Whilst I am of the popular opinion that many of Prince's classic albums were created in his youth - 1999, Purple Rain and Sign 'O' The Times - I can only admire how our Artist unwavered in his stance towards achieving his freedom. I know critics will suggest his artistic viablity has been forever compromised by this very pursuit of spirit, but they're judging Prince within a system he's not genuinely subscribing to anymore. We've all got our own agendas, and that's all good. I'm finding the end result stands for something far greater both for Prince, and as a result, me. I understand that some fans will not feel the same way and to that end, I'll have to fundamentally dispute their 'allegiance' for a number of reasons. Maybe, we'll discuss these issues here but as Rd says, 'you're not a true fan.'

Yes, it's taken a little while for Prince to understand the benefits (The Truth), and pitfalls, of what freedom brings, but that's perfectly understandable. At last it seems he's getting to a great place. From a musical perspective, the man is effortlessly producing soul of the kind that somewhat reminds me of back in the day when he wasn't thinking, just feeling. Yeah, there's no doubt that everything 'feels' different today but I guess we've all grown older and our expectations have been wired into different spheres. I suspect the phrase, 'may U live to see the Dawn,' was nothing more than an undefined dream for Prince when he referred to it in the Purple Rain album. In my mind, it appears as much a reality now as it's ever been. Even in the silence, I'm just as excited to be imagining how things are shaping up.

On a personal note, I'd like to believe Prince rockin' a 'fro nowadays is not just a new 'do' but an outward reflection of how comfortable he's feeling back inside his own skin again. This ain't Prince trying to be 'black,' he just is and I can't help but feel proud for him. Say it loud! And so what? Well, if the man we glimpse into nowadays is suggesting that 'something big is coming,' I guess I'd be a fool not to believe him given the recent evidence - The Rainbow Children and ONA Live. Yeah, that funk is brewing and Prince sho' is cooking it up. I suspect it'll be different ingredients this time round, soul food perhaps. What do y'all think?



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[This message was edited Fri May 9 15:56:43 PDT 2003 by Anji]

eh
?

Anji said:

Anji, YOU ROCK!!! Your words are so true. Not only is P brewing funk but Anji is brewing great thoughts in his mind!! Nice words of wisdom sir.

Very well written, Anji.

Prince declared that he was a “free man” in 1996. But declaring your freedom and actually feeling it at the core of your being are of course two entirely different things. Looking back with 20/20 hindsight I don't think he realized his freedom until sometime early in 2001, or whenever the "TRC" project started to come together.

Ever since then he's been a different man, a different artist. Before it was all about anger and proving things. Proving to Warner Bros. that he could sell that triple album they wouldn’t let him release in the 80s, proving that he could make more money as an independent artist, and proving that he could still be hip and hot with "Rave". Ironically I think his best work in this very down period was "The Truth", a creation that he apparently never felt secure enough with to release on its own. Instead he chose to release “New Power Soul” and start endless “hit” tours with friends and supporters rather than surrounding himself with awesome musicians like the ones he has today that can play the shit out of anything they touch, including even past great associates such as Eric Leeds and Greg Boyer.

As Prince said during last year's Celebration in a very serious, almost apologetic tone, "Thanks for sticking with me through the thick and the thin. I'm a lot of things, but one thing I'm *not* is ungrateful." If that’s not admitting that he knew things got at least a little bit weak and whack during those previous years, including the name change and all the “Chaos & Disorder” that went with that unstable period, I don't know what is. It's about as close and personal a statement as you're likely ever to get from Prince on the subject, especially since Prince doesn’t owe us anything other than the music that we choose to pay for. And he doesn’t have to answer to anybody but himself, his family and his closest friends.

Being an artist is about tapping into inspiration and sharing your unique view of the world. It’s not about consulting your fans and taking a vote on which subject matter and which style of music they think will be most well received (something he actually did 3 years ago). Art pokes and probes, and often even polarizes. It’s about getting at the absolute essence of your feelings, and to these ears he appears to be getting closer to that all the time. And as you say that’s a ”reflection of how comfortable he's feeling back inside his own skin again.” We haven’t seen this type of Prince since the late 70s before the fame and fortune turned him into a womanizing, self indulgent, unapproachable superstar who by his own words “kept making the same mistakes over and over”.

I don’t care if he’s singing about giving “Head” or sharing his beliefs about his god, I can relate with it all on a human level if it’s from the soul. I don’t look to artists for agreement or to find a kindred spirit, but rather for challenges and for the quality and purity of their work.

I’m guessing that Prince is letting his next project grow naturally and slowly like his new ‘fro. I have no idea what type of music it will be or what lyrical themes will be explored, but at this point I’d be surprised if it doesn’t turn out to sound soulful, inspired, honest and free.

Yeah, perhaps something like “Reflection”, like back in the “For You” days when he sported a ‘fro and was feeling the flow.

Anji said:

Just make sure it comes with the cornbread

Anji said:

I just felt like saying, after that post there's nothing for me to say.

Well said Anji!
I'm LOVING Prince's new musical direction. TRC, ONA and Xpectation are three of the freshest Prince albums since Lovesexy IMO. And whether you're into the whole "religious" aspect is irrelevent. It's there if you want to go on that ride, if not, then sit back and enjoy the music. Hopefully we're at the beginning of another era that will be as spiritual as the one from 1982-89!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

C'mon Miss. Dansa, how you feelin' the 'fro?!

pejman said:

LOL Cheers Pej! I was just reflecting on how, and why, things have been during the last decade. It made me wonder what's brewing around the corner? How do you think things will shape up over the next decade?

Brendan said:

Thank you, Brendan - I was hoping for a response like this!

* Being free, and feeling free, are two entirely different things. Once again, there was a theme that challenged Prince (and us) as much as the 'love and lust', 'sex and God' days. This wasn't a deliberate theme, it just emerged and I've learned some important lessons.

For example...

Emancipation - Prince's manifesto that he can make it on his own. A Crystal Ball-type triple album of jams but what system was he playing in? It was deemed a failure within the industry.

Crystal Ball - Prince realises the internet is a better, more profitable system to deliver what the fans want. Yet another triple album of jams but is it really what the fans need? Is it really what Prince needs? 'The Truth' became the truth but was Prince listening?

Newpower Soul - Prince became 'no. 1 at the bank' but at what cost artistically and professionally?

Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic - The rules for making $$$ hadn't changed. A hip brand and hit songs for the system to acknowledge you. Someone's heart got lost in the mix though.

1999: The New Master - An important lesson regarding reworks and remasters. Do you want to hear the rest? Does Prince anymore?

All of the above are of little relevance when you consider that his little baby passed away during this time, Mayte left a little while later and then both his mother and father passed away. Damn, those were tough years. I'm glad Prince has emerged stronger, and happy.

Brendan said:

Yet Prince is still getting closer to us, providing valuable sources for enquiry and question. People may get disjointed over religion in the Prince community but it's not like this doesn't happen everywhere else in the world where it's being debated. Some might argue, there is controversy again but isn't it your own path that you should pay most attention to? The intimacy of the soundchecks, concerts and aftershows, is where it's at for me. The NPGMC is reaching out too...



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[This message was edited Sat May 10 5:28:16 PDT 2003 by Anji]

Brendan said:

This is a really interesting paragraph to me.

Many fans want Prince to rediscover those elements again and they don't view them as mistakes. Whilst I am not concerned about living those values through Prince again - (afterall, I have the music and I am now old enough to live vicariously through my own life) - I also don't view those values, or that life, as a mistake. This is where I think many people get disjointed over some of Prince's new values.

The only thing I might be concerned with, is as much to do with Prince as it is to do with anyone that punishes themselves over being themselves in the past. This is where I feel the rules of organised Western religions do not create the most loving of environments for one's soul to grow. In my opinion, it's just not healthy for anyone's spirit to view things as extremes of right or wrong. That leads to punishing oneself for the past, and often others for allowing such a lifestyle to exist. Each to their own, I guess.

Brendan said:

Ditto.

Brendan said:

Fans might want to rediscover the For You album, for the 'purest' values that Prince holds, and the ones he'll likely be working on right now in the studio. This would be a natural progression from The Rainbow Children. The 'in your face' religion will relax itself and soon everybody'll be getting sexy just like Cloreen!

Supernova said:

Super, what is up with you?

toejam said:

I'm also quietly curious whether this era will surpass those sickly spirited, mad genius years (for me). Things are so much more intimate now but are they feeling better? I guess the next album will instantly let us know one way or the other. Till then...

Anji said:

shape up? I really don't feel like he shaped down.. You see I'm not all on Prince's nuts but I have always enjoyed what he does. I listen to his new material and enjoy it as well as the old. I don't complain about his religious beliefs. Usually when people write threads about which of his albums are the worst I don't even bother to write in them because to me I like all of them in some way or the other. He's always full of surprises and I love to be entertained by what he has to offer. Now if he stopped making music I'd be pissed but I doubt that will ever happen...
[This message was edited Sat May 10 13:08:38 PDT 2003 by pejman]

pejman said:

and I ain't drowning myself in no PURPLE KOOL-AID...unless it's spiked...

Anji said:

Nothing. How come?

Anji said:

I think “Emancipation” is a very fine album, containing many examples of terrific songwriting, but just think how great it could’ve been if he had been in the place he is today mixed with the exuberance he felt in the wake of being freed from his recording contract. He would’ve likely gone completely with what he wanted with no thought at all given to selling a triple album to prove Warner Bros. wrong or about ruling the charts for 2 years with “18 singles”.

I think it’s also interesting to note that he mentioned in an interview around 1997 that he was considering going on a solo theater based acoustic tour in support of “The Truth” and that it was Mayte who was trying to encourage him in that direction. So it seems with what little information we have to go on that there was some struggle there between depth/artistry and settling back into a safe, comfortable place. Can’t blame anyone -- especially someone whose just been through a tragedy -- for choosing the path of least resistance until you’re back on your feet (or heels) again.

And, hey, if “1999: The New Master” saves us from any more re-recording/reinterpreting of the past, it’ll become one of the most important releases of his career.

Anji said:

I was totally shocked and impressed by the soundchecks but I don’t know anything about the NPGMC reaching out.

And, yes, you would hope people would be more concerned with their own path. But one of the ways to keep from dealing with your own problems is to constantly direct your attention at someone else’s.

Anji said:

Yes, no doubt many gravitated towards and eventually embraced Prince because either he shared their same values or he represented values that intrigued and eventually stuck with the younger, more impressionable minds. So the chaos that has ensued is certainly understandable, but much of its just so unhealthy and based in selfishness.

Around the time of the release of 1996 Prince expressed the opinion that he wasn’t ashamed nor did he feel guilty about any of his past because it shaped the person he is today. I’m note sure how he looks at his past now. Certainly this issue will be addressed in future music and with how he handles the treatment for his back catalog.

I think his TRC and future output will be more fulfilling to him and to his audience as a whole. The music in gneral will have more meaning.

Anji said:

wha
?

First off, I agree with this thread and Anji's thoughts.

Secondly, I hope Prince will release the song "Reflection" on a future album, since he didn't bother to put it up as an mp3. It really bugs me that I don't have better access to that tune.

This is how I feel

jtgillia said:

I actually thought it sounded like an edit, but a really good song...

Anji, you are a very clear example of thinking too much, otherwise I am with you.

Brendan said:

I think you are overthinking and a little too optimistic, Mr. Anji.

Truthfully, and not at all in a negative sense, I think everything is signalling the end of Prince in the public eye.

"Reflection" and taking the year off, with no apparent album,tour,or Celebration- but taking $25 from the willing for a website to "chat"- I believe is a sign of things to come.

I think also from retreatinng from a "star-stylish-made up" appearance- which goes against all the celeberty construction his appearance has always been about for 19 years- is a definite sign of retreating from the public eye and celeberty trappings.

Think about it-no label backing,no drive to release new albums,videos,promotion-a curtailed NPGMC fan club,no "celebration",relocating from his studio base in Chanhassen to Toronto-ridding himself of his "star appearance"- it all points to the end.Becoming completely absorbed in the Jahovah faith...

Anji: the writing is on the wall-the signals are there.

that's not to say Prince is "retiring"..He will always write and play music...but like the vault material, it will never see the light of day. He will do it for his own amusement, then lock it away. Just like the vault.

THIS is where Prince is heading. "Crystal Ball 2", or whatever is not even on the radar I would venture. That is the wish of Prince fans, but that just isn't the reality.

The reality is, Prince is VERY close to putting it all away as you have known it. The afro is not about "something big" coming, it's about "something big" being left behind.

This is not a bad thing, Anji.I havee seen your posts over the last half year- you have gone from relateable big fan, to a little obsessive and over-thinkinng. I'm afraid that you cannot see where Prince is truly headed, and I'm afraid you're in for heartache. Read the last page of the ONAL book for yet another major clue.

rdhull said:

I'd like to think so too.