The first letter is just plain hysterical. I think Walsh published a sort of retraction later, after his meeting with Prince following the article.

Cecy said:

Thanks very much for posting the letter.

Cecy said:

BIG BIG THANK U!!!

Aerogram said:

I think that was the letter of someone who really really didn't want to give up on Prince even though he was very close to doing it. I remember feeling the same way every now and then at that time... some things Prince made were really disappointing... it was really weird for me to hear him define "New Power Soul" his funkiest album, the best live album he had made in along while (!?!?!)... but then he published songs like "Beautiful strange", for example (I know this letter was published later, but this is the period of time Walsh was referring to) and I knew I HAD TO KEEP ON KEEPING AN EYE (two, my ears etc... etc...) on him... This is just my personal case, my 2 cents I wanted to share with you!

Cecy, thank you for posting the first letter.
I think Jim writes from the heart, rare in any music journalist.

Very heartfelt letter. It truly expresses the very reasons I don't give up on Prince. If he never puts out a great record again, he's already done more than 99% of the artists out there.

When did Jim write that first letter?

it doesn't mention a date!

anyone knows?

Abrazo said:

Few days before the final concert of the 1st Celebration.

RaspberryWoman said:

Here's a question for Jim: do you really think Prince would have changed his ways if nobody had complained? Here's another: do you really, genuinely think Prince right now is at the best possible place, or is he in reality caught up in an "exclusive" world, where there's numerous rules and regulations to keep the riff-raff and unbelievers out (high ticket prices, money upfront, "my way or the highway", "real music for real musicians"...) which is completely the opposite of the "inclusive" world he showed us in his best, most heartfelt music (1981-1988)?

Yes, we're not as bad off as in 1996-2001, with the endless "greatest hits on autopilot" sets full of aimless "jams", or the "it worked for Santana so why not for me" albums, etc. Instead we got the Okayplayer mentality and a religious zeal that now includes insulting remarks towards women and jews. We're stilla long way from home, and we're not gonna get there by praising Prince for sucking slightly less than he's done for a long, long time (a time during which, may I point out, many of the people praising the current direction didn't take kindly to any criticism and were desperately making up the most ridiculous excuses). The fact that he's including numerous reviews on his website is telling a lot, and reading the recent press releases is sickening (he really thinks the sun shines out of his ass, doesn't he). And the NPGMC is still far from a fan-friendly enterprise.

Prince is "off the needle", in drug terms, but he's currently hooked on methadone which isn't that much better. So let's not rejoice and pretend we're out of the woods yet. We're not, not by a long shot. It's still painful to compare Prince's current output to his masterpieces from the 1980s -- let's face it: post-1995 Prince hasn't released a single album that's worthputting on a "recommended" list. One Nite Alone is on my "played it twice and probably won't ever play it again" pile, as is "Rave" and most of the 2001 NPGMC tracks (except "When I Lay My hands On U" and "Splash").

BVH said:

Here's a question for Jim: do you really think Prince would have changed his ways if nobody had complained? Here's another: do you really, genuinely think Prince right now is at the best possible place, or is he in reality caught up in an "exclusive" world, where there's numerous rules and regulations to keep the riff-raff and unbelievers out (high ticket prices, money upfront, "my way or the highway", "real music for real musicians"...) which is completely the opposite of the "inclusive" world he showed us in his best, most heartfelt music (1981-1988)?

Yes, we're not as bad off as in 1996-2001, with the endless "greatest hits on autopilot" sets full of aimless "jams", or the "it worked for Santana so why not for me" albums, etc. Instead we got the Okayplayer mentality and a religious zeal that now includes insulting remarks towards women and jews. We're stilla long way from home, and we're not gonna get there by praising Prince for sucking slightly less than he's done for a long, long time (a time during which, may I point out, many of the people praising the current direction didn't take kindly to any criticism and were desperately making up the most ridiculous excuses). The fact that he's including numerous reviews on his website is telling a lot, and reading the recent press releases is sickening (he really thinks the sun shines out of his ass, doesn't he). And the NPGMC is still far from a fan-friendly enterprise.

Prince is "off the needle", in drug terms, but he's currently hooked on methadone which isn't that much better. So let's not rejoice and pretend we're out of the woods yet. We're not, not by a long shot. It's still painful to compare Prince's current output to his masterpieces from the 1980s -- let's face it: post-1995 Prince hasn't released a single album that's worthputting on a "recommended" list. One Nite Alone is on my "played it twice and probably won't ever play it again" pile, as is "Rave" and most of the 2001 NPGMC tracks (except "When I Lay My hands On U" and "Splash").

--
Bart Van Hemelen

___

Prince is still making great music after all these years. Some people just ask too much from him. He cannot make the groundbreking music of the 80s again because he already did. And in my opinion, some of the music in TRC and ONA is truly excellent, a huge step ahead from much of the weak sounds he created in the 90s.

is he tryin 2 be ol' boy's penpal?

lulirom said:

Thanks lullirom! I know see that Jim also says he is writing it a few days before Prince a Celebration (which I now remembers was the first lol) so I could have known already, but still thanks for telling!

Abrazo said:

You're welcome!
As far as I rememeber, after having written the first letter
Prince called Walsh to have a clarifying talk about it... but at the end Walsh didn't get the "press-invitation" to the final concert, anyway.

garganta said:

You write 4 sentences, and manage to contradict yourself ("still making great music" vs "weak sounds he created in the 90s"). Brilliant!

And I didn't ask for him to make "groundbreking music of the 80s again", I'm asking Prince to drop the religious crap, the excluding of fans based on their religion and/or depths of their pockets, the aping of current trends in music, the desperate search for broad critical acclaim, etc.

To BVH:

I dont think I contradicted myself at all because as far I can remember we are not living in the 90s anymore. And yes, because I find that there is brilliance in TRC and ONA I can perfectly say that Prince is still making great music after all these years.

And please, excuse my poor English everyone.

- If nothing else you´ve taught me one thing , never cast your pearls before the swine -