His output is considerably less in terms of quantity since the split from Warner.

I don't mind Musicology... but I can't help but feel deprived by 10 or 12 track albums these days. There's enough room on a disc to fit around 18 or 19 tracks... for someone who was once making so much material that he created pseudonyms and protegees just to serve as an outlet for his overflowing creativity, I can't help but wonder what's changed in the last couple of years...

Do you reckon it's because he's recording at a less hasty pace these days? Or maybe it's that he's not so concerned with building an established catalogue anymore... after all, he has a larger catalogue at 45 than most acts have in a lifetime.

I for one would love another three disc set.... Quality, not quantity and all... but surely I ain't the only one who listens to these 10 track albums and doesn't feel satisfied?

I'm greedy. Gimme more.

I was disappointed with the length of "Musicology" also. Another term that people love to throw around here a lot is "filler". I say, one person's filler is another person's treasure.

His output has only fallen in terms of what you can get in retail stores: Emancipation, Crystal Ball, New Power Soul, Come 2 My House, GCS2000, Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, Rave Un2 The Year 2000 DVD, The Rainbow Children, ONA Live, Live At The Aladdin DVD, NEWS, Musicology (and even many of these are hard to find in stores)

But take into account all the exclusive 1800-NEW-FUNK / NPGMC stuff and you'll see it hasn't really fallen at all (it's just harder and more expensive to get now ): Karmasutra, The War, Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic, Beautiful Strange VHS, Chocolate Invasion, Slaughterhouse (and all the other 2001-04 downloads), Xpectation, CNOTE, ONA Piano, Days Of Wild + Cinnamon Girl singles.
[Edited 1/16/05 4:23am]

Very true.

I'd take half of New Power Soul over Musicology anyday - each to their own I guess.

I love lengthily albums. The more songs on the disc, the more there is to dig.

The whole mentality of cutting a disc down to ten tracks to keep it "tight" usually just means there's only six tracks I dig, as opposed to ten or eleven on a longer album.

It's not tighter, just shorter, and less songs to enjoy.

I don't mind if an album's lenght is around 45 minutes if the music's quality is superb!
BTW, I prefer "single" albums than "double" or "triple" ones...
Just think about "Purple Rain" or "Dirty Mind"...

And most of the greatest albums are "simple"!

...Purple Rain
Ziggy Stardust
Sgt. Pepper's
Revolver
Highway 61 Revisited
Born To Run
Thriller
Like A Prayer
Hounds Of Love
Pet Sounds
The Doors
Nevermind...

...just a few...

Lodger said:

Greatest albums? Like A Prayer? Maybe, I should listen to that some more

Fryd said:

I meant greatest albums from the greatest artists... I think Like A Prayer is Madonna's best... You can start f.cking with me, I don't mind...

I don't think it's always a case of quality over quantity, but more often than not, it's true.

Lodger said:

What about "Sign 'O' the Times" and "Emancipation" (that will bring me many peoples' hate here, but I don't mind...)?
Of course, most great albums are "simple", because, let's say, 98% of new releases (that means no best of or live records) are one disc albums.

But, back to topic, I would love a new Prince double or triple album, though marketing becomes difficult then (high prices). For marketing, it's better to release two different albums at the same time (like G'n'R with "Use your Illusion" or Bruce Springsteen with "Human Touch"/"Lucky Town"). Would've also been better for "Emancipation" maybe (if your goal is high sales and not to show you've the balls to make a 180 min. album).

I don't fully understand the "quality/quantity" thing. If Prince releases a record like "Emancipation", people complain that there are fillers on it. If he cuts down his releases to one disc records, the same people pay tons of money to get bootlegs with the outtakes on them, just to realize then that 70-80% of the cut-out material is weaker than the officially released stuff. So, what is right: putting songs in the vault or giving the fans as much music as possible?

It has more to do with technology and being able to fit more time now on a cd.

EmancipationLover said:

Sign O' The Times is brilliant, Emancipation is good.



Giving the fans as much great music as possible! And please, no more Newpower Soul...

And I feel some of you are insatiable!
Please, just think about those poor George Michael fans!

And please, be satisfied with our Man, he's still busier than any other musician!

Lodger said:

Agree!!! But, if P never had released NPS and you had the chance to get a bootleg with the NPS songs from the vault (the never-released follow-up to "Exodus" - just imagine), wouldn't you be hot to get it? I mean, what's better, hiding the master tapes for an album like NPS, or giving us the chance to listen to ALL of his work, even if many here (not me) classify it as "crap"? That's just the other side of "quality control": that you will never have the chance to hear a lot of the music the little man has created and that was part of his life (at least, for a short period).

As long as he doesn't pull a Nelly and release two CDs at once ("Sweat" and "Suit"), with one of them actually being worth buying, then I'll be just fine.

EmancipationLover said:

You're right! I get as much music of Prince as I can...
I just don't wanna be ashamed of his weak trax like "United States Of Division"!

Lodger said:

Ready To Die
Illmatic
Doggystyle
CrazySexyCool
Funky Divas
The Show The Afterparty The Hotel
12 Play
Blueprint
Marshal Mathers LP
My Bio: The Basement
Chronic
Brown Sugar
Amerikaz Most Wanted
Mr. Smith
All Eyez On Me
Me Against The World
Urban Hang Suite
Ladies Edition

Just a few more...
[Edited 1/16/05 10:52am]

Lodger said:

Ok I'm gonna have to say that Like a Prayer is not one of the greatest albums. If we want to find the most cohesive effort from Madonna it would be Ray Of Light. It is not whether you enjoy that particular style of album but as a piece of art, it is whole, consistant and quality.

I would also like to substitue Slippery When Wet for Born To Run. Never understood The Bruce Thing.

TheAStarr said:

Ray Of Light vs Like A Prayer = Computer vs Instrument = death of music
[Edited 1/16/05 22:40pm]

EmancipationLover said:

Sign 'O' The Times is a masterpiece. However, it could nearly be fitted onto a single CD (it just misses). For that reason, I'll disqualify it from this discussion.

On the other hand, Emancipation may constitute the strongest argument against Prince releasing multi-CD projects. Crystal Ball was a fun, engaging project IMO, but given each CD's running time, the 3-CD release could easily have been placed on two discs without compromising a single song.

My favorite Prince releases have all been single-CD projects. In fact, Purple Rain could be remastered, the four b-sides included, and rereleased on one CD (damn WB).

Lodger said:

There are very few real instruments on like a prayer... just as many as ray of light... It's the way it is presented.

TheAStarr said:

No, you haven't even heard the album "Like A Prayer", or you don't know anything about real instruments!!!

Drums, bass, guitars, acoustic guitar, requinto guitar, acoustic piano, hammond B3, clavinet, percussion, marimba, spanish tambourine, brass, French horns, strings and even a gospel choir! (from liner notes)

Finished discussion.

Lodger said:

oh no, we are aboutto argue about madonna. There must be more important things in the world bu meh, here I go

First, there is real guitar on every single track on Ray Of Light, secondly there is the percussion of that crazy kaballah song, candy perfume girl, strings of frozen, more real bass than like a prayer, and I consider keyboard very much a real instrument, used infinitely better on ray of light than any other album. As an artistic work, Ray of Light wins, as a pop work maybe not... sometimes it gets pretty deep... Like a Prayer not so much (not to say it doesn't have it's moments)...

This is sorta the same thing as Pruple Rain being Prince's pop masterpiece, yet the artistic masterpiece being The Rainbow CHildren. There is a piece of soul in there, never heard on any of the others...

Let the argument commence
Live a Prayer / Ray OF Light
Lovesexy or SOTT / Rainbow CHildren
Sonny / Cher

Ok now I'm just being silly.

TheAStarr said:

LIKE A PRAYER! LIKE A PRAYER! LIKE A PRAYER!


(this discussion is stupid, right? )

Lodger said:

You terrible person for not liking my favorite Madonna album better. You are a terrorist. LIKE A PRAYER means you are not skilled in the ways of musical goodness so now you must die.

Death by watching Graffitti Bridge over and over and over and over in an otherwise sound proofed room.

TheAStarr said:

Yes! Here, I'm gonna die right now!
[Edited 1/18/05 13:01pm]