Rio got the idea for this thread from me, since it was one of 3 opinions I posted on the Unpopular Opinions Thread (and also on my Facebook).

Parade just doesn't work well as an album for me. A handful of songs work WAY better in the context of the movie than on the album (such as "Christopher Tracy's Parade" and "Do You Lie"). There are a few excellent songs ("Kiss," "Mountains," "Anotherlover") and a few songs that are absolutely awful/pointless ("Venus De Milo" deserves to be a B-side instead of "Alexa de Paris," and "I Wonder U" is one of the worst tracks ever on a Prince album). For years, "Life Can Be So Nice" annoyed the crap out of me because it's so reverb-y and chaotic. It helped hearing the Revolution play it at the benefit concert last year, but I still can't say I'm a fan of the song.

His best album for me on most occasions. Simply timeless. The production stands the test of time better than SOTT.

the album is PERFECT.

PERFECT.

PERFECT.

PERFECT.

my fave of all time.

no changes at ALL!

Christopher Tracey's Parade is my favourite opening track to any Prince album.

It's so playful and whimsical, I love it.

Parade is Prince's best album IMO.

errant said:

Parade is a great album. As an album. As a collection of Prince songs, mos of them seem half-finished and don't work without each other and the over-arching aesthetic they share. Which is what makes it feel very much like an album rather than a collection of Prince tunes. Not that others don't acheive the same thing, being able to cohesively hang together through sonics or theme, but this one more than any other falls back on it to make it what it is.

Agree with this.

btw, OP - don't you have a Parade avatar?

The production on Parade is mindblowing throughout. Full of invention, ideas, creativity. The sound on Parade is unique.

It is as good as any great material from any other great artist post war.

Yeah. It is that good.

OldFriends4Sale said:

riocoolnes said:

my thing is. U guys can't honestly tell me when ur making a Prince mixtape or showing someone P music u show anyone songs like CTP, Do u lie, I wonder U, . COME ON MAN. if ur ipod comes on shuffle and one of these songs come up u can't tell me ur not like "IPOD PUT ON A BETTER PRINCE SONG"

depends on the tastes of the person

When I makes Prince playlists I can grab at so many pieces that fit a subject or a feel

I Wonder U is very sensual poetic chic simple

Exactly. If I'm making a mix for anyone whose taste ventures even a bit beyond mediocrity, "I Wonder U" is going on there. It's cool if it's not your thing--no it's not, I'm just being cordial--but I really revere that piece; it's easily one of my favorite Prince songs because of the singular emotion it evokes.

Girls & Boys is my least favourite song on the album, Do U Lie is one my favourites. Go figure.

I never understood why Parade was always so praised. Half of the album is great, the other half is average to mediocre.

And let me add, the Parade tour sucked.

I made a mix-cd:


and it included New Position, Kiss, Girls & Boys. 3 amazing songs..


For my niece, she was then in her early 20's she did not know much about Prince.

I believe it included Sometimes It Snows In April as well.

Parade is like Lovesexy a masterpiece, not necessary the greatest Prince songs, but those albums are great concept albums, working from first song to the last, they are great experiences just like that. I rate both albums: maximum 10.

Parade was Prince at his peak, a long peak from 1980- to 1988.

Marco81 said:

the Parade tour sucked.

I sincerely disagree,


did U watch the birthday concert, Detroit june 7, 1986

Masterpiece concert... no less.



The Parade tour...

.

[Edited 10/17/13 7:32am]

I could do without "Under The Cherry Moon" and "Do U Lie?" on the album, but I understand they are rather essential for providing the campy, nostalgic vibe he was going for with the film. I prefer the early instrumental performances of "Under The Cherry Moon" to the version with the vocals on the album.

Most of it is mindblowingly good stuff though. I'm always sort of puzzled how a guy that wasn't even 30 at the time did a record like Parade and then went onto do so much unimaginative, plastic pop /R&B stuff when he was much older. It makes me wonder if he has even listened to the record in its entirety in ages.

thedance said:

Marco81 said:

the Parade tour sucked.

I sincerely disagree,


did U watch the birthday concert, Detroit june 7, 1986

Masterpiece concert... no less.



The Parade tour...

.

[Edited 10/17/13 7:32am]

yes and it bores the hell out of me. He doesn't touch an instrument during concerts of the Parade tour, many songs are just snippets and I couldnt care less about Prince just being stupid and dancing on stage. The song selection of the tour is not really my cup of tea.

Masterpiece concert? Seriously? You're very easy to please

Marco81 said:

Masterpiece concert? Seriously? You're very easy to please

^ Parade is pleasing me - yes.. very much, both the album & tour.... true.

Are U born in 81, (your org name).. that could maybe be the explanation...

Maybe you weren't around back then... Prince was h-o-t in 86, Kiss was all over the radio and the clubs/ discotheques as well.. in my country Denmark as well..

The Parade tour, the birthday show was shown on danish TV, I was shocked how fanttastic it was, the sound of the Parade tracks, (and "Head" as well)....

But this could be the old fan versus the newbie issue, once again..? (no offense..)..

I believe old timers LOVE everything about Parade, the look, the sound, the film in the theaters... 1986 really was something -- (especially compared to the rather lame albums lately).

A long reply.. sorry..

thedance said:

Marco81 said:

the Parade tour sucked.

I sincerely disagree,


did U watch the birthday concert, Detroit june 7, 1986

Masterpiece concert... no less.



The Parade tour...

.

[Edited 10/17/13 7:32am]

And I couldn't wait to see how it was interpreted live, and it blew me away

I love the live activity of ATWIAD & Christopher Tracey's Parade

thedance said:

Marco81 said:

Masterpiece concert? Seriously? You're very easy to please

^ Parade is pleasing me - yes.. very much, both the album & tour.... true.

Are U born in 81, (your org name).. that could maybe be the explanation...

Maybe you weren't around back then... Prince was h-o-t in 86, Kiss was all over the radio and the clubs/ discotheques as well.. in my country Denmark as well..

The Parade tour, the birthday show was shown on danish TV, I was shocked how fanttastic it was, the sound of the Parade tracks, (and "Head" as well)....

But this could be the old fan versus the newbie issue, once again..? (no offense..)..

I believe old timers LOVE everything about Parade, the look, the sound, the film in the theaters... 1986 really was something -- (especially compared to the rather lame albums lately).

A long reply.. sorry..

totally agree

the Parade tour was simplified after the magnitude of Purple Rain, + the additions of the Family members: Susannah, Eric, Wally Jerome & Gregory

Even Prince admires that time period, because ever since LotusFlow3r.com -3rd Eye Girl he's been openly using imagery of the Parade era & 1986

1986 produced the largest volume of music (released + unreleased)

The Parade show was excellent and I've come to prefer the Detroit gig over the SOTT concert film myself (no obvious overdubbing, at least).

novabrkr said:

The Parade show was excellent and I've come to prefer the Detroit gig over the SOTT concert film myself (no obvious overdubbing, at least).

It's interesting in reading interviews by MissEmeraldCity from Susannah that shed some light on the Dream Factory upcoming era: Cat's costume Prince originally designed for Susannah, Susannah describing the album artwork she designed, + a lot of the look 4 SOTT was the Dream Factory look, Sheila E was already starting to wear a lot of it during the end of her Romance 1600 -Sheila E promotions

^ Wowow.. OF4S:




I totally dig your Parade tour gif's..

And so true, Prince was so -very- prolific in 86... maybe his most prolific year in his entire career?

jaawwnn said:

Girls & Boys is my least favourite song on the album, Do U Lie is one my favourites. Go figure.

Ditto.

whipchorus said:

The one thing I would change about the album is definitely finding room for Alexa De Paris somewhere. On an album full of ideas it's too interesting a piece of music not to be on there.

I love Venus de Milo, I would replace that one with Alexa de Paris, and put Venus de Milo as B-side

In the movie we heard Mia Bocca, that would have been cool if that was some kind of duet with Prince & Jill Jones and included on the album

Outside of a few songs, (and B sides), I used to go from 1999, and skip straight over to SOTT.

From Parade, my favorite is Anotherlover......I had the cassette long ago. I never thought about Parade again until last year when I was waiting for D'Angelo to come out, & they played New Position, and I Wonder U. That's when I realized that maybe, just maybe I missed them and needed to revisit, lol. I didn't think about ATWIAD outside of Pop Life and the B's until hearing Tambourine while waiting for D's show to start. I missed hearing that too, so I bought both ATWIAD and Parade again after not having them for many years.

[Edited 10/18/13 8:55am]

SuperSoulFighter said:

TheDigitalGardener said:

What was wrong with posting this in the unpopular opinions thread?

He wanted to get some attention! Having said that, Rio has a point. Say whatever you want, but New Position and I Wonder U aren't exactly the greatest songs ever written. But that's okay. The overall flow of the album, the sound, the orchestra all make this into a wonderful musical trip in which the weaker songs also have a purpose. If Girls & Boys is fantastic, then Life Can Be So Nice, with its nonsense lyrics about scrambled eggs and all (??), allows you to catch your breath. So the whole becomes much, much bigger than the sum of its parts. And that's what making an LP is all about. And that's what I miss in Prince's new music. But Parade...yeah...those were the glory days...

Yes, I agree. I think Parade was an interesting experiment. I like it. But I think it's the weakest link in that phenomenal run of albums he had in the mid-80s. It works because it's cohesive and full of life. But I can't honestly say the songs are of the same standard as those on PR, 1999, ATWIAD, etc. Prince himself seemed to take this view when talking about the album a few months later.

Plus, the spirit of craziness and trippiness could be seen as a little forced at some points. Still, I love about half the album and the other half is interesting, which is more than I can say for his latest stuff.

Prince himself wasn't too pleased with the album.I remember something he said in a late 1986 interview...

Parade was a disaster.Apart from "Kiss",there's nothing on it that I'm particularly proud of.I made it too soon after Around The World In A Day and I didn't have enough great songs ready.I'm not gonna make that same mistake again.

I sorta agree with him.There are a few songs on the album that sound rushed.

SoulAlive said:

Prince himself wasn't too pleased with the album.I remember something he said in a late 1986 interview...

Parade was a disaster.Apart from "Kiss",there's nothing on it that I'm particularly proud of.I made it too soon after Around The World In A Day and I didn't have enough great songs ready.I'm not gonna make that same mistake again.

I sorta agree with him.There are a few songs on the album that sound rushed.

Haha, I don't believe him for a minute. Either he was being really sly ("parade was nothing, you should hear what i can do after i've had breakfast') OR he's come to reconsider what he thinks are "great songs" -- after all, he still plays half the album on a regular basis: (UTCM, G&B, Mountains, Kiss, Anotherlover, SISIA). Parade is a great album, no question.

The two classic cuts got radio play: Kiss and Girls & Boys

The rest... cool to Prince fans but not classics in the music world.

I do like Mountains and I wonder U and Under the Cherry Moon quite a bit. But I'm a Prince fanatic.

It's a great album. It could be better with the inclusion of the songs omitted from the early configuration. old Friends 4 Sake and All My Dreams really do belong on this album.

I think it's probably the best album the man ever made. So damn consistently great, thrilling and fun.

I think it takes a certain liking or taste to get used to.

It has to be listened as a body of work, or art, rather than just basic 'nod your head' music.

And appriciation for the minimalisitic sound where applicable.

Parade, Purple Rain, and Love Symbol are in my opinion his best albums.