Ick’s Pick (Week XIII): Prince’s LotusFlow3r Set
This week, Michael joins me for a joint review of Prince’s new 3-cd set, wherein we discuss 2 out of the 3 cd’s in back and forth rapid-fire style. It’s incredible! Enjoy! – Pete
Michael: I should say at the outset that this is pretty damned critical, and that in reality I’ve had these records on repeat since Sunday…
Pete: Show of hands, who bought the CD set at Target and still hasn’t removed the Bria Valente disk? I guess it’s truly not 1985 anymore, when I would voraciously devour any Prince-related project put out in a store. But it looks like Bria will have to wait. I’ve got two new Prince albums to play with.
By the way, where was Bria during Prince’s big publicity week? Three Leno appearances and three shows in Los Angeles, and not even one appearance? Strange. Beautiful strange.
Pete’s Quick 21st Century Prince Album Review Disclaimer: There is nothing Prince will ever release again that will tap into every fiber of my being like he did with his 80’s output. I – and a lot of others – have a very special relationship with Dirty Mind, Controversy, and Purple Rain; with Around the World in a Day, Parade, Sign ‘o’ the Times, and Lovesexy – and all of the B-sides and outtakes and “related artists” of that era. The guy’s got a huge mountain to climb to ever match those records. It can’t and won’t happen. So having said that:
Here’s a song by song look at the two new albums…
LotusFlow3r
1. “From the Lotus..”
Michael: Prince has been listening to too much Santana.
Pete: I hear ‘Rainbow Children’ Redux in this opener. The jazzy groove sounds like it’s sliding right into P’s 2001 album. “Just like the SUN!…”
2. “Boom”
Michael: Indistinguishable backwards vocals in lieu of a proper chorus, ever so slightly auto-tuned vocals and wah-drenched leads give the record a kick in the pants to start. Dig it.
Pete: Agreed. LOVE the guitar and the voice effects. Prince has been tweaking his voice since what – “Erotic City”? The result is always odd & interesting. I’ll take it. Now we need to grab the vinyl so we can play the chorus backward (I mean forward)…
3. “Crimson and Clover”
Michael: I just jotted down “Meh” in my notes. I preferred when he saved covers for his aftershows (only).
Pete: I like it, BUT – I only compare it to the Tommy James original, which I adore. And when P rewrites the lyrics, it’s distracting (like his cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”). Cool songs to cover, but he’s tweaking classic songs. Sure, he’s “Prince-fying” them, but in then end, I just want to return to the originals.
4. “4Ever”
Michael: It just sounds like it belongs in a Disney movie. The major progression with the big chorus… it just doesn’t do it for me.
Pete: Funny, I thought along the same lines. It sounds sanitized and safe. “I can be your future lover / and you can be my future girl.” Prince singing that? Come on, give me the “International Lover” instead.
5. “Colonized Mind”
Michael: “All Along the Watchtower, Part II”? I realize I’m being overly critical here, but this just reads like a bitter old man bitching about getting duped with a record deal (2nd verse) in the middle of a perfectly honest social commentary.
Pete: Nice vibe, but you’re right, Michael. Who really wants to keep hearing Prince bitch about record deals in 2009, besides Prince? We get it, you were a slave to the industry. Boo record execs!
6. “Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful”
Michael: I like this one better live, good song though.
Pete: Not the most memorable of the bunch for me. Emancipation, disc 3. Love the synth though.
7. “Love Like Jazz”
Michael: He’s done jazzed-up funk so much better than this.
Pete: This one grabbed me from the first time I listened to it. I think it had a lot to do with hearing it first while I was driving at night. I love the da-da-da-da da-da-da-da “horn” part that pops up throughout the song. Real horns? Wish I were smart enough to distinguish. Liner notes would’ve been nice. Do I need to pay $77 for those?
8. “77 Beverly Park”
Michael: Three instrumental tracks? Really Prince? It’s not bad, it just reeks of ‘filler’ to me. She’s laughing, right?
Pete: Sorry Michael, I’m fished in on this one. I’m a sucker for his purty instrumentals like “Venus de Milo”, “Alexa de Paris”, and “The Sensual Everafter”. And nope, no April foolin’.
9. “Wall of Berlin”
Michael: I wish I knew who was playing drums on this one. Alas no liner notes to give credit where it’s due.
Pete: How could he fade out in the middle of that drumming madness, right when it’s heating up? This one had me crying for a “Wall of Berlin” extended 12” maxi-single, but P don’t do those no mo’. Good song – a smooth, flowing chorus, funky to rockin’ tempo changes. Cool lyric: “Not one for rituals but one thing I’ve found / everything’s better when u come around”.
<10. “$”
Michael: With shades of “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” this is the first track on this record to live up to the hype for me. The guitar tone is dope as hell and the horns coming in to sweeten up the deal make this the standout track for me.
Pete: The money reference had me thinking back to his other “$” song: “Love or $”, the B-side to “Kiss”. I’m not sold on it yet, but this one will be a long term keeper, I can feel it.
11. “Dreamer”
Michael: Obvious Hendrix nod does not do anything but uplift this power-trio banger. I’d love to hear this one segued live out of “Papa”… yeah, I know… I’m dreaming.
Pete: I’m thinking of the same era – “Dreamer” would have fit quite well on P’s Undertaker project, sandwiched between “Poor Goo” and “Honky Tonk Women”. Jimi’s spirit is alive & kickin’ hard.
12. “…Back to the Lotus”
Michael: I never thought I’d say this, but I miss the NPG Operator…
Pete: I like this ending though. Whatever voice alteration gizmo he’s got going here is right up my alley. It’ll take me 120 more listens to figure out what he’s saying. Or should I pay $77? (Hey subscribers, are there lyrics & liner notes in the purple kingdom?)
MPLsound
1. “There’ll Never B (Another Like Me)”
Michael: I’ve been rockin’ this one since it made its appearance on the Lotusflow3r site. Sure, it’s got a bit of New Power Soul in it, but come on… this is so dope!
Pete: Bring in the 80’s drum machine! You have to think Prince had fun on this album, revisiting the technology he used during his most innovative period. Yeah, this tune is fun, harmless funky Prince.
2. “Chocolate Box”
Michael: I don’t even miss him being dirty if he’s gonna bring the funk like this. Q-Tip drops a classic guest verse on this one. More positive use of auto-tune here, I dig when it’s used tastefully. Pop this one on before “Sleep Around” and you’ll get some asses wiggling.
Pete: “Wherethadrums”? Bringing the funk indeed. If any song this decade has begged for old dirty Prince, this is it. This needs some cussin’ up! I mean, heavy breathing Prince with no “come here baby and let me #*@ your $&#… mmmm, yeaahh”?? And yay for Q-Tip.
3. “Dance 4 Me”
Michael: Would not have been out of place on Parade. Dig it so hard!
Pete: If you’re hip to the old school, this one reminds you of Zapp’s “I Can Make You Dance”. This one has 80’s B-side written all over it.
4. “U’re Gonna C Me”
Michael: I’m a sucker for this brand of mid-tempo syrupy goodness (I will readily admit that “Future Baby Mama” was my favorite track from Planet Earth.) I liked the version on One Night Alone, I love this one.
Pete: Classic Prince falsetto lovey dovey time – complete with the “Beautiful Ones”-type drum sounds.
5. “Here”
Michael: Layer upon layer of layer of vocals, springy acoustic guitar, this is straight out of the 80’s purple cookbook.
Pete: Nice. Laid back. A spoken interlude where Prince pleads: “just believe in me and trust this ride”. Whoever you are, Prince wants you there. Stat.
6. “Valentina”
Michael: Funky to a fault. Can you picture a 16 year old Valentina Paloma Pinault listening to this… “Mama, why’s Uncle Prince hitting on you in a tune with my name?” Priceless.
Pete: Yeah, I’m slow. I’ve listened to this tune about a dozen times, and it took me until today (from Michael’s full name drop above & Google) to figure out that this is about Salma Hayek and her daughter Valentina. I’m slow. Very slow. Salma Hayek:”Curvier than a Fender Stratocaster guitar”.
7. “Better with Time”
Michael: Mmm-Hmm. Grown folk’s music!!
Pete: Another one that sounds like an Emancipation outtake. Not an early favorite at all. Whatever happened to the Prince slow jams that were fun as hell to sing along with? “Adore”, “Scandalous”, “Insatiable”, “Do Me, Baby”… how am I supposed to sing along in the shower to this one?
8. “Ol’ Skool Company”
Michael: Dig it… the new MPLSound. Put this one on repeat.
Pete: Enjoyable, but it seems like he’s trying a little hard on this one. He got the point across in the funkier “Musicology”. But it’s cool to hear him name drop Cee-Lo, Maxwell, and Christina Milian.
9. “No More Candy 4 U”
Michael: Would anyone be surprised if he admitted to pulling this one out of the vault circa 1982?
Pete: Nice closer. A quirky dose of pop-funk. But the underlying theme of the song is Prince’s disdain for others, including: *gasp* “all the haters on the internet / nobody’s lookin’ at you / no more candy 4 u / they got your number now fool”.
In Closing
Michael: I certainly have connected with MPLSound more than LotusFlow3r straight off. As with previous multiple disc Prince efforts, this could have been easily edited to a stellar single disc. The guitar heavy LotusFlow3r just seems indulgent when standing on its own. Don’t get me wrong, even a bad Prince record is still a good record, and for all of its faults it has truly redeeming qualities, I just happen to subscribe to the camp that he needs the editorial voice that he’s sorely been lacking in the last decade or so. MPLSound on the other hand is the record that I think most Prince fans have wanted to hear. When “F.U.N.K.” reared its funky head last year it was like a breath of fresh air. This record delivers on the promise of that track (albeit with less piss and vinegar) and a willingness to revisit his past a bit. Overall, I’ve been consistently more pleased with this offering than the last two. Well worth the $11.98!
Pete: I can’t even say I’m leaning more toward one than the other at this point. Like Michael, I’ve spent the entire week keeping them on constant rotation – and I discover new things and enjoy them more each time. I haven’t been able to do that with a Prince album in a while. His last three albums – Musicology, 3121, and Planet Earth –have their good moments, but I never felt like hearing them as a body of work over and over again. MPLsound and Lotusflow3r are both solid bodies of work in their own right. Could Prince have knocked it down to one album? Probably. But he’s one prolific dude in the studio, and he has his vision. This particular vision is packaged in a $11.98 3-cd set sold exclusively at Target.
A solid set overall. Now please Prince – get the show on the road!
BUY the LotusFlow3r set | Visit: LotusFlow3r.com
Video for “Chocolate Box”, feat. Q-Tip:
What the Kids Are Listening To: Asher Roth – “I Love College”
This week is pretty much the perfect storm for the music geek in me. Two new Prince albums on constant rotation (a familiar feeling from the good ol’ days), a Springsteen show on Friday, and Bruce Cockburn in Flagstaff on Saturday night. Yesiree, things are good in the Ickmusic universe this week!
So while I ponder my Ick’s Pick reviews of Lotusflow3r and MPLsound, I’m going to feed you a steaming pile of garbage. Sound good? Good! Blame it on my friend Trevor, who for some reason was hooked on MTV’s Spring Break special over the weekend (dirty old man! psst, did you record it?), and told me about a perfect candidate for this feature – a song called “I Love College”.
Intrigued, I returned to my lair tonight and dialed it up on YouTube. The next 4 minutes (which I will never get back) were spent watching a scrawny white frat-prone lad from Pennsylvania doing his best Eminem impression. With witty and incisive lyrics like: “Time isn’t wasted when you’re getting wasted”.
And you can sing along to the chorus if you choose:
Um, that party last night was awfully crazy I wish we taped it
I danced my ass off and had this one girl completely naked
Drink my drink and smoke my weed but my good friends is all I need
Pass out at 3, wake up at 10, go out to eat then do it againI can’t rant too hard against young Asher. He’s only appealing to the lowest common denominator, and he has his payday as a result. But I still hate it. I hate it in a LFO “Summer Girls” kind of way.
Trevor, you owe me a drink.
[“I Love College” is currently #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and rising.]
Prince on Leno
For anyone up past the nightly news the last couple of nights, you may have caught Prince on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Wednesday night was funk night, as P. pulled out “Ol’ Skool Company” from his new Linn-driven funk album MPLSound. Last night was guitar night, as we saw the man absolutely shred sh*t up on his Strat with “Dreamer” – which comes from another new one, the guitar-driven Lotusflow3r.
We still have tonight, and if playing one song off of each new album is his M.O., then tonight we’ll see his new lady, Bria Valente. Her new album, Elixer, has been panned in every review I’ve read – sort of like an album full of safe, cheesy Pussycat Dolls ballads. BUT, I haven’t heard it, so I can’t judge quite yet. Look for my take on the new releases in next week’s Ick’s Pick.
If you want the new albums now, and if you’re ready to part with $77, you can head over to Lotusflow3r.com and pay your money down right now. Or, you can be like me and wait til Sunday, when the three albums are released at Target for $11.98.
The Leno appearances are still riding the YouTube waves as we speak. It probably won’t be long, so catch ’em while you can…
Prince – “Ol’ Skool Company” – Leno, 3/25/09
Prince – “Dreamer” – Leno, 3/26/09
Dreamer Jay Leno 2009 from Irresistible Rich on Vimeo.
Update: And here’s Friday night’s performance – the funk was flowin’…
Prince – “Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful”- Leno, 3/27/09
Ick’s Pick (Week XII): Dan Deacon
I’m one of the most open-minded listeners around when it comes to music. I can find something to like in everything – from classical to jazz to country to late 19th century Panamanian bordello jingles. So given that this was another “Release Tuesday” in which absolutely nothing piqued my interest, I decided to go way out there. I narrowed it down to Mastodon‘s new album ‘Crack the Skye’ – a progressive metal concept album about tsarist Russia – and the new one from Dan Deacon, a NYC-based experimental electronic indie rocker. After a couple listens to each, I settled on Deacon’s new album, Bromst.
The All Music review had some interesting buzz words that attracted me to the album – “Noise pop” and the “slowly burgeoning indie rock fetish of voices”, a la Fleet Foxes and Animal Collective. So I took some listens, and I realized this: if I was left locked in a room with this album playing over and over, I would quickly turn clinically insane. All due respect to Deacon and the people who enjoy this music, but this is clearly not for me.
The song that most leans toward the “fetish of voices” is “Wet Wings”, which brings to mind a creepy hospital ward full of Nurse Ratchetts rambling psychotically in the night.
There are some interesting moments, when a cool groove takes hold, and you feel yourself getting pulled in. But you quickly realize that surrendering yourself to this music is a sure trip to the funny farm. At least for me. This is some intense shizz… Dan, you’re a mega-talented dude, but you scare me.
Got headphones? Close your eyes, turn this up, and pee your pants…
Dan Deacon – Padding Ghosts
Buy Bromst.
Links: Official Site
All the Dark Horses
This tune came out of nowhere one day, swooped me right up and carried me along with it. Beautiful song, beautiful lyrics, and judging by the strong 2004 album that this song is a part of (‘Weightlifting’), a grossly underrated band.
They’re Trashcan Sinatras, the boys are from Scotland, and this is “All the Dark Horses”…
Trashcan Sinatras – All the Dark Horses
Links: Official Site
Video: Clapton Joins the Allman Bros. for “Little Wing”
Anyone out there lucky enough to catch any of the Allman Brothers shows during their current Beacon run? They’re trotting out some great special guests: Trey and Page from Phish, David Hidalgo and Cesar Rojas from Los Lobos, and, a couple nights ago, Erick Clapton showed up for a few.
I just sat mesmerized for the last 7 minutes watching this version of “Little Wing”…
Ick’s Pick (Week XI): Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears
This week’s new releases were a pretty blah bunch as far as I was concerned. I lost my focus listening to Old Californio’s new album over and over. But alas, I committed to listening to one new album every week of this year. So week 11 (xi), here we go.
It’s SXSW week, and as much as I try to ignore the mountain of e-mails and Tweets and coverage everywhere I turn, the fact is I’m jealous, and I’d drink a gallon of hot sauce to be in Austin right now. I’m shooting for next year as my 1st SXSW experience.
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears are from Austin, and they’re playing around town this week in support of their brand new album, ‘Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!‘
This release stuck out from the rest as something I clearly needed to hear: Black Joe Lewis channels his inner James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding for some soul revival craziness. This album clocks in at 30 minutes, and is filled with Lewis’s spirited, good humored (and sometimes explicit) hootin’ and hollerin, tasty retro (60’s) soul grooves, and a great horn section courtesy of some members of Austin’s Grupo Fantasma.
This one will be perfect for a weekend barbecue and some cold beer. You may wanna grab a babysitter though, unless you want your kids jumping around to “Get Yo S***”, “Humpin'”, and “Big Booty Woman”. You can thank Black Joe for leaving “Bitch, I Love You”, another one of his songs, off this record (don’t worry, Joe’s no misogynist – even you ladies will be groovin’).
BUY Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!
Links: Official Site | Twitter
Take a listen to the horn blasts on “Gunpowder”, the album’s opener:
Old Californio’s Mother Road [instant fave]
We all have those friends who decry the state of new music today. “All new music sucks!”, they say. Of course, some of these people think Creed was the best thing since sliced bread. Well, every time I hear these people, I now have another band to fire back with: Old Californio.
Last Friday, I opened up my snail mail to find their forthcoming CD, ‘Westering Again‘, inside. Instead of tossing it on the stack of CD’s I need to listen to, it went right into my car CD player. I don’t know exactly why. Cover art? Cool band name? Fate? How ’bout all of the above.
Less than 30 seconds into the opening track, a spiritual experience ensued. The song is “Mother Road”, and it’s easily the best tune I’ve heard all year. Rootsy, earthy, homegrown, purely American rock n roll – a perfect blend of inspiring, get-out-on-the-road lyrics, unforgettable riffs, great chord changes, and a harmonious sing-along chorus. If the Traveling Wilburys sprung back to life, this could easily lead off their third album.
“You got to get on the mother road
just like a river reflectin’ everything it’s told
You got to get on
Get your story told.”You’ll understand after you’ve hit the repeat button 5 times and you’re singing along.
Old Californio is singer/songwriter/guitarist Rich Dembowski, Jason Chesny (bass), Levi Nuñez (keys, including some great B3), and Justin Smith (drums). The album was produced by the band along with Alfonso Rodeñas (Mark Olson, Los Tigres Del Norte), and recorded in their old chicken coop garage turned studio in Pasadena, California. There’s clearly a West Coast / southwest-y feel throughout the album. I hear shades of Dylan (“From the Mouths of Babes”), Calexico (the horns on “Riparian High”), and the Grateful Dead (during “Warmth of the Sun”, you’d swear that late 70’s-era Dead were morphing into “Not Fade Away”).
I’m an upbeat person by nature, and maybe that’s why this album connects with me so easily. Among the Californian soundscapes, the reverence for the great outdoors and the escapism, there is an undercurrent of positive energy – an “It’s good to be alive” vibe. I can get behind that.
Old Californio – Mother Road
Westering Again will be released on April 7th.
Links: Old Californio’s Bandcamp.
Bang the Bodhran, It’s St. Patty’s Day…
…and I hope you boiled the breakfast early. Be safe out there. It’s Amateur Hour, you know.
What the Kids Are Listening to: Flo Rida’s “Right Round”
“You spin my head right round right round when you go down when you go down down.” – Flo Rida, “Right Round”
Sigh.
Yeah, well, this is the #1 song in the country right now. I guess subtlety and any semblance of wit or originality have gone right out the window. This is an epidemic in popular music today (“Right Round” is only the latest example), and one reason I shy away from even listening to snippets of the Billboard Hot 100 singles.
How did Mr. Flo Rida comes across the Dead or Alive ‘80’s hit “You Spin Me ‘Round”, which quite obviously forms the backbone of this song? “[I]t was actually my A&R from Atlantic that brought the beat to my attention.” [source]
Now that’s inspiration.
I hope Pete Burns and Dead or Alive are seeing some fat royalty checks for this mess.
I’m old and grumpy, and this… is what the kids are listening to.
