Prince Albums Thread

SLAUGHTERHOUSE I got way late and at a time I wasn't feeling very Princely so I did one or two listens and wasn't feeling it. Today it sounds at least pretty fresh/weird compared to say RAVE.....it's kind of a "Black Album II" vibe, if Prince were the sort to do "sequel" lps in the modern hip-hop manner, that would have been a good title for it. That raw nasty off the cuff feeling dirty funk feel.

 

I know this is an album thread, but there were a lot of non-album releases in the 00's. One great example is a George Clinton song he sent to Prince, who got to p(ee) all over it and sent it back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb0QVZmX_38

 

How about a real unpopular opinion: the best songs of Chocolate Invasion and Slaughterhouse would make a good album, better than Rainbow Children, One Nite Alone, NEWS, Musicology. I love Brian's comparison to the Black Album.

 

Which songs, then?

 

I would be interested in seeing your track list for this....

 

I compiled a 12 track album. Some longer songs could use some editing (which I don't say often about Prince songs, Computer Blue & Automatic are top 10 recordings for me)

1. S&M Groove
2. 2045 Radical Man
3. When Eye Lay My hands On U
4. Vavoom
5. Props 'n' Pounds
6. Silicon
7. Van Gogh *
8. Judas Smile
9. Supercute
10. My Medallion
11. When Will We B Paid? *
12. U Make My Sun Shine

* I added two non-lp tracks from this period

I like the funky bass, heavy use of synths, it's a headphones album

 

Hmmmm....that looks like it could flow really well.

 

3121 (2006), NPG/Universal



Track listing:

1. 3121
2. Lolita
3. Te Amo Corazón
4. Black Sweat
5. Incense and Candles
6. Love
7. Satisfied
8. Fury
9. The Word
10. Beautiful, Loved and Blessed
11. The Dance
12. Get On the Boat

Chart performance:

• #1 on Billboard 200
• #1 on Swiss Albums
• #9 on UK Albums

Certifications:

• Switzerland: Gold (15,000)
• UK: Silver (60,000)
• US: Gold (500,000)

This was not only Prince's first number one album since 1989's Batman, but it was his first album ever to debut at number one.
I couldn't tell you why.
I guess I'm kind of glad it knocked the High School Musical soundtrack off the top spot on Billboard, but aside from the chart success and a re-recorded version of The Dance, 3121 doesn't give me much to talk about on its own. I remember having this album on CD back in the day and liking the title track. However, that's all I can say in the album's favor. It's not even that the album is bad, though Incense and Candles didn't do anything for me. It's just that the majority of the album is unmemorable.
Honestly, the more interesting angle is the point this album marked in Prince's career.
3121 was certified Gold in the United States. That is the lowest certification the RIAA gives and no Prince album since has come close, not even his posthumous releases. I'm certain there were other factors at play, but the truth is that Prince had simply just stopped having hit singles by that point. He would continue to have charting albums, sure, but not so much singles. Blame it on the feud with Warner Bros. or the fact that he was releasing a lot of stuff exclusively on his website. Whatever the case, it's not a good sign when his last Top 40 hit in the US was the re-issue of 1999.
But what do you think of 3121?
Do you have any controversial opinions? Would you recommend it with or without a caveat?

 

3121 is one of my favorite later period Prince albums. It would be the first Prince album post-2000 I would recommend. Musicology was underwhelming, but this one felt like a much stronger return to the mainstream. I remember hearing the album the first time, driving home after a long day at work. “Love” was the standout track that night and it still is now.

And then there’s “Fury”. The album mix is a little sedated after the knowledge of the SNL performance. At least the video version included backing vocals not found in the album mix, but still way too low in the mix. There is still a lot of power in that track.

The continuous high pitched whine on “Black Sweat” slightly degrades an otherwise tight track. I wonder what the track would sound like without it. Still a great track.

It was great to finally get this on vinyl as the grooves are deep and rich. It is top notch Prince? No. But it’s pretty close.

 

There is an acoustic version of "Love" that I much prefer to the album version. It was originally streamed but also is available on a digital compilation on streaming sites.

 

3121 is my favorite Prince album of the 00's. It's nice and I like it. Especially the fact there is no bad song on there (Musicology had the awful Life Of The Party and too much bland songs)

On the other hand, Musicology for me has two standout tracks that are better than any song on 3121 (the title track and Reflection, which is even better as an acoustic versionplayed together with Wendy!! on a tv show)

 

While I appreciate the many Prince albums he put effort into releasing, I also understood Warner Bros had a point about the market saturation. I don’t get why Prince wanted to constantly record music with less quality and the standard of excellence we were used to for many years. By taking a little more more time with his craft, he could have easily continued to be more commercially successful as he has in the early 90’s and earlier. Maybe he just didn’t care anymore about having either albums or singles that were hits, and felt his legacy was already secure?

 

I dug the title track a LOT---had that weird brittle avant Camille feel that could have fit in on SIGN O THE TIMES....and Lolita was a fun bouncy pop tune that invited repeated listens and stuck with me....but the rest of it in my maybe 7-10 listens over the years never stood out as anything more than "middling quality Prince by numbers" the kind of thing that felt like he could and did take five hours from nothing to mixed track....

 

I like 3121 better than Musicology. It’s more daring, fun and weird. Variety is the name of the game. Prince throws out a little bit of everything (a la Diamonds & Pearls) and makes it all flow nicely. My favorites: 3121 (sort of Camille meets Days of Wild), Love, Fury, The Word and Get On The Boat (a greatly underrated jam). It’s a very good album but surely no masterpiece. Why did it debut at number 1? A few reasons: Universal backing it, Prince’s revived status after Musicology Tour and R&R HoF induction, superb SNL performance.

 

I actually think 3121 is possibly the best album Prince made since Emancipation.

I can't say that for sure because there are missteps - "Te Amo Corazón" (which I believe was actually a single, or at least promoted with a video), "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" and "The Dance" are middling, lightweight trifles, and the rap doesn't work in "Incense and Candles." That's a third of the album.

But the other two-thirds are rock solid: "Black Sweat" is a great single, and taken with the title track, "Love," and "The Word," Prince matches the best, contemporary hitmakers at their own game. It's interesting because he also goes retro on "Satisfied" and "Get on the Boat," two highlights that actually presage the old-school R&B that would soon return to the charts via Amy Winehouse and Adele's first hits, not to mention other artists like Sharon Jones who finally got her due.

This is jumping ahead, but Prince put out another album a year later, and for a while I merged the two. I only liked three tracks from Planet Earth: "The One U Wanna C," "Guitar" and "Chelsea Rodgers," and along with his cover of "A Case of U" (it came out on the Joni Mitchell tribute album that was released in 2007 and I didn't realize Prince had already released it on his own album in 2002), I put them in while taking out the four tracks I didn't like. I enjoyed the hell out of that album and thought he had it in him to make another great one had he curated his output a little more.

 

While I'm not as big of a fan of it as I am of Musicology. I don't mind it. I think Black Sweat is one of Prince's best later songs

 

3121 is a solid album, Prince's mid to late-2000's work didn't really pop up on my radar much until I heard the live version of "Fury" and decided to check out this album in full. The title track is the return of Camille and the odd quirkiness I love when Prince goes into it, and there are some really nice ideas throughout the album.

 

I forgot to single out "Black Sweat" as a great standout track on 3121, but of course it was. Ferocious and fresh. I think maybe I had it as a single pre-album? For whatever reason I don't associate it with the rest of the lps vibe.

 

3121 is a great album, I would put it up there in amongst his very best albums.

I like Lotus flower even more and a number of Lotusflower tracks were recorded during the same sessions some 3121 tracks were recorded.

I would love to hear some more 2006 -2009 outtakes, The stuff on the deliverance ep was great and from this period also.

3121, Black Sweat, Love, Fury, The Word. All great songs.

I would say if you really do like 3121 try and get a copy of Milk and Honey. This is the album that he produced for Tamar and was due to come out around the same time but got cancelled. A few did get released in Japan so it was boot legged in perfect quality. It has a very similar vibe to 3121 but is more poppy. So it's kind of like Vanity 6 to 1999.

 

Planet Earth (2007), NPG/Columbia



Track listing:

1. Planet Earth
2. Guitar
3. Somewhere Here on Earth
4. The One U Wanna C
5. Future Baby Mama
6. Mr. Goodnight
7. All the Midnights in the World
8. Chelsea Rodgers
9. Lion of Judah
10. Resolution

Chart performance:

• #1 on Swiss Albums

Certifications:

• Switzerland: Gold (15,000)

I remember nothing about this album, so I'll just skip to the questions.
Do you have any unpopular opinions on this album?
Would you recommend it with or without a caveat?

 

After the great Musicology / 3121 punch (download albums aside) one would have expected a more lasting return to form. This was another forgettable album, with little to remember . I only go back to Chelsea Rodgers one in a while

 

I see 3121 Planet Earth and Lotusflower as a sort of Trilogy.

Planet Earth is my least favourite of the 3 albums but I still find it enjoyable, especially the first 4 songs.

By far my favourite song on the album is The One U Wanna C. It's one of those great joyous pop songs he did so well. Really reminds me of something he might have recorded in the mid 1980's and is my favourite song from the 3 albums.

Resolution generally gets criticized amongst his fans but I think it's an uplifting song, the lyrics are a bit dodgy though

I also have a soft spot for All The Midnights. Another throwback to his mid 1980's work.

 

I see this album as a companion to Prince’s London residency, thus jangly guitar rock and pop. A kind of tribute to classic English rock. Surprisingly funk free. Not among my top Prince albums. It has a spotty feel to me, however Somewhere Here On Earth is sublime, the guitar solo on PE (a great song) is on fire, and Resolution is simple and perfect, both the message and the music.

 

I kind of agree with this, and I remember some local Chicago critics being down on it too, but I see a lot of reviews elsewhere that hold this up as another fine album, one that more or less continued the "comeback."

I really couldn't get into it myself, a lot of it just isn't memorable. But "Chelsea Rodgers" is a damn fine track, and I'll throw in "The One U Wanna C" and "Guitar" too. They don't break new ground, they're just examples of Prince coming up with very good, memorable tracks that play up to his strengths.

I'll give 3121 a B+ but Planet Earth is like a B-.

 

Planet Earth is the best late-period Prince album for me. It covers all the bases, and pretty much all the songs are good or even great. My favorites are "Resolution" and "The One U Wanna C" and "Chelea Rodgers."