Lotus Flow3r by Prince

Cultural icons from the ‘80s should be just that – something that happened a whole heap of years ago and never has to recur again. So now, I don’t know whether to applaud Prince for coming back into the music industry at all, or whether to throw my shoe at him for coming back into the industry to bring out a triple album that is, essentially, excellent elevator music and nothing more.

Never one for going the normal route, Prince has brought out Lotus Flow3r, a three-disc compilation, which features 31 songs on two CDs of his music and one ten-track record by newcomer Bria Valente, which Prince also produced. The album holds nothing exciting and draws listeners into its vibe in no way.

There are, in fact, no tracks on the Bria Valente album that are worth mentioning. Differentiating the tracks at all is quite a task in the first place because Valente is equally charisma-less on all of them.

Prince’s own songs zigzag between big guitar solos and a boring attempt at what appears to be ‘80s funk. Which is not to say the Prince’s guitar playing isn’t still on top form – he rips up the tracks “Ol’ Skool Company,” “77 Beverly Park” and “Dance 4 Me.” These guitar solos are, in fact, the highlight of the entire three CD release.

So buy it if you’re an old fan and are still adamant that Prince is a virtuoso at everything he does (because you’d probably already made up your mind to buy it anyway), or if you own some sort of commercial building that needs some light elevator entertainment. Otherwise, don’t bother – Prince can do better and should stop getting lost in the craziness of triple albums so that he has room to make good music.