Though I may agree with some of the biggest career mistakes threads, they are boring for someone like me who has been here a long time, so no regrets as as true as they maybe, they can't be changed now, how about a Prince's best career moves thread:

My take is as follows:

• Dirty Mind - the back to basics -ness of it
• Controversy - the song, still ahead of the curve with regards to the dancefloor
• 1999 - album and song and tour and feature in The Breakfast Club
• Not doing interviews
• Parade album & tour
• Working with W&L
• Lovesexy & SOTT aftershow gigs
• Playing the Superbowl in 2007
• Free Musicology album with the tour tickets
• NPGMC - multi million dollar brands do not have anywhere near as good consumer interface
• 21 Nights in London (I attended 6 of the 21 and do regret not attending the other 15!) and the Indigo Nights gigs (I attended 3 and they were differented and they rocked)
• Jill Jones voice and album
• What Time is it?
• Kiss video
• Celebrations out at the Park
• The late night gigs out at the Park
• Sign 'o' the times tour and movie
• Purple Rain - all and everything
• Lotusflower album
• Wasted Kisses
• Lovesexy tour and live TV broadcast in Europe of the last gig of the European leg
• 2010 guesting with Steve Wonder in Paris
• Hall of Fame 'while my guitar gently weeps' performance

cheers

Matt

I have to agree with you on The Entire Purple Rain era...the movie, the ablum, the tour, it all worked for him! I think 1999 was a great move for him too, the song itself, it kept him relevant years after it came out (not that he wasn't relevant anyway). I also liked that he kept himself so private, kept out the drama that's plagued so many other celebs. And him continuing to put out music and tour has been a big plus too.

One word........

......pancakes.

It's odd to think of a list of his successes. In my mind, they are so obvious when they happen that it needs no introduction, I guess.

Anyway...

1) Musicology album sales w/ tickets. Genius idea. Probably not his idea, but genius in its implementation. This was clearly one of Prince's unique ways of bucking the record industry system and showing how easily it could be manipulated. It paid off - big time. This being no small feat given his lack of relevance at the time and the fact that Musicology, comparatively speaking, is a lackluster album. Certainly not one worthy of a "comeback" title.

2) 3121's quirky promotional efforts. It paid off. "Black Sweat" is a genius song and proved, at a time of nearly complete radio unfriendliness for P, that he could write a hit if he fucking cared to. The parties, the perfume, the online presence, the interesting protege, the great music. It was deserving of its #1 debut and it's commendable that it achieved such success given the absolutely stupid choice of first single.

3) Deft recovery from punchline-worthy disaster that was Graffiti Bridge. Diamonds and Pearls was the right album, at the right time, with the right band, and the right look. With the embarrassments we lovingly call Sign o the Times and Lovesexy (sales wise), P's resurgence to fame with the success of Batman felt long overdue even though it was just 5 years after he became a household name. With a famous new girlfriend, a slick album, and a huge movie deal it appeared that he was back on top. Graffiti Bridge brought all of that crashing down with a subpar tour, lackluster album sales and only a mild hit with "Thieves in the Temple", and the huge travesty that was Graffiti Bridge the movie. Diamonds and Pearls ushered in a new commercial sound that felt contemporary and with-the-times. Prince was finally making music that his mainstream fans were listening to (as opposed to his typically futuristic sound). With classic performances on award and talk shows throughout the year, Diamonds and Pearls' fantastic world tour was the stuff success is made of. "Cream" was a deserved #1 and the rest of the album's singles were also backed with slick videos and heavy radio play.

4) Cooperation with WB for the release of Ultimate Prince. This was the set us die hards were waiting for. Digital transfers of rare 12" b-sides and extended mixes never-before-released in an easy-to-find set at a reasonable price... And the music sounded GOOD! Not a remastered set, the real value in this simple transfer job was the fact they bumped up the sound on all those horribly dim and thin CD transfers from the 80s on albums like Around the World in a Day, Sign o the Times, and Lovesexy. Now if only there wasn't the obvious-filler of the "Cream" and "7" remixes - seriously, who the hell would ever listen to the NPG Mix of "Cream" over the original? Definitely not me and definitely not my casual Prince fan friends.

Having Mayte dance for him in his live shows! Brought the music and show to a whole new level!

*the Purple Rain movie

*the Batman soundtrack

*starting over with a new band in late 1986

Superbowl (has he ever been viewed by more people at one time?)

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" solo

Grammy's 2004 (the 1st step in his return to the mainstream)

LizaWoman08 said:

Having Mayte dance for him in his live shows! Brought the music and show to a whole new level!

skywalker said:

Superbowl (has he ever been viewed by more people at one time?)

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" solo

Grammy's 2004 (the 1st step in his return to the mainstream)

ahh yes, forgot about the Grammy's in 2004 - totally agree

motherfunka said:

LizaWoman08 said:

Having Mayte dance for him in his live shows! Brought the music and show to a whole new level!

Stage dive anyone?

jaybendy said:

motherfunka said:

Stage dive anyone?

LMFAO!!! You referring to the notorious stage dive where she hit the floor at the MTV European Music Awards, where they did Peach??? Or just in general?

motherfunka said:

jaybendy said:

Stage dive anyone?

LMFAO!!! You referring to the notorious stage dive where she hit the floor at the MTV European Music Awards, where they did Peach??? Or just in general?

No...no, that's exactly what I was referring to.

jaybendy said:

motherfunka said:

LMFAO!!! You referring to the notorious stage dive where she hit the floor at the MTV European Music Awards, where they did Peach??? Or just in general?

No...no, that's exactly what I was referring to.

Too funny!!! Not sure why, but I never got into Mayte's dancing like I did Cat's dancing. When they used to do Get Wild and Mayte would do her little part, not sure what the F she was saying since it was in Spanish, but it was just horrible! She would scream at the end of it. It wasn't the CD version, but something she added on the live versions. Way worse than anything Tony M did.

motherfunka said:

jaybendy said:

No...no, that's exactly what I was referring to.

Too funny!!! Not sure why, but I never got into Mayte's dancing like I did Cat's dancing. When they used to do Get Wild and Mayte would do her little part, not sure what the F she was saying since it was in Spanish, but it was just horrible! She would scream at the end of it. It wasn't the CD version, but something she added on the live versions. Way worse than anything Tony M did.

I remember seeing that too! She jumped off the stage and nobody caught her.. I was like, wow...is she ok?? Then I saw her emerge from the ground and start dancing again, so I guess she was ok

3121 Las Vegas

7.7.7 Triple Threat Shows (Macy's, Target Center and First Avenue all in one day) ...

PurpleLove7 said:

3121 Las Vegas

No. Terrible move.

Cerebus said:

PurpleLove7 said:

3121 Las Vegas

No. Terrible move.

I disagree. The 3121 residency opened up a new audience for P and kept him stationary. I think he works best when in his own element (see Glam Slam and Paisley parties). The 3121 Vegas shows were cool.

Spinlight said:

Cerebus said:

No. Terrible move.

I disagree. The 3121 residency opened up a new audience for P and kept him stationary. I think he works best when in his own element (see Glam Slam and Paisley parties). The 3121 Vegas shows were cool.

Right. Because he's done an American tour since then to large draws every night. No. Terrible move. It made people look at him as a Vegas act. Someone past their prime who can only draw the tourist crowd.

Edit. In American, that is. Lets see him do a tour here again and then maybe I'll change my mind.

[Edited 9/23/10 12:45pm]

Cerebus said:

Spinlight said:

I disagree. The 3121 residency opened up a new audience for P and kept him stationary. I think he works best when in his own element (see Glam Slam and Paisley parties). The 3121 Vegas shows were cool.

Right. Because he's done an American tour since then to large draws every night. No. Terrible move. It made people look at him as a Vegas act. Someone past their prime who can only draw the tourist crowd.

Edit. In American, that is. Lets see him do a tour here again and then maybe I'll change my mind.

[Edited 9/23/10 12:45pm]

I don't think he's even done a full scale tour in the US since then at all, though. Musicology was, I think, the last big tour. 3121 was mainly just in Vegas, Planet Earth was just in Europe, and Lotus didn't see a US tour and 20TEN won't either.

If he had kept the same momentum after 3121, he would've had large draws. He didn't keep the momentum because he gave up. The next album was free in newspapers and contained no real hits with a meager tie-in w/ Verizon.

Cerebus said:

Spinlight said:

I disagree. The 3121 residency opened up a new audience for P and kept him stationary. I think he works best when in his own element (see Glam Slam and Paisley parties). The 3121 Vegas shows were cool.

Right. Because he's done an American tour since then to large draws every night. No. Terrible move. It made people look at him as a Vegas act. Someone past their prime who can only draw the tourist crowd.

Edit. In American, that is. Lets see him do a tour here again and then maybe I'll change my mind.

I can see what you're talking about and you'd figure that if someone is doing a Vegas show they may be washed up but, when I went to Vegas from South Florida, never had been there before and never wanted to go, I don't gamble so why would I wanna go. I actually took time out and my wife and I went as a wedding present to one another for the first show. After that I saw 3 shows and she saw 4.

I thought it was a great move to be stationary, it felt like and sounded like how peeps were saying how the Paisley Parties were. It had that same vibe (props to Spinlight) ...

Spinlight said:

Cerebus said:

Right. Because he's done an American tour since then to large draws every night. No. Terrible move. It made people look at him as a Vegas act. Someone past their prime who can only draw the tourist crowd.

Edit. In American, that is. Lets see him do a tour here again and then maybe I'll change my mind.

[Edited 9/23/10 12:45pm]

I don't think he's even done a full scale tour in the US since then at all, though. Musicology was, I think, the last big tour. 3121 was mainly just in Vegas, Planet Earth was just in Europe, and Lotus didn't see a US tour and 20TEN won't either.

If he had kept the same momentum after 3121, he would've had large draws. He didn't keep the momentum because he gave up. The next album was free in newspapers and contained no real hits with a meager tie-in w/ Verizon.

You're kind of making my point. Musicology was huge and succesful. Definitely the most the general public had cared about Prince in a decade. So instead of continuing that momentum he disappeared to a tiny night club setting in Vegas. Believe it or not, most of those shows were only attended by the diehard fans. Many of them travelled there to see them. And many of them went to multiple shows. All the while Prince disappeared from the general conscience of America once again. I do not believe that he could do a tour the size of Musicology in American now, even if he wanted to. I hope he proves me wrong one day. But that's why I don't view the 3121 residency as a good career move.

PurpleLove7 said:

Cerebus said:

Right. Because he's done an American tour since then to large draws every night. No. Terrible move. It made people look at him as a Vegas act. Someone past their prime who can only draw the tourist crowd.

Edit. In American, that is. Lets see him do a tour here again and then maybe I'll change my mind.

I can see what you're talking about and you'd figure that if someone is doing a Vegas show they may be washed up but, when I went to Vegas from South Florida, never had been there before and never wanted to go, I don't gamble so why would I wanna go. I actually took time out and my wife and I went as a wedding present to one another for the first show. After that I saw 3 shows and she saw 4.

I thought it was a great move to be stationary, it felt like and sounded like how peeps were saying how the Paisley Parties were. It had that same vibe (props to Spinlight) ...

And I had not yet read your post when I was writing my last one.