I'm a 94/95 Gold/Come expert myself.. I love that period... it's just too bad I wasn't a fan to enjoy it back then. I've more than made up for it in research though... I'm fascinated by that era.

I am not an expert in any one era, but know a little from each...it allows a better understanding of the man and prevents some degree of bias when looking at his overall body of work.

I'm a huge expert in the Planet Earth era. I know everything there is to be knowen about that era.



Go Here 2 Find Out All I Know!!! www.3121.com

I'm nowhere near an expert in any era... at least not yet.

I know a bit here and there about the 80's... I'm familiar with the sound, but there's still a lot that I need to check into. I'm most familiar with the Purple Rain era, just cuz I've seen the movie 6 times in a week (my first time seeing it at all) and I've heard the soundtrack twice... so I pretty much know a lot about the sound of it. Everything from there to Diamonds and Pearls is sketchy, but I know more there than in other areas.

Everywhere from the 70's to Pre-"1999" Prince is still a mystery to me, becuase I've only heard a couple of 70's songs and I know nothing about the Controversy/Dirty Mind era. I've only heard 1999, Little Red Corvette, D.M.S.R., and Let's Pretend we're married, so I know little of that era.

If there's a "gray area" where I know close to nothing about, it's the era where he was known as . I've only heard TGE twice... and clashing that with the "Purple Rain" era was a really bad idea. Since then, I've been trying to get over the aftershock of it all. It's just so vastly different from 80's Prince that the aspect of the unknown still scares me a little. [I welcome any words of encouragment on that matter, cuz out of respect for , I don't want to have that fear of the unknown weighing on my shoulders]

There's also a little gray between the end of 's era and before Musicology, only because he was releasing most of his music online.

I'm becoming more and more acquainted with current Prince from the Musicology/3121 era, so I think I know a little more about him than any of his previous incarnations (although I still know more about the "Purple Rain" era). I get more of a feeling of current Prince all the time and I like him a lot because we connect in the way I've always understand Prince to be:

This incredible, amazing being that writes beautiful music that comes from inside him, that reaches into my own heart to connect me with his.

I've been a huge fan for only the past 6 weeks, but I'm slowly working my way through one era at a time.

P2daP said:

From Purple rain to lovesexy, after that blah!

1978 to 1988

Jakeasaurus said:

I appreciate you saying you've done the research . It's tough to be an "expert" if you weren't a fan or weren't alive/old enough to remember the whole era. I've encountered that difficulty with other acts, like the Stones.

paisley16 said:

Good, I came back to check my thread hoping that I wouldn't get flamed for not being old enough to care back then.

I became a fan in 93...I ve been following the news sice then.
But the 94/95 period was my personal fave, although I am aware that Prince had magical moments in the 80s

Jakeasaurus said:

All around Prince xpert here!

sexxydancer said:

Lucky you.

I don't think I'll ever be that... not with the lengths I go to become as knowledgable as I am.

I'm trying to learn about his music and about him personally little by little every day, focusing on a diff. era every day.

The way I see it, his eras are the following:

70's Prince (of which I know close to nothing, just one song "I wanna be your Lover")
Pre-"Purple Rain" Prince (of which I know nothing about)
"Purple Rain" Prince
Prince from 85-93 (b4 the whole name change)
(of which I also know close to nothing about)
Emancipated (I know very little)
from 98-00
Prince after the Millennium-Musicology (of which I know nothing about)
Musicology/3121 Prince (aka: current/present Prince, who I'm most familiar with)

If anything, I'd like to know more about , especially b4 he emancipated himself from his record label... because he's quite the unusual character (i know this strange, considering how Prince himself was little out of the ordinary from the get-go) and I'm always gonna have that gray area. I want to know different is from Prince, personally and musically.

I just spent a lot of time watching interviews and performances (courtesy of Housequake) from '98 and '99... I definitely like what I see and want to know more about him as well... that's why Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic is something I've been considering, now more than ever, actually. I know little of his music and want to know beyond "Come on" and "The Greatest Romance" (both great songs btw). I'll end the night most likely with the Press Conference when he resumed the name Prince. It's so interesting seeing in those interviews, especially the Larry King one, I dug that a lot, seeing him with his sense of humor and such.

I have my goals and I want to keep learning as much as I can about him and his music. But I can't rush this. On a whim, I checked out the "Greatest Romance" video and that started a chain reaction of sitting thru 2+ hours on Housequake with 7-8 year old interviews. I want to do things a little at a time as to not exhaust myself because there's so much information. I'll definitely enjoy doing the research, the key is doing it the right way.

i'm most fascinated by the eras where prince was a total douchebag. i love the gold era for this reason (music was good too). i'm also morbidly fascinated by the flop of emancipation (both musically and personally...). i also love reading about the whole period from the post-revolution, post-susannah fallout to the lovesexy "epiphany". and because prince was generally reasonable and civil, the behind the scenes stuff from pre-sign of the times has never really interested me, though i listen to the s/t through parade far more than the stuff after it (the parade revolution is my favorite prince band and tour ever).
[Edited 3/24/07 21:43pm]

Dreamypop the definable eras are moreso 70s disco pop, pre-revolution, post-revolution, NPG, Emancipation and then the current Jehovahs Witness agenda post-2000.

I'm more of a connoisseur of Prince in general.

none

I just REALLY enjoy his music and LOVE to view all of his beautiful pictures on this org
[Edited 3/25/07 7:43am]

On a whim, last night, I checked out the video for "The Greatest Romance", and I started checking into interviews and performances from the 98-99 era. I eventually ended the night with the NY Press Conference when Prince became... Prince, again.
Maybe we connected somehow because...

Last night, I had a dream about meeting Prince. My very first one. It was unbelievable. I had no idea how long his hair was, but I'm pretty sure he was 39, 40 or 41 year-old Prince, just getting off the high of being emancipated from WB. It's strange cuz he ended up staying for my family for a while for no apparent reason, just during the tour I guess. And I got to see him all the time with his notebook and such. He gave a couple of my friends (got no idea which ones, lol) autographs and he gave me one... but only said "Thanx [my name]".
So later on in the dream, I asked him what inspires him. He said "everything." Then I asked, "just like other artists?" He shook his head, "No, it comes from in here." I turn to him and he's pointing to his heart with his right hand. I gave a smile, "So you write from your heart?" Then he nodded with a smile.
At the end of the dream, he was leaving and I chased after him because I guess I wanted to tell him (can't believe i didnt do so already) what an incredible person he is. He followed me back cuz he apparently forgot somethign... then I woke up... I checked my clock... it was around 6:33 am. And I said out loud "Thank you so much."

I figure that it has to be a sign. Like I should check into his work from that short era... It's strange over the past 7 weeks, I've thought about him 24/7, but couldn't dream about it. I said he'd make an appearance when he felt he needed to. I gave my mind completely to the Housequake videos I watched last night, with no second thoughts or distractions. I didnt even think about the aspect of dreaming, if only for a second. Prince must have thought it was the perfect time to appear in my dream when I wasn't expecting him, that I had the full right to see what he was really like and get something out of the dream.

I gotta say, seeing him in person, even if it was only in the dream world, is so completey different than I thought. There was just something incredible about just being around him that I didnt get from the interviews or performances. There's still something else to Prince that can only be seen in person. I sure hope dream Prince is a lot like Prince in reality. Sorry this is a little off topic, but I couldn't help sharing my first Prince dream with everyone here.

Jakeasaurus said:

That's when I became a fan! Unfortuntately, I didn't have he internet, so all of my research about Prince was done by going to the record store, and watching VH1 24/7. I was so overwhelmed during that time, that I don't think I am truly an expert. However, I did follow his career very closely in the following year, and have many newspaper articles, magazines, and video taped appearances from the Emancipation era. It probably doesn't sound that cool, but I learned/remember more about that time than anything else. It was probably because he was so media friendly at the time, and did so many TV appearances.

From "Soft and Wet" to SOTT.....Prince simply has not put out a.....complete...even album since then....

I've become at least a little more knowledge about the early part of the era where his name was . I checked out a couple of interviews and performances, as well as listened thru TGE a couple of times. I don't think I'll ever become an expert, though.

I think the only era I'd have a chance to be an expert in any way is the one we're in now... just because this is where I came into the game.

I would in no way ever call me an expert in an era, but I do hold my own on the subject. What I know NOTHING about is The Rainbow Children. I can not get myself to listen to this cd, I bought it..I listened to it twice, and have put it away way in the back of my collection. I can not get into it at all. I have no idea why.

PaisleyPark5083 said:

It's a grower PP5083. Try having it on, quietly - v relaxing

PaisleyPark5083 said:

I've heard a few things about that album, but I'm not quite sure if I hear more good than bad (or vice versa).

Myself, I stand a better chance of being an expert in this current era. Other than that, I'd rather just be knowledge about the other eras. I don't think my brain could take full responsibility for being an expert of an era I didn't live in as a fan. I would like becoming more familiar from the music of the diff. eras and learn about what Prince was like as a person during those times, but that's the best I could do.

1990-1995 are my favorite Prince years and the part of his carrer I most enjoy discovering.

thekidsgirl said:

If anything, I definitely found a friend in the Prince from 98-99... why else would I have a dream about him?

Maybe he wants me to find Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic... I'm very curious about it.

I have a rounded knowledge of Prince's entire career but I'll always be fascinated by the SOTT and Lovesexy days.

As a young teenager I sucked it all up, bought every tape bootleg I could fine and read everything out there. So that's the closest era I'll ever be an expert of.. But I can only suppose someone like Sheila E is a true expert!

His Mezozic era,
specifically his Triassic period.
(P, Time & V-6)

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

Hi, although you are a relatively new fan (did i understand this correctly?), make sure to get his first 4 albums soon. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed! I listen to those albums (and especially Prince, Dirty Mind, Controversy) very, very often.
Anyway, welcome to the P universe... and do not forget to stay long. It is worth the time!!!

On topic: I would not say that I am an "expert" by any means.There are still many grey areas for me. Almost everything from TGE onwards, up to Musicology. Btw, some time ago I got my hands on the Come album and I really enjoy it a lot. Especially Letitgo - what a great track! So the grey area gets smaller...