Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1RVRR5AU07AX3 My name is Jeremy Gloff. I am a musician (check me out on Amazon!) and retro music enthusiast. If you enjoyed this review make sure to check out my Amazon user profile to check out my other reviews. I am always up for making new friends and discussing the music I love!!!
November 25, 2008 |  | Half incredible, other half horribly boring |  |
My impression of Prince began with his unique use of electronic instruments. In that respect, half this album is overwhelmingly powerful hip-hop (My Name Is Prince, 7, The Continental). The other half, however, is extremely dull, lo-tempo ballad-type pieces, that use more traditional instrumentation. Now, I don't usually enjoy ballads, but Prince has made some really great ones: Money don't Matter 2 Night, When 2 R In Love, Scandalous, etc., but these ballads are just lame (And God Created Woman, and The Morning Papers are among the worst).
There's such a huge contrast between the hip-hop, with influences of trip hop and house music, and the boring coffee-house jam sessions. And I don't understand how Sexy MF managed to become a single, it's just dumb, I think.
The segues are an interesting touch, but that idea doesn't get full bloom until The Gold Experience, an album that can do no wrong. Still, I say this album deserves a good four stars, because that stronger half is just so impressive. It really sounds like two different albums mixed together.
September 23, 2008| | | (3.5 stars) It's bad, it's funky | |
All right, check this inconsistency out: Prince had recently changed his name to the symbol "O)+>" (AKA The Love Symbol), yet he names the first song on the album "My Name is Prince". Wouldn't a more appropriate to have called it "My Name is O)+>"? Now, it's a good song, an incredibly funky rap, even if the lyrics are the most self-centered I've ever heard. This is one good album, but I think it's a bit long myself - eighteen tracks? Okay, sure, my favorite Prince album is Emancipation. Still, it's a bit of overkill, no matter how stunning the "Morning Papers" guitar solo is, no matter how much funk is in "Sexy M.F." (which of course stands for something besides "Sexy Mezzo Forte"). Some of the funk seems stale ("The Max"), some of the rap-like tracks veer uncomfortably close to bad rap (rather than good rap - unless "Melt With U" and "Continental" are your ideas of Prince at his peak, of course). The ballads, usually reliable, also flop (nightclub song "Damn U", "Love 2 the 9's", "Sweet Baby" - wonder where he came up with that title). I wonder who told Prince he could play convincing reggae - judging by "Blue Light", he can't. There are only some great songs on Love Symbol - the above as well as the religious rocker "7", with a cool sitar (rather than "The Cross" and its idiotic sitar); a couple good raps with "Arrogance" and "The Flow"; the atmospheric-in-a-good-way ballad "And God Created Women", "3 Chains o' Gold", like a funky "Bohemian Rhapsody", and the gospel-funk "Sacrifice of the Victor". So this mostly falls in the good end. What the hell is the point of the two segues, though?
December 9, 2007Great CD. Bought it for one song that I could not find anywhere. Excellent price!
November 12, 2007Fantastic dance tracks. This for me is the pinnacle of Prince's talent as a true lover of dancing and the energy it creates. It's just a phenomenal sound that even years later I can't sit still to.
August 13, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ... 
(46 reviews)