I think the rainbow children and one night alone are truly his last decent efforts.. TRC had an organic live sound.... One night alone had very nice ballads.. I think between 2004 to 2010... Prince has put out a lot of bland music... with weak arrangements and corny lyrics... What does the rest of the org feel about this?

rusty1 said:

I think the rainbow children and one night alone are truly his last decent efforts.. TRC had an organic live sound.... One night alone had very nice ballads.. I think between 2004 to 2010... Prince has put out a lot of bland music... with weak arrangements and corny lyrics... What does the rest of the org feel about this?

He'll never be the same as we knew him back in the 80's which was my favorite era if you ask me. He'll just be... different now.

I enjoy it a great deal and there are some terrific songs. No, the "highs" of this decade do not approach the heights of his best work in the 80s, but there is still plenty of quality material.

Lotusflow3r and 3121 in particular are terrific records.

rusty1 said:

I think the rainbow children and one night alone are truly his last decent efforts.. TRC had an organic live sound.... One night alone had very nice ballads.. I think between 2004 to 2010... Prince has put out a lot of bland music... with weak arrangements and corny lyrics... What does the rest of the org feel about this?

If the categories are :

Outstanding

Good

OK

Disappointing

Train Wreck

I think overall I would rate it O.K.

I am one of the 12.3% of people on the Org that think there are many very good songs from the NPG Music Club.

Even with the lyrical content aside, I think the originality of the Rainbow Children is over-valued. There are some good songs on it, but nothing is earth shatteringly original.

ONA PIANO on the other hand is his last master class work to me. Totally flawless album.

Musicology has one brilliant song (What Do You Want Me To Do) a couple of good songs, (title track and Call My Name) and some OK stuff. But it also has a few train wrecks (mostly Life of the Party).

3121 and Planet Earth are both in his bottom 5 worst albums for me personally.

Lotusflower is a very solid album. There are no embarrasingly bad trax, but no awe inspiring ones either.

MPLS is probably another bottom five material as well.

20TEN has two great songs, (Beginning Endlessly and Sticky Like Glue) a few good songs and half clunkers.

Then there's the one offs and virtual B Sides.

I think PFUNK is absolutely brilliant.

I think Glass Cutter and Magnificent were good.

But then there's the Purple and Gold/Hot Summer/Cause and Effect stuff.....

I just feel Musicology was vastly over-rated...3121 was bland with a few decent songs... Planet earth was okay.... lotus was decent.. mpls has a lot of bland ballads... his new album is just okay.. to me nothing really crabs u.... and nothing really memorable on those albums.. as a whole

unique + special

Are there any fans on here since 1984... or 1978?.... Prince will never create anything worthy again... unless he releases the vault material.. which he'll ruin... because he'll change the lyrics.. Prince is out of his mind now.... has lost touch to what is kick-ass and vital music these days.. it's a shame....

rusty1 said:

Are there any fans on here since 1984... or 1978?.... Prince will never create anything worthy again... unless he releases the vault material.. which he'll ruin... because he'll change the lyrics.. Prince is out of his mind now.... has lost touch to what is kick-ass and vital music these days.. it's a shame....

Prince is a sexy-ass never2b fully understand genius of music...he

just ain't in2 the slackness no mo'...but he still reigns supreme like

a breathe of fresh air over Lavaux (sp?) Lawd...

NelsonR said:

rusty1 said:

Are there any fans on here since 1984... or 1978?.... Prince will never create anything worthy again... unless he releases the vault material.. which he'll ruin... because he'll change the lyrics.. Prince is out of his mind now.... has lost touch to what is kick-ass and vital music these days.. it's a shame....

Prince is a sexy-ass never2b fully understand genius of music...he

just ain't in2 the slackness no mo'...but he still reigns supreme like

a breathe of fresh air over Lavaux (sp?) Lawd...

I have to be honest by saying I don't know all of his albums and don't call myself an hardcore fan more enthusiastic ( and I have a life too... ) but I still think he was big in the 80's where he reached his pick and then declined slowly but surely. The ones who think he still has it are mostly long-term fans and one specific crowd. I say that because some people around me don't even know who he is because you don't hear much of him or his latest music.

malbena said:

NelsonR said:

Prince is a sexy-ass never2b fully understand genius of music...he

just ain't in2 the slackness no mo'...but he still reigns supreme like

a breathe of fresh air over Lavaux (sp?) Lawd...

I have to be honest by saying I don't know all of his albums and don't call myself an hardcore fan more enthusiastic ( and I have a life too... ) but I still think he was big in the 80's where he reached his pick and then declined slowly but surely. The ones who think he still has it are mostly long-term fans and one specific crowd. I say that because some people around me don't even know who he is because you don't hear much of him or his latest music.

in terms of charts n stuff...he might have reached his peak...but we have not seen the

beginning of Prince yet. I consider myself to be a "hardcore" fan, and for people who love

porn and computer masturbation and stuff like that, Prince's past might b missed; but for

those who accept where he is in this day of age, his music is like a breath of breathe air...

just like the feeling in FSS....

pax, 1ness and love

NelsonR said:

malbena said:

I have to be honest by saying I don't know all of his albums and don't call myself an hardcore fan more enthusiastic ( and I have a life too... ) but I still think he was big in the 80's where he reached his pick and then declined slowly but surely. The ones who think he still has it are mostly long-term fans and one specific crowd. I say that because some people around me don't even know who he is because you don't hear much of him or his latest music.

in terms of charts n stuff...he might have reached his peak...but we have not seen the

beginning of Prince yet. I consider myself to be a "hardcore" fan, and for people who love

porn and computer masturbation and stuff like that, Prince's past might b missed; but for

those who accept where he is in this day of age, his music is like a breath of breathe air...

just like the feeling in FSS....

pax, 1ness and love

Why does one have to love porn and computer masturbation to like his first era? Would you use the same statement for extremely religious and conservative people who love the current era? I don't think so...

For the record, I sure don't need any virtual sex to be happy in my life... even though your statement about sex addicts does not refer to me

malbena said:

NelsonR said:

in terms of charts n stuff...he might have reached his peak...but we have not seen the

beginning of Prince yet. I consider myself to be a "hardcore" fan, and for people who love

porn and computer masturbation and stuff like that, Prince's past might b missed; but for

those who accept where he is in this day of age, his music is like a breath of breathe air...

just like the feeling in FSS....

pax, 1ness and love

Why does one have to love porn and computer masturbation to like his first era? Would you use the same statement for extremely religious and conservative people who love the current era? I don't think so...

For the record, I sure don't need any virtual sex to be happy in my life... even though your statement about sex addicts does not refer to me

i accept ur point dearly beloved...forgive my venture into the personal.

its just that some ppl want prince 2 b vulgar and lyrically nasty again...

shonuff u preach the truth and i follow your interpretation of this purple

script...may the day continue to be of fulfilment 2 thee

1ness and forgiveness of the heart.

I think there are still a lot of great songs on all of his newer albums. It´s just that they are often flawed by either the lyrics ( like on TRC...the music was great, but some of the lyrics were rather cryptic for the casual listener) or sometimes the music was just too generic and too old school ( The Work, and countless other pseudo James Brown songs....it was okay when he used to to the occasional James Brown hommage in the 80s, like Possessed, but hey, he´s got his own sound, why copy James Brown all the time?).

And sometimes, the lyrics were a tad too tame or even lame even though the music was kinda okay ( like on some of the 3121 songs).

All in all, there are still elements and details and hints of his past greatness on his newer albums, and one could easily make five or six excellent albums of those eight or nine mediocre albums.

I think he´s lost the feel for his own music, and how he created those gems in the first place.

Just using a Linn doesn´t really equal "the 80s Prince sound".

I don´t think that he needs a producer but some constructive criticism from good friends or fans would probably change his sound for the better.

KoolEaze said:

I think there are still a lot of great songs on all of his newer albums. It´s just that they are often flawed by either the lyrics ( like on TRC...the music was great, but some of the lyrics were rather cryptic for the casual listener) or sometimes the music was just too generic and too old school ( The Work, and countless other pseudo James Brown songs....it was okay when he used to to the occasional James Brown hommage in the 80s, like Possessed, but hey, he´s got his own sound, why copy James Brown all the time?).

And sometimes, the lyrics were a tad too tame or even lame even though the music was kinda okay ( like on some of the 3121 songs).

All in all, there are still elements and details and hints of his past greatness on his newer albums, and one could easily make five or six excellent albums of those eight or nine mediocre albums.

I think he´s lost the feel for his own music, and how he created those gems in the first place.

Just using a Linn doesn´t really equal "the 80s Prince sound".

I don´t think that he needs a producer but some constructive criticism from good friends or fans would probably change his sound for the better.

I think there are still a lot of great songs on all of his newer albums. It´s just that they are often flawed by either the lyrics ( like on TRC...the music was great, but some of the lyrics were rather cryptic for the casual listener)

(to the above)

u c, that comes down 2 some of y'all want Prince to be U...Prince is not U...he is Prince...so he cannot say or write lyrics that you want him 2

he will reveal and manifest what is Prince, coz that is who he is...

and yes

he is funky

........on second thought, I think Prince, at the age of 52 and three decades in the business, is doing much, much better than ANY of his peers and predecessors. His albums ain´t what they used to be, but he´s still one of the best live performers and his albums are still much better than, say, Billy Joel´s or Stevie Wonder´s or Bon Jovi´s or any other musician of his generation. And by far better than what´s on the charts.

But that is probably the key here....he doesn´t have any serious competitors to challenge him,. The only decent artists out there are too full of themselves and burn out after just two or three good albums, plus they all look up to him and are so in awe of him that they don´t really pose a threat to him.

Back in the days, he had to prove a point to competitors from all genres...these days, not so much.

But he´s still trying to be successful with the same old Prince formula....a funk song, one or two ballads, one uptempo ballad, one or two guitar driven rock songs, a pop song, and maybe a "club" or dancefloor song. But this "master of all trades" approach doesn´t really find a big market or target group except for some 30-45 year old dedicated fans.

I´d much rather see him release a guitar album like The Undertaker, maybe another piano album like One Night Alone, and then something keyboard driven like MPLSound and 20Ten combined, and a strictly RnB album.

One could easily play most of his 90s output mixed with current RnB releases of the 90s...but these days, things are totally different.

He´s not the only one to blame though...he´s always been VERY competitive , and the music scene of today, at least the mainstream one, is not really challenging him anymore. No wonder that he´s resting on his laurels.

NelsonR said:

malbena said:

Why does one have to love porn and computer masturbation to like his first era? Would you use the same statement for extremely religious and conservative people who love the current era? I don't think so...

For the record, I sure don't need any virtual sex to be happy in my life... even though your statement about sex addicts does not refer to me

i accept ur point dearly beloved...forgive my venture into the personal.

its just that some ppl want prince 2 b vulgar and lyrically nasty again...

shonuff u preach the truth and i follow your interpretation of this purple

script...may the day continue to be of fulfilment 2 thee

1ness and forgiveness of the heart.

Love it!! Especially The Rainbow Children, One Night Alone-piano, 3121 - including Fury on SNL (my all-time favorite live performance on TV), the Super Bowl halftime, NEWS, and - last but definitely not least - Lotusflower.

Musicology has some great songs, some ok - and the tour was brilliant, and Planet Earth was hit and miss, depending on the song. What I'll the most about the last ten yrs or so: the Celebrations at Paisley Park. Meeting fans from around the world, making some great friends, talking with Prince and Larry after hearing TRC, and the performances...all priceless.

XNY said:

Love it!! Especially The Rainbow Children, One Night Alone-piano, 3121 - including Fury on SNL (my all-time favorite live performance on TV), the Super Bowl halftime, NEWS, and - last but definitely not least - Lotusflower.

Musicology has some great songs, some ok - and the tour was brilliant, and Planet Earth was hit and miss, depending on the song. What I'll the most about the last ten yrs or so: the Celebrations at Paisley Park. Meeting fans from around the world, making some great friends, talking with Prince and Larry after hearing TRC, and the performances...all priceless.

interestingly, in the last few years, of all the releases, Musicology is my least "fav," though I still dig it like cheese on pizza

NelsonR said:

KoolEaze said:

I think there are still a lot of great songs on all of his newer albums. It´s just that they are often flawed by either the lyrics ( like on TRC...the music was great, but some of the lyrics were rather cryptic for the casual listener) or sometimes the music was just too generic and too old school ( The Work, and countless other pseudo James Brown songs....it was okay when he used to to the occasional James Brown hommage in the 80s, like Possessed, but hey, he´s got his own sound, why copy James Brown all the time?).

And sometimes, the lyrics were a tad too tame or even lame even though the music was kinda okay ( like on some of the 3121 songs).

All in all, there are still elements and details and hints of his past greatness on his newer albums, and one could easily make five or six excellent albums of those eight or nine mediocre albums.

I think he´s lost the feel for his own music, and how he created those gems in the first place.

Just using a Linn doesn´t really equal "the 80s Prince sound".

I don´t think that he needs a producer but some constructive criticism from good friends or fans would probably change his sound for the better.

I think there are still a lot of great songs on all of his newer albums. It´s just that they are often flawed by either the lyrics ( like on TRC...the music was great, but some of the lyrics were rather cryptic for the casual listener)

(to the above)

u c, that comes down 2 some of y'all want Prince to be U...Prince is not U...he is Prince...so he cannot say or write lyrics that you want him 2

he will reveal and manifest what is Prince, coz that is who he is...

and yes

he is funky

Oh definitely. You´re right about that. Prince has always been like that when it comes to his music and especially his lyrics. And I´m not saying that I want him to be the way I want him to be, or write music or lyrics that I can relate to. I´m just saying that in the past, despite writing highly personal and introverted lyrics, the casual listeners and music afficionados could still somehow relate to most of his output. Whether it was about break-ups, lust, rejected love, yearning, longing, a broken heart, jealousy, whatever....we all have been there and done that and could relate to what he was singing about.

But these days, while he hasn´t really changed to write about things that are important TO HIM, most fans, or at least myself, can´t really relate to a lot of the lyrics of his more current material.

As an artist, this makes him very interesting since his life is reflected in his body of work.

But as a "pop" artist, it is very difficult to be "pop"ular when the average Joe has no clue what you are going on about in songs like The Work, Digital Garden, Wedding Feast, Lion of Judah, Incense and Candles, Black Sweat etc.

its coo...songs are better than the 90's...but they style is..ho hum

NelsonR said:

XNY said:

Love it!! Especially The Rainbow Children, One Night Alone-piano, 3121 - including Fury on SNL (my all-time favorite live performance on TV), the Super Bowl halftime, NEWS, and - last but definitely not least - Lotusflower.

Musicology has some great songs, some ok - and the tour was brilliant, and Planet Earth was hit and miss, depending on the song. What I'll the most about the last ten yrs or so: the Celebrations at Paisley Park. Meeting fans from around the world, making some great friends, talking with Prince and Larry after hearing TRC, and the performances...all priceless.

interestingly, in the last few years, of all the releases, Musicology is my least "fav," though I still dig it like cheese on pizza

Mine too. I like a few songs on it, but I haven't listened to it in at least four years.

KoolEaze said:

NelsonR said:

I think there are still a lot of great songs on all of his newer albums. It´s just that they are often flawed by either the lyrics ( like on TRC...the music was great, but some of the lyrics were rather cryptic for the casual listener)

(to the above)

u c, that comes down 2 some of y'all want Prince to be U...Prince is not U...he is Prince...so he cannot say or write lyrics that you want him 2

he will reveal and manifest what is Prince, coz that is who he is...

and yes

he is funky

Oh definitely. You´re right about that. Prince has always been like that when it comes to his music and especially his lyrics. And I´m not saying that I want him to be the way I want him to be, or write music or lyrics that I can relate to. I´m just saying that in the past, despite writing highly personal and introverted lyrics, the casual listeners and music afficionados could still somehow relate to most of his output. Whether it was about break-ups, lust, rejected love, yearning, longing, a broken heart, jealousy, whatever....we all have been there and done that and could relate to what he was singing about.

But these days, while he hasn´t really changed to write about things that are important TO HIM, most fans, or at least myself, can´t really relate to a lot of the lyrics of his more current material.

As an artist, this makes him very interesting since his life is reflected in his body of work.

But as a "pop" artist, it is very difficult to be "pop"ular when the average Joe has no clue what you are going on about in songs like The Work, Digital Garden, Wedding Feast, Lion of Judah, Incense and Candles, Black Sweat etc.

Whether it was about break-ups, lust, rejected love, yearning, longing, a broken heart, jealousy, whatever....we all have been there and done that and could relate to what he was singing about.

.....

u c every tom dick and britney gaga is doing that.

97% of the music out there is fakeness of emotion...

and pRINce suggests that its time for lovers 2 look

higher, within...so if u want lovey dovey stuff, there's

more than enough of that floating around; but if u

wanna get w/ the everlasting now, then the purple

gruv is where it's @

Overall, I'd be happy to not really hear it ever again. 20Ten is the first interesting things he's done in a long time. I like 3121 and Planet Earth, but I could still leave them if I had to dismiss everything as a whole from 2001-2009

ernestsewell said:

Overall, I'd be happy to not really hear it ever again. 20Ten is the first interesting things he's done in a long time. I like 3121 and Planet Earth, but I could still leave them if I had to dismiss everything as a whole from 2001-2009

Lotus is a great compilation...even if one is a Prince "fan"

who does not like Prince's lyrics

he blew the mother w/ that one and tore the guitar up...

boom, dreamer, crimson and clover...

then u get the insane guitar on the song "Planet Earth"

and "Lion of Judah"

the brethren Prince is clearly in a class of his own...

Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999)
Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic (2000):

Tangarine, I Love U but I Don't Trust U Anymore, and Undisputed (Remix)

Overall, this album is a bust for me. I skip past many songs.

The Rainbow Children (2001)

Muse 2 the Pharoah, The Work, She Loves Me 4 Me, Family Name, The Everlasting Now, Last December

Overall, I do enjoy The Rainbow Children. 1+1+1=3 is kinda played out to me now. I like the live versions with Love Rollercoaster.

One Nite Alone... (2002)

Pearls B4 the Swine, Avalanche

I enjoy the composition of Pearls, and the voice on Avalanche is incredible. Other then that....

Xpectation (2003)

While not on the album, I love Xenophobia. But I haven't played this CD in a LONG time.

C-Note (2003)

I don't really count this as an album, even though I guess I should. While I love Blackwell, Dulfer, and Neto... Najee had so completely killed the "jazz" theme for me that I never took well to the jazz instrumentals.

N.E.W.S (2003)

I remember enjoying one of these songs, but it's been so long in listening to them, that I couldn't tell you which one. I think it was West.

Musicology (2004)

All songs

I love this album! Every song except "On the Couch". But I enjoyed listening to it live. This was his best tour. Great production, solid promotion, and probably his best touring band in his career. I will not mince words on this!

The Chocolate Invasion (2004)
The Slaughterhouse (2004)

When I Lay my Hands on U, Vavoom, Supercute, Underneath the Cream, Silicon, Peace, S&M Groove

Continuing a solid year, the NPG Music Club seems like a godsend in retrospect to the future internet offerings! I don't know where "When I Lay" came from, but holy geez is that a bad assed song!

3121 (2006)

Lolita, Love, Love (Acoustic), and Fury

Highlights on an otherwise (suprisingly) mediocore album. Something about the song "3121" throws me off. I can love it one day and quick skip it the next.

Planet Earth (2007)

Guitar, The One U Wanna See

Guitar sounds SO awesome live. I also enjoy the production on The One U Wanna See. But the other songs just bland me out.

Lotusflow3r (2009)

MPLSound

Pretty much the only album I listen to. And FREQUENTLY!!!! I felt this was Prince's return to form. I even turn up "Chocolate Box"!!!

20Ten (2010)

???

I haven't gotten this yet. Waiting on release.

rusty1 said:

I think the rainbow children and one night alone are truly his last decent efforts..

I agree. Those albums are actually the last ones I purchased. Except PE, but I didn't like that one very much.

I prefer the more (for want of a better word) "organic" side to Prince's output in the last decade.

The other half; the synthesized pop/R&B stuff sounds very forced and uneven to me - very lacking in ideas or inspiration.

rusty1 said:

I think the rainbow children and one night alone are truly his last decent efforts.. TRC had an organic live sound.... One night alone had very nice ballads.. I think between 2004 to 2010... Prince has put out a lot of bland music... with weak arrangements and corny lyrics... What does the rest of the org feel about this?

I would say the TRC/One Nite Alone era (including piano, live, trc, c-note, etc..) was his last great era.

After that it went downhill, with once a while a gem, just to lazy arrangements, just no real drive to make exciting music. But then again Lotusflow3r (the album) is great, so should not complain to much.

Fenwick said:

rusty1 said:

I think the rainbow children and one night alone are truly his last decent efforts.. TRC had an organic live sound.... One night alone had very nice ballads.. I think between 2004 to 2010... Prince has put out a lot of bland music... with weak arrangements and corny lyrics... What does the rest of the org feel about this?

If the categories are :

Outstanding

Good

OK

Disappointing

Train Wreck

I think overall I would rate it O.K.

I am one of the 12.3% of people on the Org that think there are many very good songs from the NPG Music Club.

Even with the lyrical content aside, I think the originality of the Rainbow Children is over-valued. There are some good songs on it, but nothing is earth shatteringly original.

ONA PIANO on the other hand is his last master class work to me. Totally flawless album.

Musicology has one brilliant song (What Do You Want Me To Do) a couple of good songs, (title track and Call My Name) and some OK stuff. But it also has a few train wrecks (mostly Life of the Party).

3121 and Planet Earth are both in his bottom 5 worst albums for me personally.

Lotusflower is a very solid album. There are no embarrasingly bad trax, but no awe inspiring ones either.

MPLS is probably another bottom five material as well.

20TEN has two great songs, (Beginning Endlessly and Sticky Like Glue) a few good songs and half clunkers.

Then there's the one offs and virtual B Sides.

I think PFUNK is absolutely brilliant.

I think Glass Cutter and Magnificent were good.

But then there's the Purple and Gold/Hot Summer/Cause and Effect stuff.....

I almost completely agree with ur analysis. Love Piano as well! Masterpiece!

musicology and 3121 had some really really good songs and they are the only prince albums I own from the past decade

the greatest romance ever was a good song

I regret not going to his hits tour, I had such a busy work schedule and had no money and could not take off and was still a student.

Oh and I thought he looked really cute and aged like fine wine