Okay, here's a review of a Prince album that I found on the internet. I've deleted all the obvious clues and references to the album (song titles, etc.).

Try and guess which album is being reviewed and then post another (censored) review of an album and see if other Orgers can guess which album your quoted review refers to. (If you can't guess mine, then just post a new review anyway).

Here's mine;

Just when you least expected it, Prince, of all people, has reemerged on the music scene. First, it was announced that ***** had signed a ***** with ***** (a record rumored to feature a collaboration between *****. Huh?) Then ***** (the ***** that ***** Prince) rushes out a ***** called ***** under the old ***** *****. Suddenly it's beginning to feel like 1984 instead of *****.

The songs on ***** were written ***** and recorded in Minnesota, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo. The set contains an ***** remix of "*****" first heard in the movie and soundtrack *****, and a few of the most ***** tracks from the ***** sessions. Surreptitious liner notes state that the ***** only which makes ***** decision to release the tracks ***** all the more questionable.

Musically the album is a mish-mash of styles veering from pure pop to funk to jazz. The apparent ease with which Prince dances from one style to the other, sometimes in mid-song, is astonishing but in the end nothing on the album compares with the music that he actually released during *****.

The best of the lot is probably "*****" which sounds a little like a fusion of James Brown and Smokey Robinson. Its tightly orchestrated horn lines bounce off of the playful vocals to make for some pleasant and distracting ear candy. Another stand out track is "*****" -- an eerily beautiful ballad in the "Most Beautiful Girl in the World" vein that demonstrates what a hopeless romantic Prince was during this period. The remainder are songs that thrash around with typical Prince energy without any real conviction or purpose.

***** suffers from the lack of a cohesive musical theme, something omnipresent on Prince's best albums. The music is always interesting and sometimes arresting, but overall the album sounds like what it is, a series of songs that were forgotten or discarded long ago by their creator.

The Vault?

MsSmartypants said:

Correct!

http://www.popmatters.com...ault.shtml

Your turn.

Haystack said:

Thanks!

You do it again.

'This really is a 30 minute tour-de-force. It has the lot - ballads, dance tracks, funk work-outs etc. It also very *****! It should sound dated, given the instrumentation, but these songs are so,so good. By far Prince's most satisfying album. I have a collection of 900+ CDs which are mostly of the indie/alternative variety, but this album sits proudly in the Top 10!! Treat yourself to one of the most perfect albums ever!!'

Haystack said:

New Power Soul?

Dirty Mind?

SOTT or Parade

It is Dirty Mind...review taken from amazon.co.uk

'While painting a picture dark enough for ***** in the late *****, this is Prince's most cohesive work since *****. Spooky basslines and keyboards provide the gloom, while the paranoia of nervy shrieks of guitars and brass is kept on a jangling edge with stop/start editing.
Then, by refusing to noodle around being creative, it reminds us why Prince is special: instinctive funk and ballads, tweaked above the pack by pitching in snatches of ideas that nag away but never get fully formed enough to become obstructive. *****,***** and *****, in particular, treat everything as a rhythm device to build up relentless dance grooves, and the love songs are unashamed in their seduction, feeling no need to justify themselves elsewhere. Maybe its throwaway quality will irritate fans of his recent contrived ramblings, but keeping it simple is how Prince functions best.'

...pretty easy this one.

r1ghteousone said:

Symbol?

marian said:

Thats The Batman album review from Q magazine,1989.