this album is the start of a long stream of prince albums designed to fulfill the remainder of his contract with warner brothers and not coincedentally is the first prince album i have heard (although some say it started with diamonds and pearls) that has more than one or two unmemorable songs.
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Advantages: some excellent different sounding songs Disadvantages: some excessiveness ruins otherwise good songs
this album is the start of a long stream of prince albums designed to fulfill the remainder of his contract with warner brothers and not coincedentally is the first prince album i have heard (although some say it started with diamonds and pearls) that has more than one or two unmemorable songs.
the whole album is grey in colour and while this shouldnt put anyone off the album it is quite ironic as the album at times is quite generic. ...'come', im not even going to bother explaining what its about! but it is quite filthy at times! this is actually a good song and the first four, maybe five minutes are enjoyable. however, it lasts nearly twelve minutes and for no good reason really, other than to give the horns a solo. this ruins a perfectly good song and many times i have listened to this song and sort of 'woke up' nearly ten minutes later and think is this still playing?
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this album is the start of a long stream of prince albums designed to fulfill the remainder of his contract with warner brothers and not coincedentally is the first prince album i have heard (although some say it started with diamonds and pearls) that has more than one or two unmemorable songs.
the whole album is grey in colour and while this shouldnt put anyone off the album it is quite ironic as the album at times is quite generic.
the album opens with a song called 'come', im not even going to bother explaining what its about! but it is quite filthy at times! this is actually a good song and the first four, maybe five minutes are enjoyable. however, it lasts nearly twelve minutes and for no good reason really, other than to give the horns a solo. this ruins a perfectly good song and many times i have listened to this song and sort of 'woke up' nearly ten minutes later and think is this still playing?
the second song is similar to 'come' and is called 'space'. both songs have a sort of R&B vibe to them and at first its strange to hear someone as innovative as Prince do this style of music. This song is also fairly unmemorable (I had to listen to it again just to be able to review it!) What I find Princes problem is sometimes is that while the riffs and melody are fine on their own, they are often drowned out in a multitude of other instruments. Whilst it is very amazing how many instruments Prince can play he does sometimes have a tendency to go overboard (at on this album and some later ones, like Emancipation).
'Pheromone' is the third song and basically follows in the same vein as the first two. Nice melody but still quite unmemorable.
After hearing the first three songs you may be prepared to give up on the album and it is ironic because the album really picks up by the fourth song 'Loose!' which when i first heard it almost reminded me of the Prodigy in that its a heavy dance song. I later listened to the album Lovesexy (by Prince) and thought it reminded me of the song 'Dance On' so its not like he is really ripping anyone off when he was doing it in 1988 (although to be honest I'm only assuming the Prodigy werent around then!) This song also have some pretty good guitar in it, for the first time in the album.
The next song, 'Papa', is one of my favourites. It has an almost 'Modern Rock' feel to it, and remember this album was released in 1993, when that genre was reaching its peak. However it avoids the generic feel that the first three songs sometimes have. This song also has some of the best lyrics on the album, a tale of child abuse and suicide which is very tragic.
Track six is called 'Race' and is quite an up-tempo dance song about racism. This does though have one of the best 'beat lines' (as Prince calls it at the start of the song!) in the album and Prince shows his rapping skills and the song melds nicely and keeps up the run of good songs.
'Dark' is an old-fashioned (always reminds me of Stevie Wonder) love song and provides a nice break from the dance songs with its soulful vibe.
'Solo' is a brilliant showcase for Princes vocals, as it is almost acapella throughout. If anyone has ever listened to the Communards self-titled album then this song will sound familiar, as Princes voice takes on a very haunting quality.
'Letitgo' is basically the last song on the album (you'll see why in a minute) and was, I think, a minor UK hit for Prince (the album did actually debut at #1 in the UK) and goes back to the sound of the first few songs, however, as with 'Race' is better than them and is a good overall song.
The last 'song' is called 'Orgasm' where basically Prince gives his wife at the time, 'Mayte', an orgasm. The song is pretty pointless and abit of a disappointing end to a good run of six songs. However, if you are a guitar buff you may appreciate the sounds Prince tortures out of his guitar on this last track.
Overall then thats six out of the ten songs that are a cut above average, and none of the rest are particularly bad, just not that memorable, especially when comparing to other Prince songs.
The reason I dont recommend this album (as much of a Prince fan that I am) is because there are far far better Prince albums out there, at the least anything from 1983-1989. Again though, the album isnt bad and there are a few standout tracks that stand the test of time, its just not consistent enough to recommend over his other releases!
Advantages: Beatufiul reinterpreataions, heartleft vocals, great songs Disadvantages: perhaps a little too nashville slick on occasion
Will Oldham has had a number of personas over the years and has worked under the names Palace brothers, Palace Music, Will Olham and Bonnie Prince Billy (amongst others I'm sure). This release comes under Bonnie Prince Billy but is the least Bonnie prince Billy sounding album he has made... and for that matter the least Will Oldham sounding album. This is glorious, unadulterated country music. What it shows off is how good and versatile Oldham's song writing actually is. These songs are all reimaginations and rearrangements of songs previously recorded under his palace guise. As Palace they were lo-fi, discordant and mostly inaccessible. Here they are lush and beautiful thanks to the help of producer Mark Nevers (of Lambchop) and an array of Nashville's best session players. Many see this record as an Oldham prank or parody country album ...
Advantages: Um...the title track? Disadvantages: 6 out of 8 tracks are pretty poor
Before those of you who read my reviews start to think I'm totally biased when it comes to Prince, here's a little surprise. I do not like the album Controversy.
The title track is a good song, although perhaps a little dated now, and at over seven minutes, a bit long.
"Do Me Baby" is also worth a listen - it's a nice ballad.
That's where my positive comments stop, I'm afraid. I keep this CD purely because it's part of the collection. It doesn't even have a decent inlay to read whilst you're waiting for the album to finish.
This is thoroughly bland, disappointing, dated and... well, you get the drift.
It's saving grace is that it STILL isn't as bad as New Power Soul. Anyone cottoned onto the fact that I don't rate that album at all yet... ...
Advantages: Features 4 Top 10 Hits Disadvantages: The Annoying Interludes
'Big Willie Style' is the first solo album Will Smith has released since the days of the 'Fresh Prince'. This singing/acting comedian has come up with a 16 track album. All the brilliant Top 10 Hits: 'Getting Jiggy Wit It', 'Miami' and 'Just The Two Of Us' are on this album, including the very successful No.1 single from the movie of the same title, 'Men In Black'. Apart from the popular singles, the rest of the album isn't all that good. 4 of the 16 tracks consists of an annoying guy called Keith B-Real who does nothing but yip-yap! ...
Prince & The New Power Generation: Prince (vocals); Mayte (background vocals); Tommy Barbarella, Sonny T., Michael B., Mr. Hayes. Additional personnel: Eric Leeds (flute); Mike Nelson, Kathy Jensen, Dave Jensen, Brian Gallagher, Steve Strand (horns); Ricky Peterson (keyboards); Airiq Anest (programming); Kathleen Bradford (background vocals). Engineers: Chronic Freeze, Ray Hahnfeldt, Tom Tucker, Prince (all tracks). Recorded at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, Minnesota; The Record Plant and Larrabee Sound Studios, Los Angeles, California. All songs written or co-written by Prince. For the artist intermittently known as Prince, the notion of spiritual death and rebirth has become the predominant theme in his work. Thus on the track "Solo," with its eerie liturgical ambience, sampled thunder and moody harp, Prince sings a keening falsetto confession: "Solo, my name is no one." Accepting all that as a given, this richly orchestrated set has the exploratory sound and feel of a classic Prince album, except that COME seems to be an attempt to explicate his legend once and for all ("Letitgo"), to make way for a new...well, your guess is a good as ours. The title tune mixes carnal and spiritual imagery in the classic Prince manner, as that ecstatic voice testifies over jazzy horns, big-band chord changes and a fat, greasy backbeat ("If you had a chance to see the future, would you try?"). Elsewhere, the sampled waves which open and close COME act as a recurring leitmotif, as Prince explores a series of jumpy dance grooves ("Pheromone" and "Loose!"), a moody tale of child abuse ("Papa"), a strutting R&B/hiphop anthem ("Race"), a brassy gospel-blues confessional ("Dark") and an explicit girl-guitar ecstasy ("Orgasm"). On COME, Prince appears before us one last time, a reminder of things past, a harbinger of revolutions to come.
Album Reviews
Melody Maker (8/13/94, p.35) - Recommended - "...Like every album he ever made...it's precisely 75 per cent divine..." NME (8/13/94, p.45) - 7 - Very Good - "...infuriating at times....he's encouraged people to buy into his carefully-manicured mystique....he's unwittingly upheld certain stereotypes--the equation black=sex--whilst trying to burn them down; and COME is fitting..." The Source (12/94, p.82) - "...a classic Prince album worthy of FOR YOU, 1999, and DIRTY MIND (which it's most suggestive of)...COME effectively serves as one of his personal diaries....dark, brooding, beautiful and freaky..."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Come
2.
Space
3.
Pheromone
4.
Loose
5.
Papa
6.
Race
7.
Dark
8.
Solo
9.
Letitgo
10.
Orgasm
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
10/02/2003
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