3121 - Prince

Even though he’s been producing music continuously for nearly three decades, Prince’s self-proclaimed “comeback” has reached its second installment with the release of 3121. And he’s succeeding. While his solid 2004 release, Musicology, played like a big middle finger to current musical trends, the government, and everybody in the audience that ever claimed that the man could no longer bring it sonically; Prince’s latest effort does something that he has not accomplished since 1996’s Emancipation, and that’s have fun with the music, confidently and without trying too hard to do anything but make music.

This freedom is evident on the title track, which is not only the funkiest cut on the album, but also the triumphant return of Prince’s curious Camille persona, who hasn’t come out to play like this since the 80s. The lead single, "Te Amo Corazon" is ultra smooth and infused with Latin vibes and some nice tricks on the guitar, while its follow-up, "Black Sweat", is a certifiable club banger with a minimalist drum loop and studio effects that Pharrell Williams dreams about. In contrast, "Get on the Boat" closes the record with a joyous jam session featuring stellar performances by percussionist Sheila E. and the NPG horn section.

Even his missteps on this album hold merit. "Lolita" contains some of Prince’s more banal lyrics and a backing track that sounds like a midi from an early Megaman game, but it’s undeniably smile-inducing and simple fun. "Fury", meanwhile, hardly treads any new ground in the world of rock, but Prince’s brilliant performance of the song on Saturday Night Live will leave fans salivating at the recorded track in anticipation of the coming tour this summer. "Satisfied" is a decent enough ballad and would be attention-grabbing if done by any other artist, but Prince has done so much better with the genre that it’s not even worth mentioning.

Other songs such as "Incense and Candles" and "The Word" are a little overproduced, but the former remains a seductive slow-jam regardless, and the latter benefits from the extra studio time, producing a dreamy aural landscape for a Gospel track that is rather subtle by Prince’s normally heavy evangelical standards. "Beautiful, Love and Blessed" on the other hand is unapologetically devout and hopeful, as Prince intentionally steps down his performance in order to showcase his newest protégé, Tamar, who unfortunately does not do much to promote herself on this uplifting song. For a fleeting moment on "Get on the Boat" however, her backing vocals soar even higher than Maceo Parker’s saxophone in an amazing display that offers a glimmer of hope for Prince’s latest pet project.

Overall, 3121 is a very good album, a better record than Musicology, and will ultimately keep Prince relevant in today’s musical environment with strong grooves and clever song-writing. It is not, however, groundbreaking in any way, and will not be remembered as one of the best in Prince’s discography, or anybody’s list of favorite records. It may be unfair to continuously compare the man today with his 28 year career, but that’s the downside of being a musical legend.

Rating: 3.5/5 - Prince is on a different scale than most, but it's definitely worth buying.
Top Track: 3121, Get on the Boat
Reason to Buy: Prince is still great at what he does.
Reasons Not to Buy this Album: You're stuck in the 80s and have unreasonably high expectations.

Nothing but the Water - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Grace Potter is a vermonster of soul. She brings heart wrenching vocals, and a feisty organ style to a band that is reminiscent of Big Brother and the holding company. While there’s a bit of Joplin in her voice, the Nocturnals are no sixties revival. They reach deeper to the roots of their music touching on blues, gospel, country and a bit of southern funk. They're a band that can warm any barn on a snowy Vermont night by pulling heart strings and shaking hips.

Their sophomore release was recorded in a barn at Goddard College, and retains a rustic and genuine feel. There are minimal over dubs and plenty of raw musicianship. Nothing But the Water is an album with fluidity and direction. It doesn’t sound like a collection of songs packaged on a CD ready to be ripped, and shuffled on Ipods. Songs like "Toothbrush and My Table", "Ragged Company", "Treat Me Right", and "Joey" are crafted as well as any single and would stand out in a play list. The title song Nothing but Water is split into two tracks in a move that can only remind shufflers that the recording is meant to be heard in its entirety. The mastery is the way the album presents itself smoothly, shifting through styles and arrangements introducing the talents of the band without overloading the listener.

From the unaccompanied Hammond intro to the final vocal fade out. This album is Grace Potter and her energetic backing band. They're hear to take you on some kind of ride. The album, like it's prime single candidate, Ragged Company begins sparse and austere but builds to a captivating climax. "Treat Me Right" has a great beat and continues the albums savage theme of love gone awry. The record hinges on the raucous blues number, Joey, a song about violent lovers and restraining orders. Afterwards, Grace quiets her band for a Robert Johnson-esque number "2:22", before traveling through Norah Jones’ Nashville on "All but One". I enjoy the instrumental jam session "Below the Beams" it pays a nice homage to some of Goddard’s more noted musical progeny while clearing the listeners minds in preparation for the albums final song.

"Nothing but the Water" is a tour de force live. Nothing can capture the power an presence of seeing Grace belt this out in person, but the album version uses some of the studio's advantages to present a uniquely stirring take on a song that showcases so many of the bands strengths yet sounds little like any other song on the album.

Also, I'd strongly recommend Grace's live show. I've only seen her in opening slots but I've been impressed or blow away each time. She's unreal. If I were involved in a collegiate activities committee, I'd book her now while she's cheap.

Rating: 4.5/5
Top Track: Joey and Nothing But the Water (I&II It's one song).
Reason to Buy: The copies of this without Hollywood Records' imprint will be a collectors item.
Reasons Not to Buy this Album: You're to distracted by Grace's figure to get your wallet out of your pocket.

Let it Die - Feist

Leslie Feist's major label debut is eclectic, relaxed, and musically deep. Feist's greatest strength is her voice which isn't technically perfect but provides a unique, and versatile sound. She slides from acoustic pop, to jazz, and techno tinged disco covers. It's positively delightful.

The single Mushaboom is a pooped up treatment of the albums typically sparse, but thought provoking soundscapes. There are layers of tracks but the arrangements leave ample space instead of forming a collage. I'm a fan of both approaches, and find that there's considerable strength in this recording. Its one of those records that's guaranteed to grow on me in time. Not on any objective merit but because of some subtle awesomeness.

Rating: 3.5/5
Top Track: Mushaboom and Leisure Suite I'm not deciding.
Reason to Buy: You want danceier Madeleine Peyroux
Reasons Not to Buy this Album: You're still clinging to your freedom fries and a hatred of all things French.

Pandora and Rhapsody

So, I've recently subscribed to two music services, namely Pandora and Rhapsody. Being something of a budding audiophile, I was reluctant to get on the online music bandwagon, but I've been very pleasantly surprised by both of these services.

Pandora -- This was the first service that I signed up for. It's now technically free, but it wasn't when I first joined. Essentially, the idea here is that they've hired a lot of musicians and catalogued a lot of music. However, instead of simply putting songs into genres, they actually took the time to analyze is thoroughly for different musical qualities. So, when you request a song, it will give you songs that are like it based on musicality rather than the 'people who like this also like Britney Spears' crap you'll find elsewhere.

The end result is simply amazing. Lots of people are talking about last.fm, but I still don't trust people to like what I like. Rather, you can tell this system what you like and what you don't, and it will adjust to what you like. There is always the danger of over-specifying and getting into a loop of the same few bands, but a little care goes a long way with this. Eventually, you can create your own radio stations that place a wide variety of music you like.

Rhapsody -- With the purchase of my new MP3 player I felt it might be time to invest in some online music. I considered the iPod/iTunes route, but found it too damn expensive. With rhapsody, for $15 a month ($10 with no mp3 player) you can download anything you want. This way, you don't need to be online to play the songs.

This isn't without it's downside, however. Like any other service, the songs die once you cancel the service. Also, you need to be on Windows to use the player they provide and transfer music. There is a web interface to Mac and Linux, but no saving the tunes and you need to remain online.

Conclusion -- Overall, both these services rock. Pandora is definitely a truly novel idea which I have much love for. Rhapsody is great for me because of all the music I consume. So far, I have downloaded 2,488 tracks. By my math, at a rate of 0.99 per track, I'd have to keep the service for 13.68 years before I paid the same amount as I would at iTunes. Yeah, they'll die if I cancel, but I still plan on buying cds I really like anyway.

Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy - Return to Forever Featuring Chick Corea

There was a time in the early 70s when the drugs were good, and jazz launched upwards into space. Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy captures that time well. On this record, return to forever sound a bit like one would expect Boston to sound if Boston was in fact a jazz band. Band leader and keyboardist Chick Corea composed 5 of the albums 6 pieces and manages to blend soaring guitars with dissonant and exploratory keyboards. It's sublime moments of weirdness are entirely captivating.

I'm not sure I'd recommend the disc for road tripping, but I can say that the back roads of New Haven made a lot of sense while I cruised about listing to this track. And it was in broad daylight, on a Sunday when all the bars were closed.

Rating: 4/5 - It's awesome, but no longer earth shattering
Top Track: Captain Senor Mouse
Reason to Buy: Your lava lamp is looking to breed.
Reasons Not to Buy this Album: You can't stomach any of your money going to Support Scientology. Corea speaks no ill of L. Ron Hubbard.