Emancipation is the ONLY Prince record I ever bought on day of release.
It really is an excellent set although there are a few skippables for me. I listened to the lot on one sitting back then and was blown away by the consistency and quality. I was then at a party where JK of Jamiroquai appeared, looking very drunk and pissed off and seeing nobody talking to him, I went over and struck up a conversation about Prince's album which went on for about an hour and cheered him up. He was absolutely RAVING about it.

As far as the muse thing goes, yeah..I think Prince has become more setlled and sure of things in a cosmological sense which may be to the detriment of energy and scope in his music. There's no doubt that he's emotionally 'flatter' which is good for him as a person but probably less so as an artist. That said, he will find his way to a new plateau and find new things to say and passion will return. I think after x million years of firing on 57 cylinders, this is as close as he's got to a little time out.
And lest it may seem that I'm not so keen on recent stuff, his aftershow on 7th Sept, when he took out 3121 and many tracks from PE and shook 'em by the neck, proved to me that this material is hot hot hot.

Obsidian said:

[Edited 9/24/07 1:18am]

Wow you guys have been busy replying to my questions.

Some great responses thanks, it has given me food for thought!!

Yes, a new muse would do him good. He wrote such great love songs for Susannah & Mayte. God, please send the man a new love.

SquirrelMeat said:

Why are you always saying who and what Prince needs, none of your choices are a hot as Prince so how does he nned them?

I love it when somebody makes Prince mad and he writes a song about it! Yu couldn't pay me to get on his bad side, Prince can be Brutal.

I'm just amazed that there are actually some people that like the Emancipation set. I haven't heard too many good things about it. But that time is his life is one I want to shed more light on, find out what his heart was thinking about all of it. I go to his music for the low-down on what he truly feels about whatever.
Even with the negativity towards it, it still hasn't stopped me from wanting it as much as I do.

Right now, he's in a good place and anything that gets thrown in could tip that one way or the other. I'd rather him not get a curveball that throws him off his "center".

Well, IMO he needs a muse that can stand up to him, a smart, intelligent lady like Susannah, and not some naive 'kid' like Mayte, or some obsessed semi-fan like Manuella.

bex23 said:

I think Adore is about/inspired by Susannah and Nothing Compares to U was inspired by Susan Rogers his former studio engineer

I think he works well with or without a muse, but I prefer his 'inspired' love songs. I love Emancipation Disc 2 for the emotion. He was always deep and his humor and eroticism were sexy to me. Adore is classic. I'm still curious about intended love interest in songs like Man of War, I Love U But I Don't Trust U Anymore, Here on Earth, etc.

Here's one.

Illustrator said:

Ha - Very Amoouse-ing!

The interesting thing about, the concept within, "The Beautiful Ones," is
that bittersweet emotion.
Kahlil Gibran has a story in his treasury, that talks about how a couple
when they meet are in the spring of their lives...and the story, sets itself
in the fall as the lovers are aging, and contemplating the winter of their
lives.
So, with love...You can be in it, yet sad, about the journey, regardless of
the impeding meeting, in the afterlife.

And Muses once again...are aware they co-exist on other planes spiritually.
[Edited 9/24/07 18:39pm]

Muses are not temporary... As the human soul is eternal....Inspiration
doesn't come and go...That kind of love, wades, and recedes.

A Writer's block...is just a rest. I don't believe the inspiration has left,
Those seeds, from a muse...grow, become that piece in fruition...and revel
in the solidity.
When that ground is understood, a new seed can be tended to.

If you write poetry...As I have for many years...assuming other mediums of art,
travel a similar path....U learn that, a poem can be forced for the sake of
practice...or, it can flow so naturally, that U are bewildered, from where it
came...
When this realization hits u, which isn't as deep as, being saved by Jesus...
You Know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are a human instrument, someone
else is playing.
God has his orchestrated ideas, that filter into the artist. A muse may be but a fragment, of a whole piece of art, however.....present.

Does Prince need a muse? To write love songs maybe...

But does he need a person in his life to write great songs? Maybe not...

In the thread about the album "Come" it was interesting to learn that people thought that this album was excellent although he had no muse at the time! In that album he expressed emotions from a different core, not that of amorous love! But is more a self exploration in darker, vulnerable human emotions.

Nonetheless Prince was not "inspired" but reflective and he produced an album channeling those emotions that every person must face in their lifetime.

...

Everybody needs a muse.

wildgoldenhoney said:

Yeah... now that I think about it, you're right.
But other factors contribute to Prince's art. Muse(s) are just one of them. That's one of those albums that proves that.

Anxiety said:

"Suspended in time with you".....Kira.


If I was the moon
And you were the night
The clouds were our bed
The stars were our light
The song we could leave
To the earth down below
Are the feelings we shared
In a dream long ago
If I rode with you
On the wings of love
Would you carry me to
the heavens above
I don't know if you feel it to,
I want to go to Heaven with you. T I wrote this 4 Prince when I was 16.
[Edited 9/25/07 7:55am]
[Edited 9/25/07 7:57am]

Ok so Ive just read an article written by someone who saw Prince perform on the catwalk last week and she said he performed Chelsea Rodgers and was joined on the catwalk by 'his muse' Chelsea Rodgers.

Any thoughts on this?

He just needs a butt like a leather seat to inspire him.

littlemissG said:

or a "letter C" is even better.

Tame said:

Wow Tame that was very insightful and deep. I was actually moved when I read it. I agree totally with what you said even though I couldnt word it any better. One does not loose inpiration ..its always flowing. Whether that flow is a waterfall or a trickling stream is a matter of what you are going through in your life at that paticular time.
Prince is VerY gifted..he himself said that he is "over blessed". Very few artists are in his same catagory as far as longevity and successful songs/albums so I truley believe - if a muse is present wonderful..if not great..he will always have something fabulous to say to those that want to hear.