Do you think back in '76-'78 Prince had some kind of masterplan as to how his career would go in terms of the music and image? We know he already had a back catalogue of songs he had written even in the Grand Central/Champagne days which he used on his first two albums but do you think he and Andre may have sat around in the basement back in the day planning the course of the albums and their associated imagery (maybe up to Purple Rain or beyond)?

When people sometimes say he lost his way after Lovesexy, maybe its because he lost some kind of direction or clear statement he wanted to make. I must confess that it was a bit more exciting back in the 80s when you were anticipating the next new sound, personal reinvention or style that he would come up with on each successive album. After Lovesexy and during the 90s, he seemed to drift along and it became more difficult to isolate periods (apart from the Warners feud, the name change and admittedly the underrated gem that is Emancipation) and see how he progresssed artistically or personally.

I think this is why some people here on the org long for the old days as he doesn't seem to be doing much different recently (apart from TRC). One ballad merges into another, another song using the same rhythm as 'Head' or 'Girls and Boys' comes around. Planet Earth (although I like most of it) would have been a great opportunity to use the title as some kind of theme to show off Prince's diversity with each song reflecting music from a different style/nation and would truly bring him into the World Music scene.

I think that in the early days he had an idea of updating the band set up of Graham Central Station which he did, using his own brand of music.

As soon as the days that made him a superstar were over (Graffity Bridge) he started following trends instead of setting them and he became sorta lost in a media world that did not care if he earned lots of millions without being able to keep his masters.

He lost all his mystique while prancing about like a spoiled brat, sucking on that lollipop of his, lost loads of goodwill of the media AND his fans.

Through experimentation he now is back on track to finding a way to make his music connect to hte masses again and I think that now is his aim; getting back into the public's eye. If he can follow it up by making music again that surprises me and draws me in, like, say Siobhán Donaghy, The Knife or Junior Boys, then he is a winner again.

I think he wanted to get his stuff out there, and he kinda forced it when it took him too long (Dirty Mind), using sexuality and shock techniques to get and keep him in the picture, trying to blend sexuality and spirituality, which worked with Lovesexy.