C'mon, it's NOT perfect! Prince has still done better, but considering what he's been doing over the past ten years this is definitely one of his strongest efforts. I'll agree that the first half of this album (and it is an album, a measly 47 minutes by today's standards) just gives up the funk old school style, and no one can imitate his style or creativity. I like a couple of his ballads also, but the pacing is lost as it gets towards the end -- even after a few listens, I found myself not paying attention to the final few tracks. Still, this is a good comeback album!