Perhpas this has been up for discussion before but here goes...

The first decade, of the current century, is only a month away from being over.

Which Prince album do you peeps think was his best during this period of time, 2000-2010.

For me, musically, it is without a doubt The Rainbow Children. If you don't mind the lyrics too much, which personally I don't, the record is just packed with great stuff (perhaps not Wedding feast, heh)

But tracks like Muse 2 the Pharaoh, Everywhere, Mellow, 1+1+1 is 3 etc.

All the styles, arrangements, guitar work etc. is off the hook!

And I think the reason for this record being so good is that it's produced during a period of time in his life where he became a Jehovas Witness. I'm not saying that the 'ideology/religion' per say is the inspiration, but rather the fact that it probably was a turnpoint for him, a new step in his life. A new experience; this being the source for his creativity which truly shines in this release. Since then, no major 'steps' have been taken and thus the albums after TRC lacks the nerve of TRC. IMHO.

Peace.

TrueHead said:

Perhpas this has been up for discussion before but here goes...

The first decade, of the current century, is only a month away from being over.

Which Prince album do you peeps think was his best during this period of time, 2000-2010.

For me, musically, it is without a doubt The Rainbow Children. If you don't mind the lyrics too much, which personally I don't, the record is just packed with great stuff (perhaps not Wedding feast, heh)

But tracks like Muse 2 the Pharaoh, Everywhere, Mellow, 1+1+1 is 3 etc.

All the styles, arrangements, guitar work etc. is off the hook!

And I think the reason for this record being so good is that it's produced during a period of time in his life where he became a Jehovas Witness. I'm not saying that the 'ideology/religion' per say is the inspiration, but rather the fact that it probably was a turnpoint for him, a new step in his life. A new experience; this being the source for his creativity which truly shines in this release. Since then, no major 'steps' have been taken and thus the albums after TRC lacks the nerve of TRC. IMHO.

Peace.

In terms of sheer fun....2004 in the USA was hard to beat. Prince steps back into the mainstream after his "wilderness years"? Amazing.

TrueHead said:

Perhpas this has been up for discussion before but here goes...

The first decade, of the current century, is only a month away from being over.

Which Prince album do you peeps think was his best during this period of time, 2000-2010.

For me, musically, it is without a doubt The Rainbow Children. If you don't mind the lyrics too much, which personally I don't, the record is just packed with great stuff (perhaps not Wedding feast, heh)

But tracks like Muse 2 the Pharaoh, Everywhere, Mellow, 1+1+1 is 3 etc.

All the styles, arrangements, guitar work etc. is off the hook!

And I think the reason for this record being so good is that it's produced during a period of time in his life where he became a Jehovas Witness. I'm not saying that the 'ideology/religion' per say is the inspiration, but rather the fact that it probably was a turnpoint for him, a new step in his life. A new experience; this being the source for his creativity which truly shines in this release. Since then, no major 'steps' have been taken and thus the albums after TRC lacks the nerve of TRC. IMHO.

Peace.

as far as albums go, I think it would be Rainbow Children

but as far as a whole album era either One Night Alone or 3121

No contest for me. 2002 One Nite Alone - Piano And Voice.

squirrelgrease said:

No contest for me. 2002 One Nite Alone - Piano And Voice.

With the exception of Avalanche, I'm right there with you.

Technically, the first decade of the current century ended on December 31, 2009.

2000-2009 = 1 decade, 10 years

2010 is the first year of the second decade of this century.

Doozer said:

Technically, the first decade of the current century ended on December 31, 2009.

2000-2009 = 1 decade, 10 years

2010 is the first year of the second decade of this century.

Doohh!!!

True that, my bad =)

^^Since there was never a 'year zero', the first decade of this century started 2001 and will end 2010.

Within that decade, his best work was with no doubt The Rainbow Children and the ONA Tour (bar the Ona studio and live albums).

For the rest, it was the worst and saddest decade in Prince history.

vitriol said:

For the rest, it was the worst and saddest decade in Prince history.

That's not true at all.

There were enough great albums this decade:

3121

The rainbow children

Lotusflow3r

MPLSound

at least 4 great albums in ten years, who can do better ?

also enough good albums:

One nite alone...

N.E.W.S.

and some great songs not on any Prince-album:

Cause and effect

F.U.N.K.

The song of the heart

Silver tongue

Glasscutter

and don't forget the years 2000, 2001: NPGMC with lots of great stuff!!

vitriol said:

For the rest, it was the worst and saddest decade in Prince history.

I agree with that. But of course all it comes down to is personal taste.

vitriol said:

^^Since there was never a 'year zero', the first decade of this century started 2001 and will end 2010.

Within that decade, his best work was with no doubt The Rainbow Children and the ONA Tour (bar the Ona studio and live albums).

For the rest, it was the worst and saddest decade in Prince history.

as sad as him changing his name and becoming a media joke in the 90s?

It's been a higgledy piggledy decade, with some real highs (some of Planet Earth and Lotusflow3r), some real lows (MPLSound) and some boring middles (3121, 20Ten) - but I think the most rewarding era was right at the start of the decade with TRC through to NEWS (inc. Xpectation, ONA).

I did think TRC->NEWS was going to push on further to something really interesting, we saw a glimpse of that on hightlights from PE and Lotus, but alas we got Musicology and 3121 right after this period which pretty much squashed any hope that Prince had put these kind of albums behind him.

tomds said:

vitriol said:

For the rest, it was the worst and saddest decade in Prince history.

That's not true at all.

There were enough great albums this decade:

3121

The rainbow children

Lotusflow3r

MPLSound

at least 4 great albums in ten years, who can do better ?

also enough good albums:

One nite alone...

N.E.W.S.

and some great songs not on any Prince-album:

Cause and effect

F.U.N.K.

The song of the heart

Silver tongue

Glasscutter

and don't forget the years 2000, 2001: NPGMC with lots of great stuff!!

It's all relative to an individual's taste, but saying "that's not true at all" about one person's opinion about the state of the past decade is perhaps quite argumentative at best. And then going on to list "great albums" such as MPLSound and "great songs" like Song Of The Heart and Cause And Effect... you see where I'm going with this?

There is no "true" when it comes to a fan's likes and dislikes. I'm in the minority in that I feel One Nite Alone - Piano is a top-ten Prince album of all time, but I'm certainly not presumptuous enough to tell someone they're wrong about music they're moved by.

If you can stomach MPLSound and Song Of The Heart, more power to you. Turn that stuff up to eleven. But let me leave the room first.

that's true. it's indeed a matter of taste.

but what's the difference between no more candy 4 U and horny toad ?

what's the difference between dreamer and let's go crazy ?

and so on and so on...

many fans here idolize the 80's era, and are complaining about the quality of recent songs. but what if he released 20ten as his first album instead of for you ? would you consider 20ten as a great debut album and for you as poor quality ? it's the same sound. even if he released SOTT in 2009, you still would say he had better days.

tomds said:

that's true. it's indeed a matter of taste.

but what's the difference between no more candy 4 U and horny toad ?

what's the difference between dreamer and let's go crazy ?

and so on and so on...

many fans here idolize the 80's era, and are complaining about the quality of recent songs. but what if he released 20ten as his first album instead of for you ? would you consider 20ten as a great debut album and for you as poor quality ? it's the same sound. even if he released SOTT in 2009, you still would say he had better days.

if 20ten was his first album, there is no way I would have any interest in his music whatsoever.

IMO, it's not only a poor Prince album, it's a poor ablum full stop.

just a personal taste thing.

It definitely beats 1990 to 2000 for me.

Lotusflower, ONA and TRC.

I didn't realise NEWS was this decade too.

3121 and Musicology are also not bad, some stand out tracks on both of them.

Bohemian67 said:

It definitely beats 1990 to 2000 for me.

Lotusflower, ONA and TRC.

I didn't realise NEWS was this decade too.

3121 and Musicology are also not bad, some stand out tracks on both of them.

This highlights the personal taste thing completely... I was paying so much attention to 1993-1996 and really wanted to know where that would lead...

Unfortunately nothing's really got my interest in the 2000's. I did get into 3121, but other than that it's just been odd songs here and there.

As a whole, I have enjoyed this decade of Prince music better than the 90's.

His best? Definately TRC, brilliant album musically! I also liked 20Ten a lot.

The rest of the albums from the last ten years weren't really my cup of tea. There might have been one or two good tracks on each, but nothing spectacular IMO.

tomds said:

that's true. it's indeed a matter of taste.

but what's the difference between no more candy 4 U and horny toad ?

what's the difference between dreamer and let's go crazy ?

and so on and so on...

many fans here idolize the 80's era, and are complaining about the quality of recent songs. but what if he released 20ten as his first album instead of for you ? would you consider 20ten as a great debut album and for you as poor quality ? it's the same sound. even if he released SOTT in 2009, you still would say he had better days.

tomds said:

that's true. it's indeed a matter of taste.

but what's the difference between no more candy 4 U and horny toad ?

what's the difference between dreamer and let's go crazy ?

and so on and so on...

many fans here idolize the 80's era, and are complaining about the quality of recent songs. but what if he released 20ten as his first album instead of for you ? would you consider 20ten as a great debut album and for you as poor quality ? it's the same sound. even if he released SOTT in 2009, you still would say he had better days.

What's the difference? In each pairing, the earlier song is better, that's what.

TwiliteKid said:

What's the difference? In each pairing, the earlier song is better, that's what.

You say that like it's a fact.

His best...definately Musicology! That album is genius and brought Prince back to mainstream...A close 2nd would be a tie between 3121 and 2010, those showed that Prince still had what it took to get you up on the floor dancing...not to mention 2010 had really nice ballads! I'm so proud of Prince, he has successfully put out great music in the last 5 years. His worse of the decade was Rainbow Children!! While the idea of the album I really liked, and the lyrics were interesting, the music itself (other than She Loves Me For Me) just was not anything to jump up and shout about. I think it was the start of something very beautiful in Prince and changed his life, so good enough for me. Looking forward to another great decade with Prince!!

tomds said:

that's true. it's indeed a matter of taste.

but what's the difference between no more candy 4 U and horny toad ?

what's the difference between dreamer and let's go crazy ?

and so on and so on...

many fans here idolize the 80's era, and are complaining about the quality of recent songs. but what if he released 20ten as his first album instead of for you ? would you consider 20ten as a great debut album and for you as poor quality ? it's the same sound. even if he released SOTT in 2009, you still would say he had better days.

Good points you make here! 20Ten was a return to that 80s Prince sound. Surprise folks criticize it so much, when the 80s was supposedly "his best years in music." Had Prince promoted 20Ten more and was wild and sexual like it was in the 80s...wonder if folks would be saying he same negative comments? 20Ten has been compared to 1999...I listen to 20Ten way more than I ever listen to 1999, so..

Best to worst:

The Rainbow Children (9)

Lotus Flower (8)
MPLSound (8)

20Ten (8)
Musicology (7)

Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (7)
The Chocolate Invasion (7)
Slaughterhouse (7)
3121 (5)
Planet Earth (5)
ONA Piano (3)

Indigo Nights (2)
N.E.W.S. (2)

ONA... Live (2)

1. Lotus Flow3r (9)

2. The Rainbow Children (9)

3. 3121 (8)

4. 20Ten (8)

5. MPLSound (7)

6. Planet Earth (7)

7. Musicology (7)

8. Xpectation (6)

9. Chocolate invasion (6)

10. Slaughterhouse (5)

11. One Nite Alone (5)

12. News (5)

I preferred this decade to the 1990's.

jtfolden said:

TwiliteKid said:

What's the difference? In each pairing, the earlier song is better, that's what.

You say that like it's a fact.

Would you disagree?

2006 as it had the 3121 album , the only one that was really a shade of his best work.

2001 the worst year as it had the wretchable Rainbow children.