Just a little over a year ago I became a Prince fan.Obviously I'd heard most of the tracks from Purple Rain & seen the videos for Kiss,When Doves Cry,Sign, etc,but what actually turned me onto him was the free copy of Planet Earth that was thrown into a cupboard in my Mothers house.I gave it a listen and loved alot of the songs on there.

I decided to buy The Very Best Of Prince and was blown away by the sheer brilliance of his music mixed with superb lyrics.Funk,Jazz,R&B,Soul,Rock,Pop and Prince at the forefront of it all.Hands on with regards to,well,everything.Instrumentation,Production,Lyrics,all concepts from his wonderful creative mind & genius.

This is where things became hard.

In order to get into Prince,he has to be sought out.I went to all the music shops and just about all of them had nothing other than Purple Rain and The Hits or The Very Best Of.Maybe the odd copy of Musicology.Over in England one day we went into a secound hand music shop & I left with 10 Prince albums for less than 20 pounds to my joy.

Luckly one of my girlfriends friends had two parents that are quite big fans,and when they heard I was getting into Prince they sent me a dvd compilation.It knocked me for six.In particular Parade and Nude.These live shows blew me away.Incredible stuff.The dvd also contains The Beautiful Experience,Love 4 1 Anonther,The Undertaker and Emancipation.I could go on for ever about their visual beauty mixed with all that stunning music.

An online friend of mine,also a Prince fan unexpectedly sent me Under The Cherry Moon,Graffiti Bridge and Rave Un2 The Year 2000! You can imagine my joy to open a package with those dvds.My girlfriend bought me the Anniversary edition of Purple Rain with bonus features.I adore the movie.A few months later my mate sent me the Sign O' The Times live dvd & I came across the 21 Nights book with CD.A few fans on here were kind enough to send me a few album files.

The music & dvds though that fans gave me are what turned me onto Prince & if I had not been so lucky,I wouldn't have become a fan.I still only own around a dozen cds but I'm working on it.

It baffles me that a body of work that is this good,is not really available to potential people that would otherwise be fans.
Whats going on with Prince's back catalog? & why has he not offially released more live dvds?

Because he is a little poopoo

It's complicated

I think it's a shame in a sense that,when it comes to Prince,you can't simply walk in off the street and become a fan.You've got to dig really deep and seek out the music.

In another way I guess it's what makes it so special and those tracks you find & fall in love with become real trasures.

Welcome to Princedom. I'm a little jealous of you that you get to discover it all for the first time.

And a little sad for the bitter, hateful future ahead of you

aazzaabb said:[quote]I think it's a shame in a sense that,when it comes to Prince,you can't simply walk in off the street and become a fan.

Try Ebay, they have loads. But yes it is a shame that an artist of his stature is not properly represented in record shops. The main hmv in my city had a pathetic 5 albums last week, and one of those was the ultimate collection.....sad.

errant said:

It will be a bitter, hateful future ahead of you if you listen to all the bullshit on this site.

MikeyB71 said:[quote]

aazzaabb said:

it goes in cycles, honestly. the shift around old stock until they go back for a new pressing. and then sometimes they're so overstocked on the back catalog when a new major release is out that they've falling off the shelves.

MikeyB71 said:

or don't like to be sued. or conned into joining some caca official site.

just sayin'

...but i dont mean you errant

Hey congrats on becoming a fan! i didnt see "Live at the aladdin" concert dvd on that list. It was the last concert Prince released. Wats ur opinion of the Rave concert? i think its terrible. Everything is great until Larry and special guests show up. Have u heard any unreleased Prince music yet? U got to hear "Moonbeam Levels" and "Empty Room"

Christ! What have I gotten myself into! Ha! It's worth it for the music though.I hope I don't become too cynical.

Is Prince paroniod about royalties or is he justified?

It's an addventure.

Is there any decent books on him? Not a picture book with quotes but a propper good read?

aazzaabb said:

Dance Music Sex Romance is great, but only covers the first 10 years. The author is part of the Uptown fanzine staff and their book "The Vault" or any of its previous incarnations is widely known as the "Prince Bible" but good luck getting your hands on it.

Any year now we'll get an update edition....

errant said:

These are the bitter days of your lives

aazzaabb:Wow, this is awesome!
Jaded Prince Fan:Yea...yea
aazzaabb: I signed up for Lotusflower. This is wild!
JPF:Yea..yea..wait... you what?
aazzaabb: I signed up, man. I cant wait to check back next week for new content.
JPF: There won't be a next week
aazzaabb: Why not?
JPF: He is done with that
aazzaabb: What? He can't be. You can't just leave a site abandoned like that.
JPF: Oh, he is.
aazzaabb: Why did he stop?
JPF; Because he's an ass
aazzaabb: But I was just talking to a Prince fan and he said it's going to be a revolutionary site and a beautiful experience
JPF: Did he talk in prince bonics?
aazzaabb: I think he did
JPF: Yea, you want to stay away from him/her.
aazzaabb: Why is that?
JPF: That type will mislead you and allow you to sink tons of money on nonsense. You didn't buy the 21 nights book, did you?
aazzaabb: It's funny you mention that, I preordered it on Amazon
JPF: Dear god, this is depressing. Who recommended that shit to you?
Let me guess....it was that guy, wasn't it?
aazzaabb: Yea, he said it was worth the money and I should get two copies just in case I lost one. I went to the blood drive, but i think it's going to be worth it for this new Prince merch.
JPF: Sweet Jesus someone needs to beat them with a sock filled with pennies mercilessly. They would sell their grandmother's beating heart for a chance for Prince to nod in their direction.
aazzaabb: Hey, dont you like Prince's music? You sound like a naysayer
JPF: You didn't use that word before did you?
aazzaabb: What word?
JPF: Naysayer
aazzaabb: I didn't say that
JPF: Sweet Jehovah! It's happening again
aazzaabb: Oh cool! You are into the truth! Brother, watch out for NATO it's OTAN spelled backwards
JPF: How many times have you listened to Rainbow Children?
aazzaabb: Ohh man, I listen to that with headphones on and fall asleep to it everynight
JPF: Oh no..
aazzaabb: Brother, time is an illusion. You gotta be aware in the digital garden.


[Edited 3/6/10 20:10pm]

The org is a great place to learn all things Prince

aazzaabb said:

Possessed by alex hahn is a good book,takes you up to 2001, amazon has it cheap.

Trickology said:

Laugh my fucking ass off! The funny thing is,I can see it going that way! Ha!


How do I multie quote on here?

aazzaabb said:

Click on reply w/quote just like I did

dance4me3121 said:

Thank you.Cheers for that.

I've not bought "Live at the aladdin" yet.Good? I know what you mean about Rave.It's lacking in something in comparison to other shows.Can't put my finger on it.

I've not heard those tracks yet.I'm still trying to hear a quater of the released material.Ha! I'm out of my depth.

The fans are great.I think they're just happy when some one new is turned on to it.Ever so helpful.

My only advice is DON'T OVER-DO IT

I did and can't listen to Prince for long anymore

[/quote]
Dance Music Sex Romance is great, but only covers the first 10 years. The author is part of the Uptown fanzine staff and their book "The Vault" or any of its previous incarnations is widely known as the "Prince Bible" but good luck getting your hands on it.

Any year now we'll get an update edition....[/quote]

[/quote]
Possessed by alex hahn is a good book,takes you up to 2001, amazon has it cheap[/quote]

Thanks guys.I'd love a decent read to learn more about this paranoid,purple mad man.

Alej said:

Yeah.I can see that happening to.Prince overload.

aazzaabb said:

It ain't pretty

Alej said:

The last few nights now I've stayed up all night with Prince's music.It's almost 5am now and I'm still round.

Don't look now but here's a rocky road.
A heavy "wow" with a funky load.Face it theres no other way, nobody said it was fair but we love it just the same 2day, 2day is the first day of the rest of this life ...

Don't look now but here comes another heartbreak,benefit of the doubt you'll give it, control of your musical mind it might take. You've arrived that's enough 4 you it makes you smile, you got the jams and now your gonna stay 4 a little while ...Cuz 2day, 2day is the first day of the rest of your life

[Edited 3/6/10 20:46pm]

luv4u said:

Cheers luv4u.Last year when my hero died I was on here,but when Michael died it was hard to deal with.We were going to see MJ 5 nights.So it's been all Michael but now I have the time and space for Prince again.and this time round I'm gonna make sure learn more.
[Edited 3/6/10 21:41pm]

MikeyB71 said:

Welcome.

Cool story! Be sure to come to General Discussion - place for you to GET WILD

In terms of getting into more of his back catalogue (it sounds like you don't have as many CDs as you'd like), I think that a lot of stuff is no longer being actively printed by WB. That's not to say it's not for sale, you just gotta find some better record stores! I've had the best luck at local-ish chains. For me in Boston, it's Newbury Comics. You'll still be able to find most of his albums "new," and not used and cracked etc. Just keep looking!

My advice is to buy whatever really sticks out at you. When I first got into Prince 3 or 4 years ago I sought the advice of fellow posters, which was a great help, but it was also a great feeling to just pick up Parade because it looked like it was gonna be an interesting album. Then you also get the surprise of hearing it all unopinionated.

Long story short, don't read too much of what we all say without listening to it all first on your own!