3121 out of ten (3121 - Prince)

Member Name: Lakerfanster

Product:	3121 - Prince
Date:	29/08/07 (148 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Musicianship, vocals,

Disadvantages: Only twelve tracks??

Prince has had his fair share of controversy over the years but 2007 must be one of his most controversial. first there was the outrage from the music industry when his new album was given away free in the Mail on Sunday before it had even been released. This split his fans but many other papers would have loved to have got a deal with a huge star.

And then there was the revelation that he didn’t ant people taking pictures of him during his stay at the O2 Arena in Greenwich. And he stipulated that he wouldn’t be signing any autographs for his fans as he doesn’t feel like that about people he likes. I Can understand him wanting his privacy but there are many aftershow parties as part of his shows at the 02 Arena.

Anyway Now on to the subject of this review and Princes 2006 album 3121. Prince tickets for his shows at the O2 Arena were all £31.21. This album was critically acclaimed by critics and fans alike for it’s typical Princeness. 3121 Is the title track that kicks off this album and unsurprisingly it is a very funky party track with some great bass hooks and complete with soaring guitar licks. A very nice start to the album,

Lolita which follows is a funky track about a young girl who tries to attract Prince’s attention sexually but he resists temptation to cheat. Some great work between the drummer and bass guitarist here and the song is so catchy.

Te Amo Corazon is a superb track which slows the pace of the album down with a slow Spanish tinged ballad with some gentle violins and piano work, This track shows Prince is as adept at the slow ballads as he is as the funky stuff. There is a superbly emotive guitar solo that sounds wonderful, one of his best songs of the new century.

Black Sweat is the first single of this album and moves the album back into a funk groove with a full on stomper which makes you get up and dance, there’s so great beats from the drum machine and some high pitched electronic sounds that work surprisingly well.

Incense and candles is track five and it is a sexy track with Tamar which combines Prince ballad and Funk together to make a make out song that will keep you moving. In this song Prince proves he is the modern day funk master. Prince shows in this track he can even rap well too

Love is the sixth track and continues the funk feel but the background is more electronic that the funk tinged tracks previously but it still works and you can just see people getting up on the dance floor and dancing till the end of the track to this. Superb to dance to with great backing vocals from Tamar

Next up is one of my favourite Prince tracks it is Satisfied and moves the album back into the slower groove with a superbly bluesy feel with some great backing music from the orchestra and Prince sounds superb. A wonderful track.

Fury is next and as you can imagine by this title this track has a pretty hectic feel to it, Some superb guitar work and thumping drums create a superb sound stage for this track. This track is about a woman’s fury when you don’t treat them right, the view is in the third person. The best guitar work on the album is certainly on this track and Prince proves how much of an underrated guitarist he is.

Now on to track Nine, The Word has probably the deepest drum beat on the album but it’s accompanied by a strumming guitar and keyboard sounds. Not the best on the album but still has that unique Prince feel with his distinctive vocals.

Beautiful, Loved and blessed is another ballad and this time it’s a duet on the menu, A sumptuous one in fact with the sweet sounding newcomer Tamar who has an expressive vocal that sounds so in it’s place with Prince’s versatile voice. A superb duet and Tamar looks to have a bright future if she continues to perform like she does in this superb track.

The Dance is the penultimate track on 3121 and starts with a gentle piano and hard drum beat with Prince singing falsetto there are some guitar licks that are quite reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield. A superb slow track with a romantic feel and superb musicianship on show. Another astonishing showing of just how good he is as a musician aswell as singer and songwriter.

Get on the boat closes the album off with a funky track which has more than just a little of a James Brown Funk feel to it. Some of the instrumentation is absolutely superb and shows off Prince’s talent as a composer aswell as a musician, singer and songwriter. Superb.

Every track on this album has something about it that is fantastic but the besttracks here are absolutely outstanding in their musicianship, vocals and just their general feel.

A superb funky end to a great album which shows that Prince is still one of the finest singers/musicians today and is as adept with a heart wrenching ballad as he is with a slice of some stomping funk. If you didn’t get Prince’s latest album in the Mail on Sunday then search for it on the net as it is as good as this his 2006 album.

Summary: A great album