Prince is in my Jeep and he's em-BARE-ASS-ing me!

The exact reason I love Prince, is the same reason I don’t love most of his records.

Dude is a freak. And I mean that as a compliment. Prince is a true creative in the sense that I truly don’t believe he steals. Prince invents. He’s prolific, and he always comes to bat with something unexpected.

Trouble is a lot of it is really weird, and Planet Earth is no different. This is the man who wore leather pants with the ass cut out after all. Put it this way, there are multiple tracks on Planet Earth where if I’m listening to them in the Wrangler and another car is nearby I have to turn it down because Prince is either calling out to his “Future Baby Mama [Track 5]” or bragging about his prowess in the sack in “Mr. Goodnight [Track 6].”

Considering Prince’s euphoric medley of a live show, I think a great way to judge any Prince record is by asking yourself what off the new album he would play live. Maybe Prince is getting older, but I only can find 3 tracks off Planet Earth that make my set list. “Guitar” is good enough to open a show, even has the classic Prince panting (think Dropped it on the Floor (Sex Sex) Is all I heard! from “Let’s Go Crazy”) and solos. Beyond that, “The One U Wanna C” is a good time get-up and “Chelsea Rodgers” is a straight up funk jam.

The rest of the record has some nice horn section, enthusiastic back up singers, moody ballads, and a little Paisley Park vocal mixed in. Nothing you’ll have any appetite to listen to more than once. And a big step down from even lesser known Prince albums like Around the World in a Day, Emancipation, and Sign “O” The Times.

And it’s too bad, because Prince tackles some heavy themes on Planet Earth including the environment and an anti-war stance on “Revelation.” Trouble is it’s easy to be apathetic to the cause when you’re apathetic to the protest song.