he has returned to almost every sound, cept this

bellanoche said:

Here it comes!
[Edited 12/28/08 14:09pm]

Yeah right. That's probably them on Tamborine or Condition of the Heart.

Reading you guys, you've got the feeling that Prince was not even there in the first place. Crap.

3) Yeah right TRC, The Undertaker, Gold Exp, The Truth, One Nite Alone were not daring enough I guess.

Stop acting as usual like if Prince was totally under influence and W&L conducted, composed, performed and arranged everything for Parade, PR and ATWIAD cuz it's simply a lie. Where are they on When doves Cry, Tamborine or Condition of the Heart (shit I just named 3 of my favorite tracks ever and W&L did not participate to these tracks !)

NouveauDance said:

I prefer the Revolution/Wendy and Lisa era over all others, so nyah! I don't get why folks get their panties in a mess whenever W&L are mentioned. They were his most interesting and creative collaborators. If ya'll don't think so, more power to ya. Have fun with that New Power Soul record.

JudasLChrist said:

I agree completely. Well the Revolution records aren't all my personal favourites, but they're up there. I was really referring to bellanoche's "well not besides the obvious" comment.

These W&L threads always devolve into mud-slinging and thinly veiled bigotry and get locked, it's pretty sad really. People over-react for nothing, it already happened by the second post!

Alamine said:

Why on Earth would he want to go back to that sound? It was something different for him at the time, and it was fairly successful (largely based on the PR tailwind). Honestly though, ATWIAD is one of my LEAST listened to Prince albums of the '80s. It has some gems, but to me it is not the "greatness" that so many people proclaim. For example, "Raspberry Beret" was never a favorite of mine. In fact, the only time I listen to it is if it comes on radio or TV. "The Ladder," which is credited to Prince and his father is one of my favorites off that album as were "Tambourine" and "Condition of the Heart." Overall, it was a nice concept album that was good for a one-time deal. However, it was not a "sound" that IMO needs to be recreated.

Now that I responded to that, I have to say something about all the threads and comments that I see on this board relating to W&L and their "input" into Prince's success, especially after listening to their long-awaited new album.

For all the deluded folks who think that somehow W&L are the architects of Prince's greatest successes - THEY WERE NOT!

After listening to their post-Revolution output and Prince's pre- and post-Revolution, I cannot believe that some people continue to give them so much credit. Although PR was credited to Prince & the Revolution, Prince completed the bulk of that album on his own. The W&L input was minimal, even Wendy alludes to this on the PR 25th anniversary DVD. She said that PRINCE was in the zone writing for that album. She did not say "we" were.

The only albums that they had any significant input on were Parade and ATWIAD. They had some input on some of the SOTT songs, but again, most of that album was Prince's work - not theirs. I heard the original versions of the songs that they worked on on Dream Factory, and I like the versions that appeared on SOTT much better because they were just funkier and rawer than the W&L versions. I always felt that Prince lost a bit of his swag during the Parade/ATWIAD era. I am so glad that he decided to not continue with the band he had with W&L or released the Dream Factory. He got it back on SOTT with the new, funkier band, and they tore the roof off with LoveSexy. I actually wished that band configuration stayed around a bit longer. However, I was not at all sad when the Revolution era ended because it was time.

W&L are great at their brand of coffee shop/dorm room pop/rock music and their TV/movie scores. However, I think they need collaborations with other artists (Prince, MeShell Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, etc.) to bring out the best in them. They seem to do better feeding off artists who are more dynamic.

So, did they influence some of Prince's sound during the time when they were with him? Yes, of course they did just as any of the other musicians who have worked with him have influenced Prince over the years. For example, Dez Dickerson's input/influence is routinely overlooked on this site. However, I think his input was more significant and beneficial to Prince's sound than W&L. Sheila E.'s influence is neglected here as well. I hardly ever see a thread around here about Sheila's musical influence on Prince. The fact remains that all his musicians have probably influenced him in some way. I really don't get what some fans' fascination is with W&L in particular, well not besides the obvious, but I will leave that alone.

At the end of the day, W&L benefitted far more from playing/writing with Prince than he did from playing with them, as time has clearly revealed. Just my

bellanoche said:

One of the best post I've read in here all year.

renfield said:

1) You forget he was still at the begining back then. So when everything is easier and you do not repeat yourself. You intentionnally forget Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999, SOTT, Lovesexy and the Black Album where W&L had an influence close to 0.
2) You intentionnally do not mention all the other great musicians who have played a big part around him throughout the glory years (i.e Sheila E)
3) Yeah right TRC, The Undertaker, Gold Exp, The Truth, One Nite Alone were not daring enough I guess.
4) Yeah rigth his last four guitar tracks are tired as well I guess.
5) Will some of you understand that not everybody is fond of W&L's sound and influences ? I'm personnaly so glad he left W&L. I much prefer his sound with Michael B, John Blackwell, Sheila E, Sonny T or Renato Neto just to give a few examples.
6) Stop acting as usual like if Prince was totally under influence and W&L conducted, composed, performed and arranged everything for Parade, PR and ATWIAD cuz it's simply a lie. Where are they on When doves Cry, Tamborine or Condition of the Heart (shit I just named 3 of my favorite tracks ever and W&L did not participate to these tracks !)

I wonder how many of the fans who brush off the Around the World.../Parade periods today were skippin' around in their little Parade hats thinkin' it was the best thing since sliced bread at the time.

johnart said:

Certainly NOT me. I thought "Parade" was alright but weird with the exception of "Kiss", "Mountains" and "Girls and Boys". I didn't want another album like that at the time. I was hoping that the next album was going to sound like "Purple Rain." Well we know what came after "Parade".

purplecam said:

You didn't like Sign O' the Times???
The two albums following Parade are 2 of my all time Prince faves.

Glad you weren't skippin' around in a Christopher Tracy hat tho. I liked the album but resisted that fad.

It doesn't really matter whether he could recapture that sound with or without them. Whether the period remains a favorite of yours or not, it was exciting to see what the next album would bring in those days. More than can be said for the releases of the past few years.

I wonder how many of the fans who brush off the Around the World.../Parade periods today were skippin' around in their little Parade hats thinkin' it was the best thing since sliced bread at the time.

johnart said:

I liked SOTT when it came out but I also thought it was another weird Prince album. I chalk it up to the fact that I was 7 when my Mom got me Parade and 8 when Mom got me SOTT, so of course a lot of the lyrics went right over my head and some of the songs confused me like "If I Was Your Girlfriend" but the music was great and I kept on listening to it. It didn't hit me as to how great both the album were until I was 19 and 20. Then a lot of what I heard back then made a lot of sense and both Parade and Sign O The Times are in my Top 5 Prince albums.

I must admit, I would have loved to have had that big Christopher Tracy hat. I still would like to have one, I think it's a hot hat.

johnart said:

atwiad was the 1st album that made me look at all artists and say "let them grow" after their successful last album and 4 having that insight i keep this album close 2 my heart.

having said that..i was more blown away by sign o the times than either atwiad and parade could muster..proof in the pudding that W & L can't funk hard enough with prince by himself or surrounded by other musicians that can.

purplecam said:

If you were 7 then the Christopher hat would've been adorable.

Gawwwwd I now feel old.

Graycap23 said:

Let it out Graycap, c'mon! I know you have something worthwhile to add to this debate.

Graycap23 said:

Let it out Graycap, c'mon! I know you have something worthwhile to add to this debate.

purplecam said:

U know how I feel.....

purplecam said:

word that's what i'm talkin about ..


say what's on ur mind brother

L4OATheOriginal said:

W&L is 2 Prince what a single screw is 2 Ferrari.

You completely misconstrued renfield's entire post. He mentioned other associates besides W&L, pointed out that they weren't the be all and end off influential associates, AND covered pre-Revolution 80s albums you said he 'intentionally' missed.

W&L is 2 Prince what a single screw is 2 Ferrari.

Graycap23 said:

Which is funny considering they are probably one of the few ladies he didn't screw.

...but back to your car analogy, maybe they were the screw holding the steering wheel in place. ...or would that be Warner Bros?

L4OATheOriginal said:

W&L is 2 Prince what a single screw is 2 Ferrari.