Elly Roberts reviews
Prince: 3121
Distributed by
Universal
- Cat.no: 9852072
- Released: March 2006
- Rating: 4/10
When ‘Prince’ Rogers Nelson formed his own label NPG, it gave him artistic licence like he’d never experienced before.
It also gave him licence to be a tad self-indulgent. He even invented new
monikers like The Artist Formerly Know As Prince and Symbol. Prior to that
he rolled out some great singles - When Doves Cry, Little Red Corvette,
1999, Kiss, Cream and his anthemic Purple Rain.
That was his commercial purple patch. There’s been a fair share of hit
and miss albums too.
So, after 25 years of pouting and posing, is his number up? Well, 3121
has some of the best and worst of his expansive repertoire. For this, the
purple one decided to play most of the instruments, with a helping hand here
and there, written all the songs, and produced it.
The worst bits include the bump and grind of the title track, a mish-mash
jam that grates at almost every level, so does the first UK single Black
Sweat, a crunchy R&B blast that wanders aimlessly. Also off the commercial
radar are Incense And Candles, the dire Love, and lacklustre
The Word, with Satisfied proving nothing more than a filler.
Back on traditional form, Fury is a welcomed arrival; with an almost
accessible dance beat (complete with rasping guitar solos): the first real
pop song, which harks back to better days of the '80s. Further on,
Beautiful is a silky smooth delight, featuring a gorgeous duet with
rising star Tamar.
In the same classy mould is the divine neuvo-jazzy monster The Dance,
despite some over-stretched singing by Prince. Getting on the good foot,
he rounds it off with a James Brown sassy-brassy assault as he Get’s On The Boat
in style: and edited version would make a brilliant single.
It’s a great end to a less than impressive album.
The full list of tracks included are :
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
