Prince HITnRUN Phase One Album Review

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. 

A 16 Year Old's Views on Music Streaming & Digital Downloads

Today I wanted to write a post about something that I personally am extremely passionate about and have increasingly heard more and more about it throughout the past couple of years. This is of course digital downloads, online music streaming and music being posted to the internet illegally. I feel that this subject has been covered A LOT in the media however as a sixteen (seventeen on Tuesday) year old girl I thought I might use this blog to give my unique perspective on this particular subject. I haven’t come across anything about this subject from the perspective of a teenager girl such as myself, so I thought I’d be the one to change that and write about it from my point of view. A lot of what am I about to write is personal opinion and any facts/figures that I include have come from an extensive amount of research that I have conducted over the past number of months. As time goes on I will continue to keep up to date on this subject due to personal interest and if I feel necessary may even write a follow up post. But that will very much depend on how this subject develops in future.

The subject of online music steaming has been highlighted a lot in the media particularly in the past year or so due to a number of famous singers sharing their thoughts and opinions and of course taking a stance. Music being posted illegally on the internet and music downloads perhaps haven't had as much of an emphasis in the media as streaming has however these three things all walk in hand in hand in many respects and affect artists in similar ways. Two artists that have caught my attention regarding this subject are from two different generations but both have had a massive influence in the music industry. This is of course Taylor Swift and a personal favourite of mine Prince.

I'm sure most of you will be aware of issues recently highlighted by Taylor Swift regarding one global brand in particular who had planned to create a music streaming service of which users could subscribe to a free three month trial period before paying $9.99 per month subscription fee following the trial. Fair enough some may say; however the free trial period meant that artists contributing music to this particular streaming service would not be paid a single penny until the trial period was over and users began paying a subscription fee. Rightly so, Taylor decided to take a stance and refused to allow her music catalogue to be included in the service due to the fact that she strongly opposed the company’s decision not to pay artists during the trial period. On her Tumblr account Taylor wrote an open letter about her reasoning to take these actions. In the post she states "This is not about me. Thankfully I am on my fifth album and can support myself, my band, crew, and entire management team by playing live shows. This is about the new artist or band that has just released their first single and will not be paid for its success. This is about the young songwriter who just got his or her first cut and thought that the royalties from that would get them out of debt. This is about the producer who works tirelessly to innovate and create". Just a short period of time later the company reverted from their initial idea and agreed to pay all artists for their music contributed to the service. Thankfully, there are people like Taylor out there who are not afraid to stand up for what is right and look what happened? She was listened to and changes were made! If it weren't for Taylor taking a stance, indie artists wouldn't be paid for all the heart and soul that they put into their music.

Like I said earlier in this post Prince is another artist who has spoken out and taken action against music distribution on the internet. Recently, Prince had his entire catalogue of music removed from all streaming services apart from a site named Tidal which he has exclusively posted his latest album "HitNRun" on. I recently stumbled upon an article about Prince and online music streaming services and according to this article, the reason Prince had his music catalogue removed from streaming services was that like Taylor Swift, he feels that the digital music industry are making it difficult for artists to make a living off of.

Just like any normal person both musicians and singers need to make a living. They work extremely hard and tirelessly to create the music that each and every one of us love to listen too. Would you like to work for hours on end and then for your boss to turn round at the end of the day and tell you that they're not paying you for all your hard work and effort? Of course not! Why should musicians, bands and singers be treated any differently?

Despite the fact that I'm only sixteen years old and have no experience of being a full-time singer/musician for a living I can still see just how much of a struggle it is for young, indie artists to make a career for themselves in the music industry today. In many respects the digital era is definitely killing off the music industry or at least that's how I see it.

As you'll now realise I am extremely passionate about this subject and have done a lot of reading and research on it. Being the curious person that I am, I decided to conduct a little research into the figures and percentages that artists are paid through various revenues and was absolutely shocked by just how much of a pittance it actually is! I actually considered listing the figures here on my blog but it varies slightly on different websites and I don't want to provide incorrect information. Considering the fact that the internet is such a big place, this information is extremely easy to come by so take my advice, look it up because like me I'm sure you’ll be shocked.

Personally speaking, I refuse to join/subscribe to any music streaming sites and don't intend to anytime in the near future. I do however; confess to downloading music from the iTunes store although I even try to keep that to an absolute minimum. In every instance possible I buy a physical copy of any albums I want from one of my local music stores/record fairs. I prefer to support my local music stores rather than go to the dark side and download music. It really hit me a couple of years ago when HMV went into administration and it looked as if my local branch was going to close down meaning that there'd be no music shops whatsoever in my area. Despite the fact that many of the major HMV stores in the big cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh were shut down, my local HMV was one of the fortunate few to remain open and since then my town has even welcomed an independent music/record shop to the area. That's almost unheard of in today's society. Around the time when HMV in my local town was saved I vowed to myself to support it in every way that I possibly could. I wasn't prepared to face the possibility of it closing down again. And I am extremely proud to say that I have in fact kept to the bargain. If there's a local music store around; I’ll do everything I can to support it!

I say the exact same thing when it comes to books but seriously, there is nothing better than going out to a book store or in this instance a music store and leisurely wandering round looking for your next purchase. I love owning a physical copy of an album and being able to flick through and enjoy looking at the accompanying booklets. What if you meet the band or singer? You can't exactly get a download signed, can you? Most importantly if you buy a physical copy of an album from a local music shop; you're supporting your local music store and the artists who created the music rather than them being paid a pittance for a download or in some instances nothing at all when music is downloaded illegally!

So I'll keep this post to a minimum as I'm sure you'll get my point by now. But seriously next time you go to download a song or use a streaming service, think about how it impacts upon the music industry. Let's get the music industry growing again rather than it sinking down the plughole! To be honest I don't think I'd even mind if the prices of albums were raised a little as long as I knew the extra money I paid was going to the artist. Please do your bit to support musicians by supporting your local music store and purchasing physical copies of an album! You're small contribution over a period of time will make a huge difference and perhaps even give up and coming artists a chance in the music industry!

Prince & 3rd Eye Girl: PLECTRUMELECTRUM Review

 

 

Despite being released almost six months ago, I've decided to write a review on PLECTRUMELECTRUM, Prince and his new band 3rd Eye Girl's debut album. On the exact same date last September, Prince also released a solo album named Art Official Age. After months of wishing for the chance to see Prince in concert, I actually got to attend one of the shows during his Hit & Run tour of the UK and Europe last year! As you can imagine; the entire show from start to finish was incredible!

 I really admire the talent and high standard of playing that each of the musicians in 3rd Eye Girl bring to the band as both live performers and on their album. I absolutely love the fact that Prince has chosen an all female band to play alongside. Personally speaking, I don't think that there is enough women in the music industry so I really grasp onto the ones such as the ladies in 3rd Eye Girl that I come across. Their music really inspires me to work hard when learning bass and perhaps one day I'll be able to play at as high a standard as them!

With this in mind I want to share with you all 3rd Eye Girl's debut album PLECTRUMELECTRUM. PLECTRUMELECTRUM is a brilliant rock album, with a few flares of other genres flowing through a selection of tracks.

3rd Eye Girl consists of music iconic Prince, Donna Grantis on guitar, Hannah Ford on drums and of course, Ida Nielsen on bass. What I really love about this album is that it really brings out each members own unique flare and personality within each of the tracks. Since discovering them I've spent a lot of time watching interviews and listening to other material that each of girls have worked on prior to 3rd Eye Girl. From that it's evident that their latest work really depicts each of them as an individual.

The album has a bunch of tracks featuring some absolutely stunning guitar solos performed by both Prince himself, who is a completely undated guitar player (seriously you need to check out some of his solos-they'll blow you away!) and Donna Grantis. If you're a rock fan definitely check out the opening number WOW, which features one of those excellent guitar solos! I also recommend, Fixurlifeup which also happens to happened to be one of the singles which was released a months in advance of the album's release.

PLECTRUMELECTRUM, the title track is a brilliant rock instrumental piece which if you are a guitar fanatic like me you'll absolutely fall in love with. I'm unsure who exactly takes lead on guitar during this track-perhaps it's both Prince and Donna together. Nevertheless it sounds incredible and proves just how awesome 3rd Eye Girl really are!

Following PLECTRUMELECTRUM, a gentler rock ballad named Whitecaps begins to play. Whitecaps just so happens to be another of my very favourites from the entire album. Hannah Ford, the band's drummer performs on lead vocals throughout the song. I must say, Hannah has the most amazing voice; it's simply stunning! Her vocals flow well with the track and completely captivates the listener.

Alongside the range of heavy rock tracks with the much loved guitar solos, PLECTRUMELECTRUM features a hip-hop feel in a song named Boytrouble. Again, this song really gives 3rd Eye Girl's bassist, Ida Nielsen the opportunity to bring her personality to the album. I've checked out some of Ida's solo albums and I can see her style shining through each song. Staying true to her hip-hop/R&B style she brings her own unique flare to the album and more particularly Boytrouble.

The final track of the album is named Funknroll, which is most definitely in my top three songs from the album. Funknroll also featured on Prince's solo album Art Official Age which was released last September with a different mix. Just as it says in the song title this particular track feature that funk sound that was used throughout his earlier albums. It's one of those songs that you can't really sit still whilst listening to it!

Overall, this is another great album from Prince and of course an excellent debut album from the ladies of 3rd Eye Girl. It has a great live music feel which I absolutely love! I really hope that there is lots more to come from 3rd Eye Girl in the near future! If you're looking for some new music to listen, I totally recommend that you go buy their album! You never know, they might become your new favourite!