I can't remember the name of it but there was a British tv special about Prince circa 1991. At the end while the credits are rolling he plays "The Ladder" with just piano and voice and it sounds fantastic.

I happen to really like the intro to Condition of the heart, and to call it anti-climatic is wrong. His heart felt layered vocals soar to a a beautiful crescendo.

I was listening again to this album and it's 12''s all night and I'd actually go as far as saying that THIS is Prince's Masterpiece, NOT SOTT

eelco said:

as much as i love the 12" stuff from purple rain, i love the 12" output from ATWIAD even more. he really spoiled us with all that content. he spoiled us bad.

It was a documentary on the A&E Channel called "The Prince Of Paisley Park" and it was a great documentary with some great footage.

Lets be truthful..alot of fans were looking for Purple Rain pt2.,mostly new fans..but fans of his for years knew that would never be the case, none of his other albums were similar..its a very good album, but I'll admit i wish the B-sides were included on the album it would have "centered" it instead of being so to the left and scaring people off..and the harder version of the title track would've been a better choice..all of the extended versions were great..I still listen to them everyday in the good ole ipod...

SavonOsco said:

I think you could argue that Dirty Mind and Controversy share a fairly similar sound.

rialb said:

sort of. i've always thought of them as having different sounds, though i can see how you'd think otherwise. i think dirty mind has more of a synthesized rockabilly/50s rock influence, whereas controversy is trying to be more cold and new-wave sounding. i'm talking on a surface level, of course. there's a whole lot more going on than that, but those are the general flavors i get from those albums...

scandalousalan said:

totally I agree, anyone who doesn't like this song I don't see how they can really appreciate music

The feel of this songs hits me similarly as Power Fantastic

eelco said:

I don't listen to SOTT all the way through, even though it's one of my fav
But ATWIAD the singles the whole the b sides this album is my present, my love letter from Prince

vainandy said:

Right and it really focused strongly on the Lovesexy era,

SavonOsco said:

For U & Prince are similar
Controversy & Dirty Mind are similar
1999 & Purple Rain share similar sounds

But really listening to ATWIAD there are synth sounds guitar sound a lot of instruments that sound pulled from the PR era but with a new sound

I love this album...and "America," really is a cool song.

OldFriends4Sale said:

I'll give u For u and Prince.but we'll agree to disagree on the others, sharing same drum machine and sounds don't equate to same type of songs or flow of an album..u know what!..u knew what i was trying to say anyway..lol

A great album.

A real indication of the forthcoming surprises Prince was going to bestow upon us (Parade, LoveSexy, etc.).

Not way overrated but slightly. There are no songs I dislike although Tambourine and Temptation are only average. The album contains some really good songs like Condition Of The Heart, Raspberry Beret, Pop Life and America. My favorite is Pop Life, it sounds so effortless and yet brilliant at the same time.

peter430044 said:

you bettter build a moat around your house cuz them's fightin' words in these parts.

For an indepth look at ATWIAD from recollections to hearing it back then to now - check out: http://prince.org/msg/7/311901

Anxiety said:

I better do it quickly!

Anxiety said:

yeah "spoiled" is exactly my word too

those 12 inches are outstanding.

NoVideo said:

'The Question Of U' is from July 1985, this is after/during the bulk of Parade had been recorded.

Some of ATWIAD was recorded before Purple Rain was even out. The rest of the album is from the period in 1984 when work on 'The Family' LP and later Romance 1600 was also taking place.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Recorded July, 1986. This is just after the work on Dream Factory was finished (nay, halted).

OldFriends4Sale said:

Obv. there was recording going on all the time, but as for specific out-takes from ATWIAD, I honestly don't know any, not any alt. configurations. Maybe Boris or langbleu will add something?


.
[Edited 6/30/09 0:58am]

I really love this album and dont think it gets anywhere near the credit it deserves.

Granted, when I first heard it I found it hard to get into. That was in 1993, I had just 'discovered' Prince and I was buying up all the official material I could. At that time, I found this album was less accessible that others like 1999, Purple Rain, Sign of the Times.

But now, this is one of favorite Prince albums. I love that it has a mix of styles and sounds, I love that it was a total sidestep from the Purple Rain output, and think you can really hear the influence of some of the people around him (Wendy, Lisa, Susannah).Pop Life, America and Paisley Park are the stand out tracks for me.

I actually prefer the album without the B-sides. She's Always in My Hair and Hello are 2 of my favorite 12 inch b sides, and I think they stand alone as tracks. I dont see them fitting on this album, but they do represent the quality of work he was producing at this time.

Overrated? No way!

it is my fav of prince's early albums. it is very beatlesesque
[Edited 6/30/09 11:33am]

vainandy said:

We called it the Omnibus-special,I don't remember why,I guess the BBC
show was called that way.

I remember having a really hard time listenign 2 this album at first.
I've mentioned it be4,I bought PR,1999 and ATWAID on the same day
and off course I loved the other 2 immediatly but when I started
listening 2 ATWIAD I thought : what is this???
I had no problem with the singles ( some still had 2 be released),
so after a while I gave the album another listen.
I didn't like the long intro from Condition but this song is really one of
his best ballads,class song!

That brings me 2 the fact that I don't seem 2 like his current material THAT much : it might not be as good as then but I also don't have the time
or patience 2 listen 2 the way I did when I was 16!!
Maybe I wouldn't love ATWIAD if it was released today?? Maybe...

peter430044 said:

I ain't coming at you with stones and rocks to throw or nothing like that but there's no way I can consider a song with a beat like Tambourine and a song with guitar work on it like Temptation (even despite the end section so many hate) average!

Can't say its "way" overrated, but it is an uneven album with some absolute classic tunes. Uneven is a very good way to describe it.

datdude said:

Overrated??? in relation to what? IMO there is nothing he did in the 90s that touches it for bravery and shock factor - sorry but it is in fact underrated as in too many people overlook it as a moment of madness after the storm of Purple Rain.

I love ATWIAD...Prince wasn't going to compromise and did what he wanted to do after PR. I'd call it a near masterpiece.

ATWIAD was my first proper Prince album... for me the intro to "Condition of the Heart" is part of what I love about the song. Hearing the piano playing lead me to get interested in stuff like Joni Mitchell's "Blue," which I might not have listened to otherwise.

"Hello" was recorded long after the album was completed, and never could've made it onto the album (it could've been released on "Parade," but didn't fit the movie at all-- which might be why it was released as a b-side).

As for outtakes, songs like "Pop Life" and "Paisley Park" were recorded around the same time as "When Doves Cry"-- early '84-- so most of Prince's unreleased music from that period would probably be lumped in with the Purple Rain era. The only outtakes I know of that relate directly to the album are the alternate versions of the title track.

"Around The World In A Day is a funky album..."