Hey freaks on the side,

It is April 1985 on the org, the not so anticipated album from Prince has just been released, a few weeks after Purple Rain has dropped from number one after a straight 24 weeks.

What would our reaction be?

Good question.

Prince would have been burnt already that month for not singing on "We are the world" (4 the tears in your eyes more that makes up for it IMO).

In all honesty there was no way the ATWIAD could live up to the huge expectations placed on it. It most likely alienated a lot of casual fan. There are a few good songs on the album including ATWIAD (my favourite), Raspberry Beret and Poplife. I personally would have been disappointed with it in April 1985.

The album cover would be a topic itself .

I loved ATWIAD when it came out, not at all disappointed by it !!

where did the freaks on this side bit come from anyway?

I was in H.S. when it came out-I rushed after class to Turtles to get my cassette!
I became a P fan b/c of LRC/1999-and during the Purple Rain popularity I also had purchased Controversy and Dirty Mind, so when I first heard ATWIAD I was surprised, I admit, but after another couple of listens I was hooked and it is still one of my favs.

Jeez I always wonder about stuff like this. Would I like ATWIAD when it came out? I think so cuz I love everything he puts out now, each release. I just love the way this mans music sounds. I think i would of loved the flow and sound of that album upon release.

Looking back, I still think Prince should've sang in the We Are The World lineup. Nobody cared about the song he gave to the album, because most people were buying the main single.

I've been around long enough to have every Prince album in succession starting with 1999. Good times!

After 24 years, ATWIAD is still one of his greatest albums. To me, it doesn't sound that much different than Purple Rain. Same album format, same era - just more strings.

Would ATWIAD be a better album if Tamborine had been replaced by 4 the tears in your eyes?

tc012009 said:

absolutely not

BTW I am not trying to be rude, but the idea behind this thread is that this is the org in 1985, I know some you may not have been born by that time, but just visualize it, it might be a learning experience for all of us

Man - I hope Raspberry Beret has a killer b-side like "Erotic City" or "17 Days"

Hey, not sure if this has been mentioned before - but if you open up the LP cover, the shape of the mountains is a woman's silhouette!

I suppose that we would be awaiting Prince's career...hanging on his every word. "Purple Rain," for those who weren't magnatized before hand...united a new group of Prince followers.

tc012009 said:

WTF?!

I'd be like, "this internet thing is pretty nutz, imagine what I'll be like in 25 years!!"

I bought around the world in a day the day it was released (the first Prince album I ever did that to) I love it! I rode my bike to Hills department store. When I popped the casette into my boom box I was blown away. It was totally different than Purple rain but just as good in its own way!!!! It's the sound track to 1985 for me.



(The above is a true story from 1985)

xenophobia2002 said:

Same here. Furthermore, it was on this very day 24 years ago that I saw Prince for the first (and last) time live. Wow, I feel old!

Whitnail said:

The org? 1985? was around? I don't think so

NouveauDance said:

this thread is WTF!

I am 14 years old at a bar-mitzvah. Got no gifts in the games, so was told to pick out a "record" from the table full of 45s that had been used as prizes. Sifting through them, I found the ATWIAD album and snatched it up quick. Got a few looks walkin out with it (don't think it was supposed to be with the 45s).

Anyway, just got home, psyched as hell, and threw this thing on my turntable.

1st thought - wow, what is this title track?! Like the eastern sounds and the melody, but where is the dirty synth and scorching guitar? Still, really like this song... It has a quality that (to me, at this time) has only been hinted at on 1999 and PR (if at all). Definitely like the "inivitaion" vibe of the song. Ok, I will take a trip with you, P.

Paisley Park is ok, a "simple" prince-pop tune and it has a slight lilting quality to it. A little mellencollie, a little yearning, which kinda seems at odds with the message (complexity is a good thing). Will have to dig into this one a little more. I see a grower here.

LOVE the piano interlude and COTH. Wow, very impressed. Love those lonely, forelorn ballads of lost love, and this song has so much going on in it. Love the "blinded by the daisies" line, the "real prince from arabia" line, the clara bow reference, the swells in the music, love how he (or the narrator, rather) almost starts to "lose it" as the song progresses. Almost painful sincerity. So far, this is a favorite.

Raspberry Beret - a perfect pop song. already singing along to it.

Tamborine - all right, here we go! This is the shit! "I don't care...juggle seventeen" - brilliant. Again, the narrator is overcome during the singing and brings a frantic immediacy to the song.

America - Uh-oh. Love the music, dislike the lyrics. How can he be so naive? C'mon P - capitalism=bad, socialism/communism=good. Should have known Ronnie Talk to Russia was actually serious! I will be skipping this song on replays.

Pop Life - still smarting from America, this song is just too simple. Not enough going on. It's not offensive, I don't actively dislike it, but it's just "meh." Nice melody I guess. Hopefully will bear fruit on later listenings.

The Ladder - Oh yeah. Back to where we belong - wierd, yearning, spiritual, melodic. Excellent.

And then...Temptation - this song kicked my ass all over the room! THIS is the P I fell in love with. I had no idea what would happen next in this tune and loved every singe thing that did. Awesomeness and Awesomosity. The "I have to go now...I don't know when I'll return" made me sad cuz I thought it might be true. Also made me really appreciate an artist being so seemingly sincere, and treating his progession of music as a reflection of his spiritual progression.

Overall - wow, what an album. Other side of the world from PR, but I like it - a lot. I LOVE that it's so different, cuz right now (in '85), everyone and their brother likes P and probably 80% of them have no real idea what he's about. So, this is a (perhaps unintentional, judging from recording dates) big FU to bandwagon-riders and the corporate industry that would have given us 10 plastic reruns of PR and 1999. This shows us sides of P that I, at least, have not been aware of. After listening to this, his potential seems limitless.

Misc impressions - PR was all black and purple electricity. Neon underworld. This album brings some baby-blue sky and whispy clouds, and parks/flowers... I like the softer palate and really dig the vulnerability on display here.

Can't wait to play this over and over.

Phantastique said:

Very well articulated, thank you. That almost mirrors how I felt about it.