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PrintableGiovanni777 said: Folks seem 2 be missing your question, which is asking what the MOST RECENT essential Prince album is.
I guess I'm the only one who is going 2 say that 'Lotusflow3r' is absolutely essential. But then again, I'm the same one that would say that 'The Gold Experience' could easily be missed. [Edited 11/11/09 7:08am] Not the only one. I'd say Lotusflow3r, especially if you've followed Prince and his music for years. It's a must. | |
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Efan said: I don't think Gold is an essential album. It's so overproduced (Endorphinmachine, Now, TMBGITW, and the title track especially) that it's hard for me to rank it among his best. It does have some brilliant standouts (Shhh, Shy, and Billy Jack Bitch among them) though.
So you wouldn't call the debut of  an essential album?
Regardless of your personal opinion of an album, albums like TGE, TRC, PR are essential when describing Prince as an artist. [Edited 11/12/09 10:27am] **--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••-
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daPrettyman said: Efan said: I don't think Gold is an essential album. It's so overproduced (Endorphinmachine, Now, TMBGITW, and the title track especially) that it's hard for me to rank it among his best. It does have some brilliant standouts (Shhh, Shy, and Billy Jack Bitch among them) though.
So you wouldn't call the debut of an essential album?
Regardless of your personal opinion of an album, albums like TGE, TRC, PR are essential when describing Prince as an artist. [Edited 11/12/09 10:27am] No, not really. TRC and PR, yes. But Gold Experience wouldn't get in just because of his name being . Not for me anyway. Which isn't to say I don't enjoy TGE. I do. But I see it as a really good example of Prince's inability to leave well enough alone--it marks (for me) the beginning of Prince's overproducing. There's way too much going on in several of the songs (the ones I mentioned above). Those flaws stand way out to me on the album, and they signaled a bad change in his production style that hasn't really gone away. | |
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Graycap23 said: If u dig Prince? All of them.
That's how I feel. I abdicated the throne in Ithaca, but now I am...
Albany's Number 1 Prince Fan | |
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Efan said: daPrettyman said: So you wouldn't call the debut of an essential album?
Regardless of your personal opinion of an album, albums like TGE, TRC, PR are essential when describing Prince as an artist. [Edited 11/12/09 10:27am] No, not really. TRC and PR, yes. But Gold Experience wouldn't get in just because of his name being . Not for me anyway. Which isn't to say I don't enjoy TGE. I do. But I see it as a really good example of Prince's inability to leave well enough alone--it marks (for me) the beginning of Prince's overproducing. There's way too much going on in several of the songs (the ones I mentioned above). Those flaws stand way out to me on the album, and they signaled a bad change in his production style that hasn't really gone away.I get your point and understand where you are coming from, but when you are saying "essential", you have to say TGE is essential....good or bad....like it or not. I don't consider myself a huge fan of the PR album, but it is an essential P album/project. I love TRC and consider it essential (JW and all). To me,this topic is not about how much you like an album. It's about a career essential album. **--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••-
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TRC or Lotus Flow3r | |
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daPrettyman said: hollywooddove said: I can agree that Gold, while a good album, is not essential in the least. It seemed to be a work that had little love thrown into it, in a period that it seemed Prince was determined to make himself almost invisible. Perhaps he got a little lazy. Now he is working hard and it is great. He has tapped his creative spring again, but I am not sure at all that Lotus is essential either. While the craft is strong, and the technique is firm in this album set, it seems to miss something that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe because it is really good, but not great. It grows on me with each listen, and the confusing thing is that the best of its songs are some of his best in a long while, at the same time those treasures do not make the albums strong. Let's face it, no more candy is wonderful, haven't heard stuff like that from him in a while. Valentina is great, cept for the words. A little too personal and it makes it wierd in not so great way. Music is great though. It sort of reminds me of Cindy C. from the Black. Old Skool, highly great also. Dreamer, is great. Point is, the line between these dots seem a little too weak or miss placed. So I still have to go with 3121 as the last essential. Help me understand this. You don't think "Gold" is an Essential Prince album? To me, that album shows Prince in a different light. It was a period of creativity, a period of finding himself and a period where he was searching for freedom. Read the liner notes in that album again. It tells you how Prince was feeling when he recorded that album. To me, if you are listing defining moments in Prince's career, it would be this: 1. Prince (breakthrough) 2. Dirty Mind (showing he is not just a cookie cutter pop/r&b artist) 3. 1999 (a double album of new material at the time was very important in pop and r&b) 4. PR 5. SOTT 6. Lovesexy (P growing in spirituality) 7. D&P (his last popular album) 8.
9. TGE 10. TRC (return to Prince as a new spiritual person). You are correct in how these albums define Prince's growth, but I do not find them essential to a listener, especially if you were trying to win them over to liking Prince. If you hit them with some of these albums they would never like nor get Prince. We fans view him with hard rose colored glasses. Gold is not in the least one of his best works, while it did define a turn in his style, I still do not find an awkward turn as an essntial work. [Edited 11/12/09 11:44am] [Edited 11/12/09 11:45am] We are all so full of  here | |
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hollywooddove said: daPrettyman said: Help me understand this. You don't think "Gold" is an Essential Prince album? To me, that album shows Prince in a different light. It was a period of creativity, a period of finding himself and a period where he was searching for freedom. Read the liner notes in that album again. It tells you how Prince was feeling when he recorded that album. To me, if you are listing defining moments in Prince's career, it would be this: 1. Prince (breakthrough) 2. Dirty Mind (showing he is not just a cookie cutter pop/r&b artist) 3. 1999 (a double album of new material at the time was very important in pop and r&b) 4. PR 5. SOTT 6. Lovesexy (P growing in spirituality) 7. D&P (his last popular album) 8.
9. TGE 10. TRC (return to Prince as a new spiritual person). You are correct in how these albums define Prince's growth, but I do not find them essential to a listener, especially if you were trying to win them over to liking Prince. If you hit them with some of these albums they would never like nor get Prince. We fans view him with hard rose colored glasses. Gold is not in the least one of his best works, while it did define a turn in his style, I still do not find an awkward turn as an essntial work. [Edited 11/12/09 11:44am] [Edited 11/12/09 11:45am] You have to look at who you are giving the album/cd to. That way you can give them whatever cd you think fits their personality. **--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••-
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Emmancipation | |
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Lotusflow3r (first disc only), especially for anyone who cares about guitar. Dreamer is essential to have. | |
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ForbiddenFruit said: sign 'o' the times, maybe lovesexy.
can't believe everyone mentions the gold experience. the casual listener knew that it was average at best - look at the sales-figures! many songs were better done before: gold - purple rain 319 - kiss i hate u - international lover dolphin (how beautiful do the words have 2 be, before they conquer every heart) - when doves cry (how can u just leave me standing alone in a world that's so cold) now is not better than housequake, irresistible bitch or sexy mf pussy control - hot thing the standout track could have been the most beautiful girl in the world, but the remix ruined it. endorphinmachine is overproduced. shy is good - and was mentioned as best track in many reviews. i dont remember a 10/10 or 5/5 etc. review. and they were right. 3121? essential? essential?! like purple rain or 1999?? like songs in the key of life? you must be joking. [Edited 11/10/09 14:57pm] [Edited 11/10/09 15:02pm] Look at the sales figures for SOTT |
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Hits and B sides. |
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funkyhead said: Giovanni777 said: Folks seem 2 be missing your question, which is asking what the MOST RECENT essential Prince album is.
I guess I'm the only one who is going 2 say that 'Lotusflow3r' is absolutely essential. But then again, I'm the same one that would say that 'The Gold Experience' could easily be missed. [Edited 11/11/09 7:08am] thanks for that, was begining to wonder about my grammar!. Must admit that I am coming round to the idea of LF [the single cd NOT the 3 cd set] as well. Nah, I understood what you meant - TGE is the last essential album for me. Prince was Prince tge musician up until then, he was on he crest and did things with ease. Since that album he's floundered and become less and less like the Prince he had consecutively been. If somebody said to me "what does Prince do?" I cold play them most albums upto and including TGE...anything after that and he's either being "look at me, aernt I original" with TRC or ONA or he's searching his memory trying to remember what he used to do with Planet Earth etc. 3121 and Musicology were getting back on track but the huge gap in time between TGE and musicology suggests they were flukes. | |
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The last Prince album I would consider essential to MY collection is One Nite Alone.
Put it this way, I wouldn't be that bothered if a friend borrowed Musicology or 3121 from me and didn't return it. I'd be pretty pissed off if that happened with my One Nite Alone album. [Edited 11/13/09 1:59am] | |
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MattyJam said: The last Prince album I would consider essential to MY collection is One Nite Alone.
Put it this way, I wouldn't be that bothered if a friend borrowed Musicology or 3121 from me and didn't return it. I'd be pretty pissed off if that happened with my One Nite Alone album. [Edited 11/13/09 1:59am] don't worry - you could have mine. Isn't it strange how opinions differe...ONA is, for me, the worst thing Pronce has done for years and sums up everything that's wrong. By his own admission it was a collection of stripped down demos and try outs...yet he thought it was ok to give an unfinished cd as part of NPGMC obligation in the same way ge offloaded The Vault and Chaos&Disorder to the record company he hated...says it all really. The best thing about the album is that one copy I had made me £80 on eBay | |
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purpledoveuk said: MattyJam said: The last Prince album I would consider essential to MY collection is One Nite Alone.
Put it this way, I wouldn't be that bothered if a friend borrowed Musicology or 3121 from me and didn't return it. I'd be pretty pissed off if that happened with my One Nite Alone album. [Edited 11/13/09 1:59am] don't worry - you could have mine. Isn't it strange how opinions differe...ONA is, for me, the worst thing Pronce has done for years and sums up everything that's wrong. By his own admission it was a collection of stripped down demos and try outs...yet he thought it was ok to give an unfinished cd as part of NPGMC obligation in the same way ge offloaded The Vault and Chaos&Disorder to the record company he hated...says it all really. The best thing about the album is that one copy I had made me £80 on eBay Even still, it doesn't take away from it being enjoyable to listen to some including myself. I thought ONA was great, in fact someone from the org(I wish I remember who) was actually kind enough to send me a free copy. That was an amazing day when it came in the mail. I think it says even more about it if that's what he said. I thought it was a nice change from the very produced albums he has. I would even dig something in the vein of The Truth again, I love the acoustic, stripped sound. But to stay on topic, it wouldn't be the last essential cd I purchased, although a great album, but as stated previously, they're all essential [Edited 11/13/09 5:48am] | |
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The last essential album would be Lovesexy - every album since is either average or utter shit. | |
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dionisis said: The last essential album would be Lovesexy - every album since is either average or utter shit.
No, that's just what you're talking. | |
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The Rainbow Children. JERKIN' EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!!!!! | |
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as always well reasoned [mostly  ] and varied opinion. Wouldn't it be great if the next CD was viewed as an absolute must have?. Am I right in thinking that TGE is viewed as the last CD of any real significance amongst most of us here?. | |
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sign o the times (the only others Purple Rain, 1999, dirty mind) "Keep on shilling for Big Pharm!" |
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that includes the best of's "Keep on shilling for Big Pharm!" |
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OnlyNDaUsa said: sign o the times (the only others Purple Rain, 1999, dirty mind)
That's my answer as well. Those are the Prince releases that I would say one would need to have heard to have a complete understanding of this era of popular music. [Edited 11/14/09 5:43am] | |
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I can't answer this because I recently got a whole lot in one shot and therefore really like all in certain varying degrees, which means it's more of a collective thing for me. For others who have picked them up as they came out, it's probably an entirely different experience. "Free URself, B the best that U can B, 3rd Apartment from the Sun, nothing left to fear" Prince Rogers Nelson - Forever in my Life - | |
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3121 I don't want you to think like me. I just want you to think. |
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Efan said: I wouldn't say it's as good as Purple Rain or SOTT, but I'd say 3121 is essential. It's a pretty damn good album, albeit with a few flaws.
YUP! I don't want you to think like me. I just want you to think. |
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NouveauDance said: Possibly The Gold Experience, more likely Diamonds & Pearls.
I mean, these aren't my picks, but if I'm saying what's the last thing a casual listener would probably enjoy, that would be it unfortunately. Sorry, but 3121 doesn't cut it. It's just another of the post-Warner comeback pop albums, marginally better than Rave and Musicology, but cut from the same cloth. I don't see 3121 and Musicology as being cut from the same cloth. I think they are both great Prince albums. 3121 is his best of the decade. I don't want you to think like me. I just want you to think. |
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nosajd said: You know I'm going to have to go w/ Lotusflow3r. But I hate that Elixer is tied up w/ it but I guess it's a good coaster for ur drink while u're listening to MPLSound or LF. Look, there's some pretty sweet songs on both of those discs. Dreamer, WoB, OSC, NMC4U, C&C, & a bunch more.
I think this is his best collection of work since TGE. If LF didn't exist I would have said the TGE but I think MPLS follows thru & shows Prince is still as diverse & raw sounding as ever. I would still have prefered more grit, but TGE wasn't any grittier w/ the exception of the PA & his scream I considered Lotus Flow3r also but it's derivative notes and Bria's disc don't make it essential. Or better, don't let it be essential. [Edited 11/14/09 15:01pm] I don't want you to think like me. I just want you to think. |
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vainandy said: Purple Rain
 That's just being masochistic. I don't want you to think like me. I just want you to think. |
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Rebeljuice said: I think it is essential to follow the musical journey from Prince right up to C&D. Each album kind of morphs into the next and there is a neccessary connection between each one that should be heard so that you can follow the evolution of his sound.
After C&D the evolution stopped and we started getting a bunch of songs thrown together to make an album without any real direction or concept. Some better than others, but essentially nothing brilliant as whole. For the record . . . I disagree I don't want you to think like me. I just want you to think. |
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