Are too many releases of varying quality ruining his 'legendary' status?

Or will that always be intact?

That's a question that won't really be answered until long after Prince is dust.

I don't think so.

I mean, he's not getting radio play, and it seems no matter how many times he appears on Leno or on television, he can't get a top 10 hit to save his life.

The CDs are also not as well received as they were in the 80s.


But I don't think those things will diminish his legacy in the end. Mozart's music was largely ignored until after his death and which the material became more and more familiar and respected.


Prince's legacy won't be realized until probably old age, near death, or after death. He's only 52, which gives him at least 15 to 20 good years left to pen music.

I suspect he's penned some interesting stuff this last 15 years, and he's just been withholding much of it. He supposedly records music all the time even now...not all of it is going to suck. I suspect much of it will be brilliant.



Either way, there's a lot of really interesting non-Prince stuff out there right now that I listen to more often anyways. I rarely listen to Prince these days.

TheVoid said:

Do you think someday they'll come up with a special system to catalog Prince's music - like the Kochel listings for Mozart or the BWV numbers for Bach?

I really think that P's legacy won't be realized until after he's dead. After that, I wouldn't be surprised if college classes wouldn't be taught on his genius and how he handled the entertainment business.

The way he handles the media is something that so many new artists could take notes on.

P is one of the few "big" musicians that has managed to stay away from any major news. You never hear of him getting in trouble with the law. Sure, there are the occasional lawsuit, but mostly nothing (considering).

I do indeed.
But I think that there will be a very strong prejudice for releases of his material to be presented as 'albums' with a-sides and b-sides.

Assuming that least one or two thousand of the songs are completed songs, that's alot of albums.

But since we don't really know the true number of songs, who knows? I would imagine the 'ideas' or sketches will end up being catalogued somehow. Maybe Prince already has a method, but I doubt it. I think he's just racing from one song to the next, one album to the next. I don't think he's just working on one album at a time --- I honestly believe he's still writing 3 or 4 albums at a time and just releasing one, but that we're not getting any leaks.

I have absolutely no proof of this of course, and only hearsay, but it's obvious like episodes of the fired technician that he's bene recording at a feverish pace. I can only hope the dismal releases to radio of late are teasers that don't hint at what he's currently working on.


Who knows? Prince always seems to surprise me in the end.

Genesia said:

Marrk said:

For most people the Slave thing nailed it as ruined...to the public he's still TAFKAP, fallen genius who has done nothing since

Can you imagine? One day, there might be "Prince Scholars" in the music departments of major universities.

TheVoid said:

purpledoveuk said:

I don't agree with that.

Prince's "big" career was over by the time he changed his name. He was still selling ok, and continued to sell well up until after Emancipation came out.

Prince decided to go the independent route and distribution route after he EMI folded in the middle of his Emancipation promo. He than began to try to utilize "new" technology in his marketing and distribution to his fans.

Not only that, he released the type of music HE wanted to from 97-99 and from 2001-2003. He didn't have to present the music to a record company and try to convince them to distribute his new stuff and hear them say that something wasn't "marketable".

The masses got "reacquainted" with Prince during the Musicology tour/album. They still "love" him, but not like WE do here on the org.

Prince's legacy is set. Nothing he can do will diminish that. What people are making a big deal out of now is just silliness. He's gonna go down as one of the most gifted musicians in Pop Music History. Whatever people think he's doing to diminish his legacy doesn't really matter.

daPrettyman said:

In the USA maybe but, until 21 Nights, he went of the general radar in the UK...and even that made hm look like acwanker to the point that, 3 years on, the radio still mocks his "I've got too many hits" boast. Loads of people still call him Symbol or Slave - until his "in concert perfectly free, on record Slave, come, getwild Peace" Brit speach he still had credebility bt you knew it was over the second Dave Rowntree from Blur took to the same stage with Dave written on his cheek

Marrk said:

I feel P will have more respect from non-musicians when he dies. Radio and public opinion may change but P is well respected amongst musicians.

carlcranshaw said:

daPrettyman said:

thats so true.,..

diminishing.

but not because he releases 'too much' or of 'dubious quality'.

the main problem is that most of his 'prime' material is not in
the stores in remastered, top notch quality.

for a control freak like prince who is so obsessed with all his
music it seems bizarre that he's one of the few artists that do
not release remasters. sure it's a prince/wb thing but it could
have been worked out by now.

second is all his subsequent releases are either out of print,
or simply not available anymore, anywhere.

all those loose ends, due to npgmc, 3121, lotusflower. so many
songs that don't belong anywhere. so many projects that were
never given any outing outside a very small audience.

his catalogue and his achievements are now very muddled and so
incredibly hard to list chronologically for anyone but the most
hardcore fans.

having an online presence, a decent site that would stay up for
more than just a year but be the one central starting point to
his music, with all his albums available and all his songs that
he released occasionally for soundtracks, side projects or as
one off singles through his npgmc etc.

everything complete with lyrics, liner notes, a bit of history
and some photo's and video's.

having all of that in one place would get more media attention
than any other new project every could. it would spark people's
interest, even cassual fans, to have a look and discover all of
the things they missed out on or didn't care to check out when
they were first released.

the way things stand now, where does a new 'fan' begin when he
or she wants to collect as much of his music as possible?

it seems almost impossible to even figure out what he released
since 1996 and if you manage, you won't be able to buy most of
it in an official way.

his legacy was and is his music. he should care more about it,
imo, and gather everything in one place. everything.

IstenSzek said:

or old ones for that matter.

IstenSzek said:

Exactly. Prince's artistry/output is not negatively affecting his legacy. His lack of organization and preservation of his back catalog is/will diminish his legacy. Weird Al takes better care of his past works....

I still think that a Remasters series (1978-1992) and a strong promotional campaign supporting it would make him a true star again.

Of course, that will never happen...

HonestMan13 said:

Exactly. Look at MJ, despite all of the controversy that surround his carreer in the latter half he's still an extremely respected performer/artist because of the music he already made. And no one's going to take that away from him.

Same with Prince, even if he ends up making crap albums for the rest of his career he'll be remember for his 15 year or so span of being a fantasic 80's artist who was quite often at the top of the charts.

Plus, he could always, you know, give us full access to the vault.

skywalker said:

Great points that make me very sad to think about them.

JoeTyler said:

True star? What's that mean? Prince is a global superstar.

skywalker said:

hahahaa, stop livin' in 1989, this is 2010

Nowadays, Prince is a "superstar" (with AVERAGE sales, anyway) "just" in the USA, UK, and to a lesser degree in Germany & Holland, and maybe France; get over it, the guy is all but forgotten in the rest of the world. Reasons? The lack of management...
[Edited 4/27/10 9:48am]

I can't believe that so many people call themselves "Prince fans" and still don't get it, or Prince for that matter.
At this stage in the game Prince does not really care about top 10 or top whatever hits. Prince is making music at this point for himself & his fans.
And as to his "legacy", Prince is more concerned with his soul and getting right with the Lord than what people think about him after his death. That is weird too that "fans" are already discussing what will happen to Prince after he is gone. I dunno people. Get your house in order.
Peace.

metallicjigolo said:

Eh, no

JoeTyler said:

If anything the music he makes, there is a core audience who'll buy it. Like us, we know about this obscure release or that website release. If you asked the average person about Prince we "know" what they'll say: that Purple Rain guy or that guy that changed his name to a symbol. So Yes, I would agree with JoeTyler when he said Prince makes his music for him and his fans. How many times have we said it on-line, at the NPG Music Club and trust me, he knows what we're saying.

LoL ...

PurpleLove7 said:

Prince is doing music for HIMSELF, just like always; and why? because he's a real artist, not a pop tart or a sellout...

Prince is currently a musical legend. Whether or not he remains a legend will depend on whoever is interested in anything that he does in the future. I think Prince is bored with music and the current process of promotion and performance. I think that if Prince can find a new way to entertain himself that results in distributing music that the masses appreciate then that will result in more awareness of him and his creations.

Marrk said:

Unless he does something stupid like MJ did, nope, his Living Legend status is here to stay.

He will have a great legacy. But his legacy could be even greater if all his unreleased works were given proper release.