Prince's latest album 3121 is almost like 2 mini-albums in one. In the old days of vinyl it would be nicely split between the first 7 songs on side one and the final 5 on side two. Unfortunately, side one is a throwaway effort to create songs to showcase tired reworkings of classic Prince sounds. Side two is a different story - fresh, loose, contemporary, and aurally rewarding.
3121 Opens With Tired Reworkings of Classic Prince Sounds
Long-term Prince fans are likely to worry as the song "3121" kicks off the album 3121. It's the introduction to the mansion tour that is the loose concept binding the entire album together. Unfortunately, it sounds like a pale remake of the "1999" curtain-opener to the album of the same name or about as effective as Willy Wonka's opening musical number in the latest Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that self-destructs melting dolls and spewing flames before horrified visitors. "3121" is not that bad, but it doesn't bode well for what comes later.
For 7 songs the album fails to catch fire. It mostly inspires you to return to Prince's earlier music for the wrong reason - a nagging sense he's done this all better in the past. Even the pleasantly funky "Black Sweat" seems weak next to a classic like "Kiss." The ballad "Te Amo Corazon" sounds aimless, and, a rarity for Prince, boring.
The Gloom is Lifted and 3121 Concludes in High Style
My best advice, however, is to stick with the album. A curtain lifts with the charging beat and electric guitar work that kicks off "Fury." From here on out instead of trying to work a new song around the effort to showcase past glories and inventiveness, Prince starts with the song and molds the instrumental support to fit the tune's natural trajectory. The squalling guitar of "Fury," singalong choruses of "The Word," and trademark pleading, wailing vocals that close "The Dance" are all memorable because they are part of a complete song structure that works.
Tamar, Prince's latest female protege, is featured on the album's standout track "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed." Prince ventures into Mary J. Blige's hip hop soul territory and comes out with an unqualified success. If any song here were to bring Prince back to the pop singles chart, this cut is it.
Prince is Still Relevant and Worth Watching
The effortless ease with which Prince seems to completely update his sound on "Beautiful, Loved and Blessed" and the joyous noise he generates in closing the album with "Get on the Boat," a rewrite of the O'Jays classic "Peace Train" via watercraft, prove he is still well worth watching.
The temptation to rest on past laurels could be a serious one for Prince, but the most likely reality is he remains a restless artist who doesn't know how to exist without creating. He has proven with this and his last album Musicology that he can still command an almost encyclopedic repertoire of the past 50 years of pop music. However, his use of that material has been somewhat spotty on both of these collections. 3121 does not answer the question of whether or not a new classic album is just around the corner, but it does keep us interested enough to keep paying attention.
