well, i just don't like YOU.

If you can't appreciate Parade or Sign O' The Times, then you are either dumb or have no musical taste at all.

Sorry to say, but those 2 albums are among the finest material ever released, by any artist.. ever.

this is my favourite prince album, i indulge often.. it just flows so well & sounded like nothing else at the time or anything since.

the orchestral stuff was genius, beautiful.. & then under the cherry moon visual delight, sensual & silly, this era such a precious contribution from prince & his pals

Parade is on my own top 5, but I think I can understand why peolpe don't get in to it. It is a very complex compilation of songs. It doesn't rub your back like the 90s output, but that is why is has the power of lasting for a 100 years and not be boring.

I would also like to add that most of the 80s albums (except Purple Rain) were difficult for me to get into back then, but that was part of what intrigued me.

Difficult, yes, maybe.

But the reward is great for those want to go!

know what u mean about venus and i wonder u. i get visions of a seedy cross-dressing serial killer when i hear them.

the best songs on that album are girls and boys, mountains, kiss, and new position,

if anyone doesnt like those songs i can only recommend reincarnation.

maybe in their next life god will bless them with ears lol

robinhood said:

know what u mean about venus and i wonder u. i get visions of a seedy cross-dressing serial killer when i hear them.

the best songs on that album are girls and boys, mountains, kiss, and new position,

if anyone doesnt like those songs i can only recommend reincarnation.

maybe in their next life god will bless them with ears lol

That is so true.

[img:$uid]http://thezaz.nationallampoon.com/files/2009/07/bufallob1-1.jpg[/img:$uid]

Mindbells9 said:

Parade is currently my favorite Prince album, tho I go back and forth between it and SOTT. I recently did an expanded version of the album and I've been playing it 2 death! Heres my vision of Parade:

Christopher Tracys Parade

New Position

I Wonder U

Alexa De Paris (7" edit)

Under The Cherry Moon

It's A Wonderful Day

Girls and Boys

Sexual Suicide

Life Can Be So Nice

Venus De Milo

Power Fantastic

Mountains (extended version, but faded out at 6:33)

Do U Lie?

In A Large Room With No Light

Love or Money (edit)

Kiss (extended version,faded out at 5:05)

Anotherloverholenyohead

4 The Tears In Your Eyes (Live Aid video version)

Sometimes It Snows In April

All My Dreams

This version 4 me is killer! Songs like Sexual Suicide and It's A Wonderful Day were thrown in cuz I know Sexual Suicide was in an early draft of "Under The Cherry Moon" and "...Wonderfu Day" is in the movie. In A Large Room With No Light just fits the album perfectly in my opinion.The Live Aid video version of 4 The Tears In Your Eyes is so beautiful and the way Prince, Wendy, and Lisa harmonize and the overall atmosphere of the song is a perfect way 2 go in2 Sometimes It Snows In April. This is the way I feel Parade should have been

EXCELLENT CONFIGURATION, MINDBELLS9!!!!

badujunkie said:

i just don't like parade...

[img:$uid]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w9/Purplemistress/9271.gif[/img:$uid]

bluefish said:

robinhood said:

know what u mean about venus and i wonder u. i get visions of a seedy cross-dressing serial killer when i hear them.

the best songs on that album are girls and boys, mountains, kiss, and new position,

if anyone doesnt like those songs i can only recommend reincarnation.

maybe in their next life god will bless them with ears lol

That is so true.

[img:$uid]http://thezaz.nationallampoon.com/files/2009/07/bufallob1-1.jpg[/img:$uid]

that is EXACTLY the guy i was thinking about

god bless his soul lol

^ I Wonder U is "trippy" - I get visions of something from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album,

I love..... I Wonder U......

The way the songs flow into each other... is very cool on Parade.

thedance said:

If you can't appreciate Parade or Sign O' The Times, then you are either dumb or have no musical taste at all.

Sorry to say, but those 2 albums are among the finest material ever released, by any artist.. ever.

Each to their own I suppose.

I put on and "extended version" of Parade that I made a few years back while on a long drive home a couple nights ago, partiall because of the this thread and also just I like it, but haven't listened to it in awhile. It made the drive home go by SO much faster...still a great album after all these years. It also has aged extremely well...unlike some of his other output. I love its diversity...but also its flow. I can get why some people don't dig it...I DO miss guitar on this and also it doesn't rock too hard at all. But overall its a great interesting album that has aged gracefully.

My "extended version" of Parade:

Chistopher Tracy's Parade

New Position

I Wonder U

Under the Cherry Moon

Girls & Boys (from 4 Those of U on Valium)

Life Can Be So Nice

Alexi De Paris

Venus De Milo

Mountains (12")

There's Others Here With Us

Kiss (Demo)

Kiss (12")

Anotherloverholenyohead (12")

Love or $

Sometimes It Snows in April

All My Dreams

I have shit on this album for years but I actually do like the album.....just not the time it was released. "Prince" to me will always be 1978-1984 because the albums that came after that just don't even seem like Prince was the same person that recorded that earlier stuff. His late 1980s albums were that drastic of a style change. When you got a good thing going, don't change styles drastically and end a great party.

Having said that, I would have fully embraced this album had it been released a few years later in the 1990s when musical styles by all artists had changed drastically. I've been listening to "Parade" as well as the rest of the late 1980s Prince albums a lot lately. They are really some great albums but were just released too soon in the wrong era. Yeah, I like "Parade", even that corny ass classical shit that's on it like "Venus De Milo" and "Do U Lie". I've always hated "Sometimes It Snows In April" though and probably always will. That shit sounds like folk music and I can't think of anything more boring than folk music is except for shit hop.

Sorry for you, it's one of his greatest albums for sure!

[Edited 11/1/10 12:14pm]

I WONDER U

TrevorAyer said:

I WONDER U

[Edited 11/1/10 16:36pm]

No big deal, everybody is different. I love Parade, it's so colorful and diverse.

thanks for the encouragement from some! i now LOVE

MOUNTAINS!!!!!!!!!!!!! (didn't know it really before)

Under the Cherry Moon

Life Can be so Nice (2nd fave)

I wonder U is even dope now...

NOT feeling Sometime it Snows, still!

I can totally see where this record is a grower. I think instantaneously ATWIAD is superior (first listen), and Parade is the slow burner that in time exceeds its predecessor...

Glad I'm not alone. On first listen I just didn't get Parade. At all. I reeeaally tried and forced myself to listen to it many many times. Slowly I enjoyed it more than before.

It just didn't grab me like Purple Rain and ATWIAD (ESPECIALLY ATWIAD! I loved that first listen) I found it hard to like it. Dunno why

But Christopher Tracy's Parade, Girls & Boys, Kiss (cause I knew it already) and Sometimes It Snows In April I did like. Not many for a whole album though

KidaDynamite said:

badujunkie said:

i just don't like parade...

[img:$uid]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w9/Purplemistress/9271.gif[/img:$uid]

Eh, if it wasn't for "Kiss", I could take it or leave it. It's certainly not awful, but not essential to me, either. The tour, though, is near the top of my favs.

StonedImmaculate said:

To the OP:

Watch Under the Cherry Moon...it helps.

But be warned: after watching the movie, you'll be pissed that every little snippet of music isnt on the album!

KidaDynamite said:

badujunkie said:

i just don't like parade...

[img:$uid]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w9/Purplemistress/9271.gif[/img:$uid]

These gifs fucking KILL me

badujunkie said:

it's been my mission to get into prince albums i don't know as well from the dirty mind through gold experience-ish eras (his commercial and critical peak imo) but i just can't do parade!

what is the hype over this mess!

i love the songs i already knew plus mountains and anotherloverhole. everything else...eh...

venus de milo, i wonder u, anyone? really? why?!

im hoping to tackle ATWIAD and the Black Album next.

Thank goodness, someone else is as clueless as me with this album!!! Outside of Kiss and SISIA, I just don't feel it!! I'd take any of his 2000+ ablums, and most of 90s stuff over Parade anyday. Kiss is the only thing that saves it for me, its why I spent the cash on it. Kiss is pure genius, that song AND video!!

I still listen to it hoping the songs will grow on me, hasn't happened yet, but I still go for it cause I love Prince and LOVE UTCM!

Kara said:

Eh, if it wasn't for "Kiss", I could take it or leave it. It's certainly not awful, but not essential to me, either. The tour, though, is near the top of my favs.

Ahhh, words of wisdom!! I think seeing the tour may have made it more enjoyable for me. But of all the Prince albums, I seriously just don't find it essential to my collection. I would never wish he didn't put it out, because Kiss is SO GREAT!!! To me, it doesn't belong on that album, it is clearly a classic masterpiece, and well nothing else is.

badujunkie said:

MajesticOne89 said:

You're not alone. It's the one 80's album I just can't get into. I don't know why either.

what are your faves?

im sure ppl on here seen this 390913903903 times but seeing that I dig Dirty Mind and SOTT the most, it seems from this article below i'll like Grafitti Bridge the best.

Music Article

Purple Products

A decade of Prince albums -- We grade the pop singer's best and worst releases, from ''For You'' to ''Graffiti Bridge''

By David Browne | Sep 21, 1990

David Browne

David Browne is EW's music critic and author of ''Dream Brother: The Lives & Music of Jeff & Tim Buckley'' (HarperCollins)

A decade of Prince albums

For You (Warner Bros., 1978)
A professional, if derivative, one-man-band debut, most notable for ''Soft and Wet'' and Prince's Afro on the cover. B-

Prince (Warner Bros., 1979)
He still hadn't found his voice, but ''I Wanna Be Your Lover,'' his first pop hit, was a slither in the right direction. B-

Dirty Mind (Warner Bros., 1980)
The punchiest production and writing of his early career (''When You Were Mine,'' ''Dirty Mind''), complete with over-the-top lyrics (''Sister,'' ''Head'')-a masterwork of lewdness and desire. A

Controversy (Warner Bros., 1981)
Basically Dirtier Mind, with longer jams, one of his best pillow-talk ballads (''Do Me, Baby''), and, naturally, assorted odes to assorted bods (''Sexuality''). B+

1999 (Warner Bros., 1982)
Prince's take-no-prisoners pop breakthrough — his first album to crack the top 10 — still sounds bold and brassy, especially on ''Little Red Corvette,'' ''Let's Pretend We're Married,'' and the title cut. Excessive at times, but not even Prince could avoid the traps inherent in a two-record set. A-

Purple Rain (Warner Bros., 1984)
The album and soundtrack that made him a media sensation (No. 1 album, Oscar for Best Original Score) is one of his murkiest. Soggy ''rock'' arrangements and the overblown title track bog it down, although a few gems, namely ''When Doves Cry'' and the ballad ''Take Me With U,'' sparkle. B

Around the World in a Day (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1985)
Yes, he could update the sunniest feel-good aura of the '60s (''Raspberry Beret,'' the James Brown/Sly Stone vamping of ''Temptation''). But too many of these songs sound like bad acid trips. C

Parade (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1986)
Wallowing even deeper in self- indulgence, Prince pairs his weakest movie (Under the Cherry Moon) with his most wildly uneven album. Florid ballads and ersatz cabaret dominate, yet he salvages the record with two slinky workouts (''Girls & Boys,'' ''Anotherloverholen-yohead'') and one of his punchiest singles, ''Kiss.'' C-

Sign 'O' the Times (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1987)
Back in form, Prince finally delivers the goods he'd been promising in the wake of Purple Rain. From topical funk (the title track) to unabashed pop (''U Got the Look'' with Sheena Easton, ''I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man'') to glorious guitar squalor (''The Cross'') to simmering R&B (''Slow Love''), this double album was a sign that proved worth heeding. A

The Black Album (unreleased, 1987)
Pulled from release under mysterious circumstances (did Prince back down? did Warner?), the heavily bootlegged Black Album lives up to its legend with dark funk and a disturbing pimp fantasy (''Bob George''). Worth hunting down. B+

Lovesexy (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1988)
A somewhat reserved Prince hits 30 and confronts God, sex, and What It All Means on a confused and sometimes confusing album. More than its share of dippiness, but also some of his densest funk (''Alphabet St.,'' ''Eye No'') and ballads that ooze lust (''I Wish U Heaven,'' ''When 2 R in Love''). B

Batman (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1989)
Prince's first No. 1 album since Around the World in a Day is not your standard hackneyed '80s movie soundtrack. But with such piffle as ''Scandalous,'' ''Partyman,'' and the clunky hit single ''Batdance,'' it's not your standard thrilling Prince album, either. B-

Graffiti Bridge (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1990)
Back on track, Prince delivers his most consistent, playful, and profound music yet, in a double album (from the soundtrack of his new film) that moves in a radiant arc from distress to redemption. A+ — Greg Sandow

Originally posted Sep 21, 1990 Published in issue #32 Sep 21, 1990 Order article reprints

graffitti bridge better than parade, now I've heard everything..

Acrylic said:

badujunkie said:

what are your faves?

im sure ppl on here seen this 390913903903 times but seeing that I dig Dirty Mind and SOTT the most, it seems from this article below i'll like Grafitti Bridge the best.

Music Article

Purple Products

A decade of Prince albums -- We grade the pop singer's best and worst releases, from ''For You'' to ''Graffiti Bridge''

By David Browne | Sep 21, 1990

David Browne

David Browne is EW's music critic and author of ''Dream Brother: The Lives & Music of Jeff & Tim Buckley'' (HarperCollins)

A decade of Prince albums

For You (Warner Bros., 1978)
A professional, if derivative, one-man-band debut, most notable for ''Soft and Wet'' and Prince's Afro on the cover. B-

Prince (Warner Bros., 1979)
He still hadn't found his voice, but ''I Wanna Be Your Lover,'' his first pop hit, was a slither in the right direction. B-

Dirty Mind (Warner Bros., 1980)
The punchiest production and writing of his early career (''When You Were Mine,'' ''Dirty Mind''), complete with over-the-top lyrics (''Sister,'' ''Head'')-a masterwork of lewdness and desire. A

Controversy (Warner Bros., 1981)
Basically Dirtier Mind, with longer jams, one of his best pillow-talk ballads (''Do Me, Baby''), and, naturally, assorted odes to assorted bods (''Sexuality''). B+

1999 (Warner Bros., 1982)
Prince's take-no-prisoners pop breakthrough — his first album to crack the top 10 — still sounds bold and brassy, especially on ''Little Red Corvette,'' ''Let's Pretend We're Married,'' and the title cut. Excessive at times, but not even Prince could avoid the traps inherent in a two-record set. A-

Purple Rain (Warner Bros., 1984)
The album and soundtrack that made him a media sensation (No. 1 album, Oscar for Best Original Score) is one of his murkiest. Soggy ''rock'' arrangements and the overblown title track bog it down, although a few gems, namely ''When Doves Cry'' and the ballad ''Take Me With U,'' sparkle. B

Around the World in a Day (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1985)
Yes, he could update the sunniest feel-good aura of the '60s (''Raspberry Beret,'' the James Brown/Sly Stone vamping of ''Temptation''). But too many of these songs sound like bad acid trips. C

Parade (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1986)
Wallowing even deeper in self- indulgence, Prince pairs his weakest movie (Under the Cherry Moon) with his most wildly uneven album. Florid ballads and ersatz cabaret dominate, yet he salvages the record with two slinky workouts (''Girls & Boys,'' ''Anotherloverholen-yohead'') and one of his punchiest singles, ''Kiss.'' C-

Sign 'O' the Times (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1987)
Back in form, Prince finally delivers the goods he'd been promising in the wake of Purple Rain. From topical funk (the title track) to unabashed pop (''U Got the Look'' with Sheena Easton, ''I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man'') to glorious guitar squalor (''The Cross'') to simmering R&B (''Slow Love''), this double album was a sign that proved worth heeding. A

The Black Album (unreleased, 1987)
Pulled from release under mysterious circumstances (did Prince back down? did Warner?), the heavily bootlegged Black Album lives up to its legend with dark funk and a disturbing pimp fantasy (''Bob George''). Worth hunting down. B+

Lovesexy (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1988)
A somewhat reserved Prince hits 30 and confronts God, sex, and What It All Means on a confused and sometimes confusing album. More than its share of dippiness, but also some of his densest funk (''Alphabet St.,'' ''Eye No'') and ballads that ooze lust (''I Wish U Heaven,'' ''When 2 R in Love''). B

Batman (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1989)
Prince's first No. 1 album since Around the World in a Day is not your standard hackneyed '80s movie soundtrack. But with such piffle as ''Scandalous,'' ''Partyman,'' and the clunky hit single ''Batdance,'' it's not your standard thrilling Prince album, either. B-

Graffiti Bridge (Paisley Park/Warner Bros., 1990)
Back on track, Prince delivers his most consistent, playful, and profound music yet, in a double album (from the soundtrack of his new film) that moves in a radiant arc from distress to redemption. A+ — Greg Sandow

Originally posted Sep 21, 1990 Published in issue #32 Sep 21, 1990 Order article reprints

Anyone who gives Graffiti Bridge an A+ and Parade a C-, is pulling a Helen Keller... deaf, dumb, and blind.

Oh, Clerks 2, how I love thee...

Ok, just realised this was written in 1990. This is exactly why Parade is so brilliant. It just didnt age, it is truly a magnificent record and remains so after all these years, whereas Grafitti Bridge has aged badly, it sounds like it was made in the 1990's, whereas Parade is timeless, it belongs to no time and it falls under no genre, it is self defining and completely unique in every way. I dont know what was going on in his mind when he recorded it, but it was a world of pure creativity and coolness.