This review of legendary singer Prince's latest album HITnRUN Phase One is up a little later than I had initially anticipated due to the fact I tried to get a copy of the album on its release date however, the music shop I visited in Glasgow for whatever reason didn't have it out on display in its designated area. Perhaps, I went in too early but considering it was release day, you'd expect them to have it out on display wouldn't you? After that, I didn't get a chance to pop into my local HMV to pick up a copy until just over a week or so ago. But all that matters is that I managed to eventually get a copy of the album and have finally written a review! I've listened to this album in full on a good few occasions now to really get a flavour of it before actually sitting down and writing my thoughts and opinions about it. So here it goes.....
Prince's latest album comes almost a year to date since the release of his previous solo album Art Official Age and his band 3rd Eye Girl's long awaited release PLECTRUMELECTRUM. I actually can't quite believe it's been a year since the release of both albums as I remember dragging my Mum out to HMV after tutoring to purchase the albums I'd waited so long to finally hear! And, an entire year later I find myself sitting here writing about yet another Prince album that an entire year ago I had no idea would even exist 12 months later. HITnRUN Phase One shares the same name of Prince and 3rd Eye Girl's HITnRUN tour last year which saw them tour the UK in early February 2014 and perform a selection of last minute gigs. The reception of Prince's new band 3rd Eye Girl in the UK was a success leading to a further set of arena tour dates in May and June of last year, one of which I was lucky enough to actually attend! What a night!
If you read one of my latest blog posts on the subject of music streaming you will probably recall that I mentioned that Prince would be releasing his new album HITnRUN Phase One exclusively on a streaming named Tidal ahead of the physical album release last month in September. So what are my thoughts on this new release? Well let me begin.....
The opening number, a song named Million $ Show features a singer named Judith Hill who was a backing vocalist on Michael Jackson's This Is It and was also seen as contestant on The Voice in the US. The song begins quite gently before the listener is subjected to a blast from the past, a sample of Let's Go Crazy from the 1984 Prince album Purple Rain. It then transforms into a more upbeat R&B duet between Prince and Judith Hill featuring a similar flavour to Prince's previous solo album Art Official Age.
As it begins to fade we are introduced to another number named Shut This Down. This is followed by a duet called Ain't About 2 Stop with Rita Ora, who can be seen as a judge on this years X Factor here in the UK. This song in my opinion features a range of genres including R&B, Funk, Rap and there's even a slight hint of rock which just wouldn't be the same without Prince's incredible guitar playing skills. Like A Mack comes next featuring a duo named Curly Fryz whom I have never heard of here in the UK. The actual lyrics are performed as more of a rap; a genre of which I am not a fan of whatsoever, however this will of course appeal to so many and I like the fact that because this genre is more popular with my generation it could potentially introduce the world of Prince to othersnof my age group. What I will say about Like A Mack is that the actual music itself most definitely has a taste of the funk and soul genre.
This Could B Us comes next on the album. Now if you're an avid Prince fan and keep up to date with the fan sites, you like me will probably be familiar with this song title as it's popped up by name from time to time in different articles about Prince's up and coming music for well over a year or so now. Perhaps even longer, but I've only really been keeping up with the Prince fan sites since early 2014 so that's one fact I'm not 100% per cent sure of. This Could B Us slows things down quite a bit, although this song isn't quite what I'd describe as ballad. It has a significant piano riff throughout most of the song and of course one of Prince's amazing guitar solos! He is in my opinion such an underrated guitarist and deserves much more credit than he receives in that field.
Fallinlove2nite is a more upbeat, dance track which was actually released last year as single with actress Zoey Deschannel sharing vocals with Prince. Prince actually premiered this number when making a guest appearance on an episode of the hit TV show in the US called New Girl. However, the album version of Fallinlove2nite only features Prince on vocals. This is then followed by a shorter song named X's Face.
Probably my favourite track on the entire album, a song named Hardrocklover soon follows. Basically, just as it says in the title, this song features a more rockier sound which appeals to someone like myself. At the same time, it features the distinctive funk sound that I personally love and admire Prince for! And, of course there's no forgetting the amazing guitar playing throughout the track which is of course, right up my street! Brilliant!
No sooner than Hardrocklover begins, it then comes to an end going straight into a track named Mr Nelson (Prince's surname). This stays in a similar style to Prince's previous solo album Art Official Age featuring samples of a song named Clouds from the same album. Mr Nelson also features the voice of an artist that you may recognise and that is Lianna La Havas who's recently received alot of radio airplay here in the UK with her new album Blood. A song named 1000 X's & O's which I read somewhere was actually an older piece written by Prince and intended for an artist he used to work with named Rosie Gaines (I don't know how true that is, so don't hold me on that one! This of course, was followed by June which brings the album to a close.
My thoughts on this album? Well, what I really love about what Prince is doing of late and particularly in this album is featuring other strong, up-and-coming artists and performing with them. Like I said this album is the perfect example of that with the likes of Judith Hill and Lianna La Havas, I personally think that they will go far in the music industry. And, of course there's no forgetting the fact that he has also collaborated and shared the producing credits with a gentleman named Joshua Welton who is actually married to Hannah Welton, drummer of Prince's band 3rd Eye Girl.
I think I mentioned somewhere above in this review that this album features a strong flare of R&B alongside funk, rap and even a little rock in the mix. Now, I'm not particularly fan of genres such as R&B and rap so not every song really appealed to me; however, I personally appreciate that each song is of an extremely high standard and sounds great for its particular genre. I'm definitely more into the rockier numbers and anything with a bit of funk I love! So overall it's a great album, I'm not a huge fan of every single song I must admit, however that's my own personal opinion, perhaps some of those songs may even grow on me overtime. I definitely think this album is worth checking out and I believe it's currently available in HMV stores for £9.99.
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