Music Review: LOtUSFLOW3R (3-Disc) - Prince (2009)

His Purple Badness is back with 3 discs of Minneapolis sound. Literally. I've got the lowdown on all three and then a cumulative total of the entire LOtUSFLOW3R package.

1. Elixer. As you open up the album package, the first thing you see is Bria Valente's new album "Elixer" which is essentially an attractive woman singing smooth R&B songs written by Prince. Bria has been mega hyped up in the internet world for being the next Sade, but I take a more realistic viewpoint of her: the only thing she's got going for her is a good voice and the fact that she's associated with Prince. And we all know how sucessful Prince's previous proteges are (*cough cough* Tamar=Failure). That being said, the fact that these are Prince songs with a pretty woman singing them IS a major strength of the album. Bria's got a pretty voice with a pretty unremarkable range and tone. The songs are mediocre, with the exception of "Another Boy" (which might have some star potential). It's not traditional Prince slow jams either. It's trying to be hip with modern structure and lyrics and instrumentation and just falls a little flat because it's not edgy or clever enough. It's not that "Elixer" is bad. It's just overpowered by the other 2 disks. Plus, we never really thought that Bria would make it in modern R&B next to Beyonce and Ciara, so she might as well play the Sade thing for as long as she can before people get tired of it.

2. LOtUSFLOW3R. Here's the gold of the album. Easily Prince's best recording since Emancipation (some might argue since Sign 'O' The Times). Prince channels a little bit of Jimmy Hendrix and goes back to his roots and the one thing that made him famous in 1984: his godlike guitar skills. The entire album is powerful, catchy, and ROCKIN'. Musically, it's similar to Sign 'O' The Times, but with slightly more of an "organic" feel. Plenty of synthesizers and funk/rock, but no drum machines here. Prince does everything from social criticism to gorgeous love ballads on this album, all with quality singles with rockin' guitar solos and riffs and clever synth hooks, hearkening back to the Prince we knew and loved in the 80's. In the light of Prince's epic failure with "Planet Earth" and his attempt to break into mainstream minimalistic R&B with "3121," it's nice to see Prince is still making complex arrangements and making "back to basics" cool again. Bets songs are "Crimson and Clover," "Colonized Mind," and "Dreamer". Listen to these and if you don't get hooked, you ain't got no soul.

3. MPL Sound. Here's where Prince starts to get a little...Creative. Whereas LOtUSFLOW3R sounds great in a modern context by drawing elements of Prince's classic rock material for the modern world, MPL Sound ties to do the same with Prince's classic R&B/Funk material and has mixed results. The album really does sound like you went back in time and made a sequel to Prince's "1999". The drum machines and old synthesizer patters just seem...out of place. And there's not much "new" here to make it modern. I mean, it's great to hear a sort of a vintage "lost" Prince album, but is it really relevant? Obviously not. That's not Prince's point, of course, but it is something that will prevent MPL Sound for being as accessible to the mainstream R&B community and Top 40 singles radio. Speaking of singles, there are sure some funky ones here. "Dance 4 Me" and "Valentina" are both get-on-the-floor funky. But where's the sexy? To some that say Prince has lost his sexy, I rather agree. Even "Chocolate Box" is more love-ly than sexy. Overall, the album is interesting and funky and great for fans of Prince's old Minneapolis Sound, but I can't imagine it'll crack into the Billboard Charts like LOtUSFLOW3R will.

MY RATING: The sheer godlike brilliance of LOtUSFLOW3R redeems Bria Valente and MPL Sound can hold it's own as a good "classic" Prince album. It's one of Prince's best and easily the greatest material he's put out in the 21st century.