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Out on a limb: THE RAINBOW CHILDREN I can honestly say that I think the narration on The Rainbow Children actually adds to the album. Prince is telling a story and good old "Bob George" does a fantastic job of tying all of the various pieces together.
My initial thought when I downloaded the album last year was to cut all of the distorted voice segues out, but I gave it a chance, not wanting to disrupt the flow like that. I find that I enjoy much of the deep thoughts expressed in the segues; enjoy them for what they are: Prince telling a story through song and lyric. Here's a wonder: I wonder how the album  and it's accompanying video 3 Chains O' Gold might have turned out had Prince had a bit more creative freedom (yes, I realize that he's probably had the most "creative freedom" of any artist in recent memory, but bear with me) 'cuz you gotta admit his telling of that story doesn't hold together as well as The Rainbow Children.
I give him mad props for pulling off a WINNER that will be appreciated much more than we all realize at a later time. La, la, la
He, he, hee! | |
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I didn't get the story or the message behind TRC, but I loved the music.
I would have traded the sci-fi libretto for another couple of songs of a similar standard as the rest. 3 chains was rather simpler to follow even without the video although the album was a lot more commercial than TRC. | |
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From the first time I listened to it the narrative voice never bothered me, but I can see how it would bother some people.
It just seems incidental to it all. And actually it's a very Princely thing to do. What other kook besides Prince would actually try that specific distorted voice technique throughout a third of the album and think nothing of it? This post not for the wimp contingent. All whiny wusses avert your eyes. | |
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allanb said: I didn't get the story or the message behind TRC, but I loved the music.
co-sign. don't need no reefer, don't need cocaine
purple music does the same to my brain i'm high, so high | |
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kmc said: ..and good old "Bob George" does a fantastic job of tying all of the various pieces together.
c'mon.. that ain't bob.. you can tell when it's bob.. and that ain't bob! don't need no reefer, don't need cocaine
purple music does the same to my brain i'm high, so high | |
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I agree. I disliked RC completely when I first downloaded it, especially all the narration. I listened to it once or twice, then forgot about it for months, until Aaron convinced me to give it another try. About the fourth time through I began picking up on how much this disc sounded like OLD Prince. It's very Revolution sounding to me now. "Everywhere" recalls "I Would Die 4 U," and I like the "Sex Shooter" diddy at the beginning of "1+1." ("Repeat after me...")
People on this sight really diss RC, but I personally think it's leagues ahead of anything he's done at LEAST since Gold, and it has moved into my top favorite Prince discs. I dig every song on RC, and the religious stuff is general enough for me to handle. Besides, it was the religious aspect of his work that intrigued me from the beginning in '84. RC is, imho, truely an old-school Prince album. Nay-sayers need to give it another try, I think. Solon say a man ain't happy truely until a man truely dies. | |
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And besides, good or bad, who else is doing concept albums these days? | |
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allanb said: I didn't get the story or the message behind TRC, but I loved the music.
I would have traded the sci-fi libretto for another couple of songs of a similar standard as the rest. 3 chains was rather simpler to follow even without the video although the album was a lot more commercial than TRC. So, let me get this straight, you followed the storyline of '3 Chains'? It made me cringe... or maybe that was just seeing Prince and the NPG trying to act. 
3 Chains O'Gold La, la, la
He, he, hee! | |
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Xagain said: I agree. I disliked RC completely when I first downloaded it, especially all the narration. I listened to it once or twice, then forgot about it for months, until Aaron convinced me to give it another try. About the fourth time through I began picking up on how much this disc sounded like OLD Prince. It's very Revolution sounding to me now. "Everywhere" recalls "I Would Die 4 U," and I like the "Sex Shooter" diddy at the beginning of "1+1." ("Repeat after me...")
People on this sight really diss RC, but I personally think it's leagues ahead of anything he's done at LEAST since Gold, and it has moved into my top favorite Prince discs. I dig every song on RC, and the religious stuff is general enough for me to handle. Besides, it was the religious aspect of his work that intrigued me from the beginning in '84. RC is, imho, truely an old-school Prince album. Nay-sayers need to give it another try, I think. Yeah, it really is old school in ATTITUDE. It's COOL, but in and absurdedly Princesque way. Gotta go patent that word there. La, la, la
He, he, hee! | |
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I loved TRC ever since I've had it. It's constantly in and out of my stereo. The religious background to it, isn't that bad. The music is phenomenal, I almost want to say, that's the best I've ever heard him. It's a Masterpiece! Bottom Line.
It was only a few days or weeks, after TRC was released to club members. People were already saying how terrible it was. How can you judge something so quickly, without even giving it a try? I wasn't a club member at the time, I would go to the Redline-entertainment site, and try to get an understanding of their perspective, I just couldn't. Then, when I recieved it myself via Wrecka Stow. I was blown away by the musicianship. Even today, I'm going through Threads, and people are saying how terrible ONA is, I don't get it, we're quick to say something sux, and then quick to put our foot in our mouths! If you haven't heard The Rainbow Children Live, then you haven't heard it yet. It ShOoK The Detroit Opera House. I liked it even more after I heard it Live Blue Cashmere "Don't Play Me" Blue  | |
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kmc said
So, let me get this straight, you followed the storyline of '3 Chains'? It made me cringe... or maybe that was just seeing Prince and the NPG trying to act.
3 Chains O'Gold[/quote] Yeah, I followed it but I didn't say I liked it. The symbol album has a lot of great tracks but I could have lived without 3chains video. I cringe at some of the rainbow children libretto, what the hells the message. Digital Graden??? | |
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allanb said: I cringe at some of the rainbow children libretto, what the hells the message. Digital Garden???
The message I hear in this song is that Prince is rising above his past. You know the "brillant darkness" and the "resistor's dream" lines. I really dig on the lyrics of this one. Too bad he didn't jam on it more than 2 or 3 minutes. La, la, la
He, he, hee! | |
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I've maybe taken more musically from TRC than I have from the lyrics, but I think I've done this for all his releases.Maybe I wasn't ready for the depth of the message this time around. | |
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Prince is not your average bubble-gum pop flavor of the month artist. Prince is deep. The cool thing about Prince is that you can jam with Prince on many different levels. Even when pumping a song like "1+1+1=3" who else besides Prince is going to sing about a "theocratic order"? I mean, as a listener, you can either give that some thought or you can ignore it. But in either case, the song is still funky.
The thing that has always attracted me to his music is that there is usually a lot of substance behind the things that he says. The Rainbow Children, which is so vivid that it almost plays like a soundtrack or a score to a Play, is a perfect of example of "Prince" at his best. The amazing thing to me is that there appears to be a lot of fans who have been jamming to Prince all these years, yet somehow seem to have never fully grasped the depth and breadth of his artistry or have purposely ignored it - I don't know which. But, then when he comes out with an album like The Rainbow Children, people act shocked and confused. And I'm like, "where have you been?" Prince has been singing about spirituality and drawing closer to God in one form or another for virtually his entire career. It's just like when Prince has an interview and the interviewer says to Prince, "all you do is sing about sex". Whenever someone says that, then I know that most of what Prince is singing about is really going over their head and they just don't "get it". I'll finish with this. Since I was craving something deep and moving from Prince for a long time, TRC really hit the spot for me and I fell in love with it almost instantly. But I've learned over the years that usually Prince's best stuff is an acquired taste, and in general, TRC is no exception to that rule. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When U can't find the reason 4 the smoke, there's probably water in the fire" - Freaks on This Side (man... that's deep) | |
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Pussy Control, Sexy MF, Cream, Endorphinmachine, yeah I can see where your'e coming from. | |
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Xagain said: And besides, good or bad, who else is doing concept albums these days?
DJ Shadow | |
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abucah said: Prince is not your average bubble-gum pop flavor of the month artist. Prince is deep. The cool thing about Prince is that you can jam with Prince on many different levels. Even when pumping a song like "1+1+1=3" who else besides Prince is going to sing about a "theocratic order"? I mean, as a listener, you can either give that some thought or you can ignore it. But in either case, the song is still funky.
The thing that has always attracted me to his music is that there is usually a lot of substance behind the things that he says. The Rainbow Children, which is so vivid that it almost plays like a soundtrack or a score to a Play, is a perfect of example of "Prince" at his best. The amazing thing to me is that there appears to be a lot of fans who have been jamming to Prince all these years, yet somehow seem to have never fully grasped the depth and breadth of his artistry or have purposely ignored it - I don't know which. But, then when he comes out with an album like The Rainbow Children, people act shocked and confused. And I'm like, "where have you been?" Prince has been singing about spirituality and drawing closer to God in one form or another for virtually his entire career. It's just like when Prince has an interview and the interviewer says to Prince, "all you do is sing about sex". Whenever someone says that, then I know that most of what Prince is singing about is really going over their head and they just don't "get it". I'll finish with this. Since I was craving something deep and moving from Prince for a long time, TRC really hit the spot for me and I fell in love with it almost instantly. But I've learned over the years that usually Prince's best stuff is an acquired taste, and in general, TRC is no exception to that rule. TRC didn't really sound revolutionary or different to me. It was more of Prince's mellow jazzy sound, but it was missing the sparkle of Madhouse and earlier stuff. In the aftermath of me absolutely hating the album when it first came out, i occasionally throw on "She Loves Me 4 Me" and "1+1+1=3". Theyre cute songs but not incredibly deep. I appreciated the album a bit more after seeing it live. | |
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Xagain said:[quote]
"Everywhere" recalls "I Would Die 4 U," quote] It does?!? No, really I would REALLY like to know how that song reminds of "I Would Die 4 U"? Maybe I just missed something, but isn't one a jazzy gospel piece and the another an early eighties electro pop track? Again, I'm completely baffled by these comparisons... | |
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