Hit n Run Phase Two

Hit n Run Phase Two
Studio album by Prince
Released December 12, 2015
Genre Funk, soul, pop
Length 57:59
Label NPG
Producer
Prince
Prince chronology
Hit n Run Phase One
(2015)		 Hit n Run Phase Two
(2015)		 4Ever
(2016)

Hit n Run Phase Two is the thirty-ninth and final studio album by American recording artist Prince and the last to be released before his death on April 21, 2016.[1] It was initially released exclusively on the Tidal streaming service on December 12, 2015 for streaming and purchase[2] as a continuation of his previous album, HITnRUN Phase One.[3][4]

The album is available for purchase through the iTunes Store and for streaming on Apple Music.[5] Prince confirmed on Twitter that a physical CD would be released during a weekend of Paisley Park shows in January 2016. The CD was given away to attendees of the shows on the Australian and New Zealand leg of the Piano & A Microphone Tour. A CD release occurred in Australia, with physical copies available at JB Hi-Fi retail shops. The album was finally given a worldwide CD release on May 6, 2016 through Universal Music Group.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Consequence of SoundC–[7]
The Independent[8]
musicOMH[9]
NME4/5[10]
The Observer[11]
Paste8.8/10[12]
Pitchfork4.7/10[13]
Q[14]
Rolling Stone[15]

HITnRUN Phase Two received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 63, based on 13 reviews.[16] Reviewing for Rolling Stone, Kory Grow hailed it as Prince's "most consistently engaging album in years, blending in echoes of the ghosts of Prince past (à la “Sexy MF” and “Come”) while still sounding refreshingly modern."[15] Holly Gleason praised the record's brand of funk in her review for Paste. "Undulating, fizzy, and almost light-headed," Gleason wrote, "this is music to induce a euphoria that lifts skirts and spirits.[12] Matthew Horton, writing for NME, also comments on Prince's return to a familiar sound: stating that HITnRUN Phase Two is "reconnecting him with the funkiest (and occasionally crunkiest) essentials, if not always his superior sense of melody."[10] Andy Gill of The Independent believed it was perhaps Prince's best record in "a decade or two, and certainly the most confident and agreeable confirmation of his qualities for many a year."[8] Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in AllMusic that Prince abandoned his previous record's contemporary influences, such as electronics or flashy guitar playing, in favor of "a streamlined, even subdued, soul album" and casually "good groove record".[6]

In a less enthusiastic review, John Murphy from musicOMH deemed Phase Two "wildly inconsistent" with some flashes of Prince's brilliance.[9] David Drake from Pitchfork was more critical, writing that the album sounded "underwhelming ... From beginning to end, Prince seems more interested in establishing his proficiency with pop forms, demonstrating his facility with the materials to craft, as it were, a sturdy wooden table. Rather than an artist's interpretation, we get a craftman's tracing."[13] Writing for Consequence of Sound, Geoff Nelson said songs such as "Xtraloveable", "Screwdriver", and "When She Comes" were failed expressions of sexuality and came across as "Prince doing Prince, a cut-rate version of his once iconic fecundity."[7]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Baltimore"  Prince 4:34
2. "RocknRoll Love Affair"  Prince 4:02
3. "2 Y. 2 D."  Prince 3:50
4. "Look at Me, Look at U"  Prince 3:27
5. "Stare"  Prince 3:46
6. "Xtraloveable"  Prince 5:01
7. "Groovy Potential"  Prince 6:17
8. "When She Comes"  Prince 3:46
9. "Screwdriver"  Prince 4:15
10. "Black Muse"  Prince 7:22
11. "Revelation"  Prince 5:21
12. "Big City"  Prince 6:25
Notes

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 117
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 20
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 7
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[23] 47
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[24] 38
French Albums (SNEP)[25] 34
Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 45
Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 41
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[28] 41
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 50
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 9
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 21
US Billboard 200[32] 40
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[33] 5

References

  1. ↑ "Prince Releases 'HITNRUN Phase Two' Album on Tidal". Billboard. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "HITnRun imagery". Tidal.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  3. ↑ "Prince surprise releases new album HITNRUN Phase Two". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Prince Releases HITNRUN Phase Two". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "HITNRUN Phase Two by Prince on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  6. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "HITnRUN: Phase Two – Prince". AllMusic. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Nelson, Geoff (18 December 2015). "Prince – HITNRUN Phase Two". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  8. 1 2 Gill, Andy (14 December 2015). "Prince, HITnRUN Phase Two, album review: This is like the blind date from heaven". The Independent. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  9. 1 2 Murphy, John (2015). "Prince – HITnRUN phase two". musicOMH. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Horton, Amtthew (16 December 2015). "Prince – 'HITnRUN Phase Two'". NME. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  11. ↑ Cragg, Michael (2016). "Prince: HitnRun Phase Two review – patchy but improved follow-up". The Observer. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  12. 1 2 Gleason, Holly (18 December 2015). "Prince: HITnRUN Phase 2". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  13. 1 2 Drake, David (8 January 2016). "Prince: HITNRUN Phase Two". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Q (March): 113. 2016.
  15. 1 2 Grow, Kory (14 January 2016). "HitnRun Phase Two". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "Reviews for HitNRun: Phase Two by Prince". Metacritic. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  17. ↑ Geslani, Michelle (2013-06-20). "Prince unveils "Extraloveable Reloaded", new version of long, lost song". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  18. ↑ "Prince Surprise-Releases New Album, 'HITNRUN Phase Two'". Spin. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  19. ↑ "Tidal – High Fidelity Music Streaming". Tidal. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "Bowie and Prince Prove Death Is Still The Best Marketing Tool". Noise11. May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Prince – HitnRun – Phase Two" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Prince – HitnRun – Phase Two" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Prince – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Prince. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – HitnRun – Phase Two" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Prince – HitnRun – Phase Two". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  26. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 19, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 18 (dal 2016-04-29 al 2016-05-05)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Prince – HitnRun – Phase Two". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Prince – HitnRun – Phase Two". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Prince – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Prince. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Prince – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Prince. Retrieved January 2, 2016.

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.