Prince Planet Earth
August, 2007
2004 was a phenomenal year for Prince. For starters, he opened the Grammy Awards with a rousing rendition of “Purple Rain” and Baby I’m a Star” with Beyonce and followed that with an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He gained the most attention with the release of Musicology, perhaps his most funkiest record since 1995’s The Gold Experience. It wasn’t so much that Musicology was a great album, but it was how he got the record to the consumer: the ticket holder received a free copy of the CD upon entrance to the show. Needless to say, the powers-that-be were not impressed because Prince had beaten them at their own game. The record quickly raced up the charts and was certified double platinum. Prince was back to the music that made him a legend as well as a household name and for the majority of 2004, it was a banner year for His Royal Badness. The same could not be said about 2006’s 3121. It was Prince’s fastest-selling album as well as his first number one debut on Billboard’s 200 chart. However, due to a poor marketing scheme on the part of his record label, the project cooled after awhile and nothing else was heard from this album.
Prince got 2007 off to a bang with a spectacular performance at the Super Bowl. Working the crowd as well as the television audience into a frenzy, Prince proved why after almost 30 years in the game, he’s still a great performer. Word quickly spread on internet message boards that he would drop a new project entitled Planet Earth and that the first single would be called “Guitar.” Plus, rumor had it that he would reunite with former members of his band, the Revolution, but no one was talking. Leave it to Prince to once again beat the suits at the record labels and boy - did he do it!
“Guitar” was released through a partnership with Verizon Wireless and to add fuel to the already growing fire, Prince released Planet Earth as a free covermount in The Mail on Sunday, a national newspaper distributed in the U.K. Initially, Prince came to an agreement with Columbia Records to distribute the record worldwide. Needless to say, this move brought much criticism from U.K. record stores which resulted in Columbia refusing to distribute the album in the U.K., though its release in the rest of the world remains unaffected.
Planet Earth is Prince’s 24th studio album and brings together former New Power Generation members Marva King, Sonny T, and Michael Bland as well as Sheila E and former Revolution members Wendy and Lisa. The disc kicks off with the title track which questions what are we as a society doing to preserve our world. It‘s followed by “Guitar” which starts off with a riff that is so nasty that your mug contorts into The Funk Face because it’s just that fonkay! This track could easily become a crowd favorite at a Prince show. “Somewhere Here On Earth” has that mellow vibe that reminds you of the Parade era with the horns and that falsetto that Prince is well known for. “Future Baby Mama” is a mid-tempo groove that finds Prince talking about what he’s looking for in a woman who he wants to share a lifetime with. The baddest cut on the entire CD is “Chelsea Rodgers” which is sure to get the crowd out of their seats and onto the floor. With a ska-like rhythm and the horn arrangements, this track should have no problem finding a home on urban radio. “Lion of Judah” and “Resolution” closes out this spectacular CD.
Say what you will about Prince’s marketing tactics and you may even question why he chooses to get his music to the record-buying public in the manner that he does, but you have to give the man his props for being perhaps the most prolific and cosmopolitan entertainer of the past quarter century. Granted, there have been some projects that remains questionable (Emancipation, New Power Soul, Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic) and then there are the classics that he is well known for (Dirty Mind, 1999, Purple Rain, and Sign O’ the Times). Planet Earth finds this musical genius still grooving us after all these years and at the age of 49, Prince shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
