Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 23/07/07
Label: Columbia

Controversy. Not only a song title from the golden age of Prince's creativity, but almost a definition of his modus operandi. However, even by the legendary, label-hopping funkateer's own standards, his latest move was a brazen bit of music industry-baiting. A week before his latest album hit stores, it was given away free as a cover-mount with a certain British Sunday newspaper. Of course, Prince has handed out free copies of his albums to gig attendees before, but this was brand new material, released upfront of his UK tour.

The record retail industry foamed at the mouth and talked about betrayal, Prince's camp shrugged and said it simply wanted their artist to reach as many people as possible, while the Mail On Sunday did the math and rubbed its hands. To be free or not to be free, that is the question, but far more importantly - is Prince's 24th studio album actually any cop? The artist's stock may not be rising but, thanks to a staggering number of killer singles that sustain him still, neither is it falling.

Rather, it's levelled out to a kind of oh-are-you-still-here? plateau and that's the problem here. Prince's creativity is clearly flatlining. "Planet Earth" - which features his trusty New Power Generation and sees him reunited with Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman for the first time in 20 years - represents a kind of potted history, but also proves that where once Prince led and others followed, he's now merely trailing after himself.

The bouquets first: for "Somewhere Here On Earth", which might sail a little too close for comfort to "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man", but hits the spot as a smoky, supper club-friendly blend of Dexter Gordon and Sarah Vaughan; "Mr Goodnight", an agreeable enough mix of Marvin Gaye, G-funk and rap, further distinguished by Prince's yelping of "Mp3!" for no apparent reason; and lead single "Guitar", which, despite its thoroughly unremarkable riff on said beloved instrument, reintroduces that irresistibly familiar, funky-glam strut.

Brickbats? For the syrupy, overly schmoove mix of libidinal R&B pop and hip hop soul that is "Future Baby Mama"; the grisly "All The Midnights In The World", which sounds like a Benetton ad with its talk of "all the children in the world" needing "spiritual food"; and banal closer, "Resolution", where Prince tells us that if like, we didn't all secretly want war, than peace would reign, right? That UN job offer is some way off yet, then.

"Planet Earth" is no howler - plenty of people have made far worse records 30 years into their careers - but it does sound like an album designed specifically to promote a massive tour by an artist whose star shines half as brightly as it once did. Then again, what did you expect for nothing?

    by Sharon O'Connell