I think 1999 was a major step forward. While Controversy was an impressive album, 1999 showed greater diversity. It contains an exciting mix; funky party songs, a top notch rock song like Little Red Corvette, hot funk like Lady Cab Driver, appreciation for freedom of speech with Free, and the album closes with a powerful sensual ballad. In some ways 1999 is even more interesting than Purple Rain in that 1999 is more musically surprising, I mean who would've anticipated a song like Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)? All in all a delicious smorgasbord from a musical talent with rapidly rising craftsmanship.

I say Musicology was.. he proved he was more outstanding than before...more mature, and still in the game...here to conquer the west

I am going to play it right now....

I love it so much, may be my favorite Prince Album, but the jury is still out.....

Dirty Mind, then Parade.

peter430044 said:

i think that u can't just pinpoint one album and then say it was his greatest evolution, i think that one should look at all his music as being a constant evolution, just as any person's life and their doings, so to speak,is a constant evolution.

Close2u said:

I guess that was the album that really made me fall in love head over heelz...I was not quite hip to all the ones prior to that..I am still exploring those

ReginaCarman said:

One should always look at all the albums, all the music, as a constant evolution, but there are still more and less significant steps in the career of an artist.

Good question. I'd point to either Dirty Mind or Controversy.

Both albums really cemented the "Prince" sound that was really lacking on his fun but identity-less first two albums.

Controversy, ATWIAD, Gold Experience

Diamond & Pearls & Controversy or 1999

ernestsewell said:

I don't really see TGE, as good as it is, as an evolution. To me, it's more of a culmination and a perfection of what he was doing in the first half of the 90's. It's a refined version of some of the sounds and themes that he was exploring with D&P and (and the TGE-era by-product Come), and sort of a capstone to that period rather than a real advance forward in sound. Plus, it kind of was a last hurrah before the artistic nadir of the 1996-2000 era.

dirty mind....1999.... ....and the rainbo children

Dirty Mind

Parade

If evolving from previous record

Dirty Mind, hard punk funk from disco dross
1999, Movement into more elctronic music, drum machines synths
ATWIAD Movement into psychedelia and jazzier sounds
Lovesexy movement into self indulgence
Graffiti Bridge, evolving into crude rap stereotypes and trend following
Gold Experience, movement into guitar hero type cult figure adult rock
The Rainbow Children, Movement into religious thought and content (First album to have cardboard sleeve
Musicology evolving into elder statesman of funk and roll
MPLSOUND Movement towards reviving old school sounds and nostalgia to mid 80s (Great)

Dirty Mind for his lyrical expression

Controversy for his much more confident vocal range and expression



Around the World in A Day for his musical expression. Although PARADE was a better album , Around the World in a Day was when he truly started going all Beatle-esch on us. His range of styles, the inclusion of various instruments in strange arrangements, all just started to show that he was moving away from copying sounds of the day. 1999 and Purple Rain for all their glory (they're better than ATWIAD or PARADE) still borrowed heavily from the sounds that were popular at that time or the recent past (New Wave/Old Wave/Synth Pop/funk and Arena Rock). ATWIAD went all crazy on us. Raspberry Berret is a dance pop number with fucking violins/string sounds in it? Tambourine don't make NO fucking sense and didn't sound like ANYTHING anybody else was doing. Lord have mercy , could Micheal Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna or any of the big acts of the day pull off Condition of the Heart?
Prince got his Joni Mitchell/John Lennon on with ATWIAD. He perfected it with PARADE and SOTT. But I say ATWIAD was his milestone for the great 80's albums that followed.

,

grammar edit
[Edited 5/20/09 9:02am]

Oh I guess, I'll continue after the 80s albums


Diamonds & Pearls gave birth to much of the later output ( , Gold Experience, Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic).

Musicology gave birth to a strange old skool streak that 3121 and Planet Earth only marginally muted. I'm thinking lotusflow3r/MPLSound are just a continuation of that, but probably his best effort so far.

He's reinventing himself at a much slower pace now, but what's left to do? Polka?

I dont think a particular album as much as a particular period
i.e.
ATWIAD/Parade/SOTT - prolific/experimental/conceptual. After PR who would have thought that prince's direction would evolve and shoot off into such a myriad of flavours.

Imago said:

great post

I think Parade was the greatest evolution for him, but I also think that album came a little early in his career.

Imago said:

This gets my vote as the best post on the org of 2009. Hit the nail perfectly!

Dirty Mind because when did you see a Black Artist do punk!

Controversy/1999 Prince created the MPLSound with these two, the Chicken grease guitar, the Linn drums and the synths. Somewhat beginning of house music too.

Parade/The Family/Madhouse because of the artsy, jazz fusion funk that was WOW!

SOTT just because! Never a time of such prolific writing of quality work released and unreleased!

3121/Lotusflow3r because it let us know that Prince still has it when he puts an honest effort into it.

That my story and I'm sticking to it!

I would definitely believe "Purple Rain."

Dirty Mind, hands down!

While Prince has had many albums showing a significant change in musical style
compared to their predecessor, no album showed such a radical left-turn as
Dirty Mind. I think people forget just how incredibly radical it was at the
time, musically, lyrically and visually. The only reason it didn't register as
such was simply due to Prince still being a comparitive newcomer at the time.

While 1999, Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day (and pretty much any other
album around then) showed new directions compared to what had come before. None
of them had the same giant leap that Dirty Mind had.

Tame said:

but you're insane

80spfantwp said:

I agree with this wholeheartedly. After hearing Purple Rain, I doubt that anybody would've anticipated what would come next. He hadn't even incorporated horns into his sound by that time but they're all over the place in the next few albums (except ATWIAD), and used masterfully.

Tame said:

Not at all.

i think Sign O' The Times -- Prince thought Emancipation

I would say "Lovesexy".

I really loved Sign o' the Times. But when I first heard the Lovesexy album, it was fresh and new... like nothing I had ever heard since When Doves Cry.

I'm not saying it was as groundbreaking, but it was a distinct change from SOTT, and Eye Know was a brilliant way to open that CD.

That album was a tremendous evolution in my mind. From the dark and heavy beats of SOTT, to the light, and airy-ness of Lovesexy.

Brilliant work!

80spfantwp said:

wow I was going 2 say the same

I want to add Purple as well because, it was something he never did before writing music to a movie and the film score (accompanied with band) Rumored to have been over 200 song created worked on for this project which included music for the Time Apollonia 6 and Sheila E as well as Manic Monday(orig for Apollonia 6) Dance Electric

I don't think the non concert shows and 1st Avenue preshows can be touched, there ... I think Possessed is the correct term to use for Prince during this era

Around the World In A Day & Parade are the evolution into even more intimate work with the band(the Revolution) and other associated artists: Jill Jones Taj Sevelle Susannah Eric Lead Claire Fischer Susan Rogers, Novi Novog Jonathan Melvoin Sheila E David Coleman

(Dream Factory)+Crystal Ball+Sign o the Times
are a creation that morphed out of each

ATWIAD.

Outside of this album, every other album shows the progression from the previous.

Dirty Mind grew from Sexy Dancer and Bambi, Controversy grew from Head and Party Up, 1999 grew from Controversy and Annie Christian. Purple Rain grew from LRC and Something in the water.

ATWIAD borrows from no other Prince album.

Parade borrows directly from ATWIAD. Sott borrows from Parade...and so on...

Dirty Mind!