Most of those critics who mentions Purple Rain, Around the World In A Day, and Parade as Prince hey day are those who stopped listening to Prince a long time ago and never kept up with the new releases.

Halcyon days are all very well in retroview but if u check the press for Parade, many thought it sucked. How many praised ARTWIAD? Not many. Prince found himself in the middle but outside of the burgeoning 'canonisation' of rock and roll with the lists being drawn up of classic albums and the door being built on that to one day be closed to anything new (seen anything new in those lists since, maybe Radiohead?). Because Prince was THERE defying gravity at the time, the work of the eighties has since been represented as 'Wow. Everyone was so amazed and following his every move'
As if. I was and you were but those who write about this golden period very often weren't. So I don't really believe in Halcyon days and golden periods. He rocks therefore he is. And yeah, I'm afraid my 'peak period' for Prince has shifted to the nineties. I'm not the only one.

excessex said:

Good points. I still chuckle when I hear critics casually refer to the genius of Parade because I know many of those same critics were deriding him for it. It was if the "critical mass" of music writers in the 80's (and 90's) were like Homer Simpson in that episode where another artist was performing a song, and he was yelling, "Purple Rain!" They wanted Prince to play and be Purple Rain all the time. They couldn't stand it when he went psychodelic, or eurofunk, or NewPowerSoul on'em in the 80's. Now, with contemporary artists of all stripes being "informed" by much of that overlooked work, the re-evaluation begins by many saying that they always loved those albums.

I'm fond of saying that Purple Rain made me a Prince fan, but ATWIAD made me a Prince fan for life. Because with the latter album, he proved that he could make exciting, compelling work that didn't (really) resemble the stuff that immediately preceded it. I, like you, was there, proudly loving Prince's music even when a lot of folks around me were not. Now,a lot of people want to act like Prince fans.

As for the 90's, well, he had many good moments, but his struggles to annex hip-hop into his musical domain, and with his label, marred them somewhat. These are two of the reasons why the 80's are better regarded than the 90's. But the 90's had many, many moments of excitement and hopefully his quality 90's work will receive the same "re-evaluation" as that of his overlooked 80's work.

hopefully his quality 90's work will receive the same "re-evaluation" as that of his overlooked 80's work.

Prince's creativity (or musical genius) can be graphed on a spreadsheet just like any other person.

And just like any other person, it'll be filled with highs and lows, and eventually an artistic peak can be derived.

I've identified that peak as 1980-88, but this guy still has spikes that move me like few others. He just hasn't beaten this particular peak of uniformity yet, and probably never will.

But how ill-advised would I be if I could only listen to people who were certifiably within their artistic peak?

Individual great songs and albums sound just as great, they just don't happen as consistently as before, else there would be a new higher period to graph (which might be pretty unreasonable to expect given that between '80 and '88 he might be greater than any musician in the western world).

But some have the personality where they only want to truly put in the most effort if they can be assured that it was created within this intellectual/text book prime.

Well, if that's true, I think that's the period to go for.

But with someone like Prince (an extremely rare musician who is more Ellington than Wonder) that would be rejecting a hell of a lot of great art just because it doesn't fall within this rather astonishing period.

Not to mention it will miss other periods of great height, just because they don't happen to soar as long.

And, besides, at least for me, hearing good stuff, or bad stuff, or mediocre stuff makes the great stuff that much grander.

Only listening to great stuff makes me very spoiled to hear nothing but near perfection from the period that can be identified as the greatest. And I don't want to become that person who slags off "Ran" because it doesn't fall into Akira Kurosawa's fertile 1950s or Woody Allen's "Match Point" because it wasn't created in his astonishing 70s or 80s.

There's greatness to be found everywhere, but only one period that will graph higher than any other.

Graffiti Bridge and ka-plunk. He has been a one-hit wonder since and never will be the same.

Genres aside, to me there are 2 kinds of musical acts.

The first (most common) act is one that has success with a certain "sound" and rehashes that same sound over and over. Not saying they have guaranteed hits, but they follow a certain formula and don't stray far from it.

The second act (such as Prince) is one who really tries new things, sink-or-swim, and revisits old sounds without rehashing them to death.

Prince could have easily put out Purple Rain Part II. In fact, he could've released the same songs that are on ATWIAD with just a rock vibe. That's what people wanted at the time, and when he didn't deliver many "fans" bailed. I'm glad he did it his way.

Do I miss the Prince of the 80s? Yes, but I also miss the fierce and pissed-off Prince of the mid-90s just as much. I want to see that kind of energy channeled into his music again.

The wedding was over in 1988. Graffiti Bridge and ka-plunk. He has been a one-hit wonder since and never will be the same.

It reminds me of something someone said. "I dig the old Prince stuff, like "controversy, lady cab driver, head, etc. I'll take that over "seven" any day." Sums it up.

Se7en said:

Brilliant!

And you're right. He could have easily put out another PR... but he doesn't want to rest on what he's done b4. He always moves 2 do something new and that's a very admirable quality about him.
Sure, I do wish that his album had one homogeneous sound (like 1999, every track being like the 1st 4 tracks & Automatic)... but he does things different because he wants to expand his talents... and that's one of those many things I respect him 4.

The wedding was over in 1988. Graffiti Bridge and ka-plunk. He has been a one-hit wonder since and never will be the same.

It reminds me of something someone said. "I dig the old Prince stuff, like "controversy, lady cab driver, head, etc. I'll take that over "seven" any day." Sums it up.

It was if the "critical mass" of music writers in the 80's (and 90's) were like Homer Simpson in that episode where another artist was performing a song, and he was yelling, "Purple Rain!" They wanted Prince to play and be Purple Rain all the time.

I'm fond of saying that Purple Rain made me a Prince fan, but ATWIAD made me a Prince fan for life. Because with the latter album, he proved that he could make exciting, compelling work that didn't (really) resemble the stuff that immediately preceded it.