In another thread, I am talking to a person who claims that every Prince album since "Purple Rain" is retro. Meaning they all sound like they are from from the 60's or 70's. I claimed that just because Prince isn't using his synth sounds from the early 80's, doesn't make it retro. Sure, "Around the World in the Day" has a 60's influence. I said that Prince often uses influences from the past (James, Sly, George Etc.), but that to say Prince is "retro" is incorrect. What do you think? Am I deaf? Blind? Is Prince retro? Is he more like Lenny Kravitz than I realize? Let us know.
[Edited 10/18/04 13:19pm]

not at all. seems to me that whoever you're debating with sorta has the term "retro" misunderstood...

Number23 said:

Yeah, keep smiling your thread is the reason this debate is going on.

skywalker said:

i always thought a lot of his songs were before their time... like Annie Christian -- i always thought it sounded modern like close to drum n bass songs today...

I have definately felt a strong 1960s and 1970s vibe to the majority of the albums since 1985.

On the earlier albums, I heard a little trace of Devo or Gary Numan every now and then, of course they were current artists at the time so that wouldn't be considered retro back then. It was simply Prince competing with other current artists at the time. As for Prince's influences growing up, they were in the music but they were not dominating.

On the albums after that, I feel strong traces of James Brown, Parliament, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, etc. Of course, the albums have been made in a way to fit in with modern times but they definately have a very strong retro feel to them.

In this day and age, I don't think people consider them retro anymore because so many other artists are doing retro but in the late 1980s, when Prince first started doing it, hardly anyone else was. I welcome retro now because I don't want Prince competing with today's current artists.