SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

It becomes more and more obvious to me that those with an opinion set in stone are not the so-called kool-aid drinkers...

purplecam said:

Maybe then he could focus on his internet scams.

NDRU said:

...and throw another brilliant web presence at us!

EmancipationLover said:

Wait, when was the first? haha

Actually I have to give him credit for year 1 of the NPGMC. I was not a member, but had access thanks to a friend, and I have all the files. (Oh shut up about the $$$.) Regardless, he did release a lot of music, some good - mostly eh, through that, and was probably worth $100 to most people who paid for it. It seemed a bit bumpy of a start, but the customer service (and Prince) listened to fans. Fans wanted HI and LO versions of videos, as well as audio from them. There were also HI and LO versions of the regular songs that came out. Sometimes there were hitches, in that songs he put on NGPMC as a "new song" for that month later ended up on an album (like the songs on One Nite Alone). He also released previous tracks like a very hissy-from-cassette "Thieves In The Temple (Remix)" and "Horny Pony", the latter having a "this doesn't endorse premarital sex" statement at the beginning; half way through year 1 is when his Graham and JW brainwashing took effect, as he edited tracks. He'd release chunks of the 1986 Hit N Run tour audio, but reverse "P-U-S-S-Y" in "New Position", or similar things. It was stupid, to say the lease, and fans rebelled. Also, one month was nothing but TRC album, which hit stores later, so that was no real deal to hear it before others did. It was basically an empty month of NPGMC. Also, the Ahdio shows, while sort of okay, later became big mashups of Prince songs, while the first few actually had Prince, Rhonda or whoever doing the show, and showcased other artists like Jacob Armin, Ani Defranco, etc. He seemed to get lazy near the end of it. It showed, because year 2 was quite different, and although there was "exclusive content", most of the site was just a big flash store to buy singles he released (like Glass Cutter, Silver Tongue, etc).

Although I didn't care for much of the music from year 1 of NPGMC, I do take notice in that he released a lot of stuff to the masses in a 12 month period. The Slaughterhouse and The Chocolate Invasion are all those files. You had 11 hours of the Ahdio shows, plus videos (some crap, some not), most released before, some not.

I've seen his website presence go from the "good" that was NPGMC 1, to just downright laughable. Sure it LOOKS good, but is it worth it now? Not really. Not at all, actually. No t-shirt is worth $77. And with no tour, that pretty much negates those super special groovy Purple Circle seating, or sound check attendance. In some ways, despite not liking the music of the first couple of years of NPGMC, those soundcheck bootlegs were the best thing to come from those years. They were fun to hear.

I think the correct question that I would ask is what new kind of music would he do?

He's never done:

Polka
African
Celtic
Native Indian music
Rag Time
Bluegrass
Delta Blues
SKA (If that's how you spell it)
He's technically never written for an orchastra either, not in the since of how Beethoven and Bach did it.

I would love for him to do one of those for an whole CD

I could go on and on...

I wouldn't mind an entire "housey" mix cd of all his greatest tracks without one break in between. Just a constant flow of music perfectly weaved into one tune.

I thoroughly agree with that statement.

IMO the quality of his songwriting has detoriated a lot.

Whats a good, minimalistic groove (Black Sweat) without a strong composition (Kiss)?

What's the use of a song in the 'perfect pop' vein (Raspberry Beret) without a good song-structure and chorus (Cinnamon girl)?

What impact does a quirky, playfull arrangement ($) have without a good composition underneath (Girls and Boys)?

If anything, he has gotten very 'lazy' in the songwriting department, like he is thinking some linn-drum here and there (Chocolate Box), or some elaborated guitar-work (Dreamer) can hide the fact the compositions 'carrying' these elements are actually rather poor and uninspired.
Songs like Erotic City and Purple Rain show a good pop song starts with a good composition (and preferably: good melody lines). At this point in his career i dont expect Prince to equal the quality of those kind of classics most of the time, but he could at least 'try' to write strong compositions.

Since Venus de Milo I have 1 & only dream about Prince & his music...

"An entire Synphonic Album with Clare Fisher"

This is not music... is this a dream... ?

Bohemian67 said:

Go find the last few Ahdio shows from NPGMC season 1.

has anyone said: "wherever he feels like..." yet?

Purple123 said:

You seriously want Prince to do a Polka album? You honestly think that would be worth your time?



To answer the original question: I don't think there's much room for Prince to go anywhere. He's pretty much exhausted his palate of colours, if you will. However, I still think he could do some interesting work, if he were to actually submit to the guidance of an outside producer.

I don't know if any of you are familiar with the work of Joe Henry, but I think that pairing could be pretty outstanding, particularly if Joe brings along his usual stable of musicians (people like Marc Ribot, Jay Bellarose, David Piltch, etc).

On a completely different note, I think working with the Junior Boys could bring out some interesting results.

To sum: I don't think Prince is capable of completely surprising us with a new direction anymore, but if he were to challenge himself by working with some talented people from outside his safe zone, and focus on actually developing his songwriting beyond the intial germ of an idea, we could here some interesting work again.

Prince should do a gospel album.

rwn said:

True that...He never have anything nice 2 say about Prince,just another hater on the internet.

ernestsewell said:

No more candy 4 you...

Dayclear said:

True that...

rgsince81 said:

:nod

ladychel61 said:

Oh how clever! Haven't heard that one in a minute.

ladychel61 said:

Get off my jock. I don't swing that way.

TwiliteKid said:

Come to think of it, I would hate it. But Celtic and Delta Blues I would love it if he did one of those.

I agree with in that he's not going to surprize us anymore. And he does need to atleast let someone else co-produce each song on his cd. Well, he's doing covers and I never thought that would even do THAT, so keep your fingers crossed.

DesireeNevermind said:

That would be cool, I've loved most of his gospel styled songs.

He could even do some with the Staples family. But, I think he'd have to get off the JW wagon for them to get involved.

Serena said:

I'm fairly certain that only Mavis is still active, and I don't see her running back to Prince anytime soon.

whodknee said:

The only thing the release of Vault material would be for is better sound quality on some of the tracks. Other than that I'm pretty sure if you picked 15 orgers and compiled a list we already have the Vault in our possession.

There is so much he can still do, he has barely touched a small portion of the musical spectrum.
After listening to his live output lately, I really feel he still has some great music in him. He is as awesome as ever in that respect.

I would like to see the same passion in his studio work as we hear live. I would love to hear an album of well crafted, well produced songs in whatever genre he chose. I would like to listen to him approach real themes, no more party/booty shaking/we got bank/chocolate box/ lolita nonsense.

For me, its simple. I would just love to listen to a well made album that doesn't sound like it was produced overnight after the sugar rush from that nights desert.
Decent artwork and packaging would be a big plus.
[Edited 9/26/09 19:55pm]

HonestMan13 said:

That's exactly why he should release it. And no one has everything in that vault. There's a LOT of stuff out there, yes, but there's still gems we've yet to hear. I will continue to download and trade the vault stuff I have until he frees the music.

No one has yet brought up the fact of P's age. At 51 he's fast approaching the time when the lyrics he wrote as a younger man will begin to sound ridiculous coming out of a middle aged man's mouth.

I think P has to start thinking now about where to take his musical direction for the future so that it has integrity and congruency.

If he does it consciously and deliberately as a gradual transition (ie. phasing out songs with lyrics like Little Red Corvette and singing thoughtful tunes of a universal nature like Somewhere Here on Earth) I think his popularity and creativity will endure but doing hot dance numbers into his 60's? Unh uh, no way.

As an analogy, I deliberately chose not to go see James Brown when he came to my town because it would be just too painful to watch him try to scream and dance like he did in his younger days. James was da bomb but he was a one trick pony. His signature style did not age well.

Prince is too smart and too talented to let time make a parody of himself and for this reason he needs to decide what kind of style will keep his music dignified.

Personally, I think it would have to be fusion or jazz funk type stuff but as much as I'd like to see him colaborate with heavyweight jazz cats as someone mentioned earlier, I can't really see him doing that.

Good as the players are that he gathers around him,they are essentially sidemen (& sidewomen?) who have to play his compositions, not full-on creative musical partner relationships like you might find in a Herbie Hancock or George Duke aggregation.

P is in that awkward middle place where he's not quite yet a distinguished elder musical statesman but he's no longer the young satyr from the Kiss video either and there's going to come a time sooner rather than later where if he attempts to sing certain songs (and MOST of his catalog is going to have to be retired) it will become embarrasing to watch.

I think he'd better start serving up a volume of serious jazz based compostions soon to build the catalog he will be depending on for the rest of his career.

You know the brotha is never gonna retire. He just has to get cooler as time goes on.
[Edited 9/26/09 20:56pm]

Totally agree with DakutiusMaximus here....

HonestMan13 said:

I think there is a lot more great stuff in the Vault we have yet to hear.

Wouldn't you love to have full versions of Go, Hard To Get, Cosmic Day etc.

Also there are some intriguing titles such as Come Electra Tuesday.

I yhink the vault has it fair share os stinkers but the is also crammed with Gems.

If only Prince wasn't so reluctant to release some more of it.

theres been talk on here about prince releasing stuff that hasnt made it on to his albums. i played the album COME last night , how bad must the stuff be that didnt make it on to that cd.

ernestsewell said:

NPGMC is the best money I ever spent. We got so much access because of the club. music, concerts, extras.... it was all good. Well worth the money. Sure it was bumpy at first but it came along and despite the nazi approach to the forums, it really was great that first year. Exceptional.

So people who are now bitching have that as something to compare to. He shouldnt' be doing web ventures if he's going to be lazy about it. That's the bottom line.