I really have to admit ... I've never been attracked by the album
But I've been listening a lot to The Rainbow Children last weekend ... and it's growing on me ... After a few listenings I do think it's Funky! Damn ... it's one of the best albums released in the past 19 years!

This album is focussed, does have a concept and ain't so jazzy as I thought it was ... shit ... I'm beginning to appreciate this album!

Prince is so on spot here, doing what he really wants to do. You can hear he's enjoying himself instead of pleasing the music-market.
This is a COOL album, especially in relation to the commercial albums like Musicology / Planet Earth

Too bad it took me six years to find some ease to listen to this album

Yes, I agree. I shelved it after a few listens when it was realeased. I recentley put it on my ipod to give it a second go, and i'm likin it. The silly voice between tracks is a bit irritating for me tho.

Congratz on ur wonderful discovery!

Yeah well done!...I always thought TRC was really underrated..
IT IS A MASTERPIECE!!

I've always loved TRC!!

It's never too late to appreciate a masterpiece like the Rainbow Children.

ThataintFunky said:

YES, I agree, it is a wonderful album.

But, I really never thought of Prince having to please the music market. To me, Prince is a phenomenal "pop and hit song" creator and also an incredible artist who can put out something so different than the mainstream like "The Rainbow Children", "News" or "One Night Alone".

It's just one of the many reasons why I am such a HUGE admirer of his music and talent. There's always something new and different.

Rainbow Children…RISE!

i've always thought it was great, but in the past week or two i have really grown to appreciate it more than ever. best album since parade, in my opinion...

Good for you.

i knew from day 1...a classic

I've had this album all along and this past weekend finally decided to listen to it myself. And I agree with you!

I really liked the 2nd song forgot what it is at the moment but I remember it was track #2.

wlcm2thdwn said:

another inspiring reply, you are so very sad, why..... dont you just get a life, instead of just writing silly posts all OF your pathetic life

Revolution said:

I second that emotion.

Revolution said:

Yup Never questioned its brilliance. I'm a fam, I mean fan

I know too many people are busy drinking the poisoned Kool-Aid but after The Rainbow Children you can clearly see what a shitty ablum Musuckology is. Put them back to back and you see TRC uses suckology as a douche

it is a fantastic record
sounds live
it's full of players as opposed to performers
lot of groove
bit of spice in the lyrics

what more can you want?
aside from Sign of the Times there is no Prince album I have listened to more.
and after all those listens there all still "bits" that pop up sounding new.

foal30 said:

An album without an embarrassing narrator voice effect? Lyrics that relate to someone other than the most devout Jehovah's Witnesses?

ThataintFunky, I know the feeling. I had this album when it first came out. Played it once and shelved it. After reading all the threads on this MASTERPIECE, I went and gave it another listening 2. Again, I had the same feeling as before. Then one day I got it, I really got it. OMG this is one of his best albums. It gets heavy rotation here. I listen 2 this cd whenever I’m in my car. It puts me in a peaceful place. It is so uplifting. It’s such a beautiful album, the arrangement and the great musicianship is incredible. Believe it or not, I have learned 2 appreciate the narrator voice

I'm no JW, I can relate to it
I like some of the angles the lyrics take.
may not mean I agree with it, but when you have such righteous playing the lyrics are seldom going to concern me.

why do you find it embarrassing?

Still can't get into this one. Like others have said, the production on this is top-notch. Unfortunately the songs, not so much. Best I can say is this cd sounds much better live. But even then, meh.

Prince, if you or any other hypersensitive folks are reading this thread, you might want to leave, right about NOW!







































Are they gone? Good!


HATED IT!!!



I've tried and I've tried and I've tried to like it.

I just don't.

I'll never forget the first time I heard it...

It was the last Prince CD I bought at a wreka stow and after seeing the beautiful artwork on the cover, I was all excited. I hurried home, cooked dinner, fed the kids, sent them out to play so that I could clean my kitchen and listen to Prince.

I put it in my cd player and turned it up and the next thing I knew...my kids were asking me if I was ok because I was sitting on the floor in front of my cd player with this look on my face......and a sink full of dirty dishes.

foal30 said:

That narrator voice is the kind of silly idea a chronic stoner would think is cool.

The lyrics talk about things like the draconian theocratic order and people being banished for not adhering to a single religion; the album's stuck in a different century.

It's depressing to listen to.

People like to retort with arguments like, "Well he was religious on Lovesexy too", but that was different. On an album like Lovesexy, he was full of playful energy, thereby inspiring you to join him in his celebration of God. On TRC, he's playing the role of the condescending saviour, demanding that we conform or be destroyed. It's charmless.
[Edited 11/19/07 22:17pm]

PurpleKnight said:

I don’t care that much for lyrics. I do care about the feeling a song is spreading, and to be honest, I’m most toughed by the depressing lyrics like Alice In Chains or the Deftones.
I’ve never been impressed by Prince’s lyrics, but I do like the sound and flow of his lyrics.

Because English isn’t my language I don’t think in English ... Therefore I can listen a hundred times to a song without exactly knowing what it’s about. If I really wanna know what the lyrics are about, I have to fully concentrate on them. So, pathetic lyrics in English don’t spoil my fun!

PurpleKnight said:

Although that message doesn't do anything for me personally, there's something I can respect about an artist' willingness to put out a message that's not been watered down to make it easier for the fans to digest. He seems perfectly fine with lyrically challenging some, if not most, of his listeners.

PurpleKnight said:

I just looked at your profile, 22? What the fuck do u know lol! But seriously u might take yourself a lil to seriously considering your age and experience. Its funny how young people really think they know so much when they have barely lived yet. it's kind of cute.

There is nothing embarassing about the deep voice between the tracks. Are u embarassed by the camile voice? or 1999? or the assorted screams, squeals and other sounds Prince had made thoughout his career? If you are not then your just blowing smoke.

Maybe since u are so young your brain can't process all of the other topics Prince addresses in TRC beside religion. Open your mind and actually listen.

ThataintFunky said:

Totally agree. I loved this album straight away and still listen to it loads - it pisses all over everything since (except ONA). I'm as atheistic as they come, but it doesn't matter whether I believe what he's singing about - the important thing is that he did.

An awesome album which was made even better by seeing Prince doing most of it live at the Hammersmith Apollo.

PurpleKnight said:

u know it's the same voice effect used in bob george and on exodus ..no complaints there right?

tricky99 said:

Wow, what an incredibly condescending and reductionist post.

I really don't see how my being 22 makes it impossible for me to critically listen to a music album.

Intellect only comes with arithmetical age? Tell that to people like Mozart who were writing operas at the age of five.

I'm not claiming to be some kind of wise philosopher king, but I've studied plenty of scholars like Marx, Weber, Nietzsche, Kant, etc., so I really doubt Prince is too much for my young little mind to handle.

Plus, for your information, I can probably understand the religious aspect of TRC better than you because I grew up in a strict Jehovah's Witness family.

The voice isn't a problem when it's used sparsely (like on the 1999 album); the fact that it's spread all over the album in interludes and songs themselves is what is really annoying.

But hey, what do I know? I just play with blocks all day long.