billymeade said:

Probably no, as I still would have got into D and P and was interested in Cream and everything else when I becamea fan in 1991, but even then I kind of knew this was Mr Purple Rain and got very close to being a fan in 1988 with Alphabet Street.

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He would have been like other "Trend" artists I got into between 1989 and 1995 like Color Me Badd, Milli Vanilli, Ice T and others. I probably would have hung on to Gold Experience and enjoyed that, but Chaos and Disorder and then Emancipation would have been bysies and back to Michael Jackson love.

OperatingThetan said:

of course I would. the album was sooo appropriate back than and cream was my go-to tune for years. but I'm not a fan of one of his eras or musical styles, I'm a fan of prince and his music including his entire career and nothing he could have done different would change that at all.
that said ... D&P was the result of what he's done b4 and his musical and personal evolvement ... u can't pull one piece out of a puzzle still expecting the same overall picture. if he had started fresh in 1991 his influences would have been as different as his entire story and so would have been his debut album.

Okay, I don't even know how big a music fan I would have been--I mean, something else might have really kicked things over for me in the mid-80s, but I can't say for sure. There was no one else from then that I was an active follower of through to '91, so who knows? By '91, I was listening to and stocking up on(outside of Prince related material) mostly Beatles and Dylan and Cohen. So who knows what would have happened without the 80's Prince?

To be honest, if there hadn't been 80's Prince, would D+P have been played on the radio? I mean, as someone who had grown up listening to pop music in a Prince world, I was ready to hear the D+P singles, and I liked them, but I'm not sure that a new artist, releasing those tracks into the world without Prince would have gotten played on the pop radio stations I had available to me, and if the songs hadn't been played, I wouldn't have heard them or had the opportunity to get into them.

With no Prince in the 80s, I don't think I would have ever heard D+P, and I don't think very many of the rest of you would have either (even if, somehow, he made the thing). So, I wouldn't be here, but neither would the site. And more to the original poster's real point in the question--even if somehow you guys were here, I still wouldn't be here, because without Prince's earlier music, I wouldn't be the type of music fan I am, across the board. Earlier Prince, and my growing musical knowledge inspired by (to a significant degree) my Prince fandom, made me the sort of person who reads music magazines and books and hangs out on music sites and listens to music actively rather than passively. If it weren't for Prince's original timing, my obsessiveness would probably have found some other area besides music to focus on.

donnyenglish said:

Yes indeed.

It is a hard question because much of his post 1980s work was rejected by many only because of how it compared to his brilliant work on the 1980s. Also, by then much of the public had grown weary of all of Prince's shenanigans. If he had started fresh in the 1990s, I definitely would not have been disappointed in his work. However, I doubt that he would have so clearly been my number one musical artist thought it is possible if I had seen him live. I do know that I wouldn't be here because his death wouldn't have hit me so hard, which led me here despite my immense dislike for how some people dehumanize others (including their object of affection) on these types of sites.

Are we assuming he never wrote or recorded any of his pre-1991 material? That we'd be living in a world where "Little Red Corvette," "When Doves Cry," or "Purple Rain" would not exist? Do we also assume the trajectory of his career went exactly the same way as it did post-1991? The answer is no.

For starters, Diamonds and Pearls is an album I have always put on the weaker end of the spectrum. The first half is great, but once you get to the second half all you really have of value as far as I'm concerned is "Insatiable" (I know "Money Don't Matter 2Nite" has its fans, but I'm not one of them). So if I were of age in 1991 (I was barely born), no, it wouldn't have hooked me.

Things would've been immensely different - he likely would not have met Mayte, which happened on the Nude Tour, so Love Symbol would've been radically different in concept most likely, as well as song. The most significant aspect of this hypothetical is that he never would've gone through the death of his son, which may have resulted in never becoming a Jehova's Witness and radically altering his later work in terms of subect matter. Who knows, maybe with a more moderate level of success, he'd not become so paranoid and closed off and actually still be alive today, but that's not what happened.

He perhaps would never have changed his name, because he'd never quite achieve the 1980s' success that enabled him the clout to pull off such a move and still maintain a semblance of relevance. Prince, had his career begun in 1991, likely would not have gone to war with Warner Brothers if he was just two years into his career; while people still debate the merits of the name change, it's a big part of his mythos and what kept people talking even in his wilderness years.

Without the success of Purple Rain, Prince's eccentricities would've been a lot less accepted - things like hosting last minute after show or scheduling huge concerts on short notice would not be something he could get really get away.

The androgynous, hypersexual image he built his career on would also be missing; while he still wrote about sexuality in the 1990s', he didn't approach it with the same risk taking or fearlessness he did on "Dirty Mind" or "Controversy." He'd be another ribald R&B star writing 'bump and grind' anthems. We wouldn't have the Revolution, and specifically Wendy & Lisa, with whom he built a dynamic with that went along with his challenging of sexuality and gender roles.

We also likely wouldn't have any of the artists he mentored and wrote for - no Morris, no Sheila, no "Sugar Walls," "I Feel for You," "Jungle Love," "A Love Bizarre," "Manic Monday," or perhaps even "Nothing Compares 2 U."

Prince would not have been doing tours on the scale of Musicology or Welcome 2 America in the mid 2000's-early noughties. He'd be playing either small theatres or places like Jones Beach or the Beacon Theatre. He wouldn't be selling out MSG or mounting 21 night stands at the Forum in Inglewood. He'd tour with opening acts and do co-headlining gigs. At best, he'd be a Lionel Richie-level draw. I mean, imagine for a moment going to a Prince show circa 2010 with the following set:

1. When Eye Lay My Hands on U

2. Thunder

3. Endorphinmachine

4. Chaos and Disorder

5. Shhh!

6. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

7. Letitgo

8. Somewhere Here on Earth

9. Muse 2 the Pharoah

10. Musicology

11. Lolita

12. Black Sweat

13. Satisfied

14. Dear Mr. Man

15. Money Don't Matter 2 Nite

16. And God Created Woman

17. 7

Encore 1:

18. Insatiable

19. Cream

20. Gold

Encore 2:

21. Gett Off

22. Days of Wild

Sure some fans would go ga-ga over it, and there a lot of great songs (I did choose the highest quality / most well known songs from 1991-2009 period) but it'd be lacking a lot climactic moments that made Prince's shows special.

Let's look at this way: had it gone this way: Prince wouldn't have been eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until the year he died. If he only had his D&P and later work to show for it, would he be inducted on the first year eligibility? No.

To put it simply, the answer is no.

[Edited 1/13/18 7:41am]

[Edited 1/13/18 12:00pm]

[Edited 1/13/18 12:04pm]

Yes. Diamonds and Pearls was one of the songs that drew me to Prince and I love several other songs on the album.

it wouldnt be because the quality of his music

no.

billymeade said:

Yup. Could you imagine someone's debut single being "Gett Off"!? That would be incredible.

I agree with this.

Gett Off is a great track and I enjoy the majority of tracks on D&P which would've made me want to hear more of what Prince had to offer although I'm not too keen on the actual song D&P.

I love all the following albums but kind of wane at Emancipation and then pick up again.

Like everyone else I have favorite albums and others I dip into occasionally but on the whole I really enjoy most of what Prince put out.

So yes, I think I'd still be a follower of Prince.

It is all about exposure and what he chose to release in an accessible way. If he started with D and P and the love symbol album and then properly released the Gold Experience and then properly released the truth album and crystal ball and then later musicology, 3121, etc...then I think I would still be a fan. But if his career went exactly the same way in terms of musical releases (not name changes becuase I doubt that would have even been an issue) and he buried some of his best work in obscure places, he would not have lasted long and I would have never learned of some of the gems of his later period. One could argue that had D and P been his first album and had just been a very modest hit, he would have either towed the line or found his footing as strictly a cult artist and continued to push himself musically ignoring the other drama.. In other words, he would not have been torn between being a super star and being an artist. The career might have been quite different. But Prince's talent was so beyond lionel ritchie or Terence Trent Darby that I can't imagine him becoming striclty a has-been. His image issues and poor career choices hurt his career more than the quality of his work in my opinion. Even if it was less consistent quality wise than the 80's, it was still better than a lot of folks who are big successes but who know how to sell their image and their work to the most people.

Problem with questions like this is they are pure fantasy and can't be part of experience...

[Edited 1/15/18 11:44am]

another trick question...like the one thread that asked: "Why Has Madonna Outlasted Her Peers?"

[Edited 1/15/18 11:45am]

If Prince had started his career in 1991 then he would definitely have had a very big impact on the music scene. Just look at some of the singles that he would have released in the space of just 3 years:

Gett Off

Cream

Diamonds And Pearls

Money Don't Matter 2 Nite

Sexy MF

7

Pink Cashmere

The Most Beautiful Girl In The World

Ok I've left some of the singles he did release in that timespan out but you can see that those would be a fantastic set of somgs for anyone to release on the charts in a three year spell. But here's the thing, Prince then appears to either run out of steam a little bit, or perhaps more likely he starts releasing some stuff after the Love Symbol album in order to just get albums out rather than actually carrying on making the best conventional albums that he could. It's a little sad that someone who had ruled the airwaves and record shops some years earlier never actually had a bona fide hit single after TMBGITW in 1994. So I think if Prince had started his career in 1991 with D&P then he'd be a real cult artist, because I think the legacy of what he'd achieved earlier in his career and also our knowledge of what he was capable of and his talent ensured that a lot of good fans were always interested in what he was going to release next.

Yes, because my second favourite Prince album is D + P and my favourite song of all time is "Diamonds and Pearls." "Diamonds and Pearls" is the song that made me fall in love with Prince.

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I would not be as big of a Prince fan though because I love so much of his music from before D+P.

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Also, since I was born in 1986, and grew up in the 90s, I think he would have been less of a legacy artist who had already had his greatest success.

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It's an interesting question though because so much of his image/public perception in the 90s was tied up with being the The Artist or or The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.

[Edited 1/15/18 17:15pm]

If D&P the song was the first thing I heard I would have probably walked away, never to return. If however, the first song I heard was Willing & Able, then I would have made a point of investigating further. I think upon further investigation i would have given the guy a chance and given the Symbol album a good listen the following year... And with that album being one of my top 5 masterpeices even knowing about the 80's work, I would have then been on that train no matter where it went.

if he had not gone thru the Purple Rain thing ...he would not have been inclined to make those type of albums

ShaggyDog said:

If Prince had started his career in 1991 then he would definitely have had a very big impact on the music scene. Just look at some of the singles that he would have released in the space of just 3 years:

Gett Off

Cream

Diamonds And Pearls

Money Don't Matter 2 Nite

Sexy MF

7

Pink Cashmere

The Most Beautiful Girl In The World

Ok I've left some of the singles he did release in that timespan out but you can see that those would be a fantastic set of somgs for anyone to release on the charts in a three year spell. But here's the thing, Prince then appears to either run out of steam a little bit, or perhaps more likely he starts releasing some stuff after the Love Symbol album in order to just get albums out rather than actually carrying on making the best conventional albums that he could. It's a little sad that someone who had ruled the airwaves and record shops some years earlier never actually had a bona fide hit single after TMBGITW in 1994. So I think if Prince had started his career in 1991 with D&P then he'd be a real cult artist, because I think the legacy of what he'd achieved earlier in his career and also our knowledge of what he was capable of and his talent ensured that a lot of good fans were always interested in what he was going to release next.

remove the best song: Pink Cashmere, from the list. It was made in 1988

luvsexy4all said:

if he had not gone thru the Purple Rain thing ...he would not have been inclined to make those type of albums

That's actually a REALLY good point. D&P was an attempt for him to recapture some semblabce of PR's commercial success.

Really, this is pretty much an impossible question to fathom.

OldFriends4Sale said:

ShaggyDog said:

If Prince had started his career in 1991 then he would definitely have had a very big impact on the music scene. Just look at some of the singles that he would have released in the space of just 3 years:

Gett Off

Cream

Diamonds And Pearls

Money Don't Matter 2 Nite

Sexy MF

7

Pink Cashmere

The Most Beautiful Girl In The World

Ok I've left some of the singles he did release in that timespan out but you can see that those would be a fantastic set of somgs for anyone to release on the charts in a three year spell. But here's the thing, Prince then appears to either run out of steam a little bit, or perhaps more likely he starts releasing some stuff after the Love Symbol album in order to just get albums out rather than actually carrying on making the best conventional albums that he could. It's a little sad that someone who had ruled the airwaves and record shops some years earlier never actually had a bona fide hit single after TMBGITW in 1994. So I think if Prince had started his career in 1991 with D&P then he'd be a real cult artist, because I think the legacy of what he'd achieved earlier in his career and also our knowledge of what he was capable of and his talent ensured that a lot of good fans were always interested in what he was going to release next.

remove the best song: Pink Cashmere, from the list. It was made in 1988

Actually the first time heard I Pink Cashmere was when it appeared on the Hits/B-Sides and was released a single in 1993 so I think that's why in my mind I associate it with that post Love Symbol album period. But of course yes, it was it was one dusted down from the vault.

Hell yes. If it was '99 of which you speak, however, I never would have stuck around long enough to get to The Rainbow Children. Glad that didn't happen.