TopTenREVIEWS presents the reviews for 3121
Email to a friend
3121
by Prince
ALBUM RANKINGS:
Ratings and rankings are based on all available critic reviews and awards.
Overall Rating:
2.9693
Avg. Critic Score:
2.6456
3121 Rank 2 Reviews
Critic Review Summary
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating. 
Other Related Review Sites
In-depth, side-by-side comparisons and reviews
- Music Download Review
- Audio Editing Software Reviews
- Audio Converter Software Reviews
- MP3 Player Review
See a list of our 170+ review sites in Software, Web Services, and Electronics.
PrefixMagEven at its best, and it gets pretty damn good, such as on the stark "Black Sweat" and the rock single, "Fury," the record still sounds like it's stuck somewhere in the past. ...more
musicOMH.comPrince is at his best when his music is unmistakably his. Half of the tracks on 3121 could not have been made by anyone else, but the slushy R&B ballads are not amongst them. ...more
The GuardianBut there's more to 3121 than the prickle of nostalgia: amid the title track's murky, unsettling groove and the grinding techno noise of Love, Prince sounds thrillingly alive, a veteran throwing down a cocky, confident challenge to any young pretenders. ...more
NOW MagazineThere's nothing on 3121 that Prince hasn't done better before. ...more
Pitchfork3121 does a bit better than [Musicology], coming up with a handful of infectious songs-- it's his best since the symbol record, although certainly there remains a massive chasm between it and his masterpieces. ...more
Critic Reviews continued...
Slant MagazineWhile the hooks don't reach out and grab you the way you long for them to, and though the lyrics aren't as smart as we've come to expect from a composer who once claimed to literally write songs in his sleep, 3121 is a wholly listenable and consistent(ly ...more
musicOMH.comAfter years of contractual disputes, name changes, musical experimentation and allegiance to The Watch Tower, Prince showed signs of reclaiming his pop crown with 2004's Musicology album. His first record released through a major label in years, ...more
Pitch Fork MediaThere was a time when Prince was the gold standard for artistic expansion. Each of his opuses forayed into some new arena, and every shift in his approach correspondingly increased the size of the venues he toured. For more than a decade he ...more
Virgin.netWhen an artist like Prince - hugely talented but prone to eccentricity and self-indulgence - it's hard not to feel a faint sense of dread with the arrival of a new album. Has he finally lost his mojo, wandered down a path of obscurity into a ...more
BBC MusicDespite a few too many insipid ballads, its his most focused album in years; devotees of classic Prince will love it. ...more
GuardianBut theres more to 3121 than the prickle of nostalgia: amid the title tracks murky, unsettling groove and the grinding techno noise of Love, Prince sounds thrillingly alive, a veteran throwing down a cocky, confident challenge to any young pretenders. ...more
The IndependentIt seems like only yesterday - well, April 2004, to be exact - that Prince was unveiling his Sony debut Musicology. Now here he is, just a couple of years later, unveiling his Universal debut, and frankly, only the deeply committed fan would be able ...more
cokemachineglowInstead of wrenching free of every single confinement that’s ever been placed around his tiny waist, like he’s pretty much always done, Prince is settling into 3121, accepting the decades of his career as what he should be content in emulating. ...more
PopMattersBy the time the disc ends with the James Brown-inspired tight funk workout “Get on the Boat”, complete with guest saxophone solo by Maceo Parker, you’d be excused for having so muddled a perspective as to not remember the few truly standout tracks. ...more
E! OnlineDespite a few promising creative bursts ("Love," "Black Sweat"), it's another case of dashed expectations, as the disc dissolves into a bloodless puddle of smooth-jazz grooves and lyrics that wither at the hands of the singer's recent religious ideals. ...more
Drawer B3121 may be funkier, edgier, and dancier than Musicology, but it still doesn’t push the envelope on a level that would constitute a true return to form. ...more
PopMattersIf you believe the official critical record, somewhere in the mid-’90s Prince fell off the pop culture radar, with only die-hard fans left paying attention as he released a string of increasingly difficult records. As a longtime resident of ...more
The Austin ChronicleRemember the "New Kids on the Blecch" episode ofThe Simpsons? Bart, Milhouse, Nelson, and Ralph emerged as a chart-topping boy band called Party Posse by running their normally frail voices through an elaborate enhancement machine designed by the Navy. ...more
LA Daily NewsHere is yet another uneven set, lifted by a few moments of intriguing minimalist funk but still padded with syrupy bedroom ballads, raunchy rap and formulaic Latin-pop. ...more
Austin ChronicleOne expects more from Prince than this "futuristic ...more
Sponsored Links
Copyright © 2003 - 2008 TopTenREVIEWS, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of TopTenREVIEWS, Inc. is prohibited.
New Reviews Newsletter
Want to be notified when new review sites are announced? Sign up for our email review notifications.