Hi, I have just recently gotten into Prince. I am 22 so yes I am playing catch up. I have saw his movies and a few concert dvds. My question is as for music should I start at the beginning of his collection and work my way up to his recent material. Or does anyone have any suggestions on a particular cd I should listen to because it stands out from all the rest.

terinkydink said:

me and u have something in common with that. am just recently becoming a prince fan too. well the cd's i have so far are "1999" "Purple Rain" "Musiciology"
"Emancipation" "GB" "Prince" The Hits 1&2" and "Diamonds and Pearls". there are many many more cd's that i have to get is not even funny.
[Edited 6/14/05 18:11pm]
[Edited 6/14/05 18:12pm]

Yeah I have always known about him but it was not until a friend of mine gave me a sealed copy of the "Prince" LP. Of course not having a record player I could not listen to it. I wound up watching Purple Rain he seems really interesting and super talented so now I am on a I want more more more craze.

terinkydink said:

i know exatly what u mean.

I love almost all of Princes work. Just remember that every album has a totally different sound. That is one of the things i love about the guy. You never get the feeling "ya...same old shit again". Lovesexy, sign "O" the times, and 1999 are my favorites. My suggestion is to start at the beginning. The first two albums have a bit of a disco sound to them (which im not too fond of-still good tho) but the rest rock hard in a funky place

ohh and BTW, if you ever run into a bootleg buy it. You may never get the chance again.

I think I will get his first album tommorow. I am going to start at the beginning since I was just looking he has sooooo much music out. So why not get a taste of all this man has to offer.

1999 is a classic Sign o the times is good too.

I really liked most of the tracks in Under the Cherry Moon. Was there a soundtrack for this film>? Also just want to comment on how funny he was in the movie, to me at first he seemed super serious but after seeing this film I guess it gave me a look at his comedy side.

There is a soundtrack for Under the Cherry Moon
its commonly called Parade

wow its exhausting thinking about how much ESSENTIAL muisc there is....

after the regular releases and then the remixes and then the outtakes and then the live shows and then the aftershows....

and then the videos and then the tv appearances and then the live concerts ....


and then bankruptcy

Ok I just went to best buy and bought the live at the aladdin concert in vegas. Before I open it is it really worth it. I was reading reviews about it being bad sound and video quality. Please someone let me know ASAP. I really want to watch it but was just wondering if I shuld just take this one back and get a second hand of it from ebay. Is it worth 20?

terinkydink said:

Take no notice of the reviews of any of Prince's music , buy everything and jduge it for yourself . Once you've listened to his work in the future you'll come across someone online saying " I think (insert any Prince album title here ) is over-rated or rubbish " whereas you'll have heard the album yourself and liked/loved it . We know nothing and everything as regards the quality of his music , every album he's made has its appreciators and detractors on here.

terinkydink said:

Based on what you've watched, do you have any fave songs/eras? If so, try picking up those albums first. JMHO.

Try getting the essential albums from each era and then go around filling in the gaps in between based on what you like.
In my opinion these are representative and cover 1980 to 2004: Dirty Mind, Purple Rain, Parade, Sign o the Times, Lovesexy (I know the last 3 are consecutive releases but they are must-haves!), Diamonds and Pearls, Gold Experience, Musicology.
Hope this helps!

If you haven't started yet, start with 1999. That's probably the first definitive Prince album-- the one where he completely comes into his own. Dirty Mind and Controversy are good and show signs of what he was to become but he wasn't quite there yet. The first two albums, "For You" and "Prince", are spotty although "Prince" is one of my personal favorites. I like to find an artist's work just prior to their supposed breakthrough, follow it until it levels off and then explore their earlier works. I only come back to the latest works having done all of that. If the artist's supposed great works don't impress me I don't bother with any of the others.

After 1999 get Purple Rain, Around the World In a Day, Parade, and then Sign O' the Times in that order just to experience the musical journey as it was. After that you could basically fill in the catalogue as you see fit such as the other albums don't particularly build on the ones preceding it. Each is an experience unto itself though and shouldn't be dismissed.

moonshine said:

what kind of quote and response is this? he isn't talking about the subjective aspect of liking or disliking the music, but the quality of the dvd. did you not read his post, or did you deliberately cut off the quote so you could get up on your soapbox and preach?

congratulations, you just won the award for most dishonest manipulation of a quote. could you have manipulated his sentence any more out of context to justify your rant?

AND terinkydink

go from the beginning. start at For You and live the journey from day one as if you are listening to the mans career as he created it. don't skip around. experience the evolution, the ups and downs, the disapointments and triumphs as they came out. you have this opportunity now, but if you just jump around you'll never get it again.

enjoy For You and Prince, and be wowed at Dirt Mind. ask yourself what can he do next, then dance to controversy and 1999. just when you think he can't get any better experience Purple Rain, then wondering what could he do for an encore take the psychodelic journey of Around the World in a Day, for better of for worse. Parade will be another step in another direction, and Sign O the Times will right the ocurse. ask yourself what the heck was he thinking Batman, Graffiti Bridge and Diamonds and Pearls, in order, then wonder as we all did whether has righted the ship or continues its descent. jump on board the split opinion that is Come, decide for yourself whether teh Gold Experience is one of his best or not, and whether Chaor and Disorder is one of his worst. is Emancipation truly the album was born to make? was Crystal Ball worth the hassle? the Truth a hidden gem? New Power Soul worthy of even having him grace the cover. Rave Un2 the most disapointing album ever? the Rainbow Children truly a return to form.

lastly, you will never understand why Musicology was such a reliefe for many people unless you experience the journey, for all its triumphs and tragedys, in order. but perhaps that is just the idealist in me.

To shorten Dumbass great advise....

Take your time with the 'journey' some great music over the years, and all different too.

dumbass said:

dumbass, you clearly don't understand English.

There was no rant by Moonshine, no twisting of anybody's words, no bitterness. So what if the original post was specifically about the DVD? Blatantly, Moonshine's advice goes to that too, as well as everything else Prince has done. We're all individuals and we all disagree on each album - as you yourself have pointed out.

So i agree with Moonshine's post, which was succint and thoughtful - don't trust any reviews, be it of the Aladdin DVD or any other work by Prince. Take them into account if you're on a budget, sure, but at the end of the day, take everything with a totally open mind and who knows. You may find NPS is your favourite Prince album.

Thank you everyone for all the great advice. I am going to pick up For You today if I can find it. I can't wait to start my experience. I thought about skipping around but that would be cheating myself as to what this man has offered so many.

Thanks Everyone

terinkydink said:

WHAT!?!? if you are a newbie the DON'T buy For You first!! it is one of Prince's worst albums!!

Why not buy a CLASSIC like...

-Purple Rain
-Sign O The Times
-The Gold Xpereince

or better still... The Hits / B-Sides!!!

and clearly you don't understand her speal is irrelevent to terinkydink's quote without it being dishonestly manipulated to mean something that wasn't said. terinkydink clearly is commenting on the quality of the production of the DVD, in which moonshine manipulates the quote to seem as if what is being questioned is the quality of the music so she can go off on a rant about how you should never listen to reviews and should always judge the music for ourselves.

but the music isn't in question so her entire rant is irrelevent and has nothing to do with what was said. the only way it seems to be relevent is because of the way she clearly manipulates it to seem to say something it doesn't.

her comment is fine on its own merits, but when you consider it in context to a quote she manipulates to say something that wasn't said you find a dishonest action. you clearly do not understand this so you should probably leave the insults to those a bit smarter than you. understanding english is irrelevent to this argument, it's an understanding of context that is in question, which I understand fine and you seem to miss the boat entirely on because you are too busy trying to defend what was said without understanding the dynamics of what was actually said and done.
[Edited 6/15/05 10:15am]

sure, whatever.

Get Sign O the Times - the cd as well as the dvd. The cd is his best work IMHO.

kisscamille said:

That's why I would agree with the others who recommend starting at the beginning. If you really want to seriously get into Prince's work, why get the very best stuff first? Experienceing his albums in order shows his growth, and reveals a little of what was going on in his life at the time. Appreciate the first few albums for what they are, then have your mind completely blown by what comes after. I think that's part of what Prince's appeal was (and still is) to long time fans. That feeling of "Holy crap, what's he going to do next!?!?!" As good as records like 1999, Purple Rain, Sign 'O' The Times, etc are, terinkydink, don't cheat yourself of the experience of really discovering his music. Listen to '1999' first, and you'll think "Wow, what an amazing 80s funk album this is!" Or listen to 'For You' first, and picture that shy, arrogant, excited kid with the big afro sitting in the studio. If you can get into that, then hearing the opening of the 1999 album ("Don't worry, I won't hurt you...") will absolutely give you chills. That's why a lot of the people who felt that in 1982 are still with the man today.

dumbass - appropriate name there

1) I'm not a she I'm a he
2) People's reviews of the Live in Las Vegas differ greatly , some say the video and sound quality is terrible cos the DVD doesnt perform well on whatever model of DVD player they have . It plays fine for me and lots of other people .As I said to terinkydink , don't beleive peoples reviews , of the DVD (cos some people disliked the show , others cant even get the DVD to play properly ) , or of his music , judge for yourself .

terinkydink said:

When you buy his albums in order, make sure to buy 'The Black Album' after 'Sign 'O' The Times' and before 'Lovesexy' when it was supposed to be released.

whodknee said:

I agree.Dirty Mind-Sign o'The Times would be a great starter kit for a new Prince fan.May U Live 2 see The Dawn.

moonshine said:

the technical quality of a DVD is hardly a subjective matter that one must judge for themselves, like music. either it is technically bad or not.

dumbass said:

feel better now?

i disagree and think your interpretation's entirely fallacious.

but let's put this to bed now, cool?