I prefer Elixer over Lotus flow3r or MPLSound

It's been a while since my provoking instintcs took me over, but today is another of those days. So there we go:

I was today listening to Elixer, and suddenly realized that, for a longtime already, I find myself listening to this album more often than Lotus flow3r or MPLsound. Which might suggest I prefer Bria's album to the two Prince albums.

It would be hard to argue why, you remember my mantra: it's all about tastes, tastes can not be reasoned by definition.

But fact is that I have been playing very often, lately, pretty much the whole album with the exception of 2nite and Kept woman. 2nite is too obvious to me, and Kept woman, being a good song, can't be compared to Tamar's take. The big problem is that I can't avoid to think everytime "this could be SO MUCH better if sung by a better singer".

The rest of the album, even with the down side of Bria's voice, is quite palatable to me. I think Immersion is my overall favourite song in here, but Home, Something U already know, Elixer, Everytime... they are not masterpieces but they are nice to listen to. There is a sophistication in the production and a relaxed vibe overall that I like very much (with the exception of 2nite). Furthermore, there is something that connects to Te amo corazón and that seems to me a good pathway for future efforts of Prince (when he decides, one day, that he's evidenced enough times how good funk and rock writer/player he is).

I'm tempted to say that the grooves here remind me somehow of Come, and man do I miss a continuation of that line: the electrofunkpop of Come was a major advance in Prince career (IMHO of course), and the brilliance of TGE interrumpted that kind of sound.

Who knows, maybe Elixer is a hint suggesting that we could listen to the continuation of the Come ideas in some future Prince album: crossing fingers here.

Now, I think the main reason why I like to listen to Elixer is this:

Because it sounds new. OK ok, Prince has done somehow similar stuff to this before (pay attention to the somehow). But listening to Lotus flow3r or Mplsound, in most cases (even in the good songs) there is a Prince-by-the-numbers sound. And I don't have that feeling when listening to Elixer, which by all means is a Prince album with a guest singer.

Ok, I said it. Now stone me if you will.

(BTW this does not detract a bit that I keep on thinking that A colonized mind is a masterpiece song).


PS Did I say that I adore to listen Clare's arrangements, as always?