Planet Earth - Prince

Does anybody really need Prince's 24th Studio Album (or indeed his 46th career album)? Or perhaps more pertinently is there anyone else left who really cares? "Releasing" this free with the Mail On Sunday in the UK was a smart move if for no other reason than the fact that his last album sold 80,000 copies in the UK, whereas the Mail On Sunday has a circulation in the region of 2 million.

But all questions of whether its a good business move for himself, or for the industry at large, is not the concern here. The concern is simply, is the album any good?

And the answer is, well, yes and no.

It had been hailed as a return to form but to be honest, I don't think it's as good as his last effort 3121. And to be honest it's much like most of his recent output; there are flashes of the old brilliance but most of it sounds, at best, distinctly ordinary.

As a freebie it has a certain curiosity value, and there are moments that any Prince fan will love but on the whole there's far too much that is simply boring for it to have any real worth.