3121 - Prince Album Review

3121 - Prince Album Review

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Album Review

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 and 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 nuevo-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: an edited version would make a brilliant single.

It’s a great end to a less than impressive album.

Elly Roberts

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