Prince hasn't lost much but he hasn't gained much either.

Prince still writes good songs. When I buy an album nowadays I don't expect anything to sound out of this world - something I've never heard before. I don't expect the new music to be groundbreaking or experimental.

I would love to see Prince recording some good experimental music. Prince mastered what he does and does it well but IMO has become happy with just doing what he does, nothing more, nothing less..just NPG style funk.

I bet sooner or later he breaks the redundancy and records something fresh, we will know when he does.

sosgemini said:

there u go again. no explanation. please tell the world what is so offensive; please tell me what is offensive; all you are doing is accusing me of something.
[Edited 12/24/07 13:35pm]

When someone says to me what is Princes "funk", I think of it more as him mojo than his particular studio output.

Prince still turns out funky tracks (Chelsea, FUNK, Everlasting Now), but the shine on his inner funk does seem to be dwindling.

Most of the funky numbers now seem more homages to the 70s than Prince's inner funk seeping through like it used to.

Everyone has to get old.

realm said:

I think you're right. Up until about '88 he was expanding his range, and after that I feel he worked within that range. Not that there weren't great/interesting tunes after '88, but mostly nothing mind blowing.

Even TRC was weird in ways we've already heard Prince be weird.

I've likened it to drawing a tattoo. First you make the outline which creates the outline. Then you revisit those areas to shade & color. I think Prince has been shading & coloring for a long time now, and expect that's what he'll keep doing.

SquirrelMeat said:

good to see you back Squirrel.

as for P losing the FUNK, it is not about being lost, it is about a guy that is doing something the last 45yrs, naturally P cant re create what he did 25 yrs ago and remember it was a time when we were all in our teens or early 20´s when we found his music, and it rocked us off. Blah Blah to Springsteen, his magic album is a replica of almost everything he has ever done, which is typical Springsteen, but that is the way he is. BUT one thing he cant do is a 3 hour aftershow after 21 nights and numorous aftershows in london.

Let P alone, PE is a crap album, we all agree on that, but i dont see Bruce or anyone else cutting a Chelsea Rodgers tune

Whitnail said:

thank God!

Whitnail said:

Praise the lord... 1 is enough.

wlcm2thdwn said:

[Posting of private orgnotes in the forums is against the rules snip - luv4u]

mirrorbestfriend said:

ugh .. you saying imitation keyboard horn over a real horn ...

prettymansson said:

Preach, brother! That's the absolute truth. Think of "Call My Name". ANYBODY could make that song!!! It even sounds like an old song that I've heard, previously. The old Prince would NEVER have created that!

Whitnail said:

2 me, PE is one of Prince's greatest releases in years. i'm expressing this not 2 b antagonistic, but when it came out, i have listened to it more than 3121 and Musicology.

Very few people care about "funk" anymore. They care about good music. Doesn't have to rock, doesn't have to be soulful, doesn't have to be funky...just has to to be good.

Prince, more often than not these days, is not good.

viewaskew said:

are you a member of the elite group of people that likes Music produced for people that really dont like music??

Whitnail said:

Naw, it sais hes a member of of elite group that likes good music.

viewaskew said:

Thanks 4 that laugh.

Flowerz said:

Tis the Minneapolis Sound.

Which is FONKY.

Whitnail said:

No, I'm one of the people old enough & wise enough to know that Prince (when he was making good music) was not limited to doing so in any one genre. People have been claiming Prince has lost his "funk edge" since the mid 1980s. This is nothing new. Anyone who considers themself a "hardcore" fan should know that. I certainly don't, & it's still pretty widely known.

Prince has lost his edge period. It may be a bitter pill to swallow for people like yourself, but sometimes reality is tough to accept.

Incidentally I'd love for Prince to prove me wrong, but I don't see that happening, no matter how sycophantic some of his fans can be.
[Edited 12/25/07 14:22pm]

ThreadBare said:

YES! I keep saying this! I'm bloody sure it's Rosie Gaines and there's NO WAY that track was written and recorded recently - it may have been tweaked and remastered but it's not a new track... I do LOVE that track though!

viewaskew said:

i agree with you almost, I am not very good at expressing myself and you have probably missed the point I was trying to make.

P was def far better in the 80´s, there is no argument, last truly groundbreaking album was Lovesexy. but if you were to sit down and listen to the entire Bruce Springsteen, U2, Madonna catalogue in one go, you would end up in a coma. P brings out tons of material, where you think, why not just wait 5 yrs and release something good.
But we being P fans, want our goodies every yr, it is as simple as that, i would never have the patience to wait 5 yrs for the next new release, and remember, there is always a few gems in any album he brings out, even PE

OK - I'm probably going to get flambe'd for this but I think he lost his 'funk' when he became a JW. Now this is only my personal impression but I think that he and his newfound religion put too many limitations on his music and creativity. He's no longer allowed to swear, talk openly about sex and any dirty stuff (which is one of the many things that attracted me to Prince) and there's no more of the androgynous stuff. There are many recently released tracks that I love but I just feel like he's holding a lot back... He's doing well though - He was 7 shades of funky in London this summer (moreso at the aftershow that I saw rather than the main performance)

Y'know what? I think that Prince still has the funk but he's put up barriers around it for religious reasons. That's up to him though, I can't live his life for him, in the meantime I'll just cherry pick the good stuff and leave the crap that I don't like (the majority of PE springs to mind)

Please feel free to contradict me, I'd like to know what other people think about this...

MrsGoodnight said:

it has contribu7ted but he had fell off way before that

Those of you who miss hardcore andro P might get him one more time. He seemed to be on that "normal guy" stuff and then there was Rave and his ice skating outfit. He might go there one last time before he officially can't pull it off.

realm said:

Can u name any musician adding new things after 30 years?

Graycap23 said:

yeah, what he said.

purplepolitician said:

MILES DAVIS

Sign O The Times was the last time he was genuinely funky (parts of it, at least). Sadly, he's never been close to getting it back.

Whitnail said:

Bruce Springsteen released three albums in the last 18 months, all of which were exceptionally well received by both fans & critics.

Prince released Planet Earth, which was forgotten almost immediately. That's been the case for most of his recent output & it's for good reason.