A lot of his music hinted at end times prophesy.
Especially in the 80s.

.

FUNKNROLL said:

databank said:

I did!

What's your understanding?

Something in the line of telling Jevetta and, by extention, us "if u don't get it there's no point in me tryin' to explain it to u".

TrivialPursuit said:

databank said:

Absolutely not, it precedes the WB wars.

The war only started a year later. (I do agree it's not about WB.) Prince was fighitng with them for a few years prior to the name change, though. We discussed in another thread how Prince needed a hit, and that Diamonds & Pearls was really a record for the record company to prove he could still pull it off. It's commercial, it's pop, it's what he needed. I think WB had him on a short leash by that point, especially with the failure of Graffiti Bridge (the success of a #1 from Batman wasn't enough to sustain his credibility).

All that aside, I do wonder what all the allegories and stories were from in "7". He noted in the jacket that some of it was from Revelations. Hell, a lot of it is written like a bible verse. "And I saw an angel come down..."

I really wonder how anyone, whether Prince or WB execs, could seriously hope that by releasing an album a year Prince could achieve a Madonna type of success. WB and Prince hardly had a year to promote and tour an album, while other huge artists sometimes took up to 2 years to do the same.

Prince albums that weren't massive hits still sold well. Even in the 80's selling 2 or 3 million copies (+ singles sales!) wasn't that bad.

I think everyone involved was pretty delusional in believeing they could sell more than 5 million albums every year, particularly for an artist who had a certain tendency to release semi-experimental and intimate songs. Albums like GM's Faith, TTD's Hardline, MJ's Bad, Madonna's Like A Prayer or whatever released by the likes of Phil Collins, Sting or most other major 80's stars were waaaay easier to sell to the masses than anything Prince released between PR and D&P.

In a way Prince was a victim of his own commercial success: by getting the occasional massive hits, he himself, and his label, had expectations that weren't in line with both the artistic ambition of the music and the regularity at which it was released. Had Prince sold well but less, he and WB would probably had had a better releationship. WB supported "lesser" artists who didn't always sell by the millions but had a solid fanbase and made enough money for themselves and the label without being megastars. Prince may have been better off being such an artist in the end.

TrivialPursuit said:

databank said:

Absolutely not, it precedes the WB wars.

The war only started a year later. (I do agree it's not about WB.) Prince was fighitng with them for a few years prior to the name change, though. We discussed in another thread how Prince needed a hit, and that Diamonds & Pearls was really a record for the record company to prove he could still pull it off. It's commercial, it's pop, it's what he needed. I think WB had him on a short leash by that point, especially with the failure of Graffiti Bridge (the success of a #1 from Batman wasn't enough to sustain his credibility).

All that aside, I do wonder what all the allegories and stories were from in "7". He noted in the jacket that some of it was from Revelations. Hell, a lot of it is written like a bible verse. "And I saw an angel come down..."

yeah the war with wb was boiling for years before it became public. all the way back to when he stopped his purple rain tour before ever leaving the u.s. (europe never saw the pr tour!) and then delivered a weirdo '60s-influenced freak out album while purple rain and its singles were still selling like gangbusters, splitting the audinece dollar and refusing to even release a single at all, from what meagre selection of radio-friendly songs that existed on the album (he later relented and released them both of course)

or when he kept bringing them double and triple albums when his single albums weren't doing the numbers wb wanted. because he delivered music too frequently! i can see their pov; they are a business, and they want to give the public time to miss prince, and to fully exploit each album's potential.

but i can also see p's perspective, which is "eff all that i have music to make, do you want it or not?!" lol

btw, i don't think dolphin is about that stuff tbh... i think it's about frustration that his "message" (you guys all know what imean by that right..?) not getting through to the right people, or enough of them at least. from day one he was all about trying to "save the world," no joke. he legit wanted that and i guess totally believed it is possible through music. but of course the world doesn't change, not significantly.

"how beautiful do the words have to be before they conquer every heart?"