This topic popped into my head while watching Madonna's "Bad girl" video recently. As a long time fan, I have to say, while he has some very good videos, I don't think Prince ever released a "great" video, especially compared to his counterparts Michael Jackson and Madonna. I think part of the problem was that many of the videos were filmed at Paisley Park, giving the videos a cheap, amateurish feel. What do you think?

The Diamonds and Pearls videos were some of his best.

"When Doves Cry" is hands down his best one because it has all of those neat special effects during the lengthy instrumental solo that they did in 80's videos.

His video for "Little Red Corvette" is good just cuz you get to see him dance... 1999 was also pretty good.

I also thought the "Raspberry Beret" video was good... it has that 80's quality that they don't use anymore.

Just a few.

I believe that most all P fans liked the Gett Off video. To be more specific I have yet to run across someone who didn`t like the Violet The Organ Grinder video.

Also I have to mention Batdance and Partyman. Both of those vids got rave reviews from both critics and fans alike.

And what about U got the Look??? P fans also agree that UGTL is another fantastic Prince video. I remember that back in the day it was on heavy rotation on MTV for the longest time.

Oh and then there is Kiss. Who can forget P dancing around the stage shirtless??? Another classic vid.

The list goes on and on and on.

I think to make a really good video, he would have to give control over to too many other people. And we all know that he doesn't like to do that. But he should, look how Purple Rain turned out.

As I stated, Prince has some very good videos, "Rasberry Beret", "Kiss", "Partyman", "Glam Slam", "Cream" and "7" come to mind. I'm just not sure if he ever had a great video. Mind you, most artist don't make great videos, but some videos just grab your attention immediately, whether you like the song or not.

7 might be my favorite.

elbibknuf said:

Yes! Those 2 were the best!!! (note to me: go find those videos- been too long since I've seen them )

Gett Off was pretty cool as well, along with the rest of that extended video tape which I must also dust off.

Prince is nominated in the NAACP image awards for his black sweat vid
http://www.naacpimageawar...s_Only.pdf
yeppers, right there, as well as for Best Male Artist

miho9000 said:

I forgot about "Black Sweat".....his best video in years

I agree that a lot of his videos have that cheap look to them. I just don't think he really cares about videos as much as the actual music itself. Whereas with people like MJ and Madonna, the video is as much a part of the 'experience' as the music.

I do like a lot of his recent videos though - Call My Name, Cinnamon Girl, Te Amo Corazon, Black Sweat.

Most of his videos were not very well done. This is one of the weak points of his career, but I just don't think he cared much for videos or he would have put more work into them. I like the one for I Wish U Heaven, but it isn't great.

Of course videos like America and Take Me With U are great, but they are live performances and not really "videos".

So the answer to your question is no.

toejam said:

I fully agree. I think that may possibly have something to do with why Batdance/Partyman were so good- since they were written for the movie, I think he did care about the visual representation. That would explain Doves being so good as well.

I actually like the video for The Greatest Romance That's Ever Been Sold..It stops me cold in my tracks...I think his live performances more than make up for the lack of a 'great' video. I'd rather watch the Lovesexy DVD than Thriller any day...

Batdance I found really repetitive and [dare I say it] boring. Then there's something else.
I think when I watched it, I had already watched a lot of Prince videos that day on this one site, so I think my mind was going at that point. But I coulda swore in one scene he spoke to me directly, it wasn't in the lyrics or anything. The music kept going and he spoke to me, asking what I'm still doing on the computer. I've been on a few hours already as it was, so I think I might have imagined it... or he added something subliminal in there. :shivers: still scares me to death. I don't plan on seeing it again cuz I found the video overall boring [no offense, Prince].

Kiss was a good video, anything where he dances makes me go nuts.

Partyman isn't one of my favorites, only becuase I don't recognize him at all. I feel like he's totally become The Joker... I was like "I want the old Prince back, you're not him."

And Black Sweat was really interesting video, the effects they used and just the expression Prince wore cracked me up. I hope he wins, lol

ejnbmore said:

Very true. I just got my LoveSexy 88 DVD the other day (along with "For those of U on Valium on DVD) and they both are fantastic. I can`t get enough of P from the 87-89 period.

Kiss

Te Amo Corazon had great production value. So did all the videos from Musicology... with Cinnamon Girl being the fanciest.

But no, he has never released a classic video like Thriller or Vogue.

shaedove99 said:

I like that one too.... the imagery in that is beautiful.... the woman's child growing in side her, etc... Love it.

elbibknuf said:

"Twenty-two positions in a one night stand".

CindySheehan said:

Yup... simple & beautiful... LOVE IT.

Re: When Doves Cry... I taped that when I was in HS & watched it so much it must have gotten worn because it would speed up & slow down at wierd points... it got so distorted.

shaedove99 said:

I wasn't so crazy about it, but then again, that side of Prince, I never really was crazy about. That and his dirtier lyrics, but I understand his reasons why. All the better to express him and he's always free to do that.

shaedove99 said:

I like how Prince and the woman walk closer to each other in the rain and different frames stay on the screen as they move closer... very cool.

CindySheehan said:

Heck, just the rain in general during the video! So cool... everything so slow and deliberate....

I like a lot of his videos but I think Diamonds and Pearls is beautiful

I think his best video is "I Wish U Heaven"!

I LOVE to see him dancing in the "thieves in the temple" video.

Alphabet St.
U Got The Look
&
Raspberry Beret

Prince has lots of great videos.The One is absolutely breathtaking!