Title says it all. Discuss.

Not imo. The Family's album would have been though......

Tittypants said:

Not imo. The Family's album would have been though......

Yeah, I think so. Around The World In A Day helped to bridge the gap between Purple Rain and Parade, although it didn't really do it convincingly.

ATWIAD has some awesome moments, but I think it was Prince diffusing against potential Purple Rain popularity backlash (the foundation for Pop Life, perhaps). Thus, no music videos or promotion. Meanwhile, its possible with Parade he was ready for the spotlight again, and thus did Parade and filmed Under the Cherry Moon.

That was the good thing about Prince, he changed his look and music completely with every album in the 1980s.

Prince was a trend setter, he was extremely cool back then, all those surprises, you never knew what to expect from a new Prince album back then.....

that stopped when he left Warner imo.

80s Prince is where its at, no doubt.

Not really. They always get lumped together as the 'psychedelic' albums, but they don't really have much in common do they.

NouveauDance said:

Not really. They always get lumped together as the 'psychedelic' albums, but they don't really have much in common do they.

NouveauDance said:

Not really. They always get lumped together as the 'psychedelic' albums, but they don't really have much in common do they.

It's true - I always see them as miles apart in tone. Could you imagine 'Do U Lie' on ATWIAD? Or 'Temptation' on Parade?

However, I do see the two as a natural progression. Like, all the little figurines in Prince's room in Purple Rain jumping up and having a good time, a la The Nutcracker Suite.

Tittypants said:

Not imo. The Family's album would have been though......

Woah... I thought The Family was supposed to be an extention of the Time?

Certain songs make sense as a progression..Mountains, and Girls and Boys comes to mind. Some of the more involved arrangements wouldn't have happened if not for the instrumentation on ATWIAD, and likewise that wouldn't have made sense without Computer Blue and Purple Rain. Parade is a progression from Darling Nikki though, when you think about it.

treehouse said:

Certain songs make sense as a progression..Mountains, and Girls and Boys comes to mind. Some of the more involved arrangements wouldn't have happened if not for the instrumentation on ATWIAD, and likewise that wouldn't have made sense without Computer Blue and Purple Rain. Parade is a progression from Darling Nikki though, when you think about it.

Do you think some of the songs from "The Family" were written with The Time in mind?

"Condition of the Heart" sounds Parade-y to me

mydrawers said:

Tittypants said:

Not imo. The Family's album would have been though......

Woah... I thought The Family was supposed to be an extention of the Time?

The Family was a replacement for the Time yeah. You can see how a common thread though, yes?.. The B&W/classic movie look, the orchestration, horns, instrumentals. Mutiny isn't so very far away from say, Girls & Boys.

I think the whole ATWIAD, Family, Romance 1600, Parade and Jill Jones material was a melting pot, where Prince discovered colour in his music and he went with the flow. I think you could interchange most tracks and they would fit well.

Wendy and Lisa were the magic ingredient, not in writing terms, but because of trust. Prince allowed them to finish off tracks, which meant he could move quicker than ever before, whilst W&L added the continuity with the likes of strings and organic sounds.

The result was an incredible volume of material in a short space of time, and a sound that stands the test of time far better than the periods either side of it.

mydrawers said:

Do you think some of the songs from "The Family" were written with The Time in mind?

Songs like Screams of Passion sounds like it was meant for Sheila E., and neither River Run Dry, and Nothing compares 2 U were meant to be Time songs.....but I don't doubt some were.

High Fashion, Mutiny, and Yes could have been meant for the The Time. Yes has some very Parade sounding synths.

Seems like they inherited some odds and ends, and despite folklore, like he really wanted another group with the silk pajamas concept before The Time fell apart.