Let’s come right out and say that it’s pretty damn difficult for Prince to put out a BAD record. Many will disagree with me citing some of his 90’s work. Unfortunately, they overlook masterpieces such as Come, The Gold Experience, and Chaos & Disorder as nothing more than self-indulgent footnotes in his discography. Truthfully, the only terrible record that Prince has put out was possibly Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic and that’s because it reeked of Clive Davis trying to make him into a cross over sensation. Prince has, however, made some creatively stagnant records like Diamonds & Pearls and Around The World In A Day where his true artistry really isn’t pushed forward. His new offering Planet Earth falls into this category, for while the hooks are all pretty much intact and the songs are fun, they just don’t sound like a musical genius at work.
The album begins with the epic opening of “Planet Earth,” gentle keyboards building alongside Prince’s driving guitar and guttural basslines. The track breaks off into some sweet vocal crooning from The Artist’s backup band and the brass section swells. Meanwhile, synthesizers continue to push the song upward to a positively cosmic cataclysm (and blistering solo) as Prince sings, “So shall it be written, so shall it be sung…” The great pacing continues on the single that Verizon wireless has milked for all its worth. “Guitar” keeps drawing insurmountable comparisons to U2’s The Edge, but the dancey backbeat and wah soaked solo sways and swaggers like only Prince knows how.
Sonically, Planet Earth is kind of a hodgepodge of sounds but this doesn’t make the record stand out, it makes it seem passé. It seems that Prince’s best material (not counting the expansiveness of Purple Rain) has always been when he explores every asset that a certain sound will give him. Even his most recent works were decisive; the funk of Musicology and sonic experimentation of 3121 are proof of that. This is not so on Planet Earth. “Future Baby Mama” sounds like an outtake of one of his slow jams from the 80s. It’s not that it’s a bad song by any means, but like many of the other songs here, it’s a retread. Planet Earth feels unfocused, and as a result Prince seems bored. “Chelsea Rogers” sports a funky and soulful vibe to it, but this was mastered far better on other albums and seems like some added instrumentation would have fleshed it out better. “All The Midnight’s In All The World” is actually the one experiment on the album that works. The track is rather stripped down for Prince standards. It features the Prince’s great wailing delivery over a jumpy piano line, a full backing band, and acoustic guitar. Still, most of these are good songs, not great.
Maybe the question to ask then, is if listeners want radio friendly (Since Planet Earth is most certainly that) from Prince this late in his career? Truth be told, if Planet Earth were made by another artist rather than Prince, it would probably be closer to album of the year. Look at this review itself as proof, its difficult to separate Prince from the legacy he’s crafted. Every piece of music he records from now on will forever be judged through a critical microscope due to the incredibly complex pieces of music the man has made over his career. Then again if all listeners have is Prince-by-numbers, I’m sure there could be far worse things on this planet earth.
Sounds Like: Prince….only he could make this album.
Key Cuts: Planet Earth, Guitar, All The Midnights In All The World
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