realm said:

Bart is a jackass!!

TedW said:

Dito. The versions of "Sign O' The Times" or "Days Of Wild" he played in Frankfurt sounded as fresh and daring as "The Rainbow Children" at the beginning of the concert. The only thing that was missing was "Muse 2 The Pharao", and maybe some songs from the "The Gold Experience".

I don't think the box set is nearly representative for the whole ONA tour, just go back and read the coverage of the different concerts again.

Greetings,

Anachronist

Anachronist said:

And the piano medley was great as well. Sure, the medley format is always a bit frustrating, but as far as they go, ONA's was most inspired. Many fans and critics said so. Even my critic friend, a long time Prince detractor, told me it displayed the best falsetto he's heard since Al Green. The ONA tour was a critical smash. Bart would rather dismiss the critical reception the tour and TRC received. He'll tell you fewer reviews were published, that some critics panned it -- anything to dismiss the whole thing. I just don't like how he always portrays Prince's ventures as something incredibly cynical. I haven't been impressed by anything Prince has done outside of TRC and the ONA tour these past few years, and I wish he'd make another real album with the present NPG, but Bart's attitude is tired and repetitive.

GustavoRibas said:

each to their own, but trust me on this, the eighties/early nineties shows were head and shoulders above the ONA tour...which, don't get me wrong, i enjoyed...but they didn't have that fabulous atmosphere, the excitement, that those shows in his heyday had...this sounds really pretentious, but i do think you had to be there to appreciate it...

each to their own, but trust me on this, the eighties/early nineties shows were head and shoulders above the ONA tour...which, don't get me wrong, i enjoyed...but they didn't have that fabulous atmosphere, the excitement, that those shows in his heyday had...this sounds really pretentious, but i do think you had to be there to appreciate it...[/quote]


yeah i can understand that, but he is in his 40s, not that i think that makes him worthless, but its different, i can fully imagine how exciting it would be to go to a prince gig in 91, assless pants etc, but if he did that he would be panned by everything, and everyone on this org,

as for touring, you tour to make money and one other thing - to promote songs, its already been pretty much confirmed that prince is bringing out a new album with vox, so maybe the two are linked?!

ONA tour - a friend went on that, he only has purple rain album, went with a friend who likes music but isnt a prince fan, both were absolutely blown away, and said it was by far the best gig they ever went to (this is the longon gig of ONA). the only reason he didnt buy ONA live is the price!!!

TRC i have seen, has gotten almost unaminous (sorry for spelling) good reviews, even the dance mag muzik in the UK gave it 4 stars. NEWS has gotten mixed reviews, but to be honest its mostly from prince fans, generally its done ok in press, and everyone seems to hold jazzmagazine.com in high regard, didnt that hail NEWS as a masterpiece?

as for playing his hits again, from what i remember he said he would retire his hits when he was the symbol, now hes prince again hes free to play em right? isnt he? or did he say he was retiring em after hit n run? i know sometimes he only plays new songs etc but thats different to retiring em. the only song i know of him retiring is 1999!

anyway, thats my 2 cents. he might be having money problems, and it might be true he turned to jazz cos the mainstream had had enough of him, but personally i think its good, cos i like what ive heard of ONA, TRC, ONA Live and NEWS, so im not complaining. if i want prince with vox and old school, i stick on parade. i dont even have the 600 odd bootleg songs like most of the people here, play some of that!!!

Please Bart, as we say it in Holland, "hou je bek man". We weten het nu wel.

And get your stupdid pr1nc3 site of the net.

And your tekst: © 2003 Bart Van Hemelen
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
It is not authorized by Prince or the NPG Music Club. You assume all risk for
your use. All rights reserv

I love the new Prince, Don't think you're better then me.

Zo.

I can see him doing this cycle for the rest of his career of hits tour, different tour, hits tour, different tour, hits tour, different tour...etc. But anyway, Prince does what he wants when he wants, and that just keeps things fresh and exciting for the fans.

Hmmm. I wonder if the tour "somehow" winds up in L.A around the time of Sheilas Charity Jam? What better way to put his hits to rest than playing them with the Revolution. This could be cool. Oh, nevermind. That sounds too much like right! It'll never happen...?

Okay I have never posted before but I have to jump in here but I must. I have to agree just a bit with what Bart said about him tryin to attract the whole neo-soul bunch. But what I think he fails to realize that the neo-soul bunch is really not going to give him the "props" that I think he may be looking for. The majority of that music is still geared to the sample-loving-hip-pop-buying-BET watching-ashanti-singing-I'm-tired-of-this-what's-the next-trend-type. They are the ones who have to have India.Arie, Angie Stone, Maxwell, DeAngelo, Bilal, Floetry Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu in their CD racks just to be "down with the latest" but they rarely listen to the music or support other "neosoul" artist that are not on the current play list. Not to mention those who play the music abroad. (If it aint on my radio then it aint on) If he is looking to cash in on that audience he's gonna need to take that offer to have a couple track produced by the Neptunes (and it better be a hit) to get those folks to show in numbers and he better have a HOT video!!! I don't think he can do that being a JV nowadays

And if I remember correctly he tried that whole neo-soul connection with Angie and that did not help too much. Now don't get me wrong here I do not think that is the sole reason he is doing it but I do think it is an interesting point that Bart made.

And of coures I'm not speaking for everybody just my own observation in the area that I live in! Northeastern US
[This message was edited Fri Sep 19 12:25:46 PDT 2003 by nammie]

nammie said:

India Arie, Angie Stone, Maxwell, DeAngelo, Bilal, Floetry Jill Scott, and Erykah Badu?? I would expect there sound was inspired by none other than PRINCE!!! OMG!!! I would not expect Prince to try to even kiss up to any MTV or VH1 to get a video played, and I have heard his views on regional radio and supporting regional artists, etc. Just cause he does not get played does not mean he is no player. Prince will continue to make money thru his "boring" tours (well I guess some of us hate getting into soundchecks and hearing a terrible band esp that Blackwell he can't keep time- yeah right) and I would bet he will release a terrible album like the TRC disc!!! and the club will go under cause that will never work!! Why would anyone want a 3cd live set? a dvd? ONA piano ballads??!! The worst part is having to go and sit thru the soundchecks, or even worse the mistreatment at the Celebrations, hearing Prince play everynight, and seeing that damn Morris Day! I can easily see that Prince has major cash flow problems as stated by Bart. Its a tough time to be a Prince fan and it looks like its all going to shit. Just kiddin' Jackass Bart!

Check this out Bart! http://enews.umpg.com/newpromo/

BartVanHemelen loves to push buttons and you all let him get under your skin. The fact is this man, whose music we love (or we wouldn't be on this site, right BartVanHemelen?) has a job to do. He makes music that many of us say we don't like...but we still buy it. He goes on tour and does shows that many of us say we don't appreciate...but we still buy tickets. He must be doing something right! The last time I saw him here in Milwaukee his tickets sold out so quickly that the grass seats (normally FREE) were sold! Obviusly, he's doing something right.

Whether he's doing this for money or not should not concern anyone...could you picture him working at McDonald's? No, he makes music, he tours and that's his job...it's how he makes money.

BartVanHemelen and others hear this...if you don't like what's on the TV, change the channel.

"Twas like THUNDER!"

ThaThunderCer
[This message was edited Fri Sep 19 14:32:55 PDT 2003 by ThunderCer]

realm said:

I agree that most of these artist have been influenced by Prince but the point I was making that the folks that listen to them think that they are some New version of soul! Alot of them do not realize where the influences come from They don't even know Who Al Green is for cryin out loud (just one example). And like I said if they can't hear him or see him then "to them" he is not a player! They only know what gets spoon fed to'em! Industry may know, artists may know, but alot of the young public does not!
Other than Purple Rain that is!!!

and when I made those statements above it was with the understanding that we all know good and damn well that Prince aint gonna let anybody produce him and he aint looking to get a damn video played on MTV VH1 or BET! Imagine that Prince on TRL ROTFLMAO
[This message was edited Fri Sep 19 15:07:43 PDT 2003 by nammie]

ThunderCer said:

He does raise some valid points...the Clear Channel thing, for instance. But I've long made my peace with Prince's inability to put his money where his mouth is in all aspects of his life and career. Denouncing Clear Channel, then touring in association with it... you can't get much clearer than that in terms of saying one thing and doing another.But it's nothing new. Even in the eighties, Prince was failing to live up to his own hype in anything that wasn't music and sex, and even there, according to some.

Therefore, if you've followed Prince's career, this latest contradiction is just the latest of a very long series. It shouldn't matter one bit at this point. Which is why in the end Bart's comments are valid but not too interesting. There may be people who buy Prince's statements fully and inconditionally, but the vast majority of fans already know that Prince is not the most consistent person in the world or that he likes to make money.
[This message was edited Fri Sep 19 17:08:23 PDT 2003 by Aerogram]

I hope Prince comes to the states, I want to see him play Savannah,ga, other that Atlanta. but I would go to Atlanta also, but Prince was coming to Savannah,Ga in his Hit And Run tour but never made it,please put Savannah GA, on your list,I would love it, I am a member of the NPG, last year I did not become a member untill after the tour and was not able to see to do the rehersals, but since I am now a member bring it on,thanks,

Aerogram said:

The problem is that he ISN'T making his living. He's again having money problems, and thus he's now accepting offers for an Australian show whereas he rejected those last year because they weren't high enough. This show has got ZILCH to do with Prince as a musician, it has everythign to do with him facing another pile of bills and no money to pay them because he's spent it on stupid stuff and/or failed to invest it.

PRINCE is the one pretending he's this holier-than-thou musician, yet for some reason whenever anyone points out that this is a load of BS, out come the faint of heart who can't stand to see their hero being exposed as the heap of BS he is. All your replies in this thread are an excellent example of this: trying really hard not to give me much credit, and at the same time discrediting me and basically telling me to not say what I am saying because "we know the score blah blah blah no need to repeat it blah blah blah". Your subtext is pretty clear: "we want to live in la-la land and keep pretending that Prince's shit don't stink and that is really hard if you keep pointing out that it does".

Aerogram said:

Which is exactly what has happened with the NPGMC EVERY YEAR.

Xtraordinary said:

Virtually all of those reasons are stuff you made up in your mind. There's not evidence of a world tour, he doesn't have a publicist, the hits are a one-time only thing (and since when is Prince playing flat versions of his hits a good thing?), the PR thing will NOT happen (just like nothing happened @ 15 or @ 10) simply because it was some lame rumor a Prince fan made up, the reunion won't happen.

realm said:

FACT: back in 1995 Prince got $10 million from WB because he was damn near to being bankrupt.

FACT: last year Prince allowed LRC to be used in a commercial.

FACT: he keeps shopping his records to major labels.

FACT: virtually no business in Minneapolis wants to do business with the Park anymore, because they don't pay their bills.

Do those sound like the actions of a rich man?

GustavoRibas said:

So what? It's about finding a balance. "Blues In C" is a throwaway anyway, he was just goofing off. So what if the showman came through every now and then -- the ONA tour was ALL about fronting, about a pose. It wasn't about music, it was about marketing: "look at me I'm a real musician now!"

GustavoRibas said:

Jeez... "EN" is Prince by numbers, it's the sort of stuff he used to write in his sleep, it's Prince cliché after cliché. It's the kind of stuff imitation-Prince bands come up with, but this time with added JW preaching. And that version of "AS" is HORRIBLE, he's promoting his music club for crying out loud!

GustavoRibas said:

Have you even listened to it? The disgusting changes to the lyrics, Prince completely misreading his own song, using it as a pathetic "look at how well I play guitar" exhibition.

I DON'T CARE WHAT ANY ONE THINKS, I JUST CAN'T WAIT FOR HIS SYDNEY SHOW! I AM HAVE NEVER BEEN TO A CONCERT AND I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR HIM SING ALLL THOSE CLASSIC!

BartVanHemelen said:

Ohh, yeah Bart.

1. $10 mill may sound like a lot but is it?

2. 1999

3. Have you ever been to MPLS and talked to the people there?

let me add my 2cents 2 this... if u don't like P or as some people call "watered down" shows go somehwere else & bother some1 else with that bullshit!

The Org & Prince... now that's the SHIT!

BartVanHemelen said:

It is you who is holier than thou for acting as if there was something unseemly about touring for money, be it to pay the bills and /or become richer. There are very few acts that do not tour for financial reasons and quite a few that need to tour to meet current expenses and pay debt.

As for Pinrce not being true to his stated principles, again I don't see anything new there. I think it's you who once put Prince on the highest pedestal if you ever had any expectetations about that.

You are perfectly free to welcome a new tour with your usual litany or to stand at home in judgment or apathy while others enjoy the tour. There is no desire to silence you or fear of what you have to say -- in fact, I reckon it would be a darn shame if you weren't around to demonize him. Perhaps you could put up with the replies without screaming defamation.

He ain't retiring shit, P got jokes Lap it up Aussies

BartVanHemelen said:

You're right about that, Bart. That one moment, where Prince points out that the NPGMC are in "the good seats," almost killed the whole set for me. And he promoted his music club at the expense of all of his true fans, who sat "up high" to watch him perform.

I was just wondering where the information came from that states that Prince is having financial problems in the first place...in my opinion hes made money recently from the club memberships...one nite alone live box set...also n.e.w.s and now the vegas dvd and last years tour was probably very sucessful to him finacially since his group handled the promotion ect...and then theres still those checks from warner bros with the back catalog from his work and stuff hes penned for other artist...maybe he's not #1 at the bank but im sure hes making a very decent salary...hence all the real estate and properties he has. well im not Bart so i don't get to see his finacial statements like he does so i could b wrong.

Bart just makes shit up.

Another hits tour I guess this is a good idea for the masses
but for us BEEN THERE DONE THAT. Needless to say if it comes
to the States I will be in line with all the rest of ya'll, but quite honestly his performance of these hits live have really gotten boring. He's censored them so much to the point that the songs almost take on another meaning for example he's gone from 23 positions to 23 scriptures. I mean if he's going to do sing these songs he should sing them the way they are susposed to be. I also don't believe that this tour is going to lead up to anything spectacular like a new album etc.( which would make perfect sense). Prince doesn't make good promotional calls like that anymore. I think this is done strictly to bring in revenue (which there's nothing wrong with that) cause quite honestly how else could he make large sums of money these days other than touring.

I cant beleive u guys!.P is going on a world tour and your dissing it..Sheesh! leave him alone and enjoy this truly wonderful talent.I have seen P live many times and each time i leave thinking this guy is getting better and better!. The ONA tour was awesome the band were sooo tight.The Nude tour was awesome etc etc..cmon guys your P fams lets hear his hits or anything else he wants to play.The man is a musical genius
Live4love

Good for P he should make it his "Farwell Tour" like Cher and KISS. Cher is playing her second Farewell performance in Toronto this mounth.

http://artists.iuma.com/I...dex-1.html