Last week I undertook trying to make it through all of Prince's "proper" albums chronologically. In many cases it's been years since I listened to them; i.e. "Controvery" "Graffiti Bridge.

Many, like "Parade" sounded fresher than I remembered.

It wasn't until the first disc of "Emancipation" that I thought any of the music especially dated, but that one really did.

Whatcha' think?

I've never dated any of his albums so I don't know what to think!

some of Diamonds and Pearls is pretty dated. Very early 90s sounding. I think alot of his 90s stuff is dated. I guess that's why i liked Musicology so much. It sounds fresh and very PRINCE like

Graffiti Bridge sounds dated to me. I'm not saying that the songs are bad though (with the exception of the title track).

united1878 said:

the only tracks I can bear on that are New Power Generation and We Can Funk (which is awesome)...the rest sound dated and/or cheesy (round and round/melody cool...eeeeugh)

And I was so excited when it came out...the packaging, the promise of all that new material (though a lot of it was from his vaults), the prospect of a follow up film to Purple Rain...it all went tits up when I actually listened to the thing. It sounded dated in 1990 let alone now

all are timeless

newskin69 said:

His 90's stuff with the crap rapping parts sound awful now. It was without doubt his most blatant attempt to release something which whould sell. To his credit though he still managed to sneak a few gems in between, such as gett off, etc.

The rapping on any of his albums sounds abit dated! Does anyone like Tony M's rap's. He nearly put me off Prince for life.

Oh is that his name, I was going to inclue it in my previous post but couldn't remember it. Thats the sort of impression he left.

If music is good it's good forever no matter how old it get's! When people say something is dated it just means it isnt up to date with the current sound/trend! And who wants to follow trends!?

Ok then I'll rephrase. That music is bad!

Joy in Repetition? Timeless!!!!

LittleSmedley said:

Dirty Mind album is the most dated. IMO

For You sounds dated - its the only one to me that is representative of its time, everything else was ahead of its time (and some of it still is!)

Both Prince and For You sound a little bit like golden oldies now. It was around Dirty Mind when he started to turn things up. The instruments used make Dirty Mind and Controversy sound old but the songs themselves stand up, well, outstandingly. Performed now or even possibly re-recorded I think could get a whole new generation switched on.

For You, Prince : They don't really sound plain dated, being representative of late 70's rnb, a sound that still enjoys a measure of influence in today's music. However, many of the disco flourishes were too conventional then and sound prehistoric today.

Graffiti Bridge : the first Prince album that arrived at the store past its expiration date. Before this one, everything before was either current or ahead of its time.Though there were some great songs, the album as a whole sounded like average mid-80's pop when it came out, mostly due to the protégés songs. I guess he rediscovered why he had released individual albums for Purple Rain. Some of his protégés songs are great fun, but they have often been for catoonish acts. The Time and Vanity 6 were satire/homages, and they are just too light to fit well alongside Prince's best material.

Symbol, The Gold Experience : the segues, some of the production...let's just say they could sound fresher.

Diamonds & Pearls : some of the programming and of course the raps.

Emancipation : this one is Prince second truly dated record due to its sound, which is too clinical and lacks warmth, almost like he was trying to sound cutting edge but there was no edge -- the funk sounded on autopilot for the most part.

NPS, a lot of Chocolate Invasion and the Slaughterhouse : Many of the songs sound prefab and cheesy, like they were made with a creative template.
[Edited 9/19/05 8:27am]

amf666 said:

I agree.

If he'd taken the time and effort to find a more talented rapper, I don't think his work from this time period would sound nearly as dated as much of it does now.

From a production kind of view:

Definately Emancipation.

It's just so overproduced.

I really think Prince have to rearrange and reproduce some of the songs and he would made a magnificient album. (again)

FOR YOU

His first LP sounds so like the 70'S

Well I think For you and Dirty Mind sound expecialy dated. They are good albums and I enjoy listening and dancing to them but when you put it on it is so obvious what time frame it was recorded in.

Great topic!

Are we not confusing 'not liking' an album as 'dated'.

For you is obvioulsy made in the 70s and it's obvious from the sound/sytle and programmed instruments used that 80s albums were infact made in the 1980s i.e.dated to that time period.

It's no big.

And it doesn't mean that they are [or I think they are] inferior to any other album.

I'm less sure of the 1990s albums - sure Tony M pours rain on the parade but that doesn't mean it's dated those particular albums.

I think generally speaking if you use real instruments it's harder to date a song just my opinion.

I have never understood the word "dated" because all songs, Prince's included, can be listened to and guessed as to which decade they were recorded in. Even after Prince changed his style in 1985 and started trying to copy the 1960s and 1970s sound, the albums still had a small hint of the 1980s in them.

If the word "dated" means that a song can be played in the middle of today's music and fit in, I'll take "dated" songs every time because today's music is absolutely horrible. Every decade has it's own styles of music and each song sounds slightly similar to the decade it came from. The exception though, is the 1990s and 2000s. That's almost two decades of music (mainly R&B) that all sounds alike because record companies and corporations like Clear Channel refuse to let the styles change by keeping anyone different out. It's been the same for so long that people seem to have gotten used to this style being what's going to dominate from now on. That's probably why people are "dating" old albums now.

"Emancipation" for the production & sound, though some of the song material on it actually is great

Pondwater said:

agreed! Dirty Mind sounds pretty dated to me too

Dated isn't bad in my book, especially when the album actually is over 25
years old!

kpowers said:

lilgish said:

aggree to disagree