Customer Reviews

Planet Earth

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

...because we're the only ones that will put up with such mediocre tripe from a man who knows better. First let me say that I love Prince, even when I chunk money down for stuff that should have never had a price tag on it. Not everything that pops in your head needs to be set to music. Overall, I like three songs on this: Guitar, Somewhere here on earth and Mr. Goodnight. Lyric wise: I could have written The one U want to C-probably like in the Junior High. Prince is very good writing senusal lyrics, but whenever he starts his political agenda stuff, it suddenly sounds juvenile and campy. Like: Planet Earth and Resolutions. He truely could have kept : All the midnights in the world. It's only tolerable because it's so short. While he's waxing proses about the problem with wars and people, I think the problem with telling certain people that they are musical geniuses is that they start slacking off and start pasting weak lyrics on recycled beats. Sorry, but some of these songs sound eerily familar. Still, I'm a sucker for my 80s icon and I'll continue to follow his music journey. Overall, get for your collection, but try to get yourself one of those free copies if you can.

I ordered this album largely due to the many good reviews posted here. I expected strong material and some good jams.

The album contains neither.

Compared to Purple Rain, 1999, or Prince's other early strong material, this deserves no stars at all.

Boring. You won't want to listen even a second time.

Prior to "Planet Earth," the last Prince album I can say I liked (or at least kinda liked) was "Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic." The last two ("3121" and "Musicology") - though obviously both commercial comebacks - did next to nothing for me. They were just more additions to the growing list of disjointed, thrown-together sub-par works that Prince began releasing back in '94 with "Come" (though not including every album after that, just that the good ones were less and less frequent). I distinctly remember how distressing it was for an artist who was responsible for such a long line of carefully crafted albums to expect record buyers to be satisfied with willful sloppiness. Sure, with "Come" (and others) he was hurrying to get out of his Warner's contract - but all these years after the fact, what matters is the music...not his fued with the label. I continue to maintain that he hasn't released a truly great album since 1992's 'Symbol' album (and even that one was flawed, i.e. Tony M was still on board). And I still say that "The Truth" (i.e. disc 4 of "Crystal Ball") is the closest he's come to that greatness in the years since.

All that said, I'll reiterate: I like this new album. It turned out to be a nice surprise - not a major return to form, but a mostly consistently enjoyable collection of new songs. Are they all new? It's hard to say - I do have trouble believing all the musicians who are credited in the album's sparse (nearly non-existant, truth be told) liner notes turned up for recent sessions. Some of this music was quite possibly in the can for many years - the wildly varying tone, and overall sound, throughout the album supports this idea. Before delving into a song-by-song look, I'll summarize my overall feelings. The focus here seems to be tight, concise pop songwriting. Prince used to break boundaries and take chances with song form, but since those days seem long gone I'm satisfied to hear relatively straightforward songs containing strong melodies and memorable hooks. It's far preferable to the aimlessness of recent sludge like "3121" and "Musicology." I also like hearing so many guitar solos - much more than anything since "Chaos and Disorder" way back in 1996. Throughout "Planet Earth," there are lots of little musical surprises and quirks - unexpected chord changes, unpredictable melodic twists, unusual backing vocal arrangements. No, it's not "Lovesexy" revisited by any means, but it keeps the listener from being bored to tears (like the last couple of albums did).

To be more specific, take the opening - and also title - track. On a musical level, "Planet Earth" sounds very much to me like the Prince of old. The plaintive - though highly dramatic - verses that give way to swelling choruses, ultimately climaxing with a passionate guitar solo: it's a full-fledged epic Prince track (bold move to open the record with what sounds like a big finish). The piano/synth/backing-vocals section midway through sounds the vintage late-80s era. Lyrically, I'm less enthusiastic. Prince didn't used to be so literal when tackling "big issues." Here - not surprisingly, given the title - he deals mainly with the fragility of our ecosystem. Sorry, but no celebrity can escape the hypocrisy charge when lamenting the mistreatment of the atmosphere while simultaneously boasting of private jets traveling the four corners of the globe. Prince, how big is your carbon footprint? In the final verse, he sings about sending off young soldiers to fight a war, asking "If they're blessed to make it home, will they still be poor?" I'm not exactly sure what he's implying about the financial status of the armed forces. I'm also a bit confused about something: in this song, and elswhere on the album, the lyrics do get a tad bit political. I was under the impression that Jehovah's Witnesses remain strictly apolitical. How can he include this type of subject matter without violating that belief? I'm not taking any shots at his religion, I'm just genuinely curious about this seeming contradiction.

"Guitar" takes us back to the mid-90s NPG sound, "Undertaker" style. I wouldn't be surprised if that's Michael B kicking it on this rock track. Many have mentioned it - and 'I will follow' their lead (get it?) - the main riff sounds like a certain early U2 song. Once you accept that, the song is a fun rocker with some good solos and a light-hearted lyric (what a relief after the pretentions of the first song's message).

"Somewhere Here On Earth" starts off with a hokey 'scratchy record' sound, apparently signaling it's 'old school' balladry. There's also a bit of cringe-worthiness in the lyric, "In this digital age, you could just page me/I know it's the rage." Um, really? I don't know many people who still carry around pagers - but I guess "You could just text me" didn't rhyme as well. Or it could suggest this song's been in the vault for a few years. That wouldn't be a stretch, as it sounds like it could've been on just about any album from "Around the World In a Day" onward - which I mean in the best way: it's a very good falsetto ballad in the classic Prince mold. A tad overlong, though, at nearly 6 minutes, as no new ideas are introduced to justify the length.

Things get even better with "The One U Wanna C" - a straight-ahead pop tune with a subtle, yet comfortable, countryish twang. Again, this sounds so unlike anything Prince has done in years I can't help but wonder if he pulled it out of the vault. As lightweight as it is, I love everything about it - except for the line "I ain't trying to be a hater" (which is the first of several instances of Prince forcing some 'modern' slang into his lyrics). I do like that he sings "I come like thunder" and "If u wanna get creamy" because it proves that the JW's didn't shut down the innuendo completely.

Uh-oh -- Prince gets all lover-man in "Future Baby Mama" -- and there's another (obvious) example of that 'modern' slang. Building a song around the phrase "baby mama" wasn't a great idea, even if he did break out the Linn for this one (which isn't all that exciting anyway - he was trying to evoke the old days in the exact same way back on "Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic" back in '99!). Still, it ain't an entirely unpleasant sounding song, but it feels very out of place in context of the four songs that preceded it. Maybe the course will be corrected shortly...

...in a word, no. "Mr. Goodnight" sounds like it could've been on ANY "Emancipation"-onward album. It's a sort-of rap song, and I hoped he was done with that kind of thing. Suddenly the vibe of the album has been completely altered, and necessarily in a good way. Not that I don't love the funky R&B that has been Prince's bread and butter his entire career - I most certainly do. But this generic-sounding stuff evokes "New Power Soul" more than "Sign O the Times"...or even "Diamonds & Pearls" for that matter. In fact, songs like "Come On" and "Shoo-Be-Do" from that 1998 disappointment ("New Power Soul") KILL this "Mr. Goodnight" bit of indulgence. Oh well, at least it DOES have the funniest food reference in a Prince song since the immortal "Cap'n Crunch with soy milk."

"All the Midnights In the World" - short, but oh so sweet. My favorite track, and it clocks in at just 2 minutes, 21 seconds. THIS is classic Prince pop: idiosyncratic lyrics, melodically inventive, captivating vocal performance. Can this possibly be a new song? Or is this some lost "Dream Factory"-era track? It's so fantastic I can't really explain it. Who but Prince would include a reference to Zuzu's pedals from "It's a Wonderful Life"? I love this: "Amethyst and rubies, crystals and black pearls/I'd trade them all just to spend with you/All the midnights in the world." I don't usually use words like splendiferous, but it truly applies to this gem of a song.

Nowhere to go but down, I guess, after such a natural high - but "Chelsea Rogers" is actually a pretty entertaining dance track nonetheless. It's a funky disco-style song, sung along with a husky-voiced woman (reminded me of Mavis right at the beginning). It doesn't really DO all that much in nearly 6 minutes (one of only three tracks that push past 5 minutes). It's about the same length as the title track, yet unlike that well-structured epic, it wears out it's welcome after the halfway point. I haven't really bothered to figure out if the lyrics, which apparently concern a real-life fashion model, tell a coherent story.

"Lion Of Judah" brings it back to guitar-oriented rock. It's grown on me over repeated listenings, though I'm not sure what he's getting at in the lyrics. Sure sounds like something was on his mind though. A failed relationship, it would seem - one that he didn't want to end, and felt ended in the midst of miscommunication...leaving him seeking some sort of revenge? I don't know really, but I like the guitar playing.

"Resolution" - bouncy up-tempo pop, kinda like a less corny "Graffiti Bridge." Also kinda like the opening track: I like it musically, I'm less wild about the lyrics. It's actually a good bookend - both songs tackle "big issues," albeit in a clumsy way. I really like the melody, the simple arrangement, and especially the backing vocals. But spelling out the world's problems in less than four minutes is a tough order for anyone. Actually, in the final verse ("Love is like a circle, no beginning and no end..") he has the right idea - keep it a bit vague, rather than trying to specifically explain the "main problem" with war (that no one ever wins) and with people (that they never do what they say). In fact, his reasoning is incorrect in both cases, so why bother trying to cover so much ground in one song? Anyway, the lyrics are just too dopey-hippy for me to take seriously - I still enjoy the heck out of the song on a musical/performance level.

I've been listening to the album as I write this. I really have to say: the highest praise I can offer is that every time it ends, I feel like starting it up and listening all over again. I haven't felt that way about a Prince album in far too long. Not because it stands as a truly classic Prince album, but because it's the most tuneful and entertaining album he has released in ten years. And, of course, there's that track 7 that brings joy everytime it rolls around.

I have been a fan since I was 11 years old.. yeah back in 1981!
Prince is still THE artist of our time, before his time.
But I think he missed the boat with this CD.
I sometimes have to listen a couple of times before deciding what I like on his CDs, but I can't get thru this CD a second time. I do not enjoy it, and its sad to say, but true.
I enjoyed Musicology, but haven't REALLY loved a cd of his since Emancipation. Once you start to see Prince on Verizon Wireless commercials, you know its a different time....
Hope he brings the funk back the next time around.. many of us who have been fans from the beginning will be waiting..

I am, what you call a classic Prince fan. I have collected his music from Prince to Sign O the Times consistently and other albums in between like 3121, which I really dug, and musicology, which still to me showed his purplenesses prowess when it comes to ripping out tracks with a great hook, most of the time. But with this disc...I dont get it. There is nothing wrong with changing a musical direction and Prince has always had my interest when it came to experimentation, like Parade and Around the World in a Day. Its like fleeting thoughts put to music that is completely forgettable. To see if it was just my imagination, I listened to every track twice in different sittings and I feel like he is either depressed or has entered a place in his life where he has "been there and done that" and has nothing else to say about it. I am not looking for another 1999 or a repeat of his prior albums, but I think there is something lost in this album that I dont even think that Prince can say what it is. At least, thats my opinion. The only reason it has 3 stars is because he still remains one of my favorite artists and for what he brought to my life, musically.

I should begin this review by telling you what I was expecting from Planet Earth: not much. I've learned several painful lessons over the last 12 years, from various Prince stinkers (Stink-os & Disorder, Rave Un2 The Stink Fantastic, The Rainbow Stink), but the main lesson is this: Prince's fastball ain't what it used to be. I can accept that now. There was a time when I couldn't accept that, a time when I proclaimed Emancipation to be the greatest album of the 90s, and in fact as good as Purple Rain.

Now I'm older and hopefully more mature (though I did throw on Emancipation one more time the other night, still searching for that greatness I thought I once heard). After the horrific artistic crime that was The Rainbow Children, I officially gave up on Prince. It was SO CLEARLY OVER. And everyone knew it but pointy-headed critics and him.

But of course, as a fan I never stopped hoping. When Musicology came out, of course I bought it. However, I waited two whole months instead of rushing right out to get it. As an album, Musicology was definitely an improvement (which is like saying North is better than When I Was Cruel), but overall it was not a good album. I listened to it for a week and then put it away, saying he had gone away from pretentious concept junk and was back to putting out bland junk.

However, two songs did stick in my mind: "Call My Name", and "What Do You Want Me 2 Do?" Those two diamonds in the dogpile did provide a flicker of hope. And let me tell you, those two songs are as good as anything Prince has ever done (so is 1+1+1 Is 3, but it's on The Rainbow Children and that album is a total affront). There was something else, too, but I couldn't figure out what it was, and I didn't want to revisit "Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance" ad nauseum.

Then came 3121, which is easily Prince's best album in a long time, since his acoustic "The Truth" CD that accompanied his 3-CD Crystal Ball. Then I understood. With Musicology, 3121, and now Planet Earth, he has stopped trying to say, "I'm brilliant." He is now trying to say, "Play this song, you'll like it." That's a good move.

He is now Radio-Friendly Prince, the good company man that Warner Bros. has always wanted him to be. No fake voices, no weird and ultimately dumb interludes between songs between characters in slowed-down voices. Just a collection of 10-12 songs clocking in at under 45 minutes, designed to go Top Ten.

Now Planet Earth finds him once again content to follow trends as opposed to setting them. And you know what? I'm actually ecstatic about that. So while Planet Earth represents Prince running in place, as opposed to the quantum leap in quality that was 3121, for Prince that's a bit of a victory. It means I still have some hope for the next album (which I pray won't be released until 2010).

Planet Earth careens dangerously toward the bland, and initially I dismissed it. But "Mr. Good Night", "Guitar", and "Chelsea Rodgers" all find Prince in fine form. Even the token "Arms Of Orion" cut (named for his worst song on the album) isn't utterly skippable, the way "Te Amo Corazon" was on 3121. On Planet Earth, the "Arms Of Orion" Badtastic Song Award goes to "All The Midnights In The World".

But in the end, this is not the album for newcomers to Prince to start with. And while I'm still in the Prince Artistic Desert, I'm now seeing vegetation as opposed to sand and rocks. I may never discover water again, but for the first time my hope has not yet been shaken.

And that next Prince album? I'll be buying it the day it comes out.

With every album Prince unveils, comes the hope that he will serve up another classic like Purple Rain or Sign O' the Times- albums loaded with raw, sexy funk music, racy lyrics, catchy choruses, and at least a handful of potential hit singles that would leave a permanent mark on pop culture. Well, apart from last year's 3121, that hasn't happened since the early nineties. 3121 brought back the Prince of the 80's- at least a little bit, with songs like Black Sweat & Lolita. So with the arrival of Planet Earth and all the critical praise that has surrounded it, I had high hopes. Reuniting with Purple Rain-era bandmates Wendy & Lisa, not to mention Sheila E., almost guaranteed a return to his 80's glory, right? Sadly, no.

Planet Earth is watered-down, mediocre Prince. It's not that it's bad. It's just not great. The highlights here are the 3 (yes, only 3) uptempo cuts. "Guitar" is fun, but too lightweight. "The 1 U Wanna C" is breezy guitar pop but its country-rock flavor will be lost on some fans. "Chelsea" is the only dance-able funk song here, but its lead vocals are by New Power Generation member Marva King. The rest of the 10 tracks here are slow to midtempo R&B ballads, none of which stand out. I like to think these songs will grow on me with time, but I remember the good ol' days when a new Prince album would be so addictive, it wouldn't leave my stereo for months! So come on, Prince! You're headed in the right direction- just give us something spicier to chew on!

One last thing- this CD has NO booklet or lyrics on the inside. Save yourself a trip to the store & just download it from I-tunes.

this CD has to grow on me. It's Prince and I'm a fan. I wouldn't encourage anyone to buy it, but I wouldn't send mine back either.

Ever since Musicology, all of Prince's albums have either been considered his return to form or another disappointment. To me, it's just unfair to compare 2007 prince to 1985 prince.

He's released so many albums and has so much material still locked up in the vault, you can't blame the guy for running low on ideas. All of the past greats still recording, from Paul McCartney to Stevie Wonder, aren't even coming close to their primes.

So instead of using the "Purple Rain was 5 stars, so Planet Earth gets 3" approach, I chose to judge it for what it is. All 10 songs are iPod worthy, and like 3121 and Musicology, this one has a couple truly Prince-calibur tracks mixed in. Some complain about the bad pacing, but this format makes you want to listen all the way through and gives the feeling of a true album, instead of a collection of songs.

A lot of reviewers will tell you simply to listen to his past work instead, but true fans can appreciate this just as a fresh Prince album that's among the best of the year and can be listened to front to back.

Everyone knows Prince is always jammin' but this CD has some timeless jams. And they are catchy, but wonderfully unique and artistic. Like secret pearls. So take a listen and discover the secret. I recommend starting the CD with track #10, take a listen to it a couple times, you'll be hooked - then move to track #8 and jam to this a few times. Oh yeah, you'll be feeling O(+> really good! Thank you my fellow musician, I respect you always! : ) Then move on up to #2 and hit the new single and remember that Prince can rock better than most since the 60's - he is a master, a true legend - then jam out to #5 and women - enjoy - this is Prince back at his absolute best. This song can bring life into the world over and over, this is a song of romance, love and truth. Jam out to #6 - and smile at his infectious groove, and kick back and check out the rest of this CD. Oh wait, check out #4 and wow - #3 so Smokey. I like this vocal. Very very Smokey. This CD is deep, different, and grows on you like his classic CD's. It is a 5 star effort, watch, it will grow on you more and more and more - how does he do it? At 48 he sounds 17 ready to explore and he is funkier than ANYONE out today - no one can compare. NO one. : ) Jam on my favorite one. : ) GOD BLESS ALWAYS. Love light in the universe..............PLANET EARTH! Make sure you check out his website for lyrics and pictures. You won't be disappointed, Prince, "Future Baby Mama" is so so sweet. I'd love to sing with you one day! You are just too much, and I LOVE IT!! You keep me young. : )