I'm posing this question for those of you who have been fans of Prince since the beginning or

damn near it.

I'm interested in the point of view of those of you (us) who followed Prince during what

we often consider his golden days "essentially anything from Dirty Mind to LoveSexy"

If you could go back that period and ask your former selves what you thought

Prince's career would be like today, what do you think your former selves would say?

The reason why I'm asking is that Prince's career is radically different from what

I thought it would be.

I honestly thought for some reason that he would continue to just keep releasing

albums every 11 months or so with major label backing, and that each album

would at least go gold.

Now, I didn't have the foresight to know that mp3s and other forms of distribution

would change radically, nor did I know anything about the way the music industry

was structured, so had I factored those into my original thoughts of Prince's music

career they would have been more complicated.

However, my 80's self would have been shocked and dismayed at his recent

output and inconsistency.

What does my current self think of all this? I'm entertained by it actually.

At every stage of his career, we have an artist who vacillates between

hitting all the right notes, then going batshit crazy and dumping "Purple & Gold" on us.

If that ain't entertaining, NOTHING is.

.

[Edited 4/24/11 4:21am]

Interesting question. I got into Prince in 1985, and the first album I bought was ATWIAD. That album was criticized at the time as a lame throwback to the 1960s and a big step down from Purple Rain. From that point onward, pretty much everything Prince did was criticized for one reason or another. People made fun of me for listening to his music. It's only now, with the benefit of hindsight, that we see the classic period ending with Lovesexy. In 1985 it seemed like the classic period ended with Purple Rain. So, actually, I think if you could ask my young 1980s self what I expected to happen to Prince, I would probably have guessed that he would have faded into obscurity and be touring small bars and college parties by this point.

electricberet said:

Interesting question. I got into Prince in 1985, and the first album I bought was ATWIAD. That album was criticized at the time as a lame throwback to the 1960s and a big step down from Purple Rain. From that point onward, pretty much everything Prince did was criticized for one reason or another. People made fun of me for listening to his music. It's only now, with the benefit of hindsight, that we see the classic period ending with Lovesexy. In 1985 it seemed like the classic period ended with Purple Rain. So, actually, I think if you could ask my young 1980s self what I expected to happen to Prince, I would probably have guessed that he would have faded into obscurity and be touring small bars and college parties by this point.

Actually, I came on board with Prince with Purple Rain. I had been made aware of him since 1999, but didn't really care for his music until Purple Rain.

I remember, even then that 1999 and Purple Rain were criticized (not by critics but by longtime fans) as being too different. Fans were saying that Prince had lost the script, or that Prince had turned his back on his roots, etc.

Oh how shocked they must have been when Parade dropped.

By Sign 'o' The Times, people stopped saying that, and started saying that he was a mad genius.

SagsWay2low said:

electricberet said:

Interesting question. I got into Prince in 1985, and the first album I bought was ATWIAD. That album was criticized at the time as a lame throwback to the 1960s and a big step down from Purple Rain. From that point onward, pretty much everything Prince did was criticized for one reason or another. People made fun of me for listening to his music. It's only now, with the benefit of hindsight, that we see the classic period ending with Lovesexy. In 1985 it seemed like the classic period ended with Purple Rain. So, actually, I think if you could ask my young 1980s self what I expected to happen to Prince, I would probably have guessed that he would have faded into obscurity and be touring small bars and college parties by this point.

Actually, I came on board with Prince with Purple Rain. I had been made aware of him since 1999, but didn't really care for his music until Purple Rain.

I remember, even then that 1999 and Purple Rain were criticized (not by critics but by longtime fans) as being too different. Fans were saying that Prince had lost the script, or that Prince had turned his back on his roots, etc.

Oh how shocked they must have been when Parade dropped.

By Sign 'o' The Times, people stopped saying that, and started saying that he was a mad genius.

People were telling Prince's manager that his kingdom was falling after he hired Wendy, as we all know. Parade, the album, didn't get much criticism, but the story at the time was all about the supposedly horrible movie that went along with it. I don't remember much criticism of SOTT (except possibly that it showed he couldn't get along with his band anymore), but Lovesexy was panned because of the cover.

It seems like, as long as Prince has been making music, there has been someone around to complain that he's recently lost his touch. I wonder if one day someone is going to be arguing that the classic period ended in 2025 or 2035 or whatever.

I often fantazied about what Prince would be like in the future back then. I figured he would get louder, more electronic but at the same time maybe a bit more stripped down and experimental.(think David Bowies Brian Eno period.

I thought he'd give up eventually on the fancy wierd clothes and start performing in jeans and a t-shirt. Grow a beard even or go bald (I was right on the beard part at least) but I never saw the hip hop rap, faux new jack crap coming at all.

[Edited 4/22/11 22:08pm]

PurpleChi said:

I came in at Controversy. I think my 80s self always came to expect Prince to do something different for the next album. Whether or not folks like it, Dirty Mind to Controversy to 1999 to Purple Rain to ATWIAD to Parade to Lovesexy...all very different albums, and very unique to the popular sound at the time. So I always expected him to be different, to go against the grain. Personally I think he still does that. Consider TRC, NEWS, ONA Piano, Lotusflower. These are all very different and very unique to the popular sound. Now what I didn't expect was for him to become JW. Not that I mind (I really don't), but it does change up his lyrics a bit, which was sometimes awkward. But with 20Ten I think he found that balance. I also think that given the hype that surrounds celebs in our current cultural climate, Prince would have never stopped being the talk of the town if he had stayed with a major record label. When a major label is backing u, the heavy radio rotation your song gets can convince the masses that anything you do is great. Thus, we don't know where Prince would truly be in the hearts of the greater population had this went the other way.

I do think Prince veers from mainstream radio quite often, even nowadays.

Take Lotusflow3r for example. That isn't even remotely top-40 material.

However, everything just sounds so....conventional now. No insane drums competing with flutes and rythim guitars like in "Life Can B So Nice' , etc.

Just conventional sounding stuff.... safe, even.

I became a listener during Dirty Mind and a fan around 1999.

I never really thought about a future of my own much less what Prince would be into at the time.

I will say this in regards to music in general, I never would have thought that the whole music scene would be as horrible as it is now.

emesem said:

I often fantazied about what Prince would be like in the future back then. I figured he would get louder, more electronic but at the same time maybe a bit more stripped down and experimental.(think David Bowies Brian Eno period.

I thought he'd give up eventually on the fancy wierd clothes and start performing in jeans and a t-shirt. Grow a beard even or go bald (I was right on the beard part at least) but I never saw the hip hop rap, faux new jack crap coming at all.

[Edited 4/22/11 22:08pm]

I thought he was going to drop the vault on us by now.

and that inside the vault there'd be stuff that just blew our minds. Jazz records, rock records, full scale Operas.

Instead we got smooth jazz and Kamasutra !!!

I thought he would age less nicely too. He's really kept himself together very very pheononally well, physically and in appearance despite 80's perm that's getting kind of old.

I think overall, as pop star careers go, his has been a fruitful one. Give me an example of a major artist who has kept up the level of intense creativity that he had in the 1980s for a whole lifetime. He may be a jerk to his fans but I'm glad he's still around and hope he has a few more golden eggs yet to be laid, even if they don't glitter quite as much as the ones we know so well.

muleFunk said:

electricberet said:

Uptown was among the first 45's I received with my first record player. I guess I never really considered it, because 50 years old, was so far away. even my dad's favorite group, the Temptations were not that old yet. I do remember in Ebony magazine in 1984 or 85, them doing a story about the year 2000. They predicted that MJ would continue to be tops, but Prince would be relegated to playing "Elvis style" variety shows in Vegas. They even had artist renderings and Prince was drawn fat. I was not amused.

If I could go back to when I became a fan and ask my former self what I thought his career would be like today, I would like to think that he would be an artist with longevity, but other than that, I don't think I would have gave a shit to be honest.

I was only 16, I had a lot more than Prince's future career on my mind.

PurpleChi said:

electricberet said:

I think overall, as pop star careers go, his has been a fruitful one. Give me an example of a major artist who has kept up the level of intense creativity that he had in the 1980s for a whole lifetime. He may be a jerk to his fans but I'm glad he's still around and hope he has a few more golden eggs yet to be laid, even if they don't glitter quite as much as the ones we know so well.

I agree. I think the next SOTT has yet to be heard, and maybe even yet to be written and composed. Not meaning an extension of SOTT, but rather just as epic. I think there are a few truly great songs in 20Ten. I wouldn't throw Lil Princey away just yet.

Maybe what he needs is a several-year break from recording to meditate for a while. Then he can come back with an interesting album like John & Yoko's Double Fantasy, reflecting on what it's like to be an aging rock star.

I'm just grateful that he can still JAM and dance and entertain me the same as he used to back in Detroit in Joe Loius Arena! He still got it and still going strong.... His ups and downs are just like the rest of us only HIS are Put under the microscope and psychoanalized by "his fan" ad nausem! Sad really! He's IS human and allowed to make goof up just like the rest of us.. ya know.. why hate just cuz he's in the spotlight? or is that just rhetorical to ask?

Truth tho... Prince's career was never uttermost in my mind... I just thought he'd always be there.. Frankly with all the dancing on stage thing going on lately... not to mention the bike He seems more approachable or available now than back then.

He was so tight lipped and secretive.. His music was the only way to really apprecicate who and what he was all about: GOD and Life... Not a bad mix to Guitar-Dance to, in my humble opinion.

been a fan since early 1982...him embracing hip hop baffled me and not in a good way...he seemed so anti hip hop when i was growing up in the 80's...i've liked quite alot of what he's done post LoveSexy but still, after the Batman soundtrack things haven't been quite like the good old day s...

Sorry to veer a bit off topic, but I never understand where all of you are coming from when you talk about the music of today and how horrible you think it is. Are you just listening to the radio and watching Vh1? You gotta look for good stuff now, but it's there.

herrherr said:

I remember when i heard soft and wet on wblsfm here in new york and it got me intrigued into his music. then when his second album came out, i said to myself okay this cat is about to take to the next level. but then i got a chance to work with this man on the rick james fire it up tour and then my opinion of him changed.

herrherr said:

Sorry to veer a bit off topic, but I never understand where all of you are coming from when you talk about the music of today and how horrible you think it is. Are you just listening to the radio and watching Vh1? You gotta look for good stuff now, but it's there.

Yes it is, there is a lot of excellent new/recent music out there.

I think the people who say such a thing are stuck on mainstream radio or tv channels that play nothing but what is in the charts.

Fuck the charts, broaden your horizons.

SagsWay2low said:

If you could go back that period and ask your former selves what you thought

Prince's career would be like today, what do you think your former selves would say?

However, my 80's self would have been shocked and dismayed at his recent

output and inconsistency.

What does my current self think of all this? I'm entertained by it actually.

At every stage of his career, we have an artist who vacillates between

hitting all the right notes, then going batshit crazy and dumping "Purple & Gold" on us.

If that ain't entertaining, NOTHING is.

.

[Edited 4/24/11 4:21am]

I would of been shocked of the Prince of now, especially the JW thing. Back then he was all about freedom, now its control.

I thought he would of surpassed popularity of the likes of madonna and MJ because of his talents alone.

As he got older in his 30s/40s he would of either be dead from a drug overdose or backed off from the public eye, stopped making music for himself and just produce others new acts and end up owning one of the major music compaines like WB or some other big media company, not be in war with them!

having being a fan since 83 i am proud of princes career

throughout my ups & downs his music has played apart of my life.

his music is like an old friend sometimes we disagree with each other

& although recent albums dont have the magic of the early ones

i cannot say any other artist has had this effect on me.

legend

I've been a fan since 1982, when 1999 and Little Red Corvette were simultaneously on the radio in heavy rotation (Detroit airwaves). From there, I went back and got the 4 previous albums while the new ones were coming out. I was 10/11 at the time, and Prince's music played a big part of my teenage years.

The first album that was somewhat disappointing to me was Diamonds & Pearls (1991), but I still found a lot on there that I love.

The biggest disappointment to me was the incorporation of rap/hip-hop into his music. I don't want to get into the social debate about rap/hip-hop as a genre, but suffice to say that "MY" Prince (the Prince that I grew up on and formed musical tastes around) didn't ever need to delve into it.

I always thought Prince would grow primarily as a songwriter with a strong rock/pop/R&B sound behind him. Up-to-and-including Emancipation, he had strong songwriting chops. After that, it's been hit or miss.

I want Prince to get back into crafting lyrics. I don't care if they're ballads, rockers or pop tracks.

Although aware of the songs: I wanna be your lover, controversy, 1999, little red corvette, & delirious, I was not a true fan till Purple Rain.

I thought he would continue making music and that it would slow down at some point. I also thought he would continue to do shows half hits and half new music. But by the time emancipation came around that era was over. I knew that the formula of half hits and half new songs would not draw the casual fans and to maintain super star status-he would have to please the casual fans. Big venue+Hits=Super star status. Small venue+ new music=older pop star status. Not to say he can't do both. But if anyone thinks Prince is going to do big stadiums and just play the songs not on hit compilations, you are going to be disappointed.

I think mixing a few gems (that are not on hit compilations) for us fans during a stadium tour is a great thing for Prince to do for us long time fans.

SIGN OF THE TIMES>>>>>>>Life changed, Music changed, Prince changed

I would have never in a million years predicted Purple Rain, then ATWIAD I just accepted he was going to be completely unpredictible, after C&D I learned that just because I didn't like something of his right off didn't mean I wouldn't enjoy it down the road. I have no idea what I've actually expected except maybe that he'll last.

"you could go back that period and ask your former selves what you thought

Prince's career would be like today, what do you think your former selves would say?"

think Prince was the best, is the best and will always be the best (in my lifetime) there's no doubt

electricberet said:

SagsWay2low said:

Actually, I came on board with Prince with Purple Rain. I had been made aware of him since 1999, but didn't really care for his music until Purple Rain.

I remember, even then that 1999 and Purple Rain were criticized (not by critics but by longtime fans) as being too different. Fans were saying that Prince had lost the script, or that Prince had turned his back on his roots, etc.

Oh how shocked they must have been when Parade dropped.

By Sign 'o' The Times, people stopped saying that, and started saying that he was a mad genius.

People were telling Prince's manager that his kingdom was falling after he hired Wendy, as we all know. Parade, the album, didn't get much criticism, but the story at the time was all about the supposedly horrible movie that went along with it. I don't remember much criticism of SOTT (except possibly that it showed he couldn't get along with his band anymore), but Lovesexy was panned because of the cover.

It seems like, as long as Prince has been making music, there has been someone around to complain that he's recently lost his touch. I wonder if one day someone is going to be arguing that the classic period ended in 2025 or 2035 or whatever.

That's even silly. I wonder who thos people were because she was on 2 songs at least from the 1999 project and 'hired' prior to Purple Rain (His greatest year/era ever) that line was from Old Friends 4 Sale ... love it