Categories:
Cart 0

Your cart is empty

Prince|3121

3121

Prince

Available in
16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo

Unlimited Streaming

Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps

Start my trial period and start listening to this album

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Subscribe

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Digital Download

Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

Musicology was a self-conscious comeback, a record designed to return Prince to the spotlight and the charts, and it worked: even if it spawned no big hits, the 2004 LP became his first album to crack the Billboard Top Ten since 1995's The Gold Experience, get a fair amount of radio play, and get a bunch of positive press, along with a well-received tour. Prince no longer seemed like an eccentric consigned to the fringes: he seemed like a savvy pro, reclaiming a reputation and respect that he'd lost. That he did it with an album that sounded uncannily like a deliberate return to classic Prince as performed by the New Power Generation was almost beside the point: it was enough that he sounded engaged, and that he made a focused, purposeful album. Its quickly delivered 2006 follow-up, 3121, proves that Musicology was no fluke. Like its predecessor, 3121 is tight and concise, offering 12 songs in 53 minutes, and it's classically structured, emphasizing shifting moods and textures between songs. It is an album, not a collection of songs, and you could even call it old-fashioned, but it feels fresher than Musicology, as if Prince had listened to enough Neptunes productions to understand how they've absorbed his music. That acknowledgement doesn't come often -- it's evident in the sly, sexy grooves of "Black Sweat" and the squealing synths of "Lolita" -- but since it's paired with an emphasis on dance tunes and a retreat from the enjoyable but endless NPG-styled vamping that characterized a good portion of Musicology, 3121 winds up sounding lively, varied, and, at its best, exciting. And at the beginning of the album, 3121 is quite exciting, as Prince revives his high-pitched alter ego Camille on the title track and dives head first into the electro-funk of "Lolita" and "Black Sweat," songs that recall such mid-period masterpieces as "Kiss" or "Sign 'O' the Times" without being rewrites. Nevertheless, the fact that the freshest sounding music here still has a direct line back to records Prince made 20 years prior is a good indication that the album, like Prince himself in the wake of hip-hop, is a little bit conservative, emphasizing funk of both the James Brown and George Clinton varieties, late-night slow jams, classic dance, and soul, instead of wrestling with modern music. While that may disappoint some listeners who yearn for the return of the trailblazing Prince of the '80s, when he reinvented himself with each record, it's hardly surprising that a 47-year-old musician is spending more time refining his palette than expanding it. What is a surprise is that Prince is in top form as both a writer and record-maker; perhaps the one-man-band nature of its recording doesn't mean the album is as gritty or raw as his reliably thrilling live performances, but 3121 crackles with excitement, filled with different sounds and styles. Best of all, this is filled with songs that hold their own as individual tunes, yet gel into a cohesive record that is thankfully devoid of an overarching concept, a problem that plagued his albums after Diamonds and Pearls. 3121 does fall short from being perfect -- there may be no bad songs, but the momentum slows ever so slightly on the second half -- yet it's something more valuable than being a one-off classic: it's proof that Prince has indeed returned as a vital, serious recording artist on his own terms. Maybe he's no longer breaking new ground, but his eccentricities are now an attribute, not a curse, which goes a long way in making his trademark blend of funk, pop, soul, and rock sound nearly as dazzling as it did at his popular and creative peak in the '80s.

© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

More info

3121

Prince

launch qobuz app I already downloaded Qobuz for Windows / MacOS Open

download qobuz app I have not downloaded Qobuz for Windows / MacOS yet Download the Qobuz app

You are currently listening to samples.

Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.

Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.

From £10.83/month

1
3121
00:04:31

Michael B., Drums - Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MACEO PARKER, Horn - Sonny T., Bass - Candy Dulfer, Horn - Ray Monteiro, Horn - Greg Boyer, Horn

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

2
Lolita
00:04:06

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - New Power Generation, Vocal

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

3
Te Amo Corazón
00:03:35

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MACEO PARKER, Horn - Clare Fisher, Arranger - Candy Dulfer, Horn - Ray Monteiro, Horn - Herbert Ureña, Percussion - Greg Boyer, Horn - Cora Coleman Dunham, Bass - Joshua Dunham, Drums - Ricky Salas, Percussion

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

4
Black Sweat
00:03:11

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

5
Incense and Candles
00:04:04

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Tamar, Vocal

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

6
Love
00:05:45

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Tamar, Vocal

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

7
Satisfied
00:02:50

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MACEO PARKER, Horn - Candy Dulfer, Horn - Tamar, Vocal - Ray Monteiro, Horn - Greg Boyer, Horn

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

8
Fury
00:04:02

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

9
The Word
00:04:11

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

10
Beautiful, Loved and Blessed
00:05:43

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Tamar, Vocal

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

11
The Dance
00:05:20

Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

12
Get On the Boat
00:06:11

Shelia E., Percussion - Prince, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - MACEO PARKER, Horn - Candy Dulfer, Horn - Tamar, Vocal - Ray Monteiro, Horn - Greg Boyer, Horn - Cora Coleman Dunham, Bass - Joshua Dunham, Drums

(P) 2006 NPG Records, Inc. Manufactured and Distributed by Legacy Recordings

Album review

Musicology was a self-conscious comeback, a record designed to return Prince to the spotlight and the charts, and it worked: even if it spawned no big hits, the 2004 LP became his first album to crack the Billboard Top Ten since 1995's The Gold Experience, get a fair amount of radio play, and get a bunch of positive press, along with a well-received tour. Prince no longer seemed like an eccentric consigned to the fringes: he seemed like a savvy pro, reclaiming a reputation and respect that he'd lost. That he did it with an album that sounded uncannily like a deliberate return to classic Prince as performed by the New Power Generation was almost beside the point: it was enough that he sounded engaged, and that he made a focused, purposeful album. Its quickly delivered 2006 follow-up, 3121, proves that Musicology was no fluke. Like its predecessor, 3121 is tight and concise, offering 12 songs in 53 minutes, and it's classically structured, emphasizing shifting moods and textures between songs. It is an album, not a collection of songs, and you could even call it old-fashioned, but it feels fresher than Musicology, as if Prince had listened to enough Neptunes productions to understand how they've absorbed his music. That acknowledgement doesn't come often -- it's evident in the sly, sexy grooves of "Black Sweat" and the squealing synths of "Lolita" -- but since it's paired with an emphasis on dance tunes and a retreat from the enjoyable but endless NPG-styled vamping that characterized a good portion of Musicology, 3121 winds up sounding lively, varied, and, at its best, exciting. And at the beginning of the album, 3121 is quite exciting, as Prince revives his high-pitched alter ego Camille on the title track and dives head first into the electro-funk of "Lolita" and "Black Sweat," songs that recall such mid-period masterpieces as "Kiss" or "Sign 'O' the Times" without being rewrites. Nevertheless, the fact that the freshest sounding music here still has a direct line back to records Prince made 20 years prior is a good indication that the album, like Prince himself in the wake of hip-hop, is a little bit conservative, emphasizing funk of both the James Brown and George Clinton varieties, late-night slow jams, classic dance, and soul, instead of wrestling with modern music. While that may disappoint some listeners who yearn for the return of the trailblazing Prince of the '80s, when he reinvented himself with each record, it's hardly surprising that a 47-year-old musician is spending more time refining his palette than expanding it. What is a surprise is that Prince is in top form as both a writer and record-maker; perhaps the one-man-band nature of its recording doesn't mean the album is as gritty or raw as his reliably thrilling live performances, but 3121 crackles with excitement, filled with different sounds and styles. Best of all, this is filled with songs that hold their own as individual tunes, yet gel into a cohesive record that is thankfully devoid of an overarching concept, a problem that plagued his albums after Diamonds and Pearls. 3121 does fall short from being perfect -- there may be no bad songs, but the momentum slows ever so slightly on the second half -- yet it's something more valuable than being a one-off classic: it's proof that Prince has indeed returned as a vital, serious recording artist on his own terms. Maybe he's no longer breaking new ground, but his eccentricities are now an attribute, not a curse, which goes a long way in making his trademark blend of funk, pop, soul, and rock sound nearly as dazzling as it did at his popular and creative peak in the '80s.

© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

About the album

Improve album information

Qobuz logo Why buy on Qobuz...

On sale now...

Keep Your Courage

Natalie Merchant

Keep Your Courage Natalie Merchant

The Köln Concert (Live at the Opera, Köln, 1975)

Keith Jarrett

You're the One

Rhiannon Giddens

You're the One Rhiannon Giddens

Owl Song

Ambrose Akinmusire

Owl Song Ambrose Akinmusire
More on Qobuz
By Prince

Purple Rain Deluxe

Prince

7 (E Flat Version)

Prince

Purple Rain

Prince

Purple Rain Prince

Parade - Music from the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon

Prince

Diamonds and Pearls

Prince

Playlists

You may also like...

I Am

Earth, Wind & Fire

I Am Earth, Wind & Fire

Raise!

Earth, Wind & Fire

Raise! Earth, Wind & Fire

SuperBlue: The Iridescent Spree

Kurt Elling

Victoire de la musique

Cotonete

All A Share Together Now

Prince