I was listening to some older material yesterday and it got me wondering.

According to the interviewees in "Prince of Paisley Park," Prince sounded like a younger version of Stevie Wonder in his first 2 albums and he broke out into his own style starting with "Dirty Mind."

I guess that's why everyone keeps recommending it. All the more reason to get it, I guess.

But I'm curious. As many before him, Prince started by imitiating the music he grew up with and then he slowly developed his own style.

I wonder how many of his songs are ones only he could come up with. "When Doves Cry" seems to be the most original piece he's done and there's never been anything else like it.

Which of his other albums are so unique that he'd be the only person capable of putting them together?

Every last 1 of 'em!

I don't know where my head is... ever since I realized how he didn't start as an original, I've started having doubts about how much of his material is something unique to him.

I definitely know that Musicology & 3121 aren't really unique... anyone could probably come up with them...
although the idea of Musicology is something only he has dared to do... anyone could, but he took the initiative. A lot of people seem to think that the album is not his best because it's kinda ordinary compared to SOTT, TGE, and several others. But I think he really put himself into it. I don't think any other artist would go to those same lengths...

I'll just go and ponder that for a while.