I love your mangling of the English language, let me guess you are somewhere in Northern Europe excluding the British Isles

On every album Prince brings out I have favorite and not so favorite songs...it has always been that way!!!!! Even songs that the 'diehards' dig/claim to be 'masterpieces'.... sometimes I'm just not into that!!!!

Well, as usual, I agree with Tricky99 and Skywalker.

I've written about "hearing in the Now" many times here, and I've come 2 only one conclusion...

You'd likely find in any art form, and with any artist with a lengthy, vast body of work, that the same percentages you find here, of those who experience the current work with a fresh perspective, and those who don't.

'Lotusflow3r' is a fantastic album... the songs, the flow, the instruments, the recording, the voice. Stands next 2 any Prince album, easily.

It's just perspective. It's very difficult 2 separate the impact, etc., from when we first heard '1999', 'Sign O' The Times', 'Lovesexy', etc., and from we listen 2 an album now. Plus, we don't listen 2 albums the same way. I sat down, and listened 2 'Lotusflow3r' like I used 2 listen 2 Prince's albums... loud, through real stereo system, from beginning 2 end.

The music IS fresh, the recording and tones of the guitar is perfect, along with voice and all other instruments. Writing is there, diversity...

skywalker said:

Where everyone is a wannabe music critic.

To me, Prince is like that really amazingly hot girl that eventually became your wife or long time gf. Even though she is still beautiful, innovative and probably better in bed then she was years ago, it is still difficult for her to compete with her previous self that first rocked your world. It was all new and refreshing back them and you were in at different point in your life.

I recall watching Jethro Tull getting the first Heavy Metal Grammy in 1989. It took the Grammies till 1989 to recognize Heavy Metal -- and then they give the award to Jethro Tull?

I'm stuck in the past a bit but only for Prince.

Lotusflow3r was very good but any tracks pop up on iTunes less than Bonkers. Longevity of the mentioned songs is obvious, but by then there'll be other "faves" on my iTunes list.

It's been a couple of months since I listened to the old stuff tbh and about the same since I listened to the new stuff. And still I have listened to Bria's album not more than once. It's dire.

But your comment on Lotus is right. There are few artists that could have created that 3cd set. He really is a jack of all trades.

I'm happy he keeps producing new material even if it isn't mind-blowing like the old days. It's still good and it's still Prince

tricky99 said:

You still don't get it. We (or at least I) don't think Prince should have stopped making/releasing music in 1988, or 1995. I think he should stop putting out the cack he has been doing for over a decade and a half. And it is cack. Prince knows it's cack.

He's wasting his talent on cack.

And in the meantime he can't even be arsed to look after his legacy. If he doesn't care about it, fine -- hand it to someone who cares and just IGNORE it. Don't promote it, don't talk about it.



How can you NOT feel disdain for a man who desperately clings onto "the good old times" and then fills the rest of his album with desperate copies of pop shite? For a man who sings about "getting better with age" when he should be SHOWING IT. Let ME be the judge of that.

Whenever Prince makes songs that have him yacking on about how funky he is, most of the times he isn't.

Want to impress me? Then IMPRESS ME. Don't sing a song about how you're impressing me, because that won't impress me.

tricky99 said:

Yeah, it's not like Miles made crap albums. Sheesh.

BartVanHemelen said:

the word hater was created especially for people like u. It fits u to a tee. The next term beyond that would be nut-case. Obviously u have some issues.

LOL

No it has nothing to do with perceptions of time or or your age not moving forward, your wife or girlfriend or any other bullshitery being spilled.


No matter how much anyone tries to rationalize Prince's musical downward spiral when it comes to producing new original work, we can spray some Potpourri Strawberry & Cream Glade, add chocolate sprinkles,, squint our eyes and tilt our heads all we want but..... lets take a listen to his most recent example

Purple & Gold.....yeah i thought so
[Edited 2/9/10 6:09am]

violetblues said:

So art exists in a vaccuum and it has nothing to do with the listener at all?

skywalker said:

Let me put it this way,
If i was fucking Halle Berry, after winning the state lottery high on crack while someone was tickling my ass it still wouldn't make Purple & Gold a masterpiece.

"Prince fans stuck in the past"...
nosense.

if I may rate his output since 1995:

The Gold Experience (10)
Chaos & Disorder (6)
Emancipation (8)
Crystal Ball (8)
The Truth (6)
Kamasutra (0)
Newpower Soul (4)
The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale (6)
Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (6)
Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (7)
The Rainbow Children (9)
N.E.W.S. (2)
ONA Piano (3)
ONA... Live (2)
Musicology (7)
The Chocolate Invasion (6)
Slaughterhouse (6)
3121 (6)
Planet Earth (5)
Indigo Nights (2)
Lotus Flower (8)
MPLSound (8)

Not too impressive.

Prince has made great songs since 1995, but the latest great album was: The Gold Experience 15 years ago,

you may say there's something wrong with my taste, I just don't think so...
[Edited 2/4/10 10:43am]

To me, Prince is like that really amazingly hot girl that eventually became your wife or long time gf. Even though she is still beautiful, innovative and probably better in bed then she was years ago, it is still difficult for her to compete with her previous self that first rocked your world. It was all new and refreshing back them and you were in at different point in your life.

I think Prince has been creating fantastic music all along. Let's just be thankful and appreciate the gifts that he gives us.

BartVanHemelen said:

the word hater was created especially for people like u. It fits u to a tee. The next term beyond that would be nut-case. Obviously u have some issues.

Let me put it this way,
If i was fucking Halle Berry, after winning the state lottery high on crack while someone was tickling my ass it still wouldn't make Purple & Gold a masterpiece.

BartVanHemelen said:

I agree that D&P was a bad indicator of future problems. Where I disagree with your overall criticism is the blanket accusation of crap material. It takes editing, but there has been a healthy dose of inspired stuff over the last 20 years.

Creativity is not as easily manufactured as many of you seem to think. Most artists have a very short shelf life at their creative peak. Prince's brain today is not the same as it was when he was producing some of the greatest compositions in American popular music history. He had a creative run that is unmatched by any contemporary artist. Our expectations are unreasonable when they come to P. Do we hold the same standard for the collective simple crap that U2, Springsteen, etc. have released over the last few years?

I wonder if fans are stuck because Prince isn't at peace with his past. He clearly hates it and wants to distance himself from it. One thing MJ had over Prince was always remembering the songs that made him famous. By 95, MJ was still working Billie Jean/other big hits into his recent performances, whereas Prince was flying further and further off the general public's radar by that stage. As we now know, This Is It was going to be mostly his big hits, but still some newer HIStory and Invincible songs as well. Prince is too bipolar, one minute he's all about the new stuff then the next minute its just the hits all over again.

Prince is nothing but an oldies act now. He's in the same boat as Neil Diamond and it's not going to change. He'll sell out larger venues on nostalgia and continue to drop such thundering masterpieces as Purple and Gold and Cause and Effect along the way.

Wall said:

This is just stupidity.

Isn't that what every classic artist does???

Do you think the majority of people that go see Bruce Springsteen are there to hear his new material???

His music has been exactly the same for years.

Don't give me that bullshit