The Purple One is back. That’s right, Prince, that often eccentric, always entertaining musical icon, has recently released a three-disc set entitled LOtUSFLOW3R (Prince just loves those symbols). With his typical disdain for record companies, Prince has made the CD available only at Target stores ($11.98) or by membership ($77) on his new website, Lotusflow3r.com.

Like most Prince projects, the collection has its hits and misses. The first CD, LOtUSFLOW3R, showcases Prince’s rock-oriented side, with extended guitar solos and moody psychedelic jams. Prince channels his inner Hendrix on the wah-wah heavy “Dreamer” and offers a blistering onslaught on “Wall of Berlin.” He pays homage to James Brown on the funky “Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful,” and even covers Tommy James’ “Crimson and Clover.” There are some fillers here, like “Love Like Jazz” and the meandering “77 Beverly Park,” but for the most part LOtUSFLOW3R is a solid disc.

The next CD is MPLSoUND (which translates in Prince-speak as “Minneapolis Sound”), and is a return to his electro-funk roots, showcased so famously on Purple Rain and Sign ‘o’ the Times. The CD isn’t quite up to those standards, but there are some real gems here, like the upbeat “Chocolate Box,” “No More Candy 4 U” and the seven-minute hip-hop rant “Ol’ Skool Company,” in which Prince weighs in on our current economic bailout. Now a practicing Jehovah’s Witness, he avoids the direct sexual lyrics of his past for a more playful innuendo, but let’s face it, here’s a guy who sounds sexy clearing his throat.

The final disc, Elixer, is the debut album of Prince’s new protege, the bland R&B singer Bria Valente. Co-written and co-produced by Prince, the album isn’t a failure per se, just anemic and forgettable. Valente doesn’t have much of a range, but she croons competently on what one could consider anonymous elevator music.

Not to worry, with nearly three hours of music, there is plenty here to like, and at $11.98 it could turn out to be the biggest bargain of the year.

By Robert Rossiello