renfield said:

The popular music scene from 1988-1991 is its own weird little bubble in music history. The 80s were stylistically over (synth-pop, hair metal, etc) and the 90s hadn't really defined itself yet. So you had these strange in-between years with a huge group of stars who were only popular/relevant at that time: Roxette, Paula Abdul, Wilson Phillips, Amy Grant, C+C Music Factory, MC Hammer, Milli Vanilli, NKOTB, even Bobby Brown to an extent. Those acts couldn't have been popular before those years, and they all faded once that period was over. The Milli Vanilli scandal even helped create the desire for unplugged, authentic music and is why vocal acts like Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, and En Vogue surged in popularity afterwards.

I feel like the innovators of the 80s...Prince, MJ, Springsteen, Madonna...struggled to find themselves during that era. The sounds they had defined had evolved, but they weren't leading the new direction for what was to come. That's why everyone was blindsided by albums like Nevermind and The Chronic. These were the new innovators, the artists who changed the game and decided the musical direction of the 90s. And it nearly overnight made all the music going on at the time sound silly and irrelevant; a sound Prince had incorporated into Diamonds And Pearls. In 1991 it seemed like a bold new direction, but within a year or two it was locked into the sound of a discarded era. Prince was trying to re-invent himself as a contemporary sounding act but the sound he was trying to achieve faded from popular grace as soon as he joined it. Once the 90s really got started musically, he was buried in the 'slave' era turmoil. It was a perfect storm of bad timing his career never 100% recovered from.

Agree 100%.

House music was something that went on from that era though. The soulful side of House and Acid Jazz was a good sound that still sounds warm and fresh.

Actually would've liked to see Prince get on the Acid Jazz vibe at that time. UK bands like Brand New Heavies and Incognito were amazing.

Edit: I agree 100% with renfield and EmancipationLover in this thread

[Edited 5/1/11 4:00am]

I find it hysterically funny when I hear people saying that Prince never followed trends in the 80s. Prince has always been getting inspiration from both past and present music. It's his way of combining these elements with his own personality that made him so original. Sometimes he does it better than most, sometimes it's hit or miss. And sometimes he just does some corny shit, cause that's what Prince is all about. He is one weird fella, and that's one of the reasons why we love his persona and music as a whole, isnt it? What is it with people saying that he's some kind of trend follower just because he's using rappers on his records? Using the linn drum was pretty damn trendy in the 80s. It was on like very record out there. THe linn, the oberheim and the 808. Rap is just another way to use your voice lyrically, rythmically etc. It's like a new teqhnique or instrument. Ignoring new trends is not the way you get more original.

In general I can agree with you. I would say that "Purple Rain" could be taken as an attempt to adapt to the production values of the mainstream pop of the time and the records he put out. It's just a dirt good record in the end, so I have no complaints in that regard.

However, he was one of the very first users of the Linn LM-1 and the LinnDrum drum machines and the way he used them was quite different from most others. The same could be said for his use of the Oberheim synthesizers - though he used other brands as well - as the "Minneapolis sound" was based on a quite distinctive use of them.

I have to say that Prince most likely used equipment like the Yamaha DX7 and the Fairlight sampler, because they were hot at the time. His use of the DX7 just went under the radar for me until someone on this board pointed that out that's it's all over his mid-80s records. That's no small achievement - overusing that synth ended up giving a very dated sound on many 80s records (you can hear it and its kind being used on MJ's Bad, for example). Prince just had the ear and skills to use those things differently from many others. As far as his use of samplers go - his 80s records certainly still sound more relevant compared to something like Yello or Art Of Noise.

I would say that several tracks on GB were far worse examples of trying to integrate trends into his sound than anything he did on either D&P or 0(+>.