RASPBERRY BERET- Take me with you

AMERICA- Baby im a star

THE LADDER- Purple Rain

TEMPTATION- Darling Nikki ( a bit of a stretch but its place on the album rang true)

ATWIAD - When Doves Cry ( even MORE of a stretch...but beat and lack of bass is somewhat similiar)

When i first became a fan i heard alot about prince being " so brave for this to be his follow up to PR" but its basically PR#2 With more influences and inflections.

Im not the only one thats hearing/seeing this right?

Maybe if he came out with PARADE right after would i see that credit being due:lol:

i dont see any similarities at all between the 2 , totally different albums to my ears...

ummmmm hmmmmm:-o

lol:-)

Nvncible1 said:

RASPBERRY BERET- Take me with you

AMERICA- Baby im a star

THE LADDER- Purple Rain

TEMPTATION- Darling Nikki ( a bit of a stretch but its place on the album rang true)

ATWIAD - When Doves Cry ( even MORE of a stretch...but beat and lack of bass is somewhat similiar)

When i first became a fan i heard alot about prince being " so brave for this to be his follow up to PR" but its basically PR#2 With more influences and inflections.

Im not the only one thats hearing/seeing this right?

Maybe if he came out with PARADE right after would i see that credit being due:lol:

totally see what you're getting at, but i think you're just noticing the basic album formulae of many of prince's albums as he is so far reaching in his art, just a pot-pourri of different styles, really all these translate to are: mid-tempo singalong track, raucous track, big ballad and more minimal track, but you could say the same for parade, sign of the times, gold experience and even the rainbow children to a point.. but yes i do agree he followed a basic formula of eclectic taste, just not as closey engineered as you think?

I disagree.

I was a senior in high school when PR came out, and I didn't really like Prince that much. A couple of my friends had it, and I tried. I really did.

So I thought if I bought ATWIAD, I could learn to like him. Boy, was I wrong.

It was so different from PR, that I thought, "Why do these people like him?"

It wasn't until years later, after I became a fan, that I started to appreciate it.

I think because it and Parade were so different from PR and 1999, it kinda pissed people off that he went in such a different direction. Just the kind of reactions these so called fans have given 20Ten, that is the sort of reactions both the post PR albums got from fans.

And no, I am not comparing these records. Just saying. Haters never change.

[Edited 8/18/10 15:51pm]

Totally different production, instrumentation, presentation and ideas. PR2 it is not!

It was almost as big a 180 as "Dirty Mind" was from "Prince". Yet you could do exactly as you have done and find some similarities in tracks, but that doesn't mean they came from or are going to the same place!

Purple Rain was a straight ahead rock/pop album - the same cannot be said for ATWIAD.

Maybe Purple Rain is actually 1999(2) - you know, Free is just the same as Purple Rain............

kaine said:

I think because it and Parade were so different from PR and 1999, it kinda pissed people off that he went in such a different direction. Just the kind of reactions these so called fans have given 20Ten, that is the sort of reactions both the post PR albums got from fans.

And no, I am not comparing these records. Just saying. Haters never change.

[Edited 8/18/10 15:51pm]

And neither do morons, it seems.........

Agreed with those songs you mentioned but at the time it seemed like a big change. Truth be told, it was a lackluster follow up although with a few gems in there. Temptation is particularly awful.

Parade and SOTT after that were much bigger departures from what was before.

It's not about comparing tracks to each other, it's about the certain feel of an album as a whole.

Purple Rain is the perfect pop hit records, with almost no weaknesses and at least 50% pure hit material. ATWIAD on the other hand is much to unconventional for major chart success, except the odd hit single. The overall feel of the album was hippie, not megastar, that's what made the immense break between the two albums IMHO.

emesem said:

Agreed with those songs you mentioned but at the time it seemed like a big change. Truth be told, it was a lackluster follow up although with a few gems in there. Temptation is particularly awful.

Parade and SOTT after that were much bigger departures from what was before.

Exactly. For me, the ATWIAD era is saved by the B-sides. And that live "America" video.

i just feel that he didnt venture as far off the plank as most fans and music people led us to believe.

parade was a different story. huge turn left. but i love all of em just the same

That's because you're looking at the album with hindsight, with full knowledge of the music that

came after. And I agree, that in the context of Prince's work as a whole, Around The World In A

Day doesn't seem like a radical departure from Purple Rain. The production values are fairly similar

and it still has the same 'sounds' as it's predecessor. Which isn't that surprising when you consider

that it was virtually all recorded in the period between Purple Rain being completed and the start of

the Purple Rain tour.

However, at the time it was released, it definitely felt like a massive left turn compared with what

had come before. Parade was certainly not seen as a huge left turn, it was merely a continuation of

the left turn already made with Around The World In A Day. Even the sequencing of the album was

deliberately obtuse. No opening fanfare with an instantly catchy hit song like previous albums, then

straight into the album defining, but hardly commercial, slow off-beat Paisley Park. Then straight

after this it goes into 2 minutes of atmospheric synth noodling before the quiet piano ballad Condition

Of The Heart! Prince deliberately threw us the albums more unconventional songs first, to make the

audience think WTF? Saving the more familiar and commerical material for the latter half of the

album.

Actually back in 1985 Jimmy Jam made this same observation. He observed how America reused the same drum pattern as Baby I'm A Star, The Ladder was a cousin of Purple Rain, and he probably mentioned how Raspberry Beret related to Take Me With You. To me, without the first two tracks, Around The World In A Day and Paisley Park, and without the dreamlike album cover, and without the Liza Minneli hair-do from the Raspberry Beret video, I would of thought the same as those that feel it's Purple Rain 2. But fact is that all those things contributed to the mood and feel of the "psychedelic/beatlesque" thing Prince was going for.

I for one dug it back then and still do. Prince gained much respect from me for taking that "left turn" and gained a fan for life. And also the b-sides that came from that period solidified that as well. Hello, She's Always In My Hair, Girl, the extended versions of America and Paisley Park! Damn I want to go back to '85 so bad right now! Remember when MTV premiered Raspberry Beret and played it at the top of every hour for 24 hours?

The ATWIAD album is FANTASTIC

and those 12 inch vinyls, WOW, those were the days.

Paisley Park Extended Remix

Raspberry Beret New Mix

Pop Life UK 9 min. Extended Version

America 21+ min Version

She's Always In My Hair Ext version

Girl

Hello

Why don't you cut your ears and throw them in the dustbin?

I'm afraid that'll make no difference for you.

Nvncible1 said:

i just feel that he didnt venture as far off the plank as most fans and music people led us to believe.

parade was a different story. huge turn left. but i love all of em just the same

I agree, and with your OP too.

All I can recall is that when I got ATWIAD... I was like WTF is this!!!! To a young 'fan' there was nothing similiar about it to PR. Maybe some older more sophisticated musical connoisseurs may have seen the similiarities... but not his mainstream young fans and definately not the 'pop' fans he acquired with PR.

but looking back 25 years later... we can see a lot which wasn't obvious back then.

BorisFishpaw said:

That's because you're looking at the album with hindsight, with full knowledge of the music that

came after. And I agree, that in the context of Prince's work as a whole, Around The World In A

Day doesn't seem like a radical departure from Purple Rain. The production values are fairly similar

and it still has the same 'sounds' as it's predecessor. Which isn't that surprising when you consider

that it was virtually all recorded in the period between Purple Rain being completed and the start of

the Purple Rain tour.

However, at the time it was released, it definitely felt like a massive left turn compared with what

had come before. Parade was certainly not seen as a huge left turn, it was merely a continuation of

the left turn already made with Around The World In A Day. Even the sequencing of the album was

deliberately obtuse. No opening fanfare with an instantly catchy hit song like previous albums, then

straight into the album defining, but hardly commercial, slow off-beat Paisley Park. Then straight

after this it goes into 2 minutes of atmospheric synth noodling before the quiet piano ballad Condition

Of The Heart! Prince deliberately threw us the albums more unconventional songs first, to make the

audience think WTF? Saving the more familiar and commerical material for the latter half of the

album.

Boris hit the nail on the head here. Hindsight is exactly what defines this question and answer. I completely agree that programming and production (sound) are very similar when listening to them both NOW. But, as Boris points out, to most back then it sounded like a "massive left turn" or departure from what we heard on PR. When you're in the moment, it's difficult to see the similarities... and in this case it may have had to do with P's deliberate sequencing of the album to throw people off of those similarities (pull R. Beret, Pop Life and America off by themselves and those similarities are much more obvious).

Love this album... used to spend hours listening and staring at the artwork. Only Prince album I own on vinyl (gatefold with wrap-around piece), cassette and CD (original foldout longbox with CD sleeve held in diecut slot).

i also recall getting ATWIAD the first day of release and i was like..holy shit..what is this....Totally different. America/baby im a star.only thing similar is beat....baby dont have all the guitar in it....title track/paisleypark/condition/tambourine/temptation/poplife.....sound nothing like previous albums. Prince's sound changed quite a bit..this album is full of all kinds of instruments he never used before. Agree that ladder is sorta a poor mans purple rain tho...Overall, this album is so different in more ways than six.

BorisFishpaw said:

That's because you're looking at the album with hindsight, with full knowledge of the music that

came after. And I agree, that in the context of Prince's work as a whole, Around The World In A

Day doesn't seem like a radical departure from Purple Rain. The production values are fairly similar

and it still has the same 'sounds' as it's predecessor. Which isn't that surprising when you consider

that it was virtually all recorded in the period between Purple Rain being completed and the start of

the Purple Rain tour.

However, at the time it was released, it definitely felt like a massive left turn compared with what

had come before. Parade was certainly not seen as a huge left turn, it was merely a continuation of

the left turn already made with Around The World In A Day. Even the sequencing of the album was

deliberately obtuse. No opening fanfare with an instantly catchy hit song like previous albums, then

straight into the album defining, but hardly commercial, slow off-beat Paisley Park. Then straight

after this it goes into 2 minutes of atmospheric synth noodling before the quiet piano ballad Condition

Of The Heart! Prince deliberately threw us the albums more unconventional songs first, to make the

audience think WTF? Saving the more familiar and commerical material for the latter half of the

album.

That.

BigDaddyHQ said:

All I can recall is that when I got ATWIAD... I was like WTF is this!!!! To a young 'fan' there was nothing similiar about it to PR. Maybe some older more sophisticated musical connoisseurs may have seen the similiarities... but not his mainstream young fans and definately not the 'pop' fans he acquired with PR.

but looking back 25 years later... we can see a lot which wasn't obvious back then.

I was shocked at the difference, but I also heard Raspberry Beret prior to the release and sorta expected something different.

I was a young fan too but I fell in love with the album from the start. Had a totally intimate feeling.

Purple Rain felt like something happening outside his house, ATWIAD felt like something happening inside.

The only similarities I picked up, possibly came from the fact that a lot of it was recorded and written during the Purple Rain tour. And a few songs actually performed near the end of the tour.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Purple Rain felt like something happening outside his house, ATWIAD felt like something happening inside.

Cool way to think about it.

BorisFishpaw said:

That's because you're looking at the album with hindsight, with full knowledge of the music that

came after. And I agree, that in the context of Prince's work as a whole, Around The World In A

Day doesn't seem like a radical departure from Purple Rain. The production values are fairly similar

and it still has the same 'sounds' as it's predecessor. Which isn't that surprising when you consider

that it was virtually all recorded in the period between Purple Rain being completed and the start of

the Purple Rain tour.

However, at the time it was released, it definitely felt like a massive left turn compared with what

had come before. Parade was certainly not seen as a huge left turn, it was merely a continuation of

the left turn already made with Around The World In A Day. Even the sequencing of the album was

deliberately obtuse. No opening fanfare with an instantly catchy hit song like previous albums, then

straight into the album defining, but hardly commercial, slow off-beat Paisley Park. Then straight

after this it goes into 2 minutes of atmospheric synth noodling before the quiet piano ballad Condition

Of The Heart! Prince deliberately threw us the albums more unconventional songs first, to make the

audience think WTF? Saving the more familiar and commerical material for the latter half of the

album.

And this pretty much sums it up.

The Linn is there, that's for sure, but it's pretty much the only thing I can find similar to PR. Totally different concepts. I love trippy Prince. ATWIAD and Parade are probs my fav commercially released albums he's done.

It's unique

When I held it that night I bought it and saw the colors and pictures, I knew it was unique

It's why I can listen to the opening of Condition of the Heart and get swept up in the waves of sound

the quirky sounds remind me of his renditions of God the Dance Electric

and I love the sharp finger cybals on songs here

there is one more similarity: the opening flute of ATWIAD is similar to the guitar solo at the end of Let's Go Crazy! Well according to Prince in the '85 Rolling Stone interview (as I recall, to lazy to find out for sure) and according to my ears they do sound very similar... (but then can my ears be trusted?)

Agree with BorisFishpaw though. Weren't parts of the lyrics of ATWIAD (the track) used in the Purple Rain tourbook?

roverlo said:

there is one more similarity: the opening flute of ATWIAD is similar to the guitar solo at the end of Let's Go Crazy! Well according to Prince in the '85 Rolling Stone interview (as I recall, to lazy to find out for sure) and according to my ears they do sound very similar... (but then can my ears be trusted?)

Agree with BorisFishpaw though. Weren't parts of the lyrics of ATWIAD (the track) used in the Purple Rain tourbook?

I think what he said was that, if he wanted to do PR 2, he could have just opened the album with the solo from Let's Go Crazy played backwards. He wasn't saying he actually used it to open the album.

And while the flangy Linn drums are indeed similar to Purple Rain, I think people were expecting him to come out with something like "Oh Sheila." THAT, to me, would have been Purple Rain part 2. Boris was dead on it, it's only in hindsight that the similarities stand out so much.

Yeah, ATWIAD was Purple Rain meets Magial Mystery Tour, no more and no less.

and I don't really care... ATWIAD bores the hell out of me, I can't stand Tambourine, The Ladder, Temptation, and I'm not mad about the rest of the album either...

The art direction and marketing were what fooled everyone into thinking this album was such a left turn from Purple Rain. There was no major motion picture tie-in hype, no singles proceeded the lp, the Raspberry Beret video was only made available after the album's release and the cover did not feature a slick sexy image of Prince. That's all.

Everything else on the record was a natural progression from the Purpe Rain idiom. Metaphorically, peace had been found in the 'Purple Rain' and they were experiencing its heavenly reward in 'Paisley Park'. We shoud also be reminded that the song Around the World in a Day was not a Prince composition; David Coleman wrote and recorded that track to which Prince added his own embellishments. All the other songs featured the same drum, synths, guitars, band members and background vocals as Purple Rain did.

[Edited 8/19/10 17:06pm]

JoeTyler said:

Yeah, ATWIAD was Purple Rain meets Magial Mystery Tour, no more and no less.

and I don't really care... ATWIAD bores the hell out of me, I can't stand Tambourine, The Ladder, Temptation, and I'm not mad about the rest of the album either...

I can't believe you don't like "Tambourine"... one of Prince's all time greatest tracks in my opinion. That was one I listened to the most until Housequake came out on SOTT.