Hey here's a quick question:


1. IF Prince's amazing back-catalogue 1978 to 2004 didn't exist -

2. and: Musicology was Prince's debut album - followed by 3121, PE and LF/ MPLS...



Judging Prince on these 4 releases:

would you be a Prince fan then....



I know I wouldn't be a fan then.....

Well sure. "Musicology," is a great record. Every song is good. A lot of the album is excellent.

Rhetorical questions...always the hardest!...
But the way you phrased the question means you can't force yourself to forget all of the fantastic previous material!...right?

Anyway to answer rhetorically...maybe!



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thedance said:

Probably not.

No...but I'd be after he put on the Musicology tour

No, absolutely not. The album was "ok" at best, but certainly not enough to make me a fan, much less a die hard fan.
The tour really put him back on the map, but without his previous hits/albums, the tour would have royally sucked!

No, probably not.

Nup.

After LF? MayB

But then, am I in my 30s or pre-teens in this hypothetical scenario? Where and how am I being exposed to his new stuff?

If i had seen the Musicology vid, Black Sweat, Fury on SNL and Superbowl. If I had bought 3121 and then LF. Yep, I'd b a big fan.

Nope.

Having been a prince fan for more than 20 years, part of the problem I'm having in thinking about this question is the realization that Prince's catalog has undeniably helped shape my taste in music.

So I have to think what my taste in music would be like without 30 years of Prince music and the whole thing just falls apart. Hell, you take Prince out of the equation and the 80's are different. Gets very "It's a Wonderful Life" very quickly.

If somehow my taste in music was identical to what it is now, I wouldn't be a big fan based on the last 4 albums. BUT, I seriously doubt that would be the case.

So, maybe?????

certainly nowhere near the same degree. the eroticism of his past work and sheer diversity would be gone, meaning id probably spend more time listening to bowie (for te diversity, not erotic songs )

i wouldnt buy musicology, though id listen to reflection alot. however when it came to 3121..id have bought the hell out of it...i think that cd is a work of art; even without the basis that it is prince, great cd full stop. following this id have downloaded planet earth (and been a little dissapointed) but bought mpl sound due to the feeling of it being a return to the form of his 'second' album.

No way. Even as a huge fan for most of my life, I still to this day can't listen to Musicology from start to finish. It's just not that good in my opinion. Some of the stuff in between then and now has been cool, but Lotus also bores me a bit

Loads of people seem to love Reflection, but it's my least favourite on the album (maybe after a million days and life 'o' the party
[Edited 10/26/09 15:40pm]

zsasz said:

Co-sign

I think I would, considering the music that's out today. I remember really rocking out to a few songs on that cd and playing it over and over when it came out. If his debut had been Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic, it may be another story.

I think it's a given that most of us here would still like funk, whether Prince had existed before Musicology or not. And, I'm sure we'd also still appreciate excellent musicianship.

So, how would you be feeding that penchant, eh? Which current artists would be satiating your desire in that respect and, of those, which are so good that you would have listened to these last 4 albums and decided that you didn't like it?

I think the problem with the original question is that is still acknowledges Prince's past work - you are still comparing it to what he has done instead of being able to successfully pretend that he was never such a giant in music.

Musicology is a weird one for me, I love 4 of the tracks on there and listen to them all the time, (they just 'make me wanna dance!') but I can't listen to the rest of it. I'd like to think I would still be the fan I am today though, I mean the good tracks on there are just too funky

yes, i think i would, maybe not as hardcore but still a fan, i quite enjoyed musicology and 3121

zsasz said:

You make a very good point. If I had heard The Dance or The Word, I would probably be a fan.

thank you.

i liked musicology and 3121 - so i would appreciate him.

But not a hardcore fan. I haven't even got lotus flower yet - i can't afford it atm

I would have to be honest, No. Not because they are not great albums, they are, but itsjust a lot of the music I likehas been with me since my teens. When Musicology was released, I was 28 years old and well past the stage of liking new acts (As I know most of the millenium acts fade after 2 or 3 albums). Also the albums are great but not instant classics. MPLSound is good, but its not Dark Side of the Moon or Revolver if you get waht I mean.

come on... no way.

I would have to say no, I probably woudn't have known who he was until he performed on Superbowl halftime show. But then again he probably wouldn't have been able to do that without his back catalog!

that's a big ass "if" . i'd prolly be like "who's this funny looking old dude?" if 3121 was the follow-up, i'd probably get with him though

It's funny you ask this question.

I was listening to the album in its entirety the other day. It's actually much better than I gave it credit for, although I still stand by the opinion that "Call My Name" wasn't a good choice of singles.

Hell Naw!
It is the hunger,the dirtiness, the rawness of his earlier work that drew me to him and why I am still kind of a fan (a diehard fan of the pre 2000 stuff) of Prince. Don't get me wrong-Musicology is a good album, but I would pass on being a fan if that was his debut work fo sho!

If Musicology had been his first album I probably wouldn't have bought his next albums. But if 3121 or Planet Earth had been his first album, then I would've become a fan.

i don't know?

No.

I like the Musicology album. I would play it to and from work every day.

No.