[This message was edited Tue Aug 3 8:43:40 2004 by MISSEDherPiNK]

I can't remember too well, because I heard all these albums for the first time on the one day: SOTT, Parade, ATWIAD, Lovesexy and Controversy.

I can't remember how the relationship started, but it's going pretty well.

I saw purple Rain on video 3 times and loved 1999/purple rain.

When I heard Raspberry Berret, I thought it was really different from PR becuase it sounded so "happy". (I was about 13 I think)
When I heard the album a couple months later, I was kind of perplexed. I really liked the songs, but it sounded sooooo different from his past records (I'd only heard Contreversy, 1999, and PR at that time), and it sounded like a radical departure. The instruments where much crisper, the sound was more symphonic--it was altogether mind blowing. The only songs I didn't like where Condition of the Heart (hey, I was 13!) and Temptation. I much preffered PR to ATWIAD, but ATWIAD grew on me.

By the time it grew on me, UTCM/PARADE was released. I was still hoping that I'd get PR pt2, but boy was I surprised. It was the wierdest album I had ever heard. I bought it at the BX in Montgomery AL (Gunner AFB), and I thought to myself, WTF???

Kiss was the preceding single, and to my surprise, PARADE was nothing like KISS. It was almost like taking ATWIAD and making it even wierder. It took me almost a year to get used to it, but with each listen (and I was obsessed with Prince by then) it got better and better.

But Prince continued to surprise me up until Emancipation. After that, it wasn't a matter of me liking or disliking what he was doing--it was that it all now sounds predictable (and for Prince fans, that's a sin).

I have to say that I too was expecting PR 2 so I didn't appreciate neither album back then as I do today. I'd say both of those albums aged nicely. I was in the car yesterday and heard "Anotherloverholenyohead," on the radio and I was like wow!

Even though neither album were what I was expecting or hoping for back then, they were still like nothing else on the radio and Prince was cranking things out with Sheila E. and The Family and producing for other artists as well.

As the t.v. show goes, "I Love the 80's!"

ATWIAD was the first album I bought by him. I wasn't a fan during the 1999 and purple rain stage.

Pop Life and She's always in my hair made me a fan. I started buying everything after that.

Back in the day I liked parade better. But now ATWAIAD in WAYYYY better and cohesive.

I didn't have a reaction to the change in sound because I didn't listen to Purple rain that much.

Parade: I had an orgasm in my ear. Still one of my top 3 albums to this day, love it from intro to end, not a dud on there.

I got Parade, SOTT and Diamonds & Pearls altogether - they were the first 3 Prince albums I was introduced to.

ATWIAD: Loved it (Paisley Park and America were two of my favourite promo videos - which got me into Prince), Condition of the heart was the clincher, although it wasn't until years later that I "got" Temptation.

Hmm. I first heard both albums early in 1997. If I recall I was disappointed with both of them. I thought that Around The World In A Day was too weird and Parade's songs were too short. It also bothered me that Parade had so many different styles of music on it. Of course it didn't take too long to fall in love with both albums and today I rate them both very highly.

Parade may be one the most under-rated albums by any artist...ever...

I remember thinking WTF!! when I first heard it.
I bought it on the day it was released (April 22nd 1985) before I'd heard a single song from it.

It seemed so radically different to what he'd released so far. Though looking back on it now, it
doesn't seem such a massive departure. It was released in stores without any real promotion
or airplay. There was no lead single to indicate what the album was going to sound like
(Raspberry Beret wasn't released until about 3 weeks after the album was out). Everyone was
expecting something similar to Purple Rain. It had only been 3 months since the final single
from Purple Rain had been released (Take Me With U), and Around The World In A Day was
certainly no 'Purple Rain 2'.

Of course Prince did this on purpose. The album was MEANT to shake people up and make
them go "WTF!!?!". It's deliberately sequenced to make it a 'difficult' album to get into. It
kicks off with the trippy title track, which was certainly no 'punchy' opener like Let's Go
Crazy or 1999. This was then followed by another mid-paced psychedelic number in the
form of Paisley Park (again, not a hard hitter). Then came a whole minute of weird keyboard
noodling (...way too early in the album to be hitting the listener with this kinda strangeness).
Then finally, a lifeline is thrown in the form of the catchy jangly pop of Raspberry Beret, before
ending side one with the short whimsy of Tamborine. Side two then opens on more familiar
ground with the storming America. Of course Prince couldn't let you have it that easy, deciding
to start the song sounding as if your record player was on the blink (lost a bit in the CD age).
Then more catchy pop in the form of the aptly titled Pop Life. A short string interlude bridges
the gap, then we're into The Ladder, the closest thing to Purple Rain on the album, with a
definite gospel vibe. Then we finish with the bluesy Temptation, but of course Prince couldn't
let us have it that easy, so it ends with a bizarre conversation with God and Prince 'dying' for
being too lustful. It took a month or two to really get into the album, but once you 'got it' you
were hooked!
[This message was edited Tue Aug 3 12:31:19 2004 by BorisFishpaw]

It took me literally a decade plus to warm up to ATWIAD. It was totally unexpected.

I took to Parade quite quickly, but it still took several listens.

I was such a big Prince fan after Purple Rain that I was enraptured by ATWIAD. It didn't pack the same punch as PR, but I was fascinated by its "adventurous" new funk. I played it constantly for about a year.

Parade caught me completely by surprise, I still remember kind of stepping back from the record player the first time I heard it, but it mesmerized me within a few spins.

Neither album was what I expected to hear. But strangely, even then, I expected no less from Prince.

I remember the radio station here in Dallas played both of these in their entirety on the radio a couple of weeks prior to their release dates (Anybody else remember when radio used to do that?). With Around the World in a Day, I was so enthralled because this was the post-Purple Rain LP. I was either 9 or 10. He could have farted for 45 minutes straight and I would have been first in line at the record store. With Parade, fortunately I was well prepared for it from owning ATWIAD and The Family album. At the time, I really hated Sometimes It Snows in April.


And the minute I realized that the gatefold of the ATWIAD cover was a naked lady on her back? Oh boy
[This message was edited Tue Aug 3 15:35:26 2004 by psykosoul]

The first time I heard "Around The World In A Day", I was mad as hell. I have been a Prince fan since the "Prince" album and watched him get better with each album. When I heard this album with it's retro sound it totally pissed me off. I know lots of people that are old Prince fans from the very beginning of his career and they ALL said "That is one fucked up album". Even the ones that jumped on the Prince bandwagon with "Little Red Corvette" were saying the same thing.

The smart thing Prince did with that album was to not release a single prior to the release of the album. If he had, he would have lost BIG TIME money. I bought it on the day of its release and I never several others that did also.

Everyone I knew, including myself, said that album was a mistake and Prince would come back strong with the next one. When we heard "Kiss" on the radio, we thought we were right. When I bought the album.....we were all dead wrong. "Parade" was WORSE. Several of my friends did not buy "Parade" because they had been burned with "Around The World In A Day". These are the same people I grew up with that had bought EVERY Prince album, 12 Inch, and B Side since day one.

Right before "Sign O The Times" was released, we used to joke about going into the record store and asking the clerk to let us listen to some of the album before we waste our money on this one. By then it was apparent that the "old Prince" was gone forever.

Actually, I began to like some of the tracks while the album was still in style and over the years have grown to LOVE "Around The World In A Day" from start to finish. That album was definately released at the WRONG time. As for "Parade", there are still tracks on it I cannot get into.

Out of all my friends, only ONE other person and myself have continued buying the albums. Prince lost a LOT of fans when he changed his style. They held on for a little while hoping he would come back but he never did. I like and appreciate the new style but would I prefer the "old Prince".....YES!

I WAS HAPPY WITH BOTH OF THEM WHEN THEY CAME OUT

I Wasn't Crazy at First about ATWIAD but Soon Grew to Love it on Repeated plays,but Parade I Loved Right away. I Was into all the Different Orchestration...

Like many of you guys that bought ATWIAD when it came out, I was expecting a Purple Rain follow up with a lot of guitar etc...
I liked "Raspberry Beret" immediatly and "Paisley Park" even though it was a trippy sounding track. The rest of the album disappointed me at the time as it was a huge departure from PR and 1999. I warmed up to it finally and began to play it all the way through.

Next year came the single "Kiss", for which at that time sounded like nothing else on the charts, and I loved it. So, later when the album that contained that single (Kiss) was released, I was again disappointed. I thought Prince would finally get back to the earlier sound with the experimentation of ATWIAD out of the way. But no, 'Parade' was even into more experimentation and (to me) weird sounds.

Of course like with ATWIAD, i finally started to understand what Prince was doing and liked it very much.....and then came SOTT, but that is off topic.

That was so much fun when I look back on it, awaiting the new Prince release to see what he was up to next. Those were good days.
[This message was edited Tue Aug 3 20:04:26 2004 by purplesmoke]

The album art told me it'd be something different... that freaky scream at the beginning is the coolest of cool -- that set the mood, followed by the rest of the opening song. It took me away to a different time and place... paisley park, perhaps. Parade affected me in a very similar way -- with much better and more cohesive songs. I loved knowing that each new Prince album would be a wonderful surprise, taking me to a different place, space and time.

He's Still Doing NEW and Different Things each Album..Rainbow Children was TOTALLY DIFFERENT,NORTH,South and The X album and Now with MUSICOLOGY ya Have EVEN ANOTHER Style so to Say Prince hasn't been Constantly Doing Different Things Isn't Quite True. I Really Get Excited when I See what he's Up to Next..Wonder What he'll do Next Album...

My ears were taken by surprise but pleasantly - however different they were I still dug on both albums when they dropped...

Parade was the first Prince album I bought, so I compared everything else I bought afterwards, to Parade.

That's a good question (brings back memories)! After loving 1999 and going orgasmic over Purple Rain, I couldn't get to the store fast enough for Around the World in a Day. I think I was 13 at the time of AtWiaD. When I first heard it I was EXTREMELY disappointed. It wasn't that I didn't like it -- I was a Beatles' fan and it reminded me of Prince doing the Beatles (get yo' mind outta the gutter) -- but I didn't think it would be a hit. I remember being really bummed in the weeks following the release. The whole time Purple Rain was out, people had Prince stickers on their lockers, Purple Rain lyrics written on the chalkboard, etc. I remember seeing only ONE thing after Around the World came out, and that was a solitary balloon with the title in it, on the chalkboard in music class. It felt really lonely.

As far as Parade, I HATED it when it first came out. I love it now! I was still hoping for a rock record, heavier than Purple Rain. Parade definitely wasn't it and I just didn't get it, at the time. I do remember my gym teacher always played the song Kiss for us to do sit-ups to. Everyone always ****ed when doing that particular exercise. Little popping ****s sneaking out and mixing with the snare drum. I still think about that when I hear that song. Stupid gym class.

I think both records are excellent now. I'd still prolly take Purple Rain over either one, tho.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

AsianBomb777 said:

I don't think The Rainbow Children was predictable, at all.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

vainandy said:

I had the same thing happen. It went from all of my friends listening to Prince during the 1999/Purple Rain time period to only myself and 1 other friend listening to Prince after Parade. People were holding on, as you say, after Around the World in a Day. Everyone thought that he would get that "experimental" stuff out of his system with Around the World in a Day and release another guitar heavy rock album. When he became even stranger and used even less guitar on Parade, that was it for a LOT of people.

Oh well, we've found plenty of people at the org who stuck with him, just like we did. (The last friend that stuck with him through Around the World in the Day and Parade completely gave up on him with Emancipation. That left only me, out of my whole group of junior high friends, still listening to Prince. Wow, that sorta bums me out.)

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

psykosoul said:

It's weird you can use the word "****ed" but when I typed it in my post it showed up as ****ed (scroll up if u want to see the actual post). Is the word only okay sometimes, or is something wrong?

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

Well, I got into Prince around '99, so I was putting together the pieces like a jigsaw rather than hearing it in chronological order. I'd seen ATWIAD in the stores but I think it was one of the last I bought because the cover didn't really fit with what I thought Prince's music was. Rave and NPS were his latest albums, and that was the sound I was after. When I did get it, I didn't really get into it. I thought "Paisley Park" was the most boring song I'd heard from Prince! It wasn't until after a few forceful listens I realised that "Condition Of The Heart" was one of the greatest musical pieces I'd ever heard. After that, each track slowly began to make sence. Now I think it's a masterpiece. Parade was very similar. Because I hadn't seen the film, and didn't really have any visual concept to connect the music with.

I was 14 and just starting to discover "real music" so naturally I first thought they were among some of the worst records I had ever heard up to that point (at least bought). I think it wasn't until I was 16 that I started to realize that Parade just might be one of the greatest pieces of music ever made.

Yeah, that was also the year I was starting to discover that touching girls makes you feel fizzy.

sloopydrew4u said:

:confused:

I posted this on a different thread last week, but it's about ATWIAD and therefore definately has a home here:

The reasons why "a lot of people believe that Prince made a mistake with ATWIAD" play a big part in why that was the clincher 4 me; especially reason 3 (Too much of a musical departure from the sound that grew through Controversy-1999-Purple Rain)

Here's one persons very honest recollections, from a young (in the mid '80's) white boy in New Zealand: first time i saw prince was on solid gold in '83 - it was either little red corvette or 1999, i don't fully recall. At that stage i just thought the guy was waaaay too far out and freaky looking, very feminine (re:GAY looking) (and to my defense, you gotta go way back and remember what was playing on the radio for a pretty conservative, yet to bust out/rebel & get an identity 15 year old back then). (I mean, shit, i was still exploring the Beatles legacy back then...)

Anyways, i wrote him off as (many did here) a freak and a bit of a joke, without really listening to the music. A year later When Doves Cry came out... Okay, that song was just plain weird at the time, but SOOO God-damn catchy that it was impossible to ignore - the freak made something real cool sounding but i convinced myself that it was a one-off; and so became a bit of a fan of the song, but not him - no sir!

Cue a few months later in early spring (southern hemisphere…) on a day for which I cannot recall the exact date, but a moment for which I recall perfectly and shall never forget: radio on in my room, 93fm – some simple guitar chords begin to play and I stop, completely transfixed: I stood motionless, looking at my speakers, totally in love with the song which came out, knowing absolutely nothing about what or who was playing it, only that I loved every moment of it… : Purple Rain - Yes, I was SOLD!

I’ll spare you the drawn out version of what happened in the few months after that (essentially, I brought the album - but didn’t go so far as too see the film in the cinema: D’oh! – played the album fully a couple of dozen times; loved Doves and Beautiful Ones but refused to be initially converted by the album; just essentially LOVED Purple Rain, and kept that one sucker on constant repeat, but thought it would all end there…)

7 or 8 months later I was breaking out and searching for something new when I came across a review of a new album called Around The World In A Day (I had heard Raspberry Beret, it was a bit different and cool, so read the review). The review had an effect: it described the album as something different, alternative; mixing psychedelia, funk and other unlikely combinations (it also said this was his sixth album {???} and that this was completely unlike the rest! Wow, I’d only thought he had 2!!). I thought, What the hell, so I went out and brought it, not expecting much but open to anything.

What I heard when I cued it up for the first play was like nothing else I’d ever heard before (or frankly, since). This was no Purple Rain (and for that I’m eternally grateful! : I have nothing against Purple Rain, in fact now I love it, but at the time apart from the title song, it wasn’t at all life altering). This grabbed me from the opening vocal “sound” (how the hell do you describe that??) to the final bizarre ending.

I was sold hook, line and sinker: there would be NO turning back, and for that moment I am eternally grateful, because this has been one hell of an interesting journey (from discovering the entire back catalogue (which I did with vigor in the months that followed), to being astounded and thrilled by the soon to follow Kiss and Parade (and through the UPs and DOWNs, pretty much every sound that has followed since).

Who else in the last 20 odd years has been HALF as interesting to follow musically???

Sure there may have been finer moments (Sign O The Times, without trying to sound warn out, is THE classic), but ATWIAD is the fix that made me the addict that I am almost some 20 years later. So “ATWIAD DONE DIFFERENTLY = A BIGGER SUCCESS?” Personally, I’m glad it wasn’t done differently, it’s perfect the way it is. Fool those that jumped off from the journey because of that: go on into the ‘80’s fools and dig yourself some Def Leppard - yippie-ki-yay mutha-fuckers! ABC-ya! Losers, be gone with you.

Prince (for all his faults) has provided a soundtrack to life, that (in the last 20 years, if not ever) is quite simply without equal. Personally, I think I jumped on the train at the perfect time.

Fuck the other "hind-site" track lists, PERFECT as is!

As far as ATWIAD is concerned; to paraphrase Renee Zellweger in Jerry Maguire : “You had me at ‘Open your heart, open your mind’…”

ATWIAD

I just remember staring at the cover for the longest time, I was mesmerized by the imagery. THIS SHIT WAS DEFFERENT!!! When I finally put the tape in, there was no Don't worry... or Dearly beloved... Just a scream and, WHALA!, we're in Morocco. Damn, he wasn't kidding when he came up with that title. As for the rest of the album, he definately kept his promise. The little one truly DID escort me to places within the heart and mind. Though I did, initially, miss the Purple funk of 1999/PR. I got over it and realized how special ATWIAD was. I gained a whole new respect for Prince because of this musically brave, lyrically deep gem of an album. Was it what I expected? Hell no! But I'm not complaining.