Doozer said:

where in Texas?

SlamGlam said:

Good ol' San Antonio.

Doozer said:

cool he plays there a lot. i am very close to dallas.

This album continues to divide and is probably the most polarised album that the wee man has put out. For me it is a work of pure genius and I have a feeling it may be one of P's most satisfying from his own perspective.

5 years on and this album is as much debated as any in the P canon, a true gem that eventually (in my opinion) will be regarded as not only a Prince classic but a classic in modern musical history!

Organic music for the G.M. generation.

Doozer said:

where in san antonio?

seekay said:

I live in the basement of the Alamo.

Doozer said:

did you happen to find my bike?

SlamGlam said:

By golly...

Doozer said:

oh wow Dotty will be so happy!

I love this album. I bought it about 2 months ago and I've been listening to it ever since. It's his best album since Lovesexy. Beside some silly and ignorant lyrics, this album is truly amazing. The Darth Vader voice dosen't bother me at all.
[Edited 2/20/06 20:59pm]

purpleworld said:

I can only assume the the lyric you refer to is;

"Holocaust aside, many lived and died, but when all truth is told would you rather be dead or be sold".

It is probably one of the most irresponsible comments i have ever heard Prince make.These 2 events in history should not be compared to each other.Both were terrible.

There was someone over at Housequake who actually edited all of the voice off of the cd for me. I haven't listened to it in a while maybe I will.

muirdo said:

It is one of the most misinterpreted lyrics of him ever imo.

We had a long thread about it some months ago, almost ending up in a flame war. If you read the context of the lyrics, you can find out that Prince is referring to the work of the Devil on earth imo.

"Family name" got misinterpretation too because he mentions all that supposedly Jewish names in it, but I think it was meant as an attempt to revibe the spirit of the civil rights movement in the US in the 1960s (therefore the Martin Luther King bit at the end).

I will try to find the old thread and provide a link.

The lyrics may be controversial, but they are far from being as bad as some people say imo.

EmancipationLover said:

I respect your opinion but imo looking back over the lyrics it is clear that he has finished speaking of the devil and started talking about "his lord".




Muse to the Pharoah

If she could b Muse 2 the Pharoah
Then one day she might b Queen
If like Sheba, she then could bring presents/presence and wine
The helix he might get between them
In other words, intertwine
With the ebony and milk of her thighs
If she could be Muse and let him decide
Perhaps she'll let him decide

If she could b Muse 2 the Pharoah,
There is nothing he wouldn't give her c
4 the future of the nation rests in her belly
And if the Proverbs of the 31 and verse 10
Becomes the verse she sings again and again
She might b Queen

Take a load off, sweetie darling
Let me run agenda thru ur hair
There's so much information 4 the next generation
Who's gonna drop it if u're not there?

And whether the enemy makes a run on the palace
Or whether the enemy does not,
The children will be laced with the protection of the word of God
The opposite of NATO is OTAN
And if the number 13 is such a bad luck number
When there's no such thing as luck
Then the berries, talons, arrows and stars
Are all superstitions, what the ...

Get busy big baby cuz when dem devil come
Dem devil come dressed as light
Maybe they gon' fool the untrained mind
But nobody eye know gon' bite

Like a thief in the night
My Lord come and strike
Leave nothing but ashes to the left, dust 2 the right
Holocaust aside, many lived and died
But when all truth is told
Would u rather b dead or b sold?

Sold 2 the one who can now mate the displaced bloodline with the white jailbait.

Thinkin' like the keys on Prince's piano will be just fine

So there it is - 4 all 2 c
Now what's beyond u and me
Depends my friends primarily
On how u view ur role in Eternity

If she could b Muse 2 the Pharoah/One day she might b Queen

muirdo said:

I respectfully disagree. Unfortunately, I can't find the old thread, so I try to re-write my interpretation concerning the part of the lyrics written in italic and red.

Be careful of the Devil as he will come "dressed as light" (look like a saviour). If you are prepared and informed, you don't have to be afraid as you will recognize him ("nobody eye know gon' bite"). The Lord will come and destroy him ("...dust 2 the right"). Now the next line is written in the past again, so it must be a reference to the past, that means to what happened before the Lord comes. "Holocaust aside, many lived and died". The terrible murder in the 20th century with the Holocaust being the most prominent and horrible example (the Devil's biggest "piece of work" on earth), but pointing out that the Devil has spread his evil actions all over the planet ("many lived and died"). That's over with the Lord coming, but you have to make your decision: Do you believe in him as your saviour? You don't, then you won't get eternal life (as Jesus is the key to that). Or will you stick to selling yourself to the evil forces ("Sold 2 the one...") though their days are over? Anyway, the conclusion is clear, you should think "like the keys on Prince's piano" - come together in harmony regardless of race (Black and White side by side) to praise the lord (what Prince does with the music on his piano), and you "will be just fine".

Just my 2 cents...

Rainbow

i dont like it

seekay said:

I thought I was the only orger in S.A.?????

There are so many reaches to Prince's music, that, of course, not everyone will like everything. Very simple, I know.

I'm more of a listener to the music, not the lyrics, right off. 'The Rainbow Children' had me at the opening chords to the title track, not the narration. I hear the sonic presentation before the text (which can be a long time after).

That said, the lyrical content to all of Prince's music didn't phase me, at first, even when he was sleeping with his sister.

For a long time (since 'The Gold Experience') I thought that he had forgotten how to create a musically-solid piece of LP.

"my funk is multi-layered, don't stop me now" -"200 Balloons"
Perfect quote. This is the reason, I think, there are so many fans from every reach Prince has made.

I happen to like 'The Rainbow Children'
It doesn't matter if you "get it," I "get it" for my own reasons and won't shove it down your throat if you don't. But I hope it reaches more fans for their own reasons.

...and I hope Prince doesn't stop reaching...

try ebay i have seen them go for less than $5 shipped! I am sure it is about the same in the UK or Eruope

muirdo said:

What 2 events are these?

EmancipationLover said:

Good intrpretion. I could never quite wrap my head around exactly wh is inferred in that secion, but that makes perfect sense.

Get busy big baby cuz when dem devil come
Dem devil come dressed as light

Lucifer and all his demons were once angles... so they will fool many people.


Like a thief in the night
My Lord come and strike
Leave nothing but ashes to the left, dust 2 the right

that is pretty much how my pastor (the one that spanked me for listing to Prince)
put it. I am not sure if is in the Bible but I think it is.



Holocaust aside, many lived and died
But when all truth is told
Would u rather b dead or b sold?

muirdo said:


i dissagree with it being irresponsible. Seems to be saying what most people will not say. which is: the Jews had it worst. (but it dose leave off that many blacks died)

but what would you pick? to live as a slave or die in a death camp?

SlamGlam said:

it implies just the opposite

emesem said:

Really? I took it as saying being a slave was bad but being killed is worst. I never took it the other way. If prince thinks that slaves had it worst than the Jews he is crazy. Slavery was a great evil. but you know that there are more slaves today than doing the so called slave days. *says amnesty international

SlamGlam said:

very stupid comment from prince. shows hes not cultivated at all to talk about that stuff.

just cheap demagogy. simple as that.

u cannot compare those things and prince is saying that one is better that the pther. if he feels slaves need more recognition he should ask for it instead of naming other people that are dead. no respect at all from prince.


sad

Back to the fabled 'Darth Vader' voice.

There is a DVD of Parliament-Funkadelic live from around 1977, and in it when George Clinton first comes on stage, he makes a mock-serious speech in a deep voice in his best 'funk-preacher' style, and even mentions 'the righteous ones'.

I suspect that Prince being a huge P-Funk-head, he may have dug Doctor Funkenstein doin' such things and adapted it for his own purposes on TRC.

Of course, Prince has used similar effected deep voices throughout his career, such as the opening of '1999', 'Bob George' and others, cos it sounds real funky, masculine and funny all at the same time.

I like the 'Darth Vader' voice on 'Rainbow Children', though it isn't very clear at times in the mix. It binds the album together, sounds quite cool in the background of certain tracks and also makes me smirk with how he says certain things, 'an invisible ... DEED!'

I want 'Darth Vader' as my text voice!!

Oh yeah, I forgot to say that musically, this album kills - easily the best-sequenced, best produced, best-played album of his career. The music sounds alive, organic, the guitar burns, the keyboards sound warm, it has Prince's most consistantly good bass-playing (and never forgetting the great Mr Blackwell's contributions on drums) there's so much happening in the mix at any given moment. 'Digital Garden' is his most experimental track since the 'Come/Gold' era.

This record has his best funk on record since at least 'Come' (another of my fav P albums, but with a crap ending but hey wrong thread!)

IMO it has no filler (even SOTT has filler like 'Hot Thing' and 'Strange Relationship').

Prince's best album of music hands down (so far).This album spawned his best tour - ONAL, also the beautiful ONA album, the 'Xpectation/C-Note' stuff, much of which approaches TRC in musical brilliance, and the overall great ONAL album which is flawed only by some odd song choices here and there and some rather obvious studio overdubs and edits.'NEWS' I'm in two minds about.

And to think,all this was followed by safe, dull crud like 'Musicology' - that would have been a more approriate title for the 'Rainbow Children'/ONAL era. What the hell went wrong? Mind you, '3121' sounds like a better bet overall.

Great album, but way better live!

purpleworld said:

Why did you just get it? None of my business but it has been out for a long time. I too am a huge fan of TRC and Lovesexy! Yes