Prince - 3121

Submitted by Underdog Man - Mar 21, 2006

Prince

3121

Artist Website || No tour dates available

Okay, I’ll admit it. I was watching the recent American Idol on the night that Prince was on performing "Lolita" off his new 3121 disk. I’ll also admit that he and the song both blew me away; and I couldn’t wait to get a hold of the record to have a listen.

And I am glad I did.

Tracks like "Black Sweat" and "Lolita" showcase most of the things that have made Prince the rock and roll... uh... prince... that you know and love. Solid guitar work, "Did-he-just-say-that?" lyrics, killer four-part self harmonies (including that signature falsetto), and wicked synthesizers, all bathed in the former symbol’s unique brand of funk-pop. In fact, if there is one thing that this record is about, it is the synth. And I am not talking about the synth that the hair bands turned into the very sound of schmaltz in the 1980s. I am talking about the low-fi punctuated style that precluded those faux symphonic backdrops. Prince has brought us back to the days where synth lines could actually sound sort of bad-ass and street, which is pretty refreshing. Of course it can only help that he is singing lines like "You’ll be screaming like a white lady when I count to three" and "I got something that you won’t know how to handle".

Prince is arguably the best guitarist of his generation, but "Fury" is the only track that really shows it. It doesn’t necessarily hurt that there aren’t many hot guitar licks - I’d just like to hear them. If you (or your girlfriend) are into his slow stuff, Prince brings some of that, too - from the horns- and bass-driven gospel-esque "Satisfied" (he ain’t talking about Snickers) to the Latin-flavored "Te Amo Corazon".

Slow, fast, funky, bluesy, he does it all better than most; and Prince has made another good Prince record. 3121 is a summer disk that’ll make you want to dance, or at least strut around your apartment wearing pants with the butt cheeks cut out of them.