If you were Prince, would you have released ATWIAD just mere months after Purple Rain and mere weeks after TAKE ME WITH YOU fell off the charts? Do you think that was a shrewd move for him? Do you think it was smart for him to release such a radical sounding record as ATWIAD? Yes or no..why or why not

[Edited 6/15/10 7:12am]

He released it a year later.

DigitalGardin said:

If you were Prince, would you have released ATWIAD just mere months after Purple Rain? Do you think that was a shrewd move for him? Yes or no..why or why not

You could probably argue that "mere months" point for most of his albums.

I didn't think the gap between PR and ATWIAD was significantly shorter than with other releases? In fact didn't the Purple Rain tour go on well into 1985? What was the releasee date for each album? has anyone got the dates to hand?

KeithyT said:

DigitalGardin said:

If you were Prince, would you have released ATWIAD just mere months after Purple Rain? Do you think that was a shrewd move for him? Yes or no..why or why not

You could probably argue that "mere months" point for most of his albums.

I didn't think the gap between PR and ATWIAD was significantly shorter than with other releases? In fact didn't the Purple Rain tour go on well into 1985? What was the releasee date for each album? has anyone got the dates to hand?

PR...June 24, 84

ATWID..apr 85

I think releasing AWIAD so soon after Purple Rain was a mistake. With the success that Purple Rain had he should of being riding that even more.

Heck he could have came out with something like "Purple Rain: Severe Storms - The Extended Forecast" (Yes I love that title Ernest ) and it would have done SO MUCH BETTER than AWIAD.

DigitalGardin said:

PR...June 24, 84

ATWID..apr 85

talk to your lawyer cos you've got no case, next time you pull a card it better be a ace MF or you can lay...

Given the commercial success of Purple Rain, yes it made little sense to release THIS album so soon afterwards. Speaking purely commercially, he could've milked PR for another single if he wanted, and certainly toured ourside the USA, meaning Purple Rain could've taken Prince right into 1986/7 if he really wanted.

I think Prince purposefully did not do this, for whatever reason (professional onanism? as Spinlight so brilliantly phrased recently it in the Ebony thread). The style of the album, it's material, and lack of promotion also points to the same reason. It's probably unfair to single this as the only reason, Prince was right in the white heat of his quality/quantity phase at this time, so the material he was creating he also wanted to get out there on record too.

It was perfect - a "strike while the iron is hot" type of thing. Nowadays, they would've tacked "Raspberry Beret" and "She's Always in My Hair" to the end of Purple Rain and called it the "Special Edition".

First:

You say "fell off the charts" like it's a negative thing.

But let's get the dates right. There was a bit more time than you might have inferred.

Purple Rain was released on June 25, 1984, with the movie coming out July 27, 1984.

"Take Me With U", the last single, was released January 25, 1985, and reached #25 on the charts.

Around The World In A Day was released April 22, 1985.

So the time between the two albums was 10 months, to the day almost.

The gap between those albums was about the same as any other Prince release. Prince usually tends to release albums in the spring, or very late in the year. So the time varies of course, but a year in general is the rule of thumb it seemed back then. No other artists were doing that, not since the early 70's when bands were putting stuff out just as quickly. And in the 60's people were releasing stuff every six months.

Prince really just put the album out and, for a while, didn't allow WB to do any promotion or release any single. They released it, send it to radio, and let people decide what they liked.

I think "Computer Blue" should have been a single, instead of "Take Me With U", and let "Wednesday" be the B-side. Great ending to a huge run of the album, movie, and tour. I think any of us can understand why Prince put that music out so quickly. He was ready to get away from Purple Rain. I would be too. It was enough. Almost too much at some point. The world was painted purple, and Prince was ready to splash something new on the streets, and in your ears.

No doubt it was a bold move. Talk about doing a 180. However, people are still talking about it today, so he must have done something right.

.

[Edited 6/15/10 7:52am]

I LOVE ATWIAD as prince says excpect the unexcpected. frm the first song 2 the end

this album brings joy.

open your mind a train is leaving 2day.

perfect prince at his best. just cme of of utube they have selected songs frm the parade tour.

the songs frm this album r xcellent. america, pop life. im going back 2 watch them again.

i atwiad

i wouldnt change thing about it

I don't think he cares too much about charts, but rather keeping steady output as a prolific artist and moving on, knowing he has a lot of material to release. From an artistic point of view, ATWIAD is a bold but stellar move..

LCD99 said:

I don't think he cares too much about charts, but rather keeping steady output as a prolific artist and moving on, knowing he has a lot of material to release. From an artistic point of view, ATWIAD is a bold but stellar move..

He might not care about charts now, but he did then. Let's not forget his famous quote, "Let's go get some of that Duran Duran money". That goes for touring, and selling records.

ATWIAD is a lil' bit o' genius, it's that simple.

I think that Prince cared a lot about chart positions back then, very much so.

And i believe that after the enormous success of the Purple Rain movie, album and tour, Prince probably felt that ATWIAD would be a lot more successful than it was, maybe, maybe not.

Lets not forget, ATWIAD was not exactly a flop, but maybe compared to Purple Rain sales figures it looked that way.

As for what i think of the album? I love it, i prefer it to Purple Rain, always have always will.

[Edited 6/15/10 13:44pm]

LCD99 said:

I don't think he cares too much about charts, but rather keeping steady output as a prolific artist and moving on, knowing he has a lot of material to release. From an artistic point of view, ATWIAD is a bold but stellar move..

Don't kid youself. Prince LOVED the charts. "Tune in next hit" on Partyman (Purple Party Mix). Still does. "too many hits, so little time" in concert.

DigitalGardin said:

If you were Prince

There it is.

The guy was a creative force at that time and not coincidentally, a little off-kilter. He did what most would not. He was a genius that may have made decisions that were sometimes contrary to all things wise. Sounds like we could be talking about Prince circa 2010, doesn't it? But back then, he had an open mind and the music flowed out of his studio sessions like a geyser. Today, his associations have wrapped the yellow tape around his mind so there is no freedom shown in his art. No frustration. No excitement. After his conversion to the "Truth", we fans are left with the musical equivalent of a blank stare.

Though bound by the oversight of Warner Bros, Prince did what he wanted and felt like doing in 1985. His peers didn't necessarily have the stones to do that, nor did they usually have the talent to land on their feet in the event of a misstep. Around The World In A Day uses the exact same template as Purple Rain, but the instrumentation was a curve ball to the uninitiated. Im pretty sure that those who had followed the Dirty Mind > Controversy > 1999 > Purple Rain arc were somewhat prepared for Around The World In A Day.