Just thinking in terms of Prince releases 1978-1996 was the Prince as we knew him and love.

1997-2006 I could do without - nothing was created during that time that I really listen to or miss and his stuff was quite different to what came before.

2007 + return to form with Planet Earth, then Lotusflow3r.

[Edited 5/10/11 14:52pm]

The Truth

The Rainbow Children

One Night Alone(Piano Solo)

Three of the most personal albums he released no matter how strongly we feel about them.

TheFreakerFantastic said:

2007 + return to form with Planet Earth

From what I can see, PE gets a lot of negative rep on here, and a lot of people consider Musicology and 3121 more favourably as a return to form, so good luck with this one!

No, the low period ended in 2004. Not 2006.

Weaker than the 80s and mid-90s (The Vault/OF4S and Chaos included), but at least he released a very good album: TRC. And some great songs on each album, as always.

[Edited 5/10/11 17:14pm]

I don't c any "return to form" with PE: it sounds like nothing before save the ballads which sound... 1997-2001

If any albums were a "return to form", it's MPLSound and 20ten and nothing before that.

And even though it's only my humble, personnal opinion, I feel that the so-called plastic years (96-01) and the following jazz years (01-03) were an amazingly adventurous moment in Prince's career. I wouldn't be surprised if these years end-up being rediscovered in the future.

The entire period following TGE was the low point. Not one worthwhile album until 3121. I actually liked Planet Earth.

well i quite like Musicology, and really like 3121. It just shows how subjective music is.

I think 96-2000 were the low points. Emancipation has some good songs, but no quality control at all. Crystal Ball is a collection of otttakes from the 80's and early 90's. Rave and newpowersoul only have a few good songs. He retuned to form with rainbow children, a pretty good album (though i don't consider it outstanding by any means)

For me, most everything after "Come" & before "Musicology" is just so -so. I like the concept of "Rainbow Children", but it's not an album I go back & listen to. "The Truth" was pretty cool too.

There are great tracks scattered throughout all of those albums of the late 90's & early 2000's & some fantastic stuff coming out through the NPG Music Club... I love "Chocolate Invasion", so I guess it's all good.

Prince puts out so much music, you just need to find what suits you best.

[Edited 5/10/11 22:11pm]

97-2000 weren't great years, even though I think Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic is kinda underrated.

However, I think these past 10 years were quite good.

In '01, he released The Rainbow Children, which I think is a great album.

He followed that up with the One Nite Alone tour which was amazing.

The One Nite Alone Piano Album and the Live Box Set were OK.

Musicology may not have been a return to form musically, but it put him back in the spotlight and the subsequent tour reminded the country that Prince was fucking awesome.

With 3121, he got his 1st album ever to debut at #1.

I didn't too much care for Planet Earth, but it had a few good songs there.

Since then, I think Prince has been rightfully enjoying his legendary elder statesman status.

DaveG said:

For me, most everything after "Come" & before "Musicology" is just so -so. I like the concept of "Rainbow Children", but it's not an album I go back & listen to. "The Truth" was pretty cool too.

There are great tracks scattered throughout all of those albums of the late 90's & early 2000's & some fantastic stuff coming out through the NPG Music Club... I love "Chocolate Invasion", so I guess it's all good.

Prince puts out so much music, you just need to find what suits you best.

[Edited 5/10/11 22:11pm]

IMO I found the albums during the period after Come and before Musicology to be a little self indulgent.

When Musicology came out, and was hearing the title track and Cinnamon Girl on the radio, that's when I thought "Prince is back".

Perhaps it wasn't a bad period, just a very radio unfriendly period

does NOT equal Low Period..........PERIOD.

Once he took his name back as Prince..is when I think it picked up again.

I personally went through hell and back without any new funk from Prince during the D&P - Rave years.

As a teenage funk fan those 10 years were BRUTAL....

There were hardly any new funk jams that came out other than rock and hip hop..lots of that and a couple of r&b tunes that ...somewhat were more flavored for the radio.

The closest tunes us funk fans got to it were probably:

Emancipation

In This Bed I Scream

Rave

Prettyman

Sleep Around

Push

Sexy MF

319

When U Love Somebody

9 (new) funk songs!!!! I was lucky in that time frame to have found bootlegs (including the release of some funk on Crystal Ball, but the funk songs in that period was from the 80's...) because I was giving up hope that Prince would be funky again.

Can anyone think of any more funk tunes before Prince finally stopped bullshitting and gave us some funk on Rainbow Children?

paisleypark4 said:

Once he took his name back as Prince..is when I think it picked up again.

I personally went through hell and back without any new funk from Prince during the D&P - Rave years.

As a teenage funk fan those 10 years were BRUTAL....

There were hardly any new funk jams that came out other than rock and hip hop..lots of that and a couple of r&b tunes that ...somewhat were more flavored for the radio.

The closest tunes us funk fans got to it were probably:

Emancipation

In This Bed I Scream

Rave

Prettyman

Sleep Around

Push

Sexy MF

319

When U Love Somebody

9 (new) funk songs!!!! I was lucky in that time frame to have found bootlegs (including the release of some funk on Crystal Ball, but the funk songs in that period was from the 80's...) because I was giving up hope that Prince would be funky again.

Can anyone think of any more funk tunes before Prince finally stopped bullshitting and gave us some funk on Rainbow Children?

Are you forgetting "Days of Wild", "Billy Jack Bitch", "Face Down", or even "Now"?? They're not "true" funk, but they're pretty funky, I must say. I'm SUPER critical of the last half of his career, as everybody knows, but even I will say that these have been the funkier highlights of the 90s.

What other artist had better material during than time frame?

alexnvrmnd777 said:

paisleypark4 said:

Once he took his name back as Prince..is when I think it picked up again.

I personally went through hell and back without any new funk from Prince during the D&P - Rave years.

As a teenage funk fan those 10 years were BRUTAL....

There were hardly any new funk jams that came out other than rock and hip hop..lots of that and a couple of r&b tunes that ...somewhat were more flavored for the radio.

The closest tunes us funk fans got to it were probably:

Emancipation

In This Bed I Scream

Rave

Prettyman

Sleep Around

Push

Sexy MF

319

When U Love Somebody

9 (new) funk songs!!!! I was lucky in that time frame to have found bootlegs (including the release of some funk on Crystal Ball, but the funk songs in that period was from the 80's...) because I was giving up hope that Prince would be funky again.

Can anyone think of any more funk tunes before Prince finally stopped bullshitting and gave us some funk on Rainbow Children?

Are you forgetting "Days of Wild", "Billy Jack Bitch", "Face Down", or even "Now"?? They're not "true" funk, but they're pretty funky, I must say.

Those had bits of funk in them...the others were more rock and hip hop oriented.

I'm SUPER critical of the last half of his career, as everybody knows, but even I will say that these have been the funkier highlights of the 90s.

Im just glad he brought it back hard since Rainbow Children came out...at least more than 10 funk songs have came out since...I believe...

Musicology

The Everlasting Now

Family Name

Illusion Coma Pimp....

What Do U Want Me 2 Do

Black Sweat

Love

Lolita

Get On The Boat

Chelea Rogers

Chocolate Box

3121

Jukebox With A Heartbeat

Ther'll Never B Another...

Valentina

No More Candy

Old School Company

Dance 4 Me

Compassion

Beginning Endlessly

Sticky Like Glue

Lavaux

Act Of God

Laydown

Feel Better Feel Good

thats pretty damn good for making up those 10 years of non funk.

[Edited 5/11/11 11:40am]

Prince was VERY funky from 90-95. Especially if we consider the NPG albums.

On a not so generous day I'd say I could do without everything after 1988.

wow...I really have to disagree. Gold Experience and TRC are some of my fave albums ever.

More like 1989 - 2001. Those were the lowest depths the man has waded through.

The entire decade of the 90's was a shameful era for such a great artist. When for someone of his stature at his heights, to set his sights so low, to the lowest common denominator, and sadly could not even artistically compete with pre-fab kiddie pop that he was urgently trying to compete against.

The beginning of the 2001 saw a renaissance, at least in his live performances. And once again put himself back at the top as the greatest living live performer.

Once the 90's were over it seems he picked himself up and decided to pretend that that decade never happened. Thankfully only performing the one or two rare gems from that decade in concert.

Some may long for the childish and uber-cheesy 90's and diss his better works like 3121 and Lotus, but whatever.

[Edited 5/15/11 11:55am]

GustavoRibas said:

wow...I really have to disagree. Gold Experience and TRC are some of my fave albums ever.

Two solid albums in comparison to his other stuff from this period. Although TRC is a little bit more experimental than the gold experience, I find both of them too conventional as far as songwriting and sound are concerned.

[Edited 5/14/11 9:15am]

hhhhdmt said:

well i quite like Musicology, and really like 3121. It just shows how subjective music is.

I think 96-2000 were the low points. Emancipation has some good songs, but no quality control at all. Crystal Ball is a collection of otttakes from the 80's and early 90's. Rave and newpowersoul only have a few good songs. He retuned to form with rainbow children, a pretty good album (though i don't consider it outstanding by any means)

cept... i like crystal ball a lot :] but since that was pretty much all old stuff, i dont really consider that part of his 96-00 material.

funkomatic said:

GustavoRibas said:

wow...I really have to disagree. Gold Experience and TRC are some of my fave albums ever.

Two solid albums in comparison to his other stuff from this period. Although TRC is a little bit more experimental than the gold experience, I find both of them too conventional as far as songwriting and sound are concerned.

[Edited 5/14/11 9:15am]

- Maybe, but I like Prince´s 90s sound. I like him as a bandleader of a very funky band. And he wrote some damn good songs in the 90s. Some of them not revolutionary, but great in terms of melody, arrangements, groove, etc.

^Good for you, not enough to really keep my interest!

[Edited 5/15/11 11:59am]

ONA Tour was his 2nd best ever! (after Parade and the underappreciated 2010 fall tour of Europe)

ONA piano is a fantastic cd

3121 is the best thing since TGE

So, not a low decade.....

true 1996-2001 could have been better......

There wasn't any low period for his studio recordings. I like them all, love most of them. Whenever I play "If I Was Prince's Manager," I would have had him release a new album only every 2-5 years, but I would've had 5 disc outtake/demo sets around 1991, and 1995, and a 20 disc set around 2003. That way, we get the best of both worlds. Instead of confusing the public with too many albums, he follows more of the MJ/U2 blueprint of not over-saturating the market. Also, in this little dream, Tony M does not exist.

But in the life that we have, I am happy to have all the Prince music I have. Sure it would be nice to pretend that The Wedding Feast never happened, and that the Graffiti Bridge movie never existed, but it it what it is, and just having all these great songs has made my life a little better than it otherwise would have been.

802 said:

No, the low period ended in 2004. Not 2006.

Totally agree, Musicology was his best since Emancipation, and 3121 is his best album since 1994's Come, yes its even better than the Gold Experience, which does sound self indulgent.

Agree with rest, NPS, Both Raves, Rainbow Children, ONA's and NEWS are all very dull and some are plain offensive especially the Rainbow Children which was his absolute NADIR!!!!!

Crystal Ball does not count as its mostly some excellent 80s material mixed in with some kinda of OK 90s stuff, the newest songs are 95/96. The Truth really is a weak album along with the NPGMC stuff (It was better than the released material at least).

[Edited 5/16/11 5:45am]

GustavoRibas said:

Prince was VERY funky from 90-95. Especially if we consider the NPG albums.