i didn't even hear it til about 10 years ago, the sentiment is nice and it's Prince as well as many of his fans, many of us were drawn to that man just because he was the eternal outsider. so, to articulate that in a song was natural and more direct that some of the gibberish like the new power generation or new breed leaders or what have you. I never thought of it as queen like, it is i guess but that don't make it bad. I love the part where he takes it to church.

SkipperLove said:

I dont understand the hate for it either..other than being a bit derivative, I enjoys its message. I imagine they picked it because it sounds like it is welcoming foreigners etc. Considering the climate today in regards to immigration, it would be a great song to use in a pro-immigration film. It has a spirituality but also a "Bring us your huddled masses" feel to it.

Come now all ye strays of the world, there's a place for you
In Love's kingdom, boys and girls, all are welcome to

[Chorus]
Strays of the world, strays of the world
La la la la la

[Verse 1]
Surrender all ye sad of heart, today hold back no tears
The past is gone when we can start conquering our fears

i loved strays from the first time i heard it, it was a song for us outsiders.

Messy Anthology. Putting 'Crucial' - 80's hidden classic after 'P. Control' is just not right... i mean, just imagine newbie starting with that anthology and listening that transition...

Its messy. I agree. I created my own playlist. But that being said, his talent still shines through. And give newbies credit-- they aren't immediately prone to judgment.

stpaisios said:

Messy Anthology. Putting 'Crucial' - 80's hidden classic after 'P. Control' is just not right... i mean, just imagine newbie starting with that anthology and listening that transition...

sro100 said:

Of all the great great songs to include in the "Anthology" they put on "Strays of the World?" I think this might be perhaps Prince's most embarassing song.

BTW, since this is a "release" in the world of streaming does that mean this is going to be on the Billboard charts and count as an official "album;" assuming its streaming pushes it into the Top 200?

Because it sounds like a reject from a "Rent" wannabe.

sro100 said:

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

sro100 said:

Because it sounds like a reject from a "Rent" wannabe.

Great description. When people tell me that the writer of Rent was not a trained musician and these were his first attempt, I always respond that it sounds like it. Fingernails on the chalkboard for ME. But, a lot of folks love it!

so now prince can't write a song as good as the guy from rent? I tried to watch rent, i couldn't make it through the damned thing, it wasn't particularly bad, just not my thing. songs from musicals and operas are often kinda lame, speech intensive and without melody, it wasn't that, I just never did relate to the drama of the young, even when i was young, never did like all the faux drama/love/phoney shit, saw it for what it was, fake shit. spike lee made a movie of a similar musical which wasn't really any better from a drama standpoint but some of the music was kickin'. (Passing Strange).

Hermes is not a very good critic. I want to see Christgau's review.

stpaisios said:

Messy Anthology. Putting 'Crucial' - 80's hidden classic after 'P. Control' is just not right... i mean, just imagine newbie starting with that anthology and listening that transition...

How is that any different from the transition from She Gave Her Angles to 18 and Over that Prince put in Crystal Ball?

I like the Anthology myself. I've listened to it a few times through. Sure, there could be different choices. The thing is, we'd all pick different songs to replace and different songs to replace them with. I think it does what it's intended to do, give a good cross section of the kind of music Prince released over the 15 years. At least the albums they had the rights to.

And sure, like someone posted, it's basically a playlist, but has the one difference that you can buy it for $14.99. If people stream it or buy it, and then decide to steam/buy albums who's songs are on there as a result, then it's a win.

Edit to add: P Control is a classic.

[Edited 8/26/18 13:47pm]

To add to the above, I actually found I like Crucial more on Anthology than I did on Crystal Ball for some reason. And according to ITunes, P Control is the most popular song on Anthology, followed by Call My Name and Musicology.

alandail said:

To add to the above, I actually found I like Crucial more on Anthology than I did on Crystal Ball for some reason. And according to ITunes, P Control is the most popular song on Anthology, followed by Call My Name and Musicology.

wow, prince's rap influenced stuff usually got dogged.

bonatoc said:

darkroman said:

Hmmm, Prince WAS NOT, ''Genius Hiding in Plain Sight''.

I bought all the records when they were released and just like all other fans we have been enjoying his music for decades.

What the article really should state is that people have IGNORED Prince's genious!

All of a sudden because he has gone people are claiming to see the 'genious', yet they reality is that since Prince passed away the sycophants have come out of the woodwork and people who claim to be fans are milking his legacy for money.

Not good at all!!!

Such drama! Allow me a simpler explanation: Prince is a demanding artist.
A good third of his post-eighties production is simply too cryptic and self-referencing.
You can't fully appreciate it if you don't know what came before, what he's referring to,
you need the whole mythology, an ability to decode him that is only acquired when you
fully dive into his visions.

As for the ones claiming a drop in quality, could they at least concede that Prince
acts like a revealer of the mediocrity of prefab pop music?
That an average song by Prince sounds like genius, holds more soul, is more sincere,
that any shit that made the charts mountain top in these under-the-radar decades?
When the usual #1, that went multi-platinum, will be long forgotten, title and artist,
people will still be humming Prince's lamest tunes. That's SKipper's ultimate trick:
you don't like the song, you think it's not up to his fucking golden years,
but there you go, a week after, you find yourself whistling it, out of the blue.

It takes time to appreciate Prince post-eighties. As Yoda said, you've got to unlearn what you've learned.
No more W&L. No more flangered hi-hats. No more Oberheims. No more 6/9sus4 Parade jazzy chords shit,
no more Blue Angel, no more Sheila, no more buttons on the pants sides.
It's like someone you're married to, and one day you wake up and it's a whole other person.
Whether you choose to file up for divorce is up to you. Prince, he goes: "Don't give up. I still Love U."

[Edited 8/22/18 18:44pm]

I don't care if people think I'm a , but I applaud your ability to respond with so much insight and sensibility on all things Prince (ok, "all" may be an exaggeration). But thank you for the opinion. That was my Prince experience, but before I filed for divorce, I had an extra maritial affair with New Jack Swing, found a new mate and didn't think a thing about him until he left this plane. So I'm one of those people that is discovering what a lot of you already know, and I'm going to stop feeling bad because I just found my way back, and just enjoy what I missed during our seperation.

PeteSilas said:

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

sro100 said: Great description. When people tell me that the writer of Rent was not a trained musician and these were his first attempt, I always respond that it sounds like it. Fingernails on the chalkboard for ME. But, a lot of folks love it!

so now prince can't write a song as good as the guy from rent? I tried to watch rent, i couldn't make it through the damned thing, it wasn't particularly bad, just not my thing. songs from musicals and operas are often kinda lame, speech intensive and without melody, it wasn't that, I just never did relate to the drama of the young, even when i was young, never did like all the faux drama/love/phoney shit, saw it for what it was, fake shit. spike lee made a movie of a similar musical which wasn't really any better from a drama standpoint but some of the music was kickin'. (Passing Strange).

The movie or the play? My daughter kind of forced me to accompany her to the play; I "hated" musicals, but I LOVED Rent. Tried to watch the movie, was like....ummm no. The movie just didn't work with the cast from the original broadway production. Not being ageist, but the cast IMO, had aged to much to make their roles convincing.

Asenath said:

PeteSilas said:

so now prince can't write a song as good as the guy from rent? I tried to watch rent, i couldn't make it through the damned thing, it wasn't particularly bad, just not my thing. songs from musicals and operas are often kinda lame, speech intensive and without melody, it wasn't that, I just never did relate to the drama of the young, even when i was young, never did like all the faux drama/love/phoney shit, saw it for what it was, fake shit. spike lee made a movie of a similar musical which wasn't really any better from a drama standpoint but some of the music was kickin'. (Passing Strange).

The movie or the play? My daughter kind of forced me to accompany her to the play; I "hated" musicals, but I LOVED Rent. Tried to watch the movie, was like....ummm no. The movie just didn't work with the cast from the original broadway production. Not being ageist, but the cast IMO, had aged to much to make their roles convincing.

they aged that much in a couple years huh? same criticism as jersey boys, which i loved as a movie. no not the play i don't go see plays, i might go see phantom of the opera and if i do it'll be a first of my adult life.

1725topp said:

jdcxc said:

It’s a testament to Prince’s unique diverse genius and the quality of his later work that I would have chosen a mostly different playlist.

ya, and most of his asshole fans tear anything from that era apart. I saw a michael dean podcast, had to turn it off, it was about the symbol album, you woulda thought they were talking about hitler, fuck. I didn't even check to see if it was done after or pre-death, i just couldn't handle it.

I don't know... it had it's moments, but also seemed to a bit of a mess. Here were my thoughts I posted to my channel last week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTMKUwiGmwY

Cheers!