Prince must have said, in 2007, "I am going to record a mainstream pop-rock album." Because that is what he did. In his own way, of course. This album on the whole is relatively light and upbeat. The production is pretty slick. Most of the song structures are conventional, and the melodies are for the most part, well, melodic. About half the tracks feature classic rock guitar. This still leaves room for variation in style. And don't let the surface "lightness" of the music mislead you into thinking that the content is trivial.
The title track opens the album. It is an odd mid-tempo track with a chant-like melody, and it presents questions that are still being asked today: "50 years from now what will they say about us here?/Did we care for the water and the fragile atmosphere?". "Guitar" reminds me to some extent of early 70's glam-rock. "Somewhere Here On Earth" is a very slow ballad with a soulful vocal (Surely he was channeling Laura Nyro!) and lightly tripping piano. The title of this song refers to the place where "I know U're out there/I can feel Ur eyes on me...In this digital age, U could just page me/I know it's a rage, but it just don't engage me/I like the face 2 face." "Future Baby Mama" and "Mr. Goodnight" are light R&B tracks. "Chelsea Rodgers" is easygoing but solid disco-funk, and the music is appropriate for party girl Chelsea: "Hollywood or Times Square/If the party's fly, my girl is there/Purple's on and bounce in her hair/21st Century hippy, Chelsea don't care." This song also contains a line which is one of my favorite Prince lyrics: "Moses was a Pharaoh in the 18th Dynasty", referring to a theory held by many historians. "Lion Of Judah" and the title track are probably the darkest in mood. The final track "Resolution" is sort of playful and breezy, despite the serious comments about war: "The main problem with war/Is that nobody ever wins...Dropping bombs on each other/In the act of saving face/Tell me now people, how is that resolution?"
The last 5 Prince albums I bought before this one span a wide musical spectrum: funk, 80's pop-rock, contemporary electro-pop, polished "late-nite" R&B, and classic rock. "Planet Earth" proves once again that music was Prince's true love, and that he was a master in his own recording studio at projecting his unique interpretation of each genre.
- Audio CD (July 24, 2007)
- Original Release Date: July 24, 2007
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Sony Legacy
- Run Time: 45 minutes
- ASIN: B000RMC7H0
- Average Customer Review: 212 customer reviews
-
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#115,249 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #1255 in Funk (CDs & Vinyl)
- #4053 in Dance Pop (CDs & Vinyl)
Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?
