And am just not all that impressed. I like the songs, but none of them (aside from 1999 and Little Red Corvette) convey Prince's genius. Not enough guitar solos. The whole thing feels like he's still trying to find a new direction. He's moving out of his synth-driven days, but hadn't made it yet to his unique, rock/guitar based sound.

Give it another listen...gotta love it!
[Edited 1/21/08 23:46pm]

just watching and waiting for this thread to go waaay downhill like the last one like this. 1999 is my second or third fave album but i can't even remember if i liked it the first time i heard it, so perhaps you just need to give it a few more spins and then decide. some things take time and patience. i hated parade the first time i heard it and now its another one of my faves, so you never know.

I remember thinking the same thing as you Volitan the first time I heard it... but give it time. Listen to it with a pair of good headphones and crank it up loud.

It's probably my favorite album of all time (or at least a close tie for first along with Lovesexy and The Rainbow Children).

i remember listening 2 it 4 the 1st time in 89. like every albulm up 2 Lovesexy the 1st time i listened 2 it, i was like "eh. not bad." the 2nd time i listened 2 it, i was like "eh. it's pretty good." and by the 3rd time i listened 2 it, i was like "oh my god! this is unbelieveable!!!"

I felt this way about the Black Album and now I love it after I listened to it enough...I'm sure it'll grow on me

Volitan said:

that is exactly wat i thought wen i got it!! it takes some getting into, its good once u lisson to it a lot, its a lot of prince fans favourite album or one of, but im afraid to say its prob one of my least favourites!! its still good tho jus think theres better ones out there i prefere!

purplepolitician said:

i know wat u mean remember that thread!! but at end of day everyone has different opinions, not everyone likes the same

I wasn't either at first, now I love it!

It's a 80's-electro album, not a rock album like PP
[Edited 1/22/08 6:54am]

i'm not certain, but i think 1999 album was released in the uk AFTER we'd been bombarded with purple rain...someone let me know tht i'm not going madd!
the songs on 1999 r 2 sexy 2 ignore..

lottielooloo1968 said:

We got the album and the single the same as the u.s but it didn't do great.

It was after all the Purple rain hype '85 that 1999 was re-releases as a double a side b/w Little red corvette!

"1999" and "Purple Rain" Here in 2008, get the least airplay in my cd rotations, because of their classic appeal, and the fact that in 1983...84...85...I played them to the point of them being replaced twice. I will occasionally listen to these two records, as I did last November...I will probably not listen to them until 2009.

It's all right, keep working with it.

I'm kinda lucky that I didn't have Internet access when I started listening to it cuz I wasn't impressed with a lot of the stuff.

I had already heard:
1999
Little Red Corvette
Let's Pretend We're Married
(seen all those videos too)

Delirious seemed familiar (got a 6 min verison on my hard drive somewhere).
I heard a diff. version of "Something in the Water does not compute" and I preferred that to the bare-boned, almost alien version.

Then "All the Critics" was a little too experimental for my tastes. "Free" felt uncharacteristic, and "Lady Cab Driver" I just didn't get.

Oh and DMSR was too long and repetitive for me.

I had to listen to it 7 times or so before I started liking the whole at all. I think it was just because I thought all of the songs would be just like the first three I mentioned (stupid!).

With all that said and done, I dig all the tracks now and the album is in my current top 3, I think... along with SOTT and Purple Rain... I'd say those three together are the minimum number of albums you need to know how hot Prince was in the 80's.

perhaps ur looking 4 the rock side instead of coming at it without any xpecatations ..u'll hear the funk slap u upside ur head 4 sho

Not impressed with 1999? You outta yer gatdayum mind.
[Edited 1/22/08 8:06am]

mentalist said:

thx, i couldn't understand y i remember seeing 1999 after purp rain. ahhh! tht explains it!

It is definitely the album where Prince perfected his new wave/alternative sound instigated by Dirty Minds.

I often think about what a follow up album would've sounded like, if it didn't need to be a film soundtrack and need to have commercial appeal?

I have never felt that Purple Rain was a total natural follow up to 1999.

mentalist said:

The time gap between the two really shows in Purple Rain. What he ended up with were 9 songs that felt like what mainstream rock in the 80's was about. Let's go Crazy and I would die 4 U felt like true 80's, but other instances, he made his own sound as he usually did... and came out with the likes of The Beautiful Ones, When Doves Cry and Purple Rain... the likes of which he has never be able to do since, but that's okay.

I'm sure he had a follow-up to 1999 all set to go, but his interests changed... and he doesn't like to repeat himself.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

I think ATWIAD proves that he wanted to continuing his own thing and that the liks of Purple Rain was a one off!

not enough songs and most drag on endlessly.

6/10

Volitan said:

well they say actions speak louder than words.... nah im just joking man i thought the same when i heard it, ive only bin a Prince fan 4 the last 2 years and hav 26 albums so far.i find with alot of his stuff u hav 2 giv it a few whirls 2 get into an album,not all albums,but a few u do,ATWIAD for example i brought that a few weeks ago and i dislike it at first now i love it,so giv it a few more whirls and let me know ur opinion of it in a few more weeks - peace

I gave the album a few listenings and forgot about it - at the moment I thought it was not that good really... But years later I grabbed it again and
Great album!

you'd likely need to hear it on vinyl to truly appreciate it.

but it doesnt look like you have that type of connoiseurship.

too bad

Volitan said:

This is an album that will grow on you. When I first heard 1999, I was like when it was over. It was one of those albums that seemed to have gone over my head but not so much that I didn't like it. Now, 14 years later, it's in my top 3 favorite Prince albums. Give it time and before you know it, you'll be screaming DANCE MUSIC SEX ROMANCE!

Volitan said:

Do you look like this?


[Edited 1/22/08 10:26am]

Volitan said:

automatic/dmsr/lets pretend.../ so many gems on this album....u need to listen to it alot of times....loud...w/headphones....

It might be the time I listened to it for the first time..
I was 14 and hiding in my room so my parents wouldn't hear it
It might be because I remember what else was out there back in the day..
1999 was way ahead of everything else
whatever the case, it's one of the very best Prince albums EVER !!
and like others have said "headphones" are a must, because it's not music, it's a trip !!

JEDINATION said:

:joining the cause:
Headphones!

I almost always play his music in my headphones so I can hear everything and turn everything else out. And in the end, haha, the music does come a trip... and the kind of the trip u can only get from Prince. I'd say that 1999 is one of the coolest trips he has to offer