So which is it? Both are underrated classics that don't get the credit they deserve outside of Prince circles. Both heavily feature the Revolution. Both came during his 'psychedelic' whimsical period. Both have killer 12" remixes and b-sides. Both have 3 US singles and one extra UK single. Both contributed highly to his fall from the top of the charts. Both were during a period of intense experimentation and prolific writing. Both have a similar feel.

Now the differences:

-ATWIAD-

Exploding with color
Anti-image, Anti-fame
Gnarled, trippy sound
Several songs with political and spiritual messages
AMG describes it as having a "creeping sense of paranoia"
No tour. The beginning of his downfall in America.
Relatively few outtakes

-Parade-

Black and White
Very image-conscious. Even had a movie to support it.
Dry, funky shuffling sound
Several songs about courtship and love
AMG describes it as having a "dense claustrophobia"
Great tour. The beginning of his dominance in Europe.
Many outtakes. Was at one time planned as a double album.

Which do you prefer?

Parade!

i like both but i prefer parade...

I should add to my request, and why?

Although I do love both albums immensely, I'm gonna have to go with Around the World in a Day. I held them as equals for many years but just recently I've rediscovered this album and it was as though I had never heard it before. My brother and I had a very emotional night one time and put this on while driving late at night. It was when our dog was very near death. We both were floored. That album has never sounded better, before or since. And I still carry that moment with me. Parade has a much cooler look and interesting mix though. They both have their high and low points.

'Parade' has two really outstanding songs---"Kiss" and "Girl & Boys"---that rival ANYthing on 'ATWIAD',imo.

Parade for sure.

With ATWIAD, Prince released some wonderful B-sides, which to me, made the album itself quite boring.

The music in Parade is tight, romantic and funky.


.
[This message was edited Wed Jan 22 5:30:54 PST 2003 by LaVisHh]

DavidEye said:

That almost sound like you prefer ATWIAD.

What can I say? How can you claim favourites over two children you love dearly? Both albums rate high among my favourite Prince albums.

To put it this way; gut instinct dictates me to answer Parade.

Why? Numerous reasons; as Tron might remember from another thread (up to date), I got heavily into Prince around 1986. Parade was one of the reasons.

The album connected with my exploration of music. Other bands/artists I was into include Eurythmics, The Cure, Miles Davis, James Brown, Dexter Gordon , Chet Baker and Joni Mitchell. Parade just fit into that exploration with it's deep jazz influences and stone to the bone funk excercises.

The multi layered orchestrations reminded me of Rufus's Ask Rufus, only to discover Prince is a very fonky thief. And the funk, that was a bit lacking on ATWIAD, was served with the kind of verve that I had not found in any other artist, including JB. Artists before Prince stuck to their groove, but Prince seemed to embrace so many styles and colours into his music that it blew my mind.

And then, he performed live in Holland. Need I say more? The Parade tour kicked ass.

I didn't know that Gooey. I thought Sign and ATWIAD were your 2 fave P albums. I stand corrected!

LaVisHh said:

The same could be said of LaVish: tight, romantic and funky...what a POA

TRON said:

Did I say they were my faves over all? Nooo.

DavidEye said:

What makes people pass on ANOTHERLOVERHOLENYOHEAD?

TRON said:

"Parade", by a notch. "Around The World ..." is the "Rainbow Children" of the eighties.

MYNAMEISFACE said:

I'm not the one being reviewed here.

gooeythehamster said:

Oh,I like that song too.I just think that "Kiss" and "G&B" are the obvious highlights.

LaVisHh said:

LMAO!!! But so worthy of discussion anyway.

And Parade made that beautiful statement with those three first songs mixed into eachother without it bothering the flow of any of them.

And I just love Do U Lie?. It is probably the most overlooked little itty bitty Prince did with them girls everybody cannot stop talking about.
The flow, the vocal melodies, how them voices blend. That kind of back and forth irregular backing vocals thing it has going...wow

gooeythehamster said:

I don't understand. What's the difference?

TRON said:

'ATWIAD' is an interesting album,but it's not one of my favorites.I think the songs are too slow,too laid back or something.With 'Parade',you have a funk classic on there ("Kiss"),in addition to great songs like "Anotherloverholenyohead","Girls & Boys" and "Do U Lie" (a guilty pleasure of mine...lol).

TRON said:

The difference is that you asked me to rate one over the other, not including SOTT.

I never stated I liked Parade OR ATWIAD over SOTT, which remains my fave over all others. I guess you did not understood what I wrote...

But the The Revolution albums ALL rate high because it is obviously a musical-style-curious Prince looking for Larry Graham, basicly.

I actually think that Mountains, Sometimes it Snows in April and Alexa de Paris are the best Parade songs.

No one's mentioned those yet.

And check your brother's thread FAVOURITE ALBUM OF ALL TIME, in which I state that my choice given is for THIS moment.

I want to be able to change my mind according to mood without being branded shifty.

Even if I am.

gooeythehamster said:

No, what I meant was that I thought Sign was your favorite, then ATWIAD, then Parade. I didn't know you liked Parade that much, that's all.

TRON said:

I could quote lovely words about ALL Parade songs... if I were not at work...

gooeythehamster said:

That's your next homework assignment then. I expect a thesis by tomorrow at this time. Now hop to it!

TRON said:

I now understand your confusion. I am sorry for stressing you. That other statement was made while I was recording a mini disc with ATWIAD including all the b-sides.

And then I had to admit to a newly found re-appreciation for ATWIAD when four songs of that album made my MD entitled Poplife, including songs selected by strict criteria, meaning melody in combination with song lyrical content.

GooeytheFickle

TRON and Gooey,you guys are confusing us

I'm gonna go with Around The World.

I love 'em both but ATWIAD was the album that made me sit up, take notice of the music and and really appreciate how talented Prince was (and still is of course).

Listeners and critics were expecting Purple Rain part 2, and we got this sprawling, psychadelic offering which contains IMO, one of his best ballads, Condition Of The Heart and Raspberry Beret which is an ultimate pop song if ever there was one.

The end of Temptation, where P gets admonished for "wanting U in the worst way", still makes me giggle.

ATWIAD was such a radical departure from Purple Rain, it was THE album that made me look forward to the next Prince release. You just didn't know what was coming next.