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Fantastic album. Took me a good year to "get" it, but once it had worked its way into me it sure as hell wouldn't get out. Granted there are some clunky tracks on there - never liked "Tempation" once the conversation starts for one - but when it is good it is astonishingly good. However, "Parade" is definitely my favourite - reminds me of summer afternoons and always makes me feel happy as soon as it starts.
You're right about the intro of "ATWIAD" - it really is a hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck moment, and I love the way the percussion comes in, then a Linn drum breaks through it all. And that scream... |
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padawan said: BorisFishpaw said: You have to remember that ATWIAD a deliberately difficult album. Prince had
practically assembled it before the Purple Rain movie had even come out. It was intended to make people go "WTF?". Even the sequencing of the album was made to be difficult, and he had originally intended not to release any singles from it either. The album opens with some mid-paced psychedelia in the form of the title track (no in your face opener like previous albums). Instead of follwing this with something a bit more catchy like America or Raspberry Beret he continues with another trippy mid-paced manifesto in the form of Paisley Park. Then, just to really wind everybody up he follows this with 2 minutes of rambling atmospherics before the ballad Condition Of The Heart (way to early in the album for this kind of musical indugence). Only then do we get a catchy pop number in the form of Raspberry Beret. Then to remind everyone that this isn't a normal album he hits us with the bizarre little ditty Tamborine. Then it's over to side two and the much more accessible America, but even then he can't just give it to us straight and starts the song as if something's gone wrong with your record player (lost a bit in the CD generation). Then some more pop genius in the shape of Pop Life, after which a short string interlude brings us to the epic The Ladder (deliberately not given it's instinctual home of 'album closer'). Then were given the love vs lust blues of Temptation to close the album instead. That it was deliberately difficult is the reason why so many longtime fans regard it with disdain. From Dirty Mind through Purple Rain he made each successive album easier to understand, more pleasing to the ears, more emotionally generous. Then, with ATWIAD he throws this sucker punch at his audience. He was "challenging" his listeners. And the people said, "KTHNXBYE." It's sort of like a relationship when the ecstatic, passionate phase comes to an end, when all your tricks are used up, and you go: Now what??? One option is to get real and open up and talk. Which is what Bruce Springsteen did after "Born in the USA." Prince, on the other hand, deliberately confused his fans. Instead of showing a more intimate, human side, he invented more fodder for his legend. In short, ATWIAD was a mindfuck. He just got too close to his audience and he freaked out and fled into his happy place. This is the best explain I've heard for what happened when ATWIAD was 1st released. | |
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