Prince “20Ten” Review
What followed the unexpected announcement of Prince’s new album in June was something that had to surprise even his most die-hard fans. (Then again, it is pretty much par for the course in terms of Prince’s career… the last decade even more so.) With less than a month’s notice, it was not only announced that 20Ten would be released, but that it would be released for free via some 2.5 million newspapers in the UK. While the prolific artist followed a similar promotional path for the release of Planet Earth in 2007, this move most certainly stepped things up; a decision which Prince considers logical despite many musicians opting to release “free” albums online rather than through a physical outlet. In fact, Prince took to condemning the digital publishing model, explaining to The Mirror‘s Peter Willis that “The internet’s completely over.” He continued, “I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it.”
Though not released through the exact same means, Prince nonetheless made waves last year when it was announced that he would work exclusively with the Minneapolis-based retailer Target (in the U.S., at least) in releasing his new collection of music. That collection materialized in the form of the three-pack of LotusFlow3r, MPLSound & Elixer; the last being an album by his protégée and girlfriend Bria Valente. While still bearing some fantastic songs the discs were an inconsistent affair however: though it still showcased Prince’s distinctly brilliant musicianship, LotusFlow3r lacked general cohesion, MPLSound acted as more of a party record, primarily relying on its funk, and Valente’s Elixer was, well… a fine attempt at a debut album. Despite taking a risk in choosing his own adventure with the distribution of his music, the release(s) debuted at the number two position on the Billboard 200, once again reconfirming that for all his unconventional decisions, Prince still knew what he was doing. And regardless of who is fronting the bill to press a few million copies of 20Ten and scatter them across the UK, Prince is once again making sure that his music is released and heard on his terms. When all is said and done however, the standout memory many will likely have of the release won’t relate to the out-of-the-blue announcement or it being “free,” but rather something much more important: 20Ten is a remarkable step towards recapturing both a style and energy of an artist from years-gone-by, and will no doubt be remembered as one of Prince’s finest releases from the past two decades.
The album immediately jumps off with the energetic bounce of “Compassion.” The song is carried by a tinny beat while Prince and his backup singers trade spots, all coming together with the hook, “Whatever skin you’re in, we all need to be friends, all happy again: so much better than nothing.” A distorted guitar introduces “Begging Endlessly,” the instrument briefly buzzing before giving way to an equally slick synth line. Questioning the limits of the world, Prince wades through the track while relating the depth of the universe to the extent with which love can flow. Though chiming in later with a fairly basic guitar line, the instrument ultimately does little but fill a bit of time before taking a backseat to the impassioned lyrical theme of the track. Prince’s self-described favorite song on the album—”Future Soul Song”—continues by gently slowing down the pace of things.
Lifting the tempo back up, “Sticky Like Glue” interjects an upbeat pace, eventually coming to a head as Prince trumps the understated funk by flat-out-rapping. In his brief suggestive roll-out he concludes by referring to himself as a “gracious host,” and in case you were wondering, that’s about as subtle as Prince gets on the record. “Act of God” continues the upbeat rhythm that was revived with “Sticky Like Glue.” While refraining from becoming preachy, the song does relate to a number of comments Prince made to Willis about the direction of the world during their interview. Explaining the decision to name the album as he did, Prince explained, “I just think it’s a year that really matters. I think the world’s tilting on its axis, it’s fraught with misinformation. George Orwell’s vision of the future is definitely here with us. These are very trying times.” “Act of God” follows this idea as it examines the world’s financial and political turmoil as well as the crumbling level of personal freedoms in our culture, all of which Prince also scrutinizes for the transparency within the justification given by those in charge. For as explicit as Prince tends to be with his views on life, the song comes off as more of a question of what’s going on here than a statement of condemnation. “Lavaux” begins with a slapping-base and synth line as Prince opens up, “Take me to the vineyards of Lavaux.” Expanding on the Switzerland-based region before transporting to Portugal, he continues by explaining how he would go anywhere to follow the path which is right for him.
“Walk In Sand” continues by once again slowing things down. If only as a reminder of how remarkably broad the appeal of his vocal sensuality is, Prince seems to effortlessly reveal the song’s lyrics, simply crooning, “Nothing’s better than to walk in sand, hand in hand with you.” Both the romantic theme and pace of the song casually bleed into the following track, “Sea Everything.” The bouncy “Everybody Loves Me” jumps in after, awkwardly shifting the pace of the album as the simple vocals repeatedly exclaim, “Tonight I love everybody, everybody loves me.” The song shifts between a variety of phases, touching on both ’80s synth and classic saloon-sounding piano along the way while adding some of the most primitive lyrics on 20Ten, “There ain’t nothin’ to it, but to do it.” “Laydown,” the album’s “bonus track,” is such an outlier for good reason; that reason, however, isn’t because it’s not up to snuff with the rest of 20Ten. The dense song is grittier than anything else on the record and offers more swagger than Prince previously exhibited throughout the album’s other songs. “You need to lay it down and let me show you how we do this thing up in funky town/From the heart of Minnesota here comes the purple Yoda guaranteed to bring the dirty new sound.” 20Ten comes to an end as a fuzzy guitar glows while the infectious echo of “You need to lay it down” floats along in the background.
Many purists and longtime fans would likely argue that, musically, Prince never truly stopped being the person that he has long-since become known and loved for. That said, as a character, the enigmatic musician has continually focused on the evolution of his sound and style; something which has often manifested itself in inconsistency. While this has taken different forms over the past decade—hell, the past three decades—with 20Ten the shift just happens to return the musician to a sound which parallels some of his finest work. Be it Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth, or either of last year’s albums, the legend of Prince’s music from yesteryear has continually remained at the heart of any discussion surrounding whatever he has recorded in recent memory. With 20Ten however, Prince has given friends, fans and critics alike a reason to not only celebrate his music once again, but also a reason to stop arguing about if and when he’d return to prominence. With 20Ten, Prince is definitely back.
Excellent!
Agreed
Genius artist. Genius CD.
Great review and well said! This CD us brilliant!
So many amazing tracks it’s simply awesome!
Hot Summer indeed!!!
A very solid album in the sense of every word. The Purple One is back, Hell he never left!
so disapointed, such a die hard fan that i am i much prefered lotus flower and 3121, this has got very little to offer but i guess prince doesn’t need to prove anything to me.
This CD sucks. There are absolutely NO hooks and the lyrics are preachy crap. The last truly great CD prince did was Diamonds and Pearls. The man lost it nearly 20 years ago….but hey…at least he still has his hand clap drum machine oiled up.
Jamie Stack. Have you got stax-o-wax in your ears. Go and wash them out. Like the best of albums, its a grower. I didn’t like it at all at first, kept playing it and now I love it. Go back and listen to crappy Tony M rapping on Diamonds and Pearls album and you’ll cringe. We need to just move with Prince and accept where he’s going because you can’t expect any man to stay stuck in the past just to try and please us all. He’ll never please us all, opinions on his tunes are so varied. Some people say things that astound me, others say things that I immediately relate to. So there will always be somebody to moan about him. The problem is he’s actually spoilt us in reality. You’re also 20 years older yourself since Diamonds and Pearls, so your impressionability and excitability will have waned too. Prince is not the only person changing with time, you are too, and so am I. Do you know, we all whittle on about the glory days and his genius in the 80′s, but if we all examine it properly, how many of us truly put on those albums on rotation and thrill at them today, and how many truly put on his more recent “noughties” material. I wish for the feeling of yesteryear yet actually find I’m more inclined to play his more recent output.I miss the glory days, but that was not just Prince, I miss my own impressionability too. I had Prince to worship, now I’ve got a wife and two sons to worship first. Also, we’ll never get the same 80′s feel anyway, because that was a decade of “superstars”. We are now in an era of throwaway, disposable music from too many artists and a superstar status is no longer felt by the youth of today. They just throw away their music like they just drop trash in the street. We were lucky in the 80′s. Kids today will never know the feeling of doting on a few true mega-stars who gave us such quality music. Enough already! Dave
listening now as i write,Prince 20ten cd free in a newspaper,i have something i can hold in my hand,dont like mp3 players,anyway i think its very good and getting better everyday i listen.9 OUTTA 10.
In response to David Gibbons (and the columnist), u hit it right on the nose! We are 1, and 2 to watch 1 man grow through 30+ years musicaly, artisticly, spiritualy, and 2 watch 1 man try regain freedom to control his own path. is inspiring and uplifting (as u will find in his music the passion.). 20Ten is timeless Prince, it’s a piece of the bridge that connects us, it keeps a real music lover excited about the future and not the past! C the comments next year!
“Prince is truly back”? When did he go away? By the way, this new CD is a bore and thank God he decided to sell it as a newspaper covermount.
up yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!what u know about MUSIC anyway SUCKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was lucky enough to get a copy of Prince’s 20Ten sent to me in Canada and I gotta say it’s great music! Thanks for posting the thorough review.
This new cd only has 2 good songs on it, the rest is crap he wrote in 2 minutes. You should also know that Sticky like glue wasnt recorded as new material… most of these songs are from the vault, written over his career and probably redone for this album. I have been a fan since the first album, and he needs to stop the preaching and wars, and freedom and slavery, he never used to write about that crap, he was always, “that army bag, such a double drag, party up” …. where is the party man? we need more RAW deep purple concord jams… where are they?
prince was, and is great,a pioneer.
most people only have one, maybe two, good albums inside of them, this guy, between 1984 & 1989 made the only music worth listening to.
this guy was neither black nor white, male or female.a Prince.
when i was younger, i loved every album as it came out, the spirituality, the..the uniqueness, loved it.
and then it didn’t feel the same, he defined himself as black, made himself macho, and although i still await every album with anticipation, (and its quite a ceremony for me) i know that it will never be the same again. The great albums, i play all the time, nothing finer to lift my mind,whenever im in need of feeling ‘closer to something, closer to your higher self’ i know what album to put on.
But since those fine albums, i have to admit, i have played the new albums once, sorry, listened to them all day at least, until i understood that the wisdom had gone from the lyrics, the soul although it was there, was lost in overproduction, the simple yet complicated verses were traded in for over-embellishment until they sounded, to me, something like a jazz tutorial from guitar magazine. and so i never listen to any of them again.
Most people look at me as if i’m mad when they ask me about music, and i list prince albums alongside of the white album by the beatles, OK computer by Radiohead, dark side of the moon by pink floyd,etc. as being the most influential, time changing, time defining, albums of all time. This is because the most publicised, most available, and his number ones (in the uk)were not princely.
This is not to slag Prince off, quite the contrary, its to remind people that he has achieved more great albums than most, if you dont like what you hear now, Please Remember the fine, fine, music that he did create.
20ten is not a good album. “Begging endlessly” is OK, the rest doesn´t sound inspired but out of fashion and 19eighty -sh.
Wow, I have never read such clueless comments in my life. Some of you think the cod is too 80ish. Well that is the whole point of the CD. Going back to the minn sound that Prince invented(LOL) Some of you are think the songs are lifeless have no grooves well if none of these songs move you to dance you better check yourself for a pulse. Of course we have the comments about P defining himself as a black male. Heaven forbid that you had to be reminded that he is a black man.
As far as the cd being preachy what exactly is the problem with “Act of God” since P is being very sarcastic about the world’s financial situation and not talking about God in a religious sense. I think sometimes the artist is smarter than the audience and it might be time for some of you to move on.
Great review. I love the new CD. I get stuck on “Compassion” repeating it several times before moving on. Then I get stuck again on “Sticky like glue” (my favorite right now). Fast forward to “Laydown”.
I am so glad Prince is still around doing what he does best…make music. I have been on Prince’s side since 1978 and haven’t turned away yet. I doubt I ever will. I just hope he tours the U.S. or least release the Europe tour on DVD. That would be nice.
I started listening to Prince in the early 1980s beginning with his 1999 album, and I must say that this 2010 album is precisely the direction I was hoping he would go. I never could get excited by the over-produced work of the 1990s and beyond.
I’ve been longing to hear what today’s Prince would make using an extremely limited pallete. 2010 gives me exactly that. I’m glad he’s willing to pare down, strip away the orchestration and make a simple album like he used to when he was just some punk upstart wunderkind with something to prove. Of course he is none of those things anymore. So the hunger of those early years is lacking here. I freely admit that 2010 is therefore style over substance, but it’s a style I’ve missed for a very long time. It has been exhausting watching him try so hard over the past two decades, crafting increasingly dense, over-produced, under-felt material. 2010 comes as a kind of relief.
Yes, 2010 is lacking in the dark, tortured naughtiness of yesteryear. But most of the reviews I’ve read seem to have completely missed the true strength of this release: Prince finally sounds direct and raw again for the first time in decades. I hope he keeps it simple moving forward, at least for another album or two.
20TEN is a spiritual album if you can accept it. It is all about
the big change to happen in 2012. It’s about disconnecting from
FEAR, snd CONTROL. We must think on a higher level when this cycle
appears on 2012 if things are to change! Prince does a spectacular
job with the lyrical content and passes along the knowledge to his
fans who are listening. I got more substance and truth from this CD
than an afternoon sitiing in a pew at church! LISTEN TO THE LYRICS!
and when you get a chance, prepare for 2012 here:
http://www.future2012predictions.com
do u know where i can get the cd in the united states?
http://goo.gl/UQiZx
or
ebay has a bunch of em
People always say Prince doesn’t make the kind of music he used to make, well here it IS! An album that sounds like he it cam straight out of 1982! Analog music and all! Once you get past the fact that we’re back in the ’80′s, it’s a damned good record!! Lyrically, I dare say it IS his best in years!
I have been a Prince FANatic since “For You”. 20TEN is everything I hoped it would be. I tend to like his styles more on “The Rainbow Children”, “Lovesexy” and “Parade”, but this is a great release! I’m happy
C’mon people.
Prince is the most diverse artist ever, he brings true fans utter musical genius on many levels. Everyone of us has our own personal favourites that we listen to again and again. This album offers us the chance to get excited about what was and hope of what will be again. We will never have the perfect album in our own minds, be greatful Prince has such diversity and the faith in his craft to be his own man in this increasingly same old same old modern music era.
‘Compassion’ will be added to my favourites along side ‘I wanna melt with U’ ‘Strollin’ ‘The word’ ‘Black sweat’ ’7′ ‘FUNK’ …
Great record. People always complain. If you want the same record over & over, play the same record over & over! Prince has always offered up moments of brilliance, moments of experimentation, moments of revisiting moments, and challenging his audience. If you like a particular Prince style or era, you can find it on various records and burn yourself your own best of cd or make a playlist and get over it….This is a great record, hands down. But I have to say that after the ups & downs of the 90′s and early 2000′s (and there are many ups, i must say-who else can crank out music at this pace and still offer quality?), his releases: 2004′s Musicology, 2006′s 3121, 2007′s Planet Earth and 2010′s 20Ten are all tight, first-rate cds on par with his “greatest,” even 2009′s Lotusflow3r is great, if a bit over-reaching, and MPLSound has some great cuts, if it is a bit overdone, like diggin into a b-side collection…if you merge the best of those 2 into a single lp length album, you get a solid record as well…think of it as lots of bonus tracks, it was $10 for 3 cds people!!! Anyway, if you make a cd of your fave tracks from the last 7 years and compare it to his “glory days” of his “hits” you’ll see, it all measures up quite well and even has more to offer at times! Love the new cd!
Hi all
I aggre the review, best LP since a long time by Prince. maybe not perfect and not as “dense ” as it could be (only 10 songs….) . But, my comment is about the “religious” purpose of Prince, I must admit, since I know he is Jehovah thing, I wonder about the “preachy ” side of his music. But on another hand,I remember that P is and always was a mystic, and considers his inspiration as a divine gift. In Lovesexy he explains it. (Love is god, god is love….) already. and it was on… 1988… And as said in your comments, he is also a paradoxal, contradictious, subtile humain being… So I decided to stop wondering and just enjoy!! Cheers
Hello! I’m a forever Prince Fam! I’m not going to get all in to the politics of the CD I just what to get a copy of 2010 I’m in Canada”! can someone let me know how I can get a copy of it!!! please let me know?
when u find out how 2 get 20Ten cd let me know!!!!! I am in the states united states. I would and has bought everything I could from tapes, LP, 45 (U young 1 dont know what this is, records and albums) vhs, cd, dvd of Prince since 1988. I went 2 concert 2. I am a huge fan and when I saw him on the View Dec. 2010 about his new cd 20Ten and had 2 concerts in New York (Manhattan) I cried for 3 days because he did not release in the United States at Target or anywhere & a lot of his fans are here and would actually BUY his cd Free is nice but I need that cd!!!! HELP ANYBODY u 2 Prince
I love the 20Ten cd. I have been a Prince fan from the beginning. I have to say that this CD is one of his best releases in the last 10-12 years. I think it tops 3121 and Planet Earth. It’s as good as Musicology (maybe better). It has some ultra-funky moments and it’s balanced perfectly between accessible grooves and the more avante-garde musical styles. That said, I think 20Ten is “vintage Prince”. Sonically, the CD definitely has an 80′s vibe to it. But that is not a bad thing at all. He’s brought back some of the synthesizers, drum machines and hand claps that he used back then and laced it all with funky guitar licks and popping bass lines. Musically, 20Ten sounds like the album that would have been released after 1999 but before Purple Rain. I love the funk on it as well as the beautiful melodies and simple, yet meaningful lyrics. My only complaint is that I wish it had more tracks. There are no “filler” tracks, but 10 tracks leaves me wanting more….so I just keep it on repeat! My favorites are “Beginning Endlessly”, “Sticky Like Glue”, “Lavaux” and “Laydown” 20ten is a solid release from the man who will go down as the quintessential musician of our time. Thanks Prince for keeping the funk alive.
BTW… one poster was asking about how to get the CD. I just went to the web site for the Daily Mirror newspaper and ordered a back issue of the newspaper. There are links that will take you were you need to go. If you don’t see the 20Ten banner on the newspaper’s home page, do a search in the main search box for “20Ten”. You should find a link that way. It cost around $9.00 U.S. including postage and it took a month to arrive in the mail here. The CD was located in the plastic bag in the middle of the newspaper that contains all of the circular ads. There are even 2 articles about Prince and the album in the issue. I wouldn’t wait much longer to order though. I would imagine that they will eventually run out of the back issues.
3 words…SEA OF EVERYTHING! It is the ADORE of 2010. Album is definately reminiscent of the 80′s releases: diverse, funky, sensual and valuable. Love it, Love God, Love Prince.
xoxoxox
album is off tha hook! i’m diggin’ it. more tracks to add to prince’s diverse collection of music. need to understand that prince albums r just another ‘box of chocolates’; with misc. tracks that don’t necessarily form a cohesive, ‘concept’ album. just take what u like and appreciate the tracks for what they r. funk at its best! prince, in my opinion, gets ‘better with time’. classic slow jams, oldskool funk, new-age millennium joints, modern rock n roll. his unreleased tracks alone beat any of today’s artists’ music. the perfect blend of oldskool and new school. and how many so-called artists today produce, arrange, compose, and perform their own music? prince is a musical genius. ain’t nothin’ wrong with injecting today’s society with some spirituality, faith and food-for-thought, either. do yo’ thang, prince!! everyone will catch up eventually………..O(+>
this album soundz so Prince!!! “i wish he would play like he uzed 2…!” y’all remember when he said that on the “Rainbow Children” album? (the Everlasting Now). if they are songz from The Vault, they still come off fresh and new sounding. this album picks up where LoveSexy left off in my opinion because he started sounding “new” with the “Batman” album. it’s still Prince!!!
where can this album be purchased in the USA?
how can I get it in Italyyyyyyyyyyyyy… or is it onsale online somewhere???
anybody can help?
Thank you!
PRINCE is a real genius. Here in Colombia is very hard to get his music but last year I got “Lotus Flow3r”. It is a very rocky album, especially the song: “Dreamer”; my brother tough it was Jimi Hendrix but I said to him that music is from Prince. Prince does not care what people think about him; he likes to do his music with passion and it is a real blessing. I hope someday to get a copy of 20ten even if it is goog or bad. Thank you Prince for “Exodus”, the best unknown album in rock history!!!