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Folks are way overselling this. But it shouldn’t be undersold, either. My short version: it’s a solid effort that definitely sounds more inspired and more like the Prince we know and love than anything we’ve heard since at least TRC and Musicology (both albums I’m good with, the former more than the latter of course). At the same time, it suffers from a lot of the same stuff that everything by Prince suffers from at this point: terrible lyrics, half-baked concepts, mediocre production, and too much effort to sound relevant/current. I can definitely hear analogies to Rave in terms of slotting in obligatory stuff - people forget that production values aside, Rave actually had a lot of good shit - but I do think he’s shooting at a slightly higher level here. A bit less patronizing, a bit more directed to his fan base. Don’t usually grade records, but I’d probably give it a B, maybe a B-, which in my legend is “good; better than average but not great.”
My track by track:
Art Official Cage - I wanted to like this song, but it almost made me not listen to the album. Shoots for the eclecticism of Thunder or Rock n Roll’s Alive…, but winds up with something pretty smelly. And then he throws an awful rap on there. And that starting beat? That shit’s worse than “Fall In Love Tonight” (which was cringe-worthy) … I don’t think I could play that for anyone else with a straight face. D+ for effort.
Clouds - Now this track I’ve actually warmed up to a lot. Even the lyrics are pretty decent. Would really like a version without the spoken interlude, because the music at that point is some of the best shit on the whole record. B.
Breakdown - Mad at this song because it could have been great if dude wasn’t paradoxically lazy: take out those stupid synth stabs, write a better bridge and a few less blatant lyrics. As it stands, it’s like a lot of the album: better than average, far from great. B.
The Gold Standard - I agree that “Vegas” is a pretty empty word in trying to describe what folks haven’t liked about a lot of P’s funk efforts for a while. This isn’t much different from a lot of his other stuff in this vein, but the vocals and space given for the groove to move around set it on a higher tier. The arrangement is great, and it’s a track that I could hear him doing an extended b-side of (if he still did that shit). A.
U Know - Mixed on this, need to hang out with it longer. It feels out of place here; besides FunknRoll beat it’s the most obvious appeal to a modern “urban” sound. He pulls it off pretty well here, but always bit hard for me to take him seriously when he’s in R Kelly mode … and nothing about the lyrics are helping. Right now, probably a C+.
Breakfast Can Wait - I’ve liked this track for a while. I feel like it’s a bit of an inside joke to P’s fans, a place where can let his weirdo sense of humor out to play. To outsiders, the question is “is he serious?” To insiders, the question of seriousness doesn’t even come up. Musically, it’s reminds me of that airy, open, sparse beat-and-bass sound he’s been playing with for a while (see: What do you want me to do?). It’s one of his best sounds these days, I think, simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic… B+.
This Could Be Us - Aside from “sex with me ain’t enough/that’s why we got to make love metaphysically” or whatever, this shit is a *solid* Prince ballad. Love it from start to finish. And even on that awful line, the vocal swoop thing on “metaphysically” is *classic* Prince. Total Arrangement: classic. Even that breakdown near the end, which borders on contrived, keeps itself in play somehow… If anyone wanted to know which song to dl, only one, I’d probably say this or Time… even with that line I’m giving this an A+.
What It Feels Like - How is he going to take a perfectly good beat and ruin it with awful lyrics and a lackluster melody? It’s not even the other girl’s voice (who is that?) … the tune’s a bit monotonous, too, and at 4 mins feels too long. Not awful but I could do without it. C-.
Way Back Home - I think this song is going to really grow on me, and I like its reprisal at the end of the album, too. Reminds me of one of the sections of “Impossible Soul” from Sufjan’s Age of Adz album (and I mean that in a good way, I loved that album -- this could have been a b-side to that album and not sounded out of place at all). A few points off for some pretty trite lyrical shit and at least one cringeworthy moment (“power to the one who can raise a child like me” --- I’m not even sure what that means). But that rhythmic vocal refrain that ushers the song out and comes back with it a few tracks later, “until I/I find my…” is haunting and smart, as are some of the tune’s other twists and turns. Like Time, it has a nice slow build. A.
FunknRoll - It’s fine. The more I listen to it, the more I find the outro to be kind of contrived (he uses that double-time shit way too much when he tries to get into “rock” mode). That opening guitar riff is the best thing on the track, and it’s cut too short by semi-awful lyrics and some awkward grandstanding. I would not be mad to hear it live (it’s like Days of Wild in that sense), but not something I’m ever going to willingly play again. C-.
Time - I actually didn’t see what the fuss was on first listen, but this shit right here is really lovely. The bass line and solo, the layering and build of the arrangement over nearly 7 minutes --- it’s a Prince fan’s dream. Wouldn’t even sound that out of place circa SOTT. A+.
The worst things about the album are the lyrics (surprise!) and the more blatant attempts to sound current (rather than inspired by current stuff). The best? More than a few quirky, unexpected turns that are synonymous with the man and no one else; some thoughtful arrangements; and a solid number of virtuosic moments that remind us why even those of who consider ourselves lapsed fans can’t help getting sucked back in every once and a while...
-thebigfunk
~ i could still snort you under the table ~
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