhere” and the first half of “Last December” fall flat. And “Face Down”

is awful; I can’t even listen to that song anymore. The “meaning” connecting

the songs is inchoate and insulated and alienating and the music is stale. Fans

say that this record is the most “experimental” Prince music he has recorded?

No, I just can’t agree with that. This music is regressive and empty.

Experimental Prince (The entire Black Album, most of Lovesexy, most of 1999,

Computer Blue, most of Dirty Mind, about a third of Sign of the Times) has edge

and vitality, two things the dismal TRC lacks. One of the reasons Musicology is

so solid is because P. all the influences that P is working with are deep down

there, twisted up in his soul and part of the man. On TRC P. is reaching and it

shows. What am I missing folks?

You're gonna get it for this one. The Org is swarming with TRC fans. It's scary.

CORRECTION: "FACE DOWN" should read "FAMILY NAME" and while I'm typing might I say damn that songs sucks.

All of TRC sucks.

see, it's all about opinions, and IM, Rainbow Children is a solid effort. Even though the religious psycho babble drives me nuts, MUSICALLY it was the 1st album he's done in years that made me think "maybe he HAS still got it."

I like it when he tries new grooves, I really do and for MY ears, TRC works

It's a good album to listen to if you have food poisoning and need to vomit.

EvilWhiteMale said:

you are cute

17ways69days said:

Hard to be credible when you spell The Beatles wrong. (The Beetles?) Prince's understanding of music (rap and jazz included) is more deep and wide than you ugive him credit for. The man could hang musically with Miles Davis and also with Chuck D or Dougie Fresh. (if you don't believe in Prince's rapping please listen to Pussy Control.

So I feel you on not liking The Rainbow Children, but your reasoning rings hollow.

To each his own. I enjoy TRC, and I enjoy the albums that spun from TRC's sound even more (NEWS and XPectation). It all sounded like nothing Prince had recorded before. And that's what impresses me.

EvilWhiteMale said:

Can you hear me laughing wherever you are?!!!!!
[This message was edited Sun Apr 11 15:50:44 2004 by hilton02895]

Doozer said:

u r right..I like the fact that P is diverse and doesnt sound the same from album to album. Some of these donkeys on here want him to sing Computer Blue 50 million different ways but thank god he has moved on from that and is doing something different now. But I guess people will always whine and stomp and jump up and down when others dont stoop down to wallow in their hate

Well, I disagree. I love TRC.

You want to know what your missing?

Musicianship. Groove. Great production.

TRC, News, and Xpectations have it by the bucketload.

It's not weak. I think it's difficult, annoying and frustrating in some places. But I don't think it's weak. Give it some time...it may never be one of your favorite Prince albums, but you'll come back to it.

EvilWhiteMale said:

You are bad.




Personally I like TRC, with a few minor exceptions due to lyrics that make my skin crawl a bit.

endorphin74 said:

Thanks, I try.

hilton02895 said:

Hold on, let me open a window....













....ah, there it is.

Doozer said:

But is that always good? He's never done a bluegrass album either.

What the hell does that have to do with TRC?

I'm with you on Prince trying to make jazz and just not sounding like Prince in some songs though.

Anyway, here's my personal review of TRC....All scores out of a possible 5.

Rainbow Children-Meandering jazz that never really goes anywhere to justify its length. Darth Vader playing the part of lead vocals and a shrill voice in the chorus that feels like q tips are stabbing my ears doesn't help either. 1/2

Muse 2 The Pharaoh-More dull jazz that doesn't really excite or inspire. Decent but completely forgettable.

Digital Garden-Wow! Prince's vocal use in this song is really unique and dreamy. This song's so gorgeously mystical, but I only wish it could've gone on longer. 1/2

The Work Pt. 1-Dreadfully outdated James Brown ripoff. 1/2

Everywhere-Decent melody, but those female vocals sound annoying and forcefully preachy. Not charming.

The Sensual Everafter-A beautiful continuation of the mystical sounds of Digital Garden. This song feels like being carried away in the current of a magic river.

Mellow-A little too mellow sounding. Could've benefitted from more edgy variation in its sound. 1/2

1+1+1=3-Greatly enjoyable funk with great musicianship behind it. Sounds crisply played and inspired.

Wedding Feast-A waste of time. Nothing really to this at all. 1/2

She Loves Me 4 Me-A beautiful love ballad where its simplicity is actually its strength. Short, but romantic and melodic.

Family Name-The computer voice goes on just a little too long, but this is a wonderful dark rock song. Its angry sounding guitar and frustrated Prince vocal work is fantastic stuff. Great lyrics too.

The Everlasting Now-Wildly energetic and fun. I love the way Prince pokes some fun at himself here while still being perceptive.

Last December-An emotionally charged ballad pulled off very effectively. The choir effect in the chorus doesn't really do it for me the way it did in a song like 7, but the guitar in the last half of this song is brilliant. A great closer to the album. 1/2

My overall score:

It's adventurous and passionate, with a memorable mix of fresh sounding, musically and lyrically inspired songs mired slightly by some meandering, flat sounds found mostly in the first half of the album.

When TRC shines, it really does shine. It's just too bad that what could've been one of his greatest albums gets bogged down by some "jazz by numbers" sounding songs and an overall theme that's expressed in a somewhat scizhophrenic way. Best heard with a very, very open mind.

[This message was edited Sun Apr 11 17:03:32 2004 by PurpleKnight]

Anxiety said:

not really,its the only Prince album i never go back to

i have to agree. Although I do think the Last December and She Loves Me 4 Me are fantastic tracks. You have to wade through a lot of murky nonsense to get to the few good moments.

I beg to differ!
TRC is great to me

EvilWhiteMale said:

Dude, I GUARANTEE you that if he ever does come out with a bluegrass album, it'll be one of my favorites!!!

I beg to differ TRC is one of My Favorites and a BIG WINNER for Prince.I say it's a Masterpiece actually.

Are you kiddin'? TRC is one of the best albums! Whether or not you agree with the message you have to admit the music is still slammin'. I love, love that album, everything about it came out so perfect. Weak? Please RAVE is weak. Followed by NPS.
[This message was edited Sun Apr 11 21:24:19 2004 by CocoSweet]

EvilWhiteMale said:

No, I'm not saying it is always good..."Graffiti Bridge" (the song) didn't sound like anything he'd ever recorded, and I think it was a-w-f-u-l. I'm saying that I enjoy the TRC "sound," which carried over into NEWS and XPectation. Musically, it's the most impressed I've been with P in years.

theblueangel said:

Take away the trippy production and hippy-dippy lyrics of 'Play In The Sunshine', and it sounds like bluegrass, to me. I could sooooo hear the music being played on a banjo.

SKYWALKER: Silly mistake on the Beatles. But if that's all it takes to loose credibility

so be it. As for my reasoning ringing hollow, break it down and tell me why. I like

“Pussy Control” bunches and Prince’s “rap” on that track is aight but Prince can’t hang

with Chuck D. and Doug E. Fresh’s real claim to fame has nothing to do with his rapping

ability which is sub-par anyway. Listen to TRC and then A Love Supreme or Sketches

off Spain or Monk’s Blues and, while this somewhat unfair, I think you will come to the

conclusion that TRC is vapid by comparison. Listen to Pope, The Flow, and yes even P’s

rap on Pussy Control and then any song on Illmatic or Ready to Die or Paid in Full and

again you will see the Prince is missing something crucial. I think Prince’s ability to

combine different style of music all while retaining his own distinct sound is truly

astounding but sometimes he falls way off the mark and while Curtis, James, and Sly are

all deeply lodged in his soul, he has yet to completely jive with jazz and he is far, far

away from getting rap.

Well, we all can't have great taste...

TRC is easily in my top 5 Prince CD's (don't ask what I'd take off)
Musically, it's brilliant. I mean, throw on some headphones and
there is so much going on. Lyrically, it's deep and that turns alot
of ppl off. This is truly a masterpiece, and will be regarded in that
light for eternity.

I should have asked ya’ll how much jazz you listen to. I would not be the least bit

surprised if most of the fans that are feeling TRC are coming at without a real Jazz based

referent point. Without the horns of M. Davis, Monk’s piano, and the drums of M. Roach

echoing through the mind and soul TRC is a very different record. Possibly a better

record? I don’t know, I can’t listen to it without that putting it into a certain context.

Placing Prince in any context is dangerous and often times, in the case of Prince, context

blinds you from the brilliance and originality of the music. But listening to TRC with a

Prince-centric context or without any sort of real familiarity with Jazz is going to, in my

opinion, create a warped impression about the quality of the music.