Cerebus said:

Are you even capable of posting a response without being a condescending prick?

You been rehearsing that line all night, haven't ya?

Sup w/ these morose ass, troubled topics? Whatsamatter?

When I saw who started the thread, I knew it would be another SOTT plug.

I do think Prince has great songs left in him, many stuff on 3121 and LF meet that level to me.

However, what I'll never understand about fans of long-running artists is that just because someone is capable to release one, two or five "great" (subjective opinion) album, it should not mean he has endless amount of ideas, or that you're going to like everything he does. I don't really care for 20TEN but that's because I don't find the music interesting enough to go back to, but some people do find it a "great" album and that's their opinion.

As much as it is believed here, his 80s albums are not "officially" the greatest, whether in his own discography or ever, plenty of people do not care about them.

JoeTyler said:

TGE was his last great album

and 3121 will be, probably, his last strong/solid pop album

Not sure if he could release another great album. At this point of his career I hardly think he can write something as catchy and memorable as TMBGITWorld or Kiss, or something as visionary and complete as SOTT. No, I don't think he could release a new GREAT album at this point of his career...

Exactly. TGE followed by 3121.

A lot of people would say the TRC was a great album but I'd have to go with the TGE as the last, best work he's done...

Paris9748430 said:

IMO, the last "classic" Prince album was The Rainbow Children.

I think 3121 is really good, but not great.

I think his age is the main factor in the quality of his music.

Not his religion, or love life, or anything like that.

I just think that because of his age, his mind just doesn't work like it used to. I think it's the main reason why he's not as good a songwriter as he used to be.

Which I'm completely fine with.

How many times can a person invent the wheel?

lol.

I can't believe so many of you are talking like the man is fucking dead. Or close to being dead. Or remotely on the path towards Deadsville. He's as alive as ever, still puts out at least 1 record a year, and you guys are saying he doesn't have anymore great albums in him?

Look, he might be treading water right now and not putting out anything that's different than what he put out before (and, incidentally, did it better the first time), but he's not creatively tapped out and I think it's foolish to suggest he is.

Like I said in a previous reply, Prince has already run the gamut before. He's done every type of song there is. There's no more variation on that level because he has released 30-some albums, meaning over 300 songs, and there's only so many different configurations a song's structure can adhere to.

But that does not mean he can't put out a killer track or 10. And we see this with every album release. Believe it or not - Other fan communities who are aware of Prince.org see it as a site full of angry Prince fans. I kid you not. Someone actually told me this from one of the other popular communities (Oh No They Didn't!). How sad that so many people are so reluctant to just give the man props and move on. Anyone who sits around hoping for an album on the level of The Gold Experience or Sign o the Times or Lovesexy should get a fucking hobby.

Spinlight said:

Paris9748430 said:

IMO, the last "classic" Prince album was The Rainbow Children.

I think 3121 is really good, but not great.

I think his age is the main factor in the quality of his music.

Not his religion, or love life, or anything like that.

I just think that because of his age, his mind just doesn't work like it used to. I think it's the main reason why he's not as good a songwriter as he used to be.

Which I'm completely fine with.

How many times can a person invent the wheel?

lol.

I can't believe so many of you are talking like the man is fucking dead. Or close to being dead. Or remotely on the path towards Deadsville. He's as alive as ever, still puts out at least 1 record a year, and you guys are saying he doesn't have anymore great albums in him?

Look, he might be treading water right now and not putting out anything that's different than what he put out before (and, incidentally, did it better the first time), but he's not creatively tapped out and I think it's foolish to suggest he is.

Like I said in a previous reply, Prince has already run the gamut before. He's done every type of song there is. There's no more variation on that level because he has released 30-some albums, meaning over 300 songs, and there's only so many different configurations a song's structure can adhere to.

But that does not mean he can't put out a killer track or 10. And we see this with every album release. Believe it or not - Other fan communities who are aware of Prince.org see it as a site full of angry Prince fans. I kid you not. Someone actually told me this from one of the other popular communities (Oh No They Didn't!). How sad that so many people are so reluctant to just give the man props and move on. Anyone who sits around hoping for an album on the level of The Gold Experience or Sign o the Times or Lovesexy should get a fucking hobby.

I agree, i think he is capable of another truely great album, in fact i think he is capable of more than one. And he sure is giving us a good time while we wait.

I think that certain Prince fans need to grow and change more with Prince, and accept him for what he sounds like now. It is no use complaing about every new album saying it is not another SOTT or whatever, because as you mention Spinlight, it is not going to happen.

As for people being negative about his recent output, i actually began to find myself being influenced by a lot of comments on this site, i had to sit back, ignore the comments and really listen hard to what i thought, and not be influenced by other people. It really did give me a fresh perspective about his music, and i began to really enjoy his albums of the last 10 years a lot more.

MikeyB71 said:

I agree, i think he is capable of another truely great album, in fact i think he is capable of more than one. And he sure is giving us a good time while we wait.

I think that certain Prince fans need to grow and change more with Prince, and accept him for what he sounds like now. It is no use complaing about every new album saying it is not another SOTT or whatever, because as you mention Spinlight, it is not going to happen.

As for people being negative about his recent output, i actually began to find myself being influenced by a lot of comments on this site, i had to sit back, ignore the comments and really listen hard to what i thought, and not be influenced by other people. It really did give me a fresh perspective about his music, and i began to really enjoy his albums of the last 10 years a lot more.

Nail on the head, as always.

Truthfully, I can't imagine him releasing another album like SOTT. As in, I wouldn't know what to do with it. I guess it'd be nice, but I had a funny experience with 20TEN and MPLSound. To me, they were exactly what his fans wanted. Almost to a T. And yet, it wasn't that great. Prince of 2010, singing on a really boring (IMO) song like "Compassion", did not inspire me like Prince of 1982 singing over the same beat on "Let's Pretend We're Married." And frankly, that's really alright with me because I don't particularly want him to pander to the people he swore got no more candy because they were hating on him.

Prince should do what he wants to do and we have the choice of either liking it or not. And yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion and this forum is a site FULL OF OPINIONS, but incessant speculation on just how incompetent Prince may or may not have become in the last ___ years is insulting to him as an artist and to us as fans.

Spinlight said:

MikeyB71 said:

I agree, i think he is capable of another truely great album, in fact i think he is capable of more than one. And he sure is giving us a good time while we wait.

I think that certain Prince fans need to grow and change more with Prince, and accept him for what he sounds like now. It is no use complaing about every new album saying it is not another SOTT or whatever, because as you mention Spinlight, it is not going to happen.

As for people being negative about his recent output, i actually began to find myself being influenced by a lot of comments on this site, i had to sit back, ignore the comments and really listen hard to what i thought, and not be influenced by other people. It really did give me a fresh perspective about his music, and i began to really enjoy his albums of the last 10 years a lot more.

Nail on the head, as always.

Truthfully, I can't imagine him releasing another album like SOTT. As in, I wouldn't know what to do with it. I guess it'd be nice, but I had a funny experience with 20TEN and MPLSound. To me, they were exactly what his fans wanted. Almost to a T. And yet, it wasn't that great. Prince of 2010, singing on a really boring (IMO) song like "Compassion", did not inspire me like Prince of 1982 singing over the same beat on "Let's Pretend We're Married." And frankly, that's really alright with me because I don't particularly want him to pander to the people he swore got no more candy because they were hating on him.

Prince should do what he wants to do and we have the choice of either liking it or not. And yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion and this forum is a site FULL OF OPINIONS, but incessant speculation on just how incompetent Prince may or may not have become in the last ___ years is insulting to him as an artist and to us as fans.

MikeyB71 said:

I agree, i think he is capable of another truely great album, in fact i think he is capable of more than one. And he sure is giving us a good time while we wait.

I think that certain Prince fans need to grow and change more with Prince, and accept him for what he sounds like now. It is no use complaing about every new album saying it is not another SOTT or whatever, because as you mention Spinlight, it is not going to happen.

As for people being negative about his recent output, i actually began to find myself being influenced by a lot of comments on this site, i had to sit back, ignore the comments and really listen hard to what i thought, and not be influenced by other people. It really did give me a fresh perspective about his music, and i began to really enjoy his albums of the last 10 years a lot more.

But the thing is Mikey, some fans don't like the sound he has now. It's understandable that this dry noise is his sound, but it doesn't mean everyone is instantly going to adapt to it. Prince moved from a one-man-band type sound in the 80's (for the most part) as he defined the "Minneapolis Sound" with synths, and that Linn machine, to a true band sound in the 90's. Wasn't there some story about him putting all of his electronic machinery in the hallway of Paisley Park with a "For Sale" sign on it because he was so into playing w/ a live band?

The difference, for me, likes in the fact that even though his sound changed around 1989, when he started adding some new jack swing type shit to his music (the Graffiti Bridge project, including remixes and B-sides are riddled with that type of stuff - it sounds very dated). The 90's stuff has a great thick sound to it and it's aged well. "Space" sounds as great now as it did in 1993 or 1994. But stuff like "Sex Me Baby Sex Me Not" sounds robotic, and dated. Frankly a lot of that NPGMC stuff sounds like something the Backstreet Boys would do in trying to be more hip and current and 'adult'.

The Prince sound of the 00's sucked monkey balls. I blame Kirk Johnson for some of that. He had a bad drum programming influence on Prince. Yet Prince, despite him trying to distance himself from his own past, and constantly hyped using his "old sound" and the Linn machine (name calling it) as far back as Rave Un2, then again on projects like 3121, and Planet Earth, and then on Lotus/Mpls. His sound now is like a hybrid of good and bad, but the bad is outweighing the whole thing.

Someone once said that people tend to like an album at first because of the newness of it; it's fresh, it's unheard of material, etc. But the novelty wears off, very quickly. Back in the day, whether the 80's or the 90's, there was no novelty. We were still listening to "17 Days" along side "Raspberry Beret" in 1985. We were still listening to "Housequake" along with "Alphabet St." These days, people are so over a Prince album. Sure some eat up his stuff, but there will always be people who don't. That doesn't make it "negative" or whatever. It makes us FANS. Fans that understand the high bar Prince set for himself over and over. And when we feel he doesn't reach that - we say as much. Honesty is the best policy. But in the end, I would wonder even how excited you are over an album. If you're being influenced by folks on here, I don't think you're weak minded or feeding into it. Perhaps, though, you just share the same opinions (not negativity) of not liking something he did, and you're just realizing it. But if you dig the music of the past 20 years - even better.

ernestsewell said:

PurpleLove7 said:

20Ten I'd give 4 out of 5 stars

LoTUSFLOW3R I'd give 3 out of 5 stars

Planet Earth I'd give 3 out of 5 stars

3121 I'd give 4 out of 5 stars

His music has changed. As I stated, he got lazy and a bit too self-assured. Musically, he's gotten as bland as he has lyrically.

His music sounds like one big EP. Put a record on, come back 30 minutes later, and it sounds like the same nonsense. You'd NEVER find that in the 80's, or the 90's w/ him. Controversy is as different from 1999 as Parade is from Lovesexy. Come is as different from Gold as Exodus is from Emancipation. Yet Lotus, a lot of 3121, some of Planet Earth, most of Musicology, all of MPLS - it's all the same sound. It's just - BLAH. I dread a 00's compilation with this material - it'd be that EP I mentioned.

But I want to ask-as I don't really if ever buy new music anymore-is it only Prince that suffers from this criticism or expectation of every album being the new SOTT or PR or Parade. From my general scanning folks like Stevie Wonder never get this attitude. I know in some ways it is a back handed compliment.

In terms of music Ernest I think you are right but I don't feel bad about it-I love what i can get from prince now. I feel that what he has or doesn't have is a coherent theme (maybe we always overestimated that he ever did) but hate /love or a particularly celebratory moment I assume would give an artist true direction. Prince (and in a very good way) doesn't seem to have that going on anymore-thank god for his sanity (I'm assuming)

Giovanni777 said:

HE really hasn't stopped putting out great albums, but people have changed the way they listen to music since the '80s and '90s...

I'll say it again... The 'Lotusflow3r' album is as good or better as any album he's ever released.

We all have our own independant tastes though, and let's not forget that Prince's catalog is the most musically diverse catalog of nearly any recording artist ever, hence his diverse fan base.

Agree with you. Lotus, TRC, NEWS, ONA, Xpectation....all great albums

jcurley said:

But I want to ask-as I don't really if ever buy new music anymore-is it only Prince that suffers from this criticism or expectation of every album being the new SOTT or PR or Parade. From my general scanning folks like Stevie Wonder never get this attitude. I know in some ways it is a back handed compliment.

In terms of music Ernest I think you are right but I don't feel bad about it-I love what i can get from prince now. I feel that what he has or doesn't have is a coherent theme (maybe we always overestimated that he ever did) but hate /love or a particularly celebratory moment I assume would give an artist true direction. Prince (and in a very good way) doesn't seem to have that going on anymore-thank god for his sanity (I'm assuming)

Don't really know about other artists. I actually don't frequent other artist forums, although I had once wanted to join a George Michael one.

I do think some older artists are a bit more bland in their music. I can't remember the last great Sheryl Crow song; or one that I remember in the past few years. I didn't like Stevie's last album either. Sometimes, I'm almost better settled with these older artists not putting anything out. Whether it's laziness, resting on the laurels, or loss of youthful mojo - most times they just aren't doin' it like they used to anymore. Change is good, but sometimes it's damn near dementia worthy.

I would imagine that fans of these other artists, too many to name, with a voice and some logic and a level head would have the same gripes perhaps. The great thing about Sly Stone is that, while he's a bit wacky and a hermit, he hasn't tried to put some watered-down version of himself out. He's apparently still making music, but the fact that he's not really been in the spotlight at all, or released anything is what makes folks appreciate his work that IS released even more. Maybe Sly just knows when to call it a day.

IMO TGE is good, but Lotus and TRC kicks it's ass.

[Edited 9/10/10 10:07am]

ozone14 said:

IMO TGE is good, but Lotus and TRC kicks it's ass.

Not in a million days could that ever be true.

ernestsewell said:

MikeyB71 said:

I agree, i think he is capable of another truely great album, in fact i think he is capable of more than one. And he sure is giving us a good time while we wait.

I think that certain Prince fans need to grow and change more with Prince, and accept him for what he sounds like now. It is no use complaing about every new album saying it is not another SOTT or whatever, because as you mention Spinlight, it is not going to happen.

As for people being negative about his recent output, i actually began to find myself being influenced by a lot of comments on this site, i had to sit back, ignore the comments and really listen hard to what i thought, and not be influenced by other people. It really did give me a fresh perspective about his music, and i began to really enjoy his albums of the last 10 years a lot more.

But the thing is Mikey, some fans don't like the sound he has now. It's understandable that this dry noise is his sound, but it doesn't mean everyone is instantly going to adapt to it. Prince moved from a one-man-band type sound in the 80's (for the most part) as he defined the "Minneapolis Sound" with synths, and that Linn machine, to a true band sound in the 90's. Wasn't there some story about him putting all of his electronic machinery in the hallway of Paisley Park with a "For Sale" sign on it because he was so into playing w/ a live band?

The difference, for me, likes in the fact that even though his sound changed around 1989, when he started adding some new jack swing type shit to his music (the Graffiti Bridge project, including remixes and B-sides are riddled with that type of stuff - it sounds very dated). The 90's stuff has a great thick sound to it and it's aged well. "Space" sounds as great now as it did in 1993 or 1994. But stuff like "Sex Me Baby Sex Me Not" sounds robotic, and dated. Frankly a lot of that NPGMC stuff sounds like something the Backstreet Boys would do in trying to be more hip and current and 'adult'.

The Prince sound of the 00's sucked monkey balls. I blame Kirk Johnson for some of that. He had a bad drum programming influence on Prince. Yet Prince, despite him trying to distance himself from his own past, and constantly hyped using his "old sound" and the Linn machine (name calling it) as far back as Rave Un2, then again on projects like 3121, and Planet Earth, and then on Lotus/Mpls. His sound now is like a hybrid of good and bad, but the bad is outweighing the whole thing.

Someone once said that people tend to like an album at first because of the newness of it; it's fresh, it's unheard of material, etc. But the novelty wears off, very quickly. Back in the day, whether the 80's or the 90's, there was no novelty. We were still listening to "17 Days" along side "Raspberry Beret" in 1985. We were still listening to "Housequake" along with "Alphabet St." These days, people are so over a Prince album. Sure some eat up his stuff, but there will always be people who don't. That doesn't make it "negative" or whatever. It makes us FANS. Fans that understand the high bar Prince set for himself over and over. And when we feel he doesn't reach that - we say as much. Honesty is the best policy. But in the end, I would wonder even how excited you are over an album. If you're being influenced by folks on here, I don't think you're weak minded or feeding into it. Perhaps, though, you just share the same opinions (not negativity) of not liking something he did, and you're just realizing it. But if you dig the music of the past 20 years - even better.

I understand what you are saying Ernest, i think. There are always going to be different opinions about new and old music alike. I am not trying to say that all people who dislike newer material are negative, some people have stated very good reasons as to why they prefer a certain era/year or whatever, hell, i have done the same. I was not being influenced by people to the point of being brainwashed or anything, i just decided not to read posts for a while and take stock of what i personally thought of Prince's music. Sure, there are turkeys (albums) out there, and yes i did have similar opinions to others about not liking certain stuff, but i came to the conclusion that i actually liked his output of the last 10 years or so, more than i was aware of.

Does this make sense? I'm rambling now, hehe.

Great album? At this point, I'll accept a halfway decent one given that he can barely muster the creative energy to produce a passable track.

I found 20Ten to be so uninteresting and wack that I relegated it to the bottom of my CD collection. Still, I keep hoping he'll surprise me and rediscover his long-lost muse. Party up~!

ernestsewell said:

ozone14 said:

IMO TGE is good, but Lotus and TRC kicks it's ass.

Not in a million days could that ever be true.

You are entitled to your opinion but it doesn't make it fact. TGE is mostly good but has filler. The production on it has dated.

ozone14 said:

ernestsewell said:

Not in a million days could that ever be true.

You are entitled to your opinion but it doesn't make it fact. TGE is mostly good but has filler. The production on it has dated.

Which part of "the production" has dated?

Spinlight said:

ozone14 said:

You are entitled to your opinion but it doesn't make it fact. TGE is mostly good but has filler. The production on it has dated.

Which part of "the production" has dated?

The sound has no warmth to it. It was definitley recorded straight to digital like most 90's recordings. TRC and Lotus sound like they were recorded to tape. Thats a big difference in sound. Imagine how great Shhh would sound if it were recorded like the songs on TRC.

The drums on TGE has too much reverb for my taste, plus I don't like how the snare is tuned. Sounds too mechanical. I find that the problem with all the songs that drummer(forget his name) is on.

The keyboard sounds used during that time sound terrible to me. I prefer the classic sounds such as rhodes and other analog sounding keys.

The album stands up in that most of the songs are good and mostly live instrumentation, but the way it was recorded and mixed pales in comparison to the TRC. TRC also is more interesting musically.

ozone14 said:

Spinlight said:

Which part of "the production" has dated?

The sound has no warmth to it. It was definitley recorded straight to digital like most 90's recordings. TRC and Lotus sound like they were recorded to tape. Thats a big difference in sound. Imagine how great Shhh would sound if it were recorded like the songs on TRC.

The drums on TGE has too much reverb for my taste, plus I don't like how the snare is tuned. Sounds too mechanical. I find that the problem with all the songs that drummer(forget his name) is on.

The keyboard sounds used during that time sound terrible to me. I prefer the classic sounds such as rhodes and other analog sounding keys.

The album stands up in that most of the songs are good and mostly live instrumentation, but the way it was recorded and mixed pales in comparison to the TRC. TRC also is more interesting musically.

I find that a comparison between TRC and TGE is like comparing SOTT to Batman. It's not the same kind of music and it's not a fair comparison. Bluesy pop/rock is not the same as jazz/funk.

The crisp and clean finish on the TGE material, to me, is ace. Michael B's drums have the classic epic feeling that he was famous for and P's vocals are more realistic. I counter your mention of "Shhh!" being recorded in a more warm setting with "Billy Jack Bitch" which sounds phenomenal. The horns really shine as does the guitar with the production used.

To me, you're not really describing why it sounds 'dated' rather you're talking about why you don't really like the album or what your criticisms are, which is subjective and opinion-based.

Prince likes clean transfers on his records. See: Newpower Soul, TGE, Exodus, Come, Emancipation, MPLSound, parts of LotusFlower, parts of Planet Earth and 3121, etc. Some of these songs were MADE to be digital (especially tracks like "Mr. Goodnight", "Black Sweat", "Incense and Candles", "3121"... The clarity on the instruments is unmatched, especially when held up against an album like TRC which, production-wise, recalls SOTT and even Diamonds and Pearls (most notably on "Walk Don't Walk", "Willing and Able", and the title track). TGE and the other digital material simply sounds more voluminous to my ears. Crisp and crystal clear and very similar to today's production standards (for music in general, not necessarily his).

ozone14 said:

The sound has no warmth to it. It was definitley recorded straight to digital like most 90's recordings. TRC and Lotus sound like they were recorded to tape. Thats a big difference in sound. Imagine how great Shhh would sound if it were recorded like the songs on TRC.

The drums on TGE has too much reverb for my taste, plus I don't like how the snare is tuned. Sounds too mechanical. I find that the problem with all the songs that drummer(forget his name) is on.

The keyboard sounds used during that time sound terrible to me. I prefer the classic sounds such as rhodes and other analog sounding keys.

The album stands up in that most of the songs are good and mostly live instrumentation, but the way it was recorded and mixed pales in comparison to the TRC. TRC also is more interesting musically.

Spinlight said:

ozone14 said:

The sound has no warmth to it. It was definitley recorded straight to digital like most 90's recordings. TRC and Lotus sound like they were recorded to tape. Thats a big difference in sound. Imagine how great Shhh would sound if it were recorded like the songs on TRC.

The drums on TGE has too much reverb for my taste, plus I don't like how the snare is tuned. Sounds too mechanical. I find that the problem with all the songs that drummer(forget his name) is on.

The keyboard sounds used during that time sound terrible to me. I prefer the classic sounds such as rhodes and other analog sounding keys.

The album stands up in that most of the songs are good and mostly live instrumentation, but the way it was recorded and mixed pales in comparison to the TRC. TRC also is more interesting musically.

I find that a comparison between TRC and TGE is like comparing SOTT to Batman. It's not the same kind of music and it's not a fair comparison. Bluesy pop/rock is not the same as jazz/funk.

The crisp and clean finish on the TGE material, to me, is ace. Michael B's drums have the classic epic feeling that he was famous for and P's vocals are more realistic. I counter your mention of "Shhh!" being recorded in a more warm setting with "Billy Jack Bitch" which sounds phenomenal. The horns really shine as does the guitar with the production used.

To me, you're not really describing why it sounds 'dated' rather you're talking about why you don't really like the album or what your criticisms are, which is subjective and opinion-based.

Prince likes clean transfers on his records. See: Newpower Soul, TGE, Exodus, Come, Emancipation, MPLSound, parts of LotusFlower, parts of Planet Earth and 3121, etc. Some of these songs were MADE to be digital (especially tracks like "Mr. Goodnight", "Black Sweat", "Incense and Candles", "3121"... The clarity on the instruments is unmatched, especially when held up against an album like TRC which, production-wise, recalls SOTT and even Diamonds and Pearls (most notably on "Walk Don't Walk", "Willing and Able", and the title track). TGE and the other digital material simply sounds more voluminous to my ears. Crisp and crystal clear and very similar to today's production standards (for music in general, not necessarily his).

I agree that some songs are meant and should sound more digital. But TGE is mostly recorded with live instruments and it would sound better if it didn't sound so wet and thin. TRC was recorded mostly with live instruments as well. So they can be compared production wise regardless of the difference in style. There's also some unwanted distortion on TGE. I've even downloaded it multiple times as well as bought the CD and find the same problem.

ernestsewell said:

ozone14 said:

The sound has no warmth to it. It was definitley recorded straight to digital like most 90's recordings. TRC and Lotus sound like they were recorded to tape. Thats a big difference in sound. Imagine how great Shhh would sound if it were recorded like the songs on TRC.

The drums on TGE has too much reverb for my taste, plus I don't like how the snare is tuned. Sounds too mechanical. I find that the problem with all the songs that drummer(forget his name) is on.

The keyboard sounds used during that time sound terrible to me. I prefer the classic sounds such as rhodes and other analog sounding keys.

The album stands up in that most of the songs are good and mostly live instrumentation, but the way it was recorded and mixed pales in comparison to the TRC. TRC also is more interesting musically.

How intelligent of you.

ozone14 said:

Spinlight said:

Which part of "the production" has dated?

The sound has no warmth to it. It was definitley recorded straight to digital like most 90's recordings. TRC and Lotus sound like they were recorded to tape. Thats a big difference in sound. Imagine how great Shhh would sound if it were recorded like the songs on TRC.

The drums on TGE has too much reverb for my taste, plus I don't like how the snare is tuned. Sounds too mechanical. I find that the problem with all the songs that drummer(forget his name) is on.

The keyboard sounds used during that time sound terrible to me. I prefer the classic sounds such as rhodes and other analog sounding keys.

The album stands up in that most of the songs are good and mostly live instrumentation, but the way it was recorded and mixed pales in comparison to the TRC. TRC also is more interesting musically.

Gold is solid, but few of the songs seem to have much depth. They are well done and have good energy, but they seem slight compared to TRC. TRC might fail in places, but it feels more ambitious, and it also sounds more like Prince to me, where Gold has that somewhat generic 90's Prince sound to it.

Spinlight said:

ozone14 said:

You are entitled to your opinion but it doesn't make it fact. TGE is mostly good but has filler. The production on it has dated.

Which part of "the production" has dated?

Are you and Ernest married? Joke-but you bitch and have soo much in common-would be a waste otherwise!!! x

ernestsewell said:

jcurley said:

But I want to ask-as I don't really if ever buy new music anymore-is it only Prince that suffers from this criticism or expectation of every album being the new SOTT or PR or Parade. From my general scanning folks like Stevie Wonder never get this attitude. I know in some ways it is a back handed compliment.

In terms of music Ernest I think you are right but I don't feel bad about it-I love what i can get from prince now. I feel that what he has or doesn't have is a coherent theme (maybe we always overestimated that he ever did) but hate /love or a particularly celebratory moment I assume would give an artist true direction. Prince (and in a very good way) doesn't seem to have that going on anymore-thank god for his sanity (I'm assuming)

Don't really know about other artists. I actually don't frequent other artist forums, although I had once wanted to join a George Michael one.

I do think some older artists are a bit more bland in their music. I can't remember the last great Sheryl Crow song; or one that I remember in the past few years. I didn't like Stevie's last album either. Sometimes, I'm almost better settled with these older artists not putting anything out. Whether it's laziness, resting on the laurels, or loss of youthful mojo - most times they just aren't doin' it like they used to anymore. Change is good, but sometimes it's damn near dementia worthy.

I would imagine that fans of these other artists, too many to name, with a voice and some logic and a level head would have the same gripes perhaps. The great thing about Sly Stone is that, while he's a bit wacky and a hermit, he hasn't tried to put some watered-down version of himself out. He's apparently still making music, but the fact that he's not really been in the spotlight at all, or released anything is what makes folks appreciate his work that IS released even more. Maybe Sly just knows when to call it a day.

Thx for the response and I think the Sly Stone thing makes a sense. However I wasn't talking about forums more critics-do you think Stevie etc get the scrutiny of Prince?

Spinlight said:

MikeyB71 said:

I agree, i think he is capable of another truely great album, in fact i think he is capable of more than one. And he sure is giving us a good time while we wait.

I think that certain Prince fans need to grow and change more with Prince, and accept him for what he sounds like now. It is no use complaing about every new album saying it is not another SOTT or whatever, because as you mention Spinlight, it is not going to happen.

As for people being negative about his recent output, i actually began to find myself being influenced by a lot of comments on this site, i had to sit back, ignore the comments and really listen hard to what i thought, and not be influenced by other people. It really did give me a fresh perspective about his music, and i began to really enjoy his albums of the last 10 years a lot more.

Prince should do what he wants to do and we have the choice of either liking it or not. And yes, everyone is entitled to their opinion and this forum is a site FULL OF OPINIONS, but incessant speculation on just how incompetent Prince may or may not have become in the last ___ years is insulting to him as an artist and to us as fans.

I agree with you completely on this Spinlight. What I find interesting is that people will do perhaps a 'album review' of thos or that album and it seems or sounds like they're speaking for the entire Prince Enthusiast Community. If you do not like an album or song, 'you' just don't like it. The question presented or asked was 'Does Prince have one more GREAT album in Him'? That question is subjective and can only be answered by the listener, not the entire community, as I said before. The next GREAT album for me, may just as well be the next album or the later album (being 20Ten).

That's what 'we' need to remember. This member of prince.org or that member of prince.org is not 'our' own oppinions of the music. I have to admit, there has not been one member of this site or another site that has changed my oppinion about Prince or his music, nuff said ...

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I think he still have a few great albums in him. When he'll be a littke bit older, he'll record the mature blues album i've been waiting for