How many of you claim to like The Rainbow Children because you want to appear more musically enlightened? MOST OF YOU WHO SWEAR BY THIS UNINSPIRED ALBUM. I have loved everythng that he has ever released, including NPS, The Vault, and every other obscure album that he has put on vinyl, cassette, or CD. Im sure that some of you truly like TRC, but most claim to like it when they actually rarely spin it. Before you even say it... Im not enlightened on jazz, Im enlightened on what music Prince releases and more importantly what music misses the mark. IMFO IMFO IMFO IMFO

As a supporter of The Rainbow Children, I'll take the bait.

For me, The Rainbow Children represents Prince getting back to some musical attributes he abandoned for several years. One of the fascinating things about Prince is that he's always been able to take his influences and unify them while creating sounds that were uniquely his. Six years prior, when Prince released that album "he was born to make" (remember?) the majority of the music I heard from it and future releases were plastic, cold and uninspired.

Out of the 4 or 5 albums he released since that time, I could probably compile a single album out of the tracks I truly enjoyed.

For the first time in a long time I heard elements of classic Prince albums. I also heard echoes of Sly, Jimi, Miles and James. Beyond that, it was the first album in a long time containing predominately live instrumentation. It didn't sound forced and it came across as Prince naturally doing what he does best.

So why must anyone who enjoys the Rainbow Children be victim of a "Fake Deep Syndrome" Conversely, I see Prince as the one who was a victim of a syndrome by attempting to follow hip-hop trends and formulaic R&B for all those years.

Psykosoul, I got your back.

DarkKnight1, you dunno whatchoo talkin' 'bout.

sorry i disagree

its not the preaching that makes the reainbow children masterpeace

in a matter of fact if you took out some of the preaching that would make it better

The Rainbow Children is probably one of the most experimental C.D.'s P has ever done

fusing new age Jazz with Rock and Funk

The Melodies are Mind boggling

from the smoothness of muse 2 the pharoah

To the bleeding guitar solo on The Sensual Everafter

I prefer the rainbow children, than anything he's released in the last 8 years

I'm sorry but why would someone pretend to like TRC just to appear more 'musically enlightened'? I really don't understand your argument

Why would anyone want to claim it as a great piece of work falsely. TRC isn't hailed universally here. There are those who dig it (of which I am one) and those who don't. Why pretend to sit on one side of this particular fence when you know you're on the other?

psykosoul said:

I really like your response. I was not necessarliy trying to bait antone to get angry. I simply wanted to elicit the response you gave me. Explain why it is moving to you. I love everythig that he has ever done, including NPS, EXodus, Come, Emancipation, and even the ONA Piano. For some reason I cannot attain the emotional response from this album that I get from almost all others. I feel like this was another attempt at a Lovesexy vibe. I feel the emotion of Lovesexy, not so much from TRC. Like most Orgers, I am a complete Prince music addict. I think some fans are afraid to dislike anything from the Prince catalog, so therefore they manifest some fake love for something they do not enjoy. This is because they feel as if it is some form of Prince betrayal to not love everything that the man releases. Claerly this is not the case with you, but Im not convinced with most others.

soulyacolia said:

Some folks fear that if they dislike any of Prince's music than they might question there level of fandom. Therefore they do not allow themselves to listen objectively to all of his music. I get that from some people. I just want to get the feelings from people who TRULY love TRC and why. Perhaps I need this information in order to help me appreciate this album like some others do. Unfortunately, I cannot.

DarkKnight1 said:

Why does it have to be about this or that? Why can't TRC just be what it is. Either you enjoyed it or you did not. No biggie. I think people need to stop comparing each and everyone of Princes albums. I don't think he really creates music with those thoughts in his mind anyway.

I would rather view and listen to certain artists (Prince is one of those artists') albums the same way I would read a great book or comic book. I think people should just like and dislike the albums for their own merits and not so much because of any preconcieved notions.

Peace

Haaaaa, I am laughing over here. I know what you mean. Especially this part -- "...claim to like it when they actually rarely spin it"

When I went to one of the PRINCE concerts, I saw a couple of people wearing Rainbow Children tee-shirts and my first thought was, "Okay, okay, they want everyone to know that THEY LOVE Rainbow Children as though that makes them a more dedicated fan."

Haaaaa, Fake Deep Syndrome.

I don't know why when I see people wearing the shirts, I'm thinking, "You know you don't like that album."

I like to think that I can read minds! Ha-ha-ha.

Some people may like it, but I mean I listen to it just to hear certain lines or to hear a certain way PRINCE sings a word. For instance I like the end of the song, "Everywhere" when he sings, "Can you feel it, feel, this might GOOD feeling everywhere, ooh, ooh, ooh, oooh, uh, uh, we got so much work to do...."

Don't you just love how he says, "Mighty good" -- the PRINCE voice that I love.

I can honestly say, I put the CD in the CD player just to hear that part. I skip to that part. And then I like when he says, "Besides, you know it takes awhile for me 2 do my hair."

And, then the music playing when he's singing, in "Mellow" -- "Can I sing to you, while you bring yourself to joy..."

I don't listen to the whole CD, but I put it on just to hear certain lines, certain beats.

Haaaaa, this post is funny to me! Fake deep syndrome. Haaaa, I love that.

andykeen said:

What about it do you like? Which tracks? What mood are you in when you listen? I need to understand why people like this bland sound.

TheDreamingPeasant said:

Conversly, this is one of only a few Prince albums that I "spin" when I want to listen to a complete Prince album. I can't explain it quite as well as Psykosoul, but TRC actually moved me. It was a complete work, devoid of any skip points (yes, including Wedding Feast) and is his most satisfying work of both the 90's and this current century. Totally IMO.

With TRC, it honestly sounds like Prince poured out his heart and soul. There is absolutely nothing contrived or fake or grandstand-ish about TRC. Again, totally IMO.

psykosoul said:

Psykosoul, I agree with everything you said. The music on TRC is fantastic compared to most of the R&B hiphop stuff he produced and faked the 5-6 years before. Compared to those albums (especially NPS, Rave, much of Emanicpation, 1999TNM, etc.) TRC is musically a very inspiring album.

The only thing that lacked true inspiration for me about TRC were some of the lyrics.

Abrazo said:

Do you like the crazy darth vader voice? Are you feeling the message like in Lovesexy? Im not a JW but even if I were, I dont think it would effect me emotionally.

DarkKnight1 said:

I do like the "Darth Vader" voice (also known as the "Bob George" voice and the "1999" voice..lol)...to me, it's simply one more sonic component to a great album. It's not the words, but the delivery, I guess, which allows me to see it as sound instead of speech...sometimes it works great (the beginning of 1+1+1 Is 3), sometimes it goes on a bit too long...but overall it doesn't distract me from enjoying and lovin TRC...It's just ridiculously amazing musically, the melodies were instantly catchy upon first listen, there was an energy on that disc that had sorely been missing on pretty much all of Prince's mid-to-late 90's work, and the production values, mg...crystal clear, bright and vibrant. His production on TRC consistently got mentions in reviews, so I know it wasn't just my imagination.

And to be honest, DarkKnight...claiming a "Fake Deep Syndrome" doesn't sound like an explaination as to why so many claim to love The Rainbow Children...it sounds like an excuse to explain why you don't.
[Edited 9/5/04 8:18am]

Byron said:

Im not looking for an excuse to why I dont like it. I just dont. I really started this thread to bring out those who love TRC and give their feelings about the album. Theres no doubt that it is different than anything that he has ever done. So different that I want to know how this album is appealing to some fans who do not like what he has done in the past few years. Im not shallow in my music tastes, I just dont feel the energy that you feel from the album..I Really Want To because I love everything else that he has ever done. The Bob George voice is done in a totally different context. I get that, just like with the voice on 1999. But not so much now

DarkKnight1 said:

That's cool...but you didn't have to come up with a "syndrome" to explain our love of the album...nor did you have to assume that most of us are just "posing", so to speak, when we say it's one of our favorites ("most claim to like it when they actually rarely spin it.")...all you had to do was ask, many here would be willing to share their sincere reasons behind loving TRC.

If nothing else, just chalk up not liking The Rainbow Children to the odds it was bound to happen sooner or later, that you wouldn't like a CD by the man...me, that moment truly occurred with NPS...I played it about 3 times, stubborn in my desire to like it because I've liked pretty much all of Prince's output up until then (even Chaos & Disorder...there's enough on that CD to make me wanna spin it again)...but NPS??...Just left me flat. I couldn't attach myself to it no matter how hard I tried...bland production, instrumentation was weak, very few melodies which grabbed my attention...and it all seemed like so much warmed-over Prince, like he was sleepwalking thru the disc...unmotivated, uninspired...just nothing to me. But...there are those who really like that album...for the life of me I can't figure out why..lol...but they do. So, more power to them...

I can't imagine anyone wanting to profess their undying allegiance to this album to "appear more musically enlightened" - some saxophone tootles on a few funk jams don't make it some artistic 'masterpiece', heralding a new plateau of music for Prince.

I wasn't a fan of the album until the ONA tour in 2002.

I really enjoyed the TRC stuff in the show (which is a good job, since it was pretty heavy on the setlist!). Afterwards, I started listening to the album a lot more since several of the tracks had really grabbed me live - Namely the title track, The Work and Family Name - (I had previously hated the Work pt.1, ever since it was first put up for download).

To call the album "uninspired" is looking over the fact that it's probably Prince's most inspired work for a long time, considering the inspirations that the album takes in (lyrically) - Rigid Religious dogma, free-flowing spirituality, a new wife, monogamy, politics, technology, etc - I'd say that's pretty inspired - it beats "Hot Wit' U" any way.

The narration of the album never bothered me even when I wasn't that hung up on the LP.

I still prefer it to Musicology, and any album released post-Warner Bros.

//
[Edited 9/5/04 8:57am]

DarkKnight1 said:

I normaly listen 2 this album when at the start of the day, it get's me ready for the rest of the day, i love all the tracks my fav is "digital garden" and "family name". i love the hole feel of the album, the funky'nes, its hard 2 say, its just a fun album 2 listen 2!

DarkKnight1 said:

I think the dark voice is sometimes used a bit too often, but all in all I think it is an essential part of the album (because the voice tells the story of the rainbow children) and I don't mind that much.

The message has to do with the lyrics. Some of it I can feel, some of it I can't.

I do find it odd that this many people would like the pile of shit known as TRC. But hey, people have odd tastes in music.

Love "Last December"....the overall message, the melody, the heartfelt vocals, the music...

I like the title song, Everywhere and Family name the most. There are very few weak songs on this album.

The Rainbow children is not experimental, its lame sorry lazy and uninspired.
The reason people like this albulm has nothing to do with " Fake Deep"
It has to do with "Bad Taste" The Ogers aflicted with this syndrome are more than likely to be newbies, that dont know that Prince recorded this music before, but a lot better,... the first Madhouse for example.
1+1+1=(a cheap retarded version onf erotic city)
So lets be kind to these people afficted with "Bad Taste" syndrome and encourage them to be more open minded and expand their horizons and listen to a broader base of music, this usally cures "Bad Taste" syndrome everytime.

homeandmantel said:

Could you help us all out, and give a list of albums that are ok to enjoy without having our musical tastes questioned??...That would sincerely help us out, if you don't mind. I would hate to veer from that list and claim to like something that wasnt' on it...

Could you help us all out, and give a list of albums that are ok to enjoy without having our musical tastes questioned??...That would sincerely help us out, if you don't mind. I would hate to veer from that list and claim to like something that wasnt' on it...[/quote]


Listen.... dont be so defensive, there is no shame, my uncle has Tourette Syndrome and he's still able to enjoy a full and happy life.

Byron said:

"homeandmantel"

homeandmantel said:

Does that mean you're unwilling to put your own taste in music on the line??...

The Rainbow Children is worth owning for Last December alone. Surely even haters of the record can see that?

A few of the tracks sound a little un-inspired. Mellow has a major yawn-factor. The Work always was and always will be a poor James Brown pastiche. Family Name is good, but it's annoying having to sit through what feels like an eternity of historical audio samples to actually get to the song.

On the plus side, The Everlasting Now is the funkiest thing he's done in years... even better on Live at the Aladdin. Everywhere is beautiful (the singer at the beginning reminds me of a J5 era MJ), She Loves Me 4 Me is gorgeous and I love the beat on Digital Garden - always reminds me of safari music.

And then there's Last December... which is lyrically, musically, vocally... as close to perfection as you can get.

MattyJam said:

Last December and She loves me 4 me are good tracks. 1+1+1=3 is OK but pretty overrated on this website. Im not saying that i dislike it all. I just dont have to dig for a fondness for any other albums that Prince has ever released