I know it's been said before, but is there a chance we could be slap bang in the middle of a genuine re-birth for Prince?

Not just musically, as the 00's albums haven;t been that great in my opinion, but I'm talking in terms of promotion, and the basic idea that Prince is once again being taken seriously...

It struck me watching the videos for Choclate Box, Crimson & Clover and the live appearances on Leno: Prince is indeed back in people's minds, whether they want it or not. This type of positive reaction to shows, where Prince is putting in amazing performances of genuinely great new songs (Dreamer, Fell Better, Old School Company etc.), has got to mean something.

Looking back, maybe Musicology was a real a turn-around. I was never that keen on it overall, same with 3121 and Planet Earth, but let's face it, with the 21 Nights London shows such a success and now all the Lotusflo3r commotion, could Prince actually shake off the "Isn't he that weird guy that changed his name..??" curse....

I guess the main point of what I'm saying is maybe we've hit a Golden period, as prionce is going out there doing high profile appearances, armed with some of the BEST new music he's had to draw on since early the 90's.

Your thoughts...?

Yes in the terms you describe. 2004 with Musicology, RRHOF induction etc. leading to the whole "love" affair with everything celebrity and LA leading up to 3121, then the high profile Las Vegas and London residencies. He certainly has not been absent from the public eye (and I mean in the mainstream sense) for the 5 year period you memtion. He is legendary artist status now.
[Edited 4/17/09 2:18am]

I think he has definitly lost some of that "weird-sex-obsessed-symbol-guy" image that plagued him in the 1990s, though there are still plenty of people who feel that way about him (especially outside of the USA where, other than the London shows, he's pretty much played exclusively since 2004).

As a fairly hardcore fan, I have witnessed this public perception change first hand over the last 5 years. People used to laugh at me for liking Prince's music and you always felt like you were coming out of the closet whenever you told someone he was your favorite artist. Nowdays though, when I tell people I'm a big Prince fan, I often get a response like "yeah, I've heard he's a mean guitarist" or "yeah, he's pretty cool" - especially from the young 15-25yr old folk. It's quite amazing the turnaround, really.

There was also a period there from 1996-2003 or so where he kind of got lost releasing mammoth box sets (Emancipation, Crystal Ball, The NewPowerPak, One Nite Alone... Live! etc.) alongside obscure experimental albums (The Rainbow Children, One Night Alone, Xpectation, NEWS etc.). He tried the big comeback in 1999 with Rave Un2, but it was far too premature and patchy - he was still going by the symbol and leading off with a single that contained lyrics like "your body was designed to respond to mine" and "can you tell me the reason why Adam never left Eve?" etc... ie. great stuff for the hardcore Prince fans, but hardly appealing to your average music listener.

But things have definitely changed since Musicology until now. Regardless of our own individual opinions on the post-2004 albums, there's no denying that they are a little more 'consistent' - each of them being single-disc collections of music that is more easily digested by your average listener (ie. the classic 3-5 minute pop format). Whether or not that's a good or bad thing is a whole other debate, but the fact remains that it has helped him regain his positive public perception. So if that's what you consider a 'Golden Era', then so be it.

toejam said:

Hmm. It really seems that peoples opinions on Prince (or anything for that matter) or formed by others for them rather then formed by themselves.

clbrooks said:

I have to say he started off weak (Rave) but had ended the 00's on top form....The Rainbow Children was the start of his "so called" comeback? and I don't care what people say but Planet Earth has some soild tracks on it...and is the weakest album in 00's but still it has it high points..like Musicology...and Rave....with Prince the quality is always there ...but the quantity is always the question ...but hey that's why we have the fast forward button and MP3 so we can edit and mix and match what we like....

He's still a "rebel" and "not safe to play on radio" and he does not swear but his best work really did not need dirty words or heavy sexed lyrics to become hits...i.e. I wanner be your lover, purple rain, kiss, girls & boys etc.. from the 80's..

Yes we have hit a Purple Golden Patch for sure....

P2daP said:

You missed the point I'm afraid. Believe me, I've never, ever been one to let other people decide this for me. I'm talking in terms of how the general public perceive him and his music. I actually only added my own thoughts on the 00's output to illustrate just how powerful the media machine is.

If that's lost on you, I apologise for not being clear enough. Good luck with that self-righteous attitude dude!

The past 8/9 years for me have been brilliant as far as Prince's career is concerned. My personal 'comeback' as a fan was after seeing the ONA tour in Manchester... reminded me of what an amazing artist he was and hadn't turned into a poor r&b rip off.

I really got into TRC after seeing that show and gradually got interested in his career again. I kinda lost interest around 97.

The last 4 albums have steadily been getting better and a lot more interesting with '3121' being one of my all-time favourite albums.

Happy to be a prince fan.

No. When he plays live he's as good as he ever was, maybe even better, but on record he's not released anything really and truly worthwhile since 1988 in my opinion. Sure, there have been flashes of what he's capable of, but no complete albums. In addition, it seems much of the media has now tired of him, frustrated by the apparent lack of quality control he demonstrates, and so whilst in the 80s and early 90s there was a build-up of excitement in the weeks leading up to a new album there now seems to be contempt, ending with a one-star review. So live, yes, he's in a golden era, but definitely not on record.

I would agree that it's a Golden Age in terms of live performances. Not sure the same can be said about the recordings. I thought Musicology and Planet Earth - despite a few very good songs - were rather mediocre. You can't build a Golden Age on that kind of effort.

clbrooks said:

Just how long does it take to remake yourself? Other artists do it in the course of one or two albums.

All that glitters ain't gold. Prince has had two big golden periods. Mid 80's and mid 90's (despite his SLAVE infested rants, that was great music coming out of his angst). We've yet to see it for this decade. It always starts big, but fizzles all too quickly.

The funny thing is that the general public can run 2 the movie theatre every weekend or watch movies at home where their favorite actor or actress is in character 4 the film. When U take a versatile musician such as Prince sporting the character he is comfortable in for a record...there has been some stand-offish reactions.

I mostly believe that people are either visually turned on by Prince...Or shy away from his "eccentricity." I suppose that may even mean..."Sex Appeal."

The main thing is...beyond Prince's handsome jazz...The music is extraordinary. I look at Prince in a linear growing artist on his career's path. In my eyes...Prince is always great.

I think the 2004-2007 era is golden in that Prince gained commercial success, both on CD and live.

I think 2009 has is the beginning of another less successful period. I think the new albums will be long forgotten in 3 months time, worldwide at least.

Personally, I love it when he fails commericially. I still enjoy the new stuff, and when the sales fail, he tours smaller venues and its easier to get up close.

As far as Live performances go, I would say he's in his Platinum Era. No one out performs Prince when he's on a stage!

The thing with Nelson is that his music sometimes takes a couple of years to really be appreciated, and maybe we'll look back and think of Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth and think "wow, that was actually really good". Theres a lot of very good music there, i guess it takes some getting used to. For example i never really listened to the last song from planet earth until recently, and i have to say its brilliant. Its an acquired taste. That shows that you have to get his music to appreciate it, which shows that hes definitely still got it, and i dont think hell ever lose it.

I do think hes making a comeback (not that he ever went away, hes never stopped making music, as we know), but im concerned that hes becoming too much of a celebrity. I like it when hes on the edge.

And i do miss pervy Prince.

It's intresting today I played the new albums at a party atmy house w/my friends and some of their comments were

"Is it just me or does Prince's voice keep getting higher with each new album"

"I loved most of his new stuff xcept that one wierd one 3121"

"I really like the song Here"

and of course the whole party was dancin to Dance 4 me

Maybe not gold, because Musicology & MPLSOUND could have been better, but this has to be the longest period since the 80s where Prince was enjoyable. Especially after the likes of Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic.