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Prince

CD Lotus Flow3r / Mplsound / Elixer

★★★★☆ 4 points (10 reviews)


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  • Issued : 05 Apr 2009
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Item Details

Genre : Dance & Soul Catalogue Number : TG11170829
Format : CD Label : Npg
Issued : 05 Apr 2009 Item sourced from : UK
Number of Discs : 3
Other : Limited

Lotus Flow3r  /  Mplsound  /  Elixer

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HMV Review

Left to his own devices, Prince will indulge in his peculiar vice of releasing triple-albums. He celebrated his freedom from Warner with Emancipation, following that with another triple-disc in Crystal Ball, which just happened to be the provisional title of the scrapped three-LP iteration of 1987's Sign o' the Times, he had a triple-live set in 2002, and now he's navigating the rough waters of online distribution and exclusive contracts with big box retailers in 2009 with another triple-disc set called LotusFlow3r. Technically, one of the three discs here isn't a Prince album: Elixer is the debut of Bria Valente, the latest in a long line of sultry soul proteges. Many of Prince's hand-picked singers have been largely ignored even by his loyalists since about 1987, so Prince pushes Bria by bundling her record with his own LotusFlow3r and MPLSound, even going so far as to list Elixer first among the three on the back of the CD's slim cardboard sleeve. This attempt at old-fashioned star-making might have worked if Bria Valente had a smidgeon of star charisma, but she's merely a pleasantly breathy crooner, slipping easily into Prince's shimmering, quiet storm production. Her slight personality shifts the spotlight to Prince's versatility, which is part of the point of the whole set. Each album serves a different function: Elixer is his smooth soul exercise, LotusFlow3r his guitar showcase, and MPLSound a revival of his '80s funk. By its very nature, the Bria Valente disc winds up as the most consistent and least interesting of the three, never straying from its seductive template, but that doesn't mean it's the worst; it just lacks the highs of the other two, but it also lacks the lows. Of the three, MPLSound winds up with the greatest number of both highs and lows, while LotusFlow3r is constrained by its guitar-heavy concept, offering great moments instead of great whole songs. This suggests that LotusFlow3r has moments of fury akin to the closing solo of Let's Go Crazy or the glorious passion of Purple Rain, but apart from the Hendrixian Dreamer, the album is nearly as smooth as Elixer, with even the clenched, pumping riff of Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful soon giving way to an amiable funk work-out. Amiably pretty much defines all of LotusFlow3r, which winds up being all about groove and fleeting bits of six-string color which may be enough for the faithful, but not many others. Those less-dedicated listeners -- i.e., those who prefer tightly written songs and varied production -- will be drawn to MPLSound, where Prince takes his retro-mission seriously enough to offer up a few songs nervy enough to be singles, even if the synthesized thrill of this handful of tunes is undercut by a bunch of slow-burning ballads that do their best to rival The Arms of Orion. It's best to focus on such tight, funky electro grooves as (There'll Never B) Another Like Me and Ol' Skool Company, two songs that spotlight Prince's impish humor, a quality that's largely absent on the rest of the triple-disc set (it's not entirely a coincidence that these are the only cuts that address the modern digital world, either). But as good as these two cuts are, they're not as imaginative or as vigorous as the best of 3121 or Musicology, a flaw that illustrates yet another strange fact about Prince: after all these years, he's now far weirder when he knows people are paying attention than when he's off pursuing his own surprisingly earth-bound flights of fancy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Credits

Richard Furch(Engineer),  Richard Furch(Mixing)

Songs

Disc   1

LOtUSFLOW3R

  •   
    1
    From The Lotus...
  •   
    2
    Boom
  •   
    3
    Crimson And Clover
  •   
    4
    4ever
  •   
    5
    Colonized Mind
  •   
    6
    "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful "
  •   
    7
    Love Like Jazz
  •   
    8
    77 Beverly Park
  •   
    9
    Wall Of Berlin
  •   
    10
    $

Disc   1

  •   
    1
    Dreamer
  •   
    2
    ...Back To The Lotus

Disc   2

MPLSoUND

  •   
    1
    (There'll Never B) Another Like Me
  •   
    2
    Chocolate Box
  •   
    3
    Dance 4 Me
  •   
    4
    U're Gonna C Me
  •   
    5
    Valentina , Better With Time
  •   
    6
    Ol' Skool Company
  •   
    7
    No More Candy 4 U

This is the list of tracks for Disc 1 and 2. To see the list of tracks for all discs click here

Customer Reviews

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  • ★★★★☆ 

    319  |  北海道  |  不明  |  08/October/2009

     ここ数年でまた一段高みに登ったプリンスの最新作となれば、そりゃ過剰に期待するというもの。でも3枚組(てか2+1)、しかも販路は基本的に地元のスーパーのみって、そりゃないでしょって感じだったんだけど…  案の定というとアレだけど、直近2枚の傑作に比べるとやや大人しい印象。音のクオリティは絶対に下がらない人なのでそこは安心だけど、例えば「3121」の「Lolita」とか、「Planet Earth」の「Guitar」「Chelsea Rogers」のような、イントロ一発でやられるタイプの曲が見当たらないのが不満といえば不満。  彼の作品といえば超キャッチーなポップ・チューンと、聴くほどに味が出るスルメな曲が自然に同居してるあたりに凄さがあるわけで。例えば「Musicology」みたいなド地味なサウンド・プロデュースを施した作品ですら、そうだった。  それが今回は全編スルメな感じになってるのは、販路限定のせいなのか、新人ねーちゃん(相変わらずこういうの好きだなー)との抱き合わせのせいなのか。ちょっと今までと違う違和感的は否定できないけど、ひょっとしたら次作が出る頃に、やっとこっちが追いつける作りなのかも。それもプリンスには普通のことだしね。  ただ、もう30年近くも彼を追ってる身としては、このペースで新作が出続けるだけでうれしいわけで。この期に及んで3枚組を出すエネルギーに対峙できるだけで幸せというか、とにかくもう毎日聴きまくっている時点で、結局は全編キラーチューンになっちゃってる始末。  個人的には、「1999」的なサウンドを2009年の今、露悪的にやっちゃってるという悪い冗談みたいなセンスがたまらない「MPLSound」のほうが好みです。

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  • ★★★★★ 

    りのずみ  |  神奈川県  |  不明  |  30/June/2009

    音楽の伝道師・マスターへとひたすら歩む孤高の殿下の姿に、ただただ感服しました。個人的には写真集『21 NIGHTS』のようなファンク丸出しの音楽の方が好きですが、3枚も殿下の音楽が聴けることの方が重要です。『MPLSOUND』にジミヘンばりのプレイを期待した私は、若干裏切られた感は否めません。MJが天に召され、1980〜1990年代にヒットチャートを賑わせ楽家として、息の長い活動を望みます。プリンス教万歳!

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  • ★★★★★ 

    たか  |  神奈川県  |  不明  |  19/May/2009

    3枚とも安心して聴ける好盤だと思います。「MPLSoUND」は懐かしさを感じるサウンドで通勤の車の中で繰り返し聴いています。ただ、最近の殿下の作る曲は、高水準のクオリティはキープしているもののキラーチューンがないのが気になります。「クリスタルボール」に入っていたような突き抜けたサウンドがまた聴けるのを期待しています。

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