Since his 1978 debut, Prince has been known for his eccentric and synthetic music production, layered R&B grooves, taboo lyrics, and his irresistible and instantly recognizable falsetto (see "Kiss"). 3121 finds the bad-boy pop-prodigy in regular form, although the edgy, sexualized words have subsided some since his more recent conversion to Jehovah's Witness. Don't let this frighten you; the absence of such content is hardly noticeable because the alternate lyrical quality, and of course, the music, are so damn good...READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE: http://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=5321

I have always loved Prince. He is a great entertainer. I have been to a few of his concerts and he has to be one of the most talented artists ever but this album just didn't do it for me. That is thing about him though it's his music I just wasn't into this album.

For the first time in his career, Prince seems to be out of ideas. So he does one of two things: either falls back on his old reliable clichés (title track, an admittedly enjoyable mix of party clichés; "Black Sweat" and "Love", poor "When Doves Cry" rehashes), or sets his sights for the Urban Contemporary market ("Incense and Candles"; "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed"; "The Dance").I assume he could be doing much worse, but I'd rather not hear him run over the same old ground. Needless to say, the days of Prince blending multiple genres into one song are over: the only major experiment is the Spanish tinged love ballad "Te Amo Corazon", and I'm not so sure what I think of that one. The good news is Prince still can make some good music in this comfortable little nostalgia mode of his: I've gotta admit that "Satisfied" is a hell of a ballad; and "Lolita" is funky as anything Prince has ever done; "Fury" boasts a few scorching guitar parts; "Get on the Boat" has all kinds of enthusiasm and fun horns, and best of all, a pair of sax solos from Maceo Parker, who proves that he still has a lot of talent left in him; the title track is very entertaining and danceable, even if I don't like the computerized voiceover. But I think that Musicology is a much better record: it's got more of Prince's personality, that's for sure. There are no real distinguishing features of 3121 - he sounds like, I don't know... Chris Brown or someone like that. And that's not good. And forget social relevance - another thing Musicology had at least a bit of. Well, at least there's no absolute crime against humanity to it. Then again, this is Prince we're talking about, and not Souljah Boy.

Prince has been pumping out albums for about 30 years and like so many others that fall in to this category people buy it because it is familiar. When listening to this album you are obviously listening to a Prince cd. It could have been written in 1986 or 1996, or in this case, 2006. It isn't a bad listen but he has done it all before, he just does it a little different here, changes a few things here and there and releases it as new material. Don't get me wrong I think Prince is one of the best musicians "artists" in the past 30 years but he could have stopped some years ago and the musical landscape wouldn't have noticed or been altered. He once shocked and awed us with his genius, now he is complacent with doing the same old thing...too bad. With that said, I would never miss the man live, if you haven't seen him, go see him and enjoy. I am originally from Minneapolis and have seen him countless times. This album is not worth your time if you like to hear new sounds and creativity unless you have never heard a Prince album, skip it and go to a local indie bar and hear some new sounds.

During the 80's and early 90's Prince was THE superstar. The late 90's and early 00's weren't as nice to him but he returned to form with two stellar releases (this and the previous album Musicology).

This is a great CD. Prince is one of the best artists for many reasons. It's quite a good release I suggest all Prince fans check out.

Highly recommended.