dvduser6

This was definitely his high point. It was a perfect representation of every musical style he could deliver, and he did it in spades here.

nothingfails

Well, SO'TT was pretty much the cap on his classic period, but it's not like he's totally slacked in the last 20 years. Lovesexy was quite good, as was The Gold Experience, Graffiti Bridge and even 3121.

Try not to listen to the new albums in context compared to the 80's stuff and you might enjoy them better. It's just like when people say Paul McCartney hasn't recorded anything worthwhile in eons when they're comparing every album he does to Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper.

cdollaz

Yeah, Sign Of The Times may be his last great album, but definitely not his last good one.

Supermallet

Not even his last very good one.

nothingfails

this is similar to the thread I started. SOTT is to Prince what Scary Monsters is to Bowie or Tattoo You is to The Stones, the last album people consider "great" even tho in many cases there are some masterpiece albums to follow that just don't get the same consensus vote.

Supermallet

I decided not to bother with trying to get tickets for the LA shows, but I did join his new fan club, which, aside from letting me get all three of the new albums early, promises offers of VIP tickets to shows and other goodies. So hopefully that ends up being worth it.

vili

I took a look, and decided to give the site the Worst Interface of the Month Award. No, they have to do more (and tell me more) before I part from my $77 (or is it $84, if I can't refuse the "free" t-shirt with a $7 shipping to Europe?).

Suprmallet, once you are logged in, does the site let you order the new albums on a CD? What else is in there?

Supermallet

The site lets you download the three albums in MP3 or WAV format. I also found some interesting looking video clips of him performing live, along with pictures. I didn't click around much, because I'm still at work, but yeah, the interface is complete crap. I'll report back when I find out more. And you can refuse the free shirt if you want to.

JeffTheAlpaca

LOtUSFLOW3R is selling for around $22-$25.99 at ebay plus the added fee for shipping and people are snatching it up.

Maybe foreign buyers are doing all the buying?

I want to order it online at target but you have to pay $2.99 for shipping and $1.31 for sales tax.

Supermallet

OK, I clicked around for a while on the site, but it's so slow, and the UI is so poor, that all I could get were the album downloads and the aforementioned videos/pics. As far as the albums go, I'm liking the music on Lotusflow3r, it's got a dirty groove. Some of the tracks feel too tossed off, though. Prince can do better than this. I wasn't a huge fan of Planet Earth, but I loved 3121.

Mplsound purposefully recalls the sounds of his Revolution heyday, but often with processed vocals and less than interesting music. I would say that by using such recognizable percussion samples from his 1982-1986 songs, he's really highlighting how much worse this album is than those amazing ones. Compare this to something like Cinammon Girl from Musicology, which recalled his glory days without resorting to actually taking sounds from it, and happened to be a great song to boot.

I didn't even listen to his protege's album yet, I don't have terribly high hopes. As for the Prince albums, as with any of his works, there's a few songs here and there that remind us why we love him ("Here" seemed especially nice on Mplsound, and the guitar tone on Lotusflow3r is killer on almost every song), but these albums feel like he's squandering the goodwill he garnered with Musicology and 3121, which are looking more and more like classic Prince as he releases more music.

At this point, if Prince really wanted to recall his prime period, and in the process storm up the charts once again, he needs to work with WB on remastering his back catalog and offering bonus discs with unreleased material from the corresponding period. Hell, given how prolific he is, maybe two bonus discs. They could also recreate the complete running order for the 3-disc set that Sign O' The Times was originally meant to be, as well as expanding Parade to the double album it was meant to be. But as far as new music goes, I think Prince needs to evaluate why Musicology and 3121 worked so well and reapply those lessons. If this were drastically different from his other work, I wouldn't complain, because at least he'd be trying something new. But this is nothing new for him. He's just coasting at this point, and it shows.

Edit: OK, listening a little more, "No More Candy 4 U" is pretty awesome. Actually feels like it could have been an outtake from Sign O' The Times (not that it's an instant classic, but it has a jaunty party vibe that would have fit well on that album).

The Infidel

USA Today gave it a pretty solid review:

Prince likes defying conventions, and this time he's doing it with a 3-D sonic assault. He strikes out in several creative directions on a trio of new albums — the rock-guitar-fueled LOtUSFLOW3R (* * * ½ out of four), electronic-infused MPLSoUND (* * *) and pop-flavored Elixer, featuring protégé Bria Valente (* *).

The albums are available today as free downloads to fans who pay the $77 annual membership fee for his new LotusFlow3r.com website, marking Prince's official return to cyberspace since shutting down his pioneering NPG Music Club in 2006. The three discs will be sold exclusively at Target starting Sunday in an $11.98 bundle.

This isn't the first time the major-label-averse artist has bypassed traditional retail. He gave away 2007's Planet Earth as an insert in the U.K. national newspaper The Mail. Ticket buyers for 2004's Musicology tour got copies of that album with their purchase.

The new records are a bargain both in terms of the nearly three hours of listening time and audio treasures. LOtUSFLOW3R is loaded with rip-roaring guitar riffs and booty-agitating grooves as he explores love, politics and love's politics. Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful is an orgiastic funk workout, while the hypnotic Colonized Mind and anthemic Dreamer share his worldviews.

MPLSoUND finds Prince revisiting the synth vibe of the '80s with his outsize ego intact on tracks like (There'll Never B) Another Like Me and Ol' Skool Company, which reunites some of his Minneapolis cohorts. The sly Valentina, bouncy Q-Tip-assisted Chocolate Box and wicked No More Candy 4 U also stand out.

Prince has toned down his music's Dirty Mind raunchiness since becoming a Jehovah's Witness in 2001. Still, the pop-lite Elixer, showcasing Valente's sensual yet indistinct vocals, could have really used a whiff of Prince's old Do Me Baby spice. Though there are a few tantalizing moments, the overall effect is more tepid than torrid — even with Prince producing and playing guitar.

Taken together, the three albums confirm that the eccentric genius still has his creative passion. And even if everything he tries doesn't hit a high note, it's still a pleasure to hear the Purple One work out.

nothingfails

it leaked today. Sampling MPLSOUND is like vintage Prince, I hear some Controversy on Chocolate Box while a few other songs would've been at home on Sign O' The Times

DJLinus

Just a heads-up that Prince will be performing on the Tonight Show tonight. It'll be his first of three nights in a row on that show.

fsubruce

I just picked this up this morning. The local Target had approx. 100 copies on one of the end displays near the registers. The packaging is minimal: three CDs in a basic cardboard foldout package with no booklet or liner notes. But still a great deal for $11.98. So far I've only listened to the Mplsound disc...some excellent tracks, very reminiscent of his '80s sound, plus some filler.

Supermallet

Anyone go to the shows last night? I couldn't go (which is fine because the Elton John/Billy Joel was excellent), but was curious what he played.

auto

lame...

nothingfails

I agree with the last sentence, Planet Earth had moments (such as Guitar and the long-awaited Wendy and Lisa reunion on The 1 U Wanna C) but most of it was disposable but 3121 was definitely on a shortlist of best Prince albums after 1992 IMO. Lotus isn't a bad Prince album, but with three listens, there's maybe two songs I really can consider a fave.

I loved MPLS on first listen, probably because of the return to the SOTT drum machines and everything, but on repeated listenings and the "holy crap, this sounds like something he would've done in 1987" thing wears thin and it becomes more evident that the album isn't that great and he was masking the material with that sound knowing that the gimmick of sounding like Sign O' The Times leftovers would make

I still haven't listened to Elixer yet... I will eventually, but with the other 2 Prince albums and the new Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys albums plus some other personal things going on with me (just had a friend pass away and had a huge falling out with another friend), I'll give that one a fair listen in the future.

ericn101

The packaging sure looked underwhelming, its basiclly an envelope. Kinda like the old cardstock cd singles. Its hard to spend 12 bucks, when you can download it off the web and put it in a paper envelope yourself. The only reason I buy music at retail stores anymore, is to get something nice, such as packaging or presentation. Otherwise I'll just burn it.

calhoun07

That's kind of how I feel too. I went to Target today to pick it up, and was very underwhelmed by the packaging. I realize it's only twelve dollars for three CDs, but I guess I was expecting something a bit more nice to look at.

I may still buy it. Four dollars per CD isn't bad, and its not much more than downloading it (unless you are downloading it for free illegally...I typically download my music from Russian sites, which are completely legal, just frowned on by the the RIAA for some asinine reason) so I may break down and buy it. I was waiting to hear some reviews on it.

macnorton

The packaging could have used three changes and it would have been fine:

1. Move the opening for disc one to the left side
2. Move the opening for disc two to the top or bottom
3. Move the opening for disc three to the right side

That way all the disc can come out cleanly.

That aside...awesome set of records! I am almost done with MPLSOUND and that is 80's Prince all the way. If you don't either smile or shake your ass, something is wrong.

Lotusflow3r is closer to the Musicology stuff, which is equally excellent. Much slower and more "music" based (meaning you hear more of what is going on, as opposed to all the sounds being in your face like on MPLSOUND)

I have only sampled Bria's disc but I did enjoy what I heard. However it is nothing fancy...hot girl with decent voice produced by a guy who knows what he is doing.

kurupt

I like both albums, but based on early listens, MPLSOUND will get more play from me. Chocolate Box is pretty great (nice verse by Q-Tip, by the way) and Dance 4 Me sounds like 80's Prince mixed with Zapp and Roger. Not listened to Elixer yet.

Peep

Haha. So you consider paying for pirated music somehow "legal". It's frowned upon by the RIAA because it is not legal.

That being said, I have no interest is discussing the morality of pirating music.

As for the Prince release, I am also underwhelmed by the packaging.

hdtv00

Sadly I'm underwhelmed by the content. Not digging it at all really. The only track I even like really is Colonized Mind.

calhoun07

Everything I read online says those sites are legal in Russia, so you may want to check again. They are backed by the equivalent of the RIAA in Russia. Just because the RIAA doesn't get a cut of their profits doesn't make me lose a bit of sleep. I don't consider it any more wrong than buying region two DVDs from the UK or Europe or importing CDs from other countries.

Interestingly, the RIAA dropped copyright infringement charges against allofmp3.com in May 2008. Because there was NO CASE to be had against them. Closing them down was a political move, pure and simple.

The whole case against them is an example of EVERYTHING that's wrong with the music industry and why they are failing so badly. But that doesn't make those sites illegal.

Chuck Finlay

I will probably be picking this up...it is a good deal for the price....and who doesn't love Prince!!