I think songs like 7, love thy will be done, somebody's somebody etc (to me atleast) are among his best written songs. I would hardly call these "ok jams", any of them would fit easily among his 80's work. Infact there are a number of post 90 songs that are fantastic. So i dont think its accurate to say that he was so good until 1984 that "we" still follow him today, there are some people who might do that but plenty of us like many songs he has done since. "We" dont want it to be good, many of us geniunely believe its good. Just because you dont think any album he has done since is great doesnt mean everybody else feels that way. So saying things like "lets get real" doesnt make any sense, you are simply trying to enforce your opinion on to others. I consider Love symbol and TGE to be among his best works, and its not because i "want it to be", its simply what i believe. Many consider TRC to be among his best works, simply because they love it.

Ummmmm.....what are you talking about? I personally, loved Emancipation, The Rainbow Children and Musicology and LotusFlwr weren't too bad, some good songs on those. Surely , "If I was your Girlfriend" was not his last good song by any means!

Even though I strongly prefer his material up to '88, I don't continue to follow him just because of one decade's worth of material... Although I'm not a fan of a lot of the stuff that he's produced over the past 20 years, there is enough greatness throughout that I am still compelled to listen to it all.

He also continues to be one of the greatest live performers on the planet & his quirky, odd personality keeps people interested too...

His work from '79-'88 made me a fan, but I'm still a fan of much of his newer stuff too.

Even if all Prince had was his output all the way up until SOTT, then I would NOT be collecting his stuff or be obsessed as a fan. I need his continuous output, and unpredictable output. I love it when he puts out something that like "Solo" or "Everybody Loves Me" that seems so true to his "Prince" brand to my ears, yet throws off some of his fans.

I am creatively inspired by things like Black Album, The Ball, Come On, Supercute, 3121, odd funny retro treads like No More Candy and that makes me a true Prince fan.

I think there are songs on every album to this day that are good, and there were also failed-to-crystalize attempts or songs that don't interest me on EVERY album too.

ufoclub said:

Even if all Prince had was his output all the way up until SOTT, then I would NOT be collecting his stuff or be obsessed as a fan. I need his continuous output, and unpredictable output. I love it when he puts out something that like "Solo" or "Everybody Loves Me" that seems so true to his "Prince" brand to my ears, yet throws off some of his fans.

I am creatively inspired by things like Black Album, The Ball, Come On, Supercute, 3121, odd funny retro treads like No More Candy and that makes me a true Prince fan.

I think there are songs on every album to this day that are good, and there were also failed-to-crystalize attempts or songs that don't interest me on EVERY album too.

Actually, I sort of feel sorry for folks who can find no joy in Prince's work since 19whatever. I never bought into the mindset that prince was "good" in certain years and ass in others. I think truly those that are fixated (sp) on certain periods/sounds are more showing their own limitations than saying anything about Prince.

For me prince has always been a moving target. Batman doesn't sound like Lovesexy and I never stopped to say It wasn't good because of that. Prince simply changes with the time and with life. The genius has never left him. I guess whatever the essense is that makes Prince Prince I hear in "For You", "TRC", and "Lovesexy" just to name 3 completely different sounding pieces of work.

If I didn't love Prince's music right up to 20ten I wouldn't even be here. There would be no point in it. There are many musicians work that I have loved but when I no longer enjoyed the work my interest waned. Which to me seems normal. I certainly find it odd to claim to not like something for decades yet hang on every note. That is bizarre and certainly shows some form of obsession.

tricky99 said:

Actually, I sort of feel sorry for folks who can find no joy in Prince's work since 19whatever. I never bought into the mindset that prince was "good" in certain years and ass in others. I think truly those that are fixated (sp) on certain periods/sounds are more showing their own limitations than saying anything about Prince.

For me prince has always been a moving target. Batman doesn't sound like Lovesexy and I never stopped to say It wasn't good because of that. Prince simply changes with the time and with life. The genius has never left him. I guess whatever the essense is that makes Prince Prince I hear in "For You", "TRC", and "Lovesexy" just to name 3 completely different sounding pieces of work.

If I didn't love Prince's music right up to 20ten I wouldn't even be here. There would be no point in it. There are many musicians work that I have loved but when I no longer enjoyed the work my interest waned. Which to me seems normal. I certainly find it odd to claim to not like something for decades yet hang on every note. That is bizarre and certainly shows some form of obsession.

I really like your take on it... But it's more complicated than that. I respect every fan's right to like or dislike any song.. Music may be the most subjective thing on the planet. BUT, Prince is so inconsistent, that it's hard not for any fan to get frustrated... Whether you are an old school fan, or you love his 90's New Jack/Rap, or U like his Funk/Jazz fusion, or U relate to his spiritual message.... There's just too much random shit for any one fan to like it all... I have literally thrown Prince CDs in the garbage, but I'm a bigger fan of him than any other artist... Go figure.

Did you purposely stop listening to Prince in 1984? I mean, at the very least you should have said up to 1987.

I still enjoy listening to new Prince albums and I always will. I can't really think of a single album where there wasn't at least a couple songs that I'll listen to for the rest of my life.

DaveG said:

I have literally thrown Prince CDs in the garbage

I would cut my arms off if I ever did that.

DaveG said:

tricky99 said:

Actually, I sort of feel sorry for folks who can find no joy in Prince's work since 19whatever. I never bought into the mindset that prince was "good" in certain years and ass in others. I think truly those that are fixated (sp) on certain periods/sounds are more showing their own limitations than saying anything about Prince.

For me prince has always been a moving target. Batman doesn't sound like Lovesexy and I never stopped to say It wasn't good because of that. Prince simply changes with the time and with life. The genius has never left him. I guess whatever the essense is that makes Prince Prince I hear in "For You", "TRC", and "Lovesexy" just to name 3 completely different sounding pieces of work.

If I didn't love Prince's music right up to 20ten I wouldn't even be here. There would be no point in it. There are many musicians work that I have loved but when I no longer enjoyed the work my interest waned. Which to me seems normal. I certainly find it odd to claim to not like something for decades yet hang on every note. That is bizarre and certainly shows some form of obsession.

I really like your take on it... But it's more complicated than that. I respect every fan's right to like or dislike any song.. Music may be the most subjective thing on the planet. BUT, Prince is so inconsistent, that it's hard not for any fan to get frustrated... Whether you are an old school fan, or you love his 90's New Jack/Rap, or U like his Funk/Jazz fusion, or U relate to his spiritual message.... There's just too much random shit for any one fan to like it all... I have literally thrown Prince CDs in the garbage, but I'm a bigger fan of him than any other artist... Go figure.

I believe you make my point. I have never been "frustrated with Prince" because early on I reconized that he was "special" and wasn't limited in music expression. He was not afraid to plow new ground and change band members like he changed looks. i'm interested in what Prince brings to whatever genre of music or hybrid genre because I'm interested in his talent not whether he is rocking out, doing funk or rapping.

A lot of fans like of Prince is based on him creating music that caters to their specific taste or genre. For me that has never been the case. So I'm not put off by Prince rapping or doing modern R&B or doing an instumental CD like NEWS. For me I'm happiest with Prince when he does do something like NEWS or TRC. I have a hard time understanding people who dismiss CDs like those and claim to really be fans.

NEWS contrasted with EXODUS contrasted with the TRUTH contrasted with 1999 are to me what makes Prince so exceptional. Its one thing to create great work within a limited scope and quite another not to have boundaries on what you can create.

As I have stated many times 99% of the fans are not musical geniuses and will not get everything Prince does because they have their own limitations. Most folks never look at it from that point of reference and take a view that if they don't like it it means its not good. When in actuality it just means they don't like it.

I think the reason so many hold on to Prince is because in their heart of hearts they know he still creates superb music. U can compare his work to many chart-topping artists of this very moment and know that. U hear it all the time with folks claiming that this song or that song is a gem. Yet isn't funny no one is in agreement about which songs these are.

U only have to do a topic on EMANCIPATION to prove that point.

LoreleiDiamond said:

Ummmmm.....what are you talking about? I personally, loved Emancipation, The Rainbow Children and Musicology and LotusFlwr weren't too bad, some good songs on those. Surely , "If I was your Girlfriend" was not his last good song by any means!

Emancipation? yuck

Musicology... hype no cohesiveness

the Rainbow Childen hell yes, if he would have continued with this kind of sound and fell which sounds like a progress appreciation of " his sound" heard in the 1980's He would be more prolific, and probably wouldn't be playing so many covers at his shows and definately playing his current album music at his own shows... How many songs from his last 3 albums has he performed regularly at on his current concerts...

DaveG said:

Even though I strongly prefer his material up to '88, I don't continue to follow him just because of one decade's worth of material... Although I'm not a fan of a lot of the stuff that he's produced over the past 20 years, there is enough greatness throughout that I am still compelled to listen to it all.

He also continues to be one of the greatest live performers on the planet & his quirky, odd personality keeps people interested too...

His work from '79-'88 made me a fan, but I'm still a fan of much of his newer stuff too.

I think he should have said at least up to 1988

but I think too many people are skirting around the truth, that it is that period why we are still such huge fans

Emancipation and Come isn't the reason we are still fanatical fans

OldFriends4Sale said:

DaveG said:

Even though I strongly prefer his material up to '88, I don't continue to follow him just because of one decade's worth of material... Although I'm not a fan of a lot of the stuff that he's produced over the past 20 years, there is enough greatness throughout that I am still compelled to listen to it all.

He also continues to be one of the greatest live performers on the planet & his quirky, odd personality keeps people interested too...

His work from '79-'88 made me a fan, but I'm still a fan of much of his newer stuff too.

I think he should have said at least up to 1988

but I think too many people are skirting around the truth, that it is that period why we are still such huge fans

Emancipation and Come isn't the reason we are still fanatical fans

Speak for yourself. it is the sum of his work that makes me such a dedicated fan. If it was just the 80's I would have been long gone. I don't even listen to the 80's much.

hhhhdmt said:

I think songs like 7, love thy will be done, somebody's somebody etc (to me atleast) are among his best written songs. I would hardly call these "ok jams", any of them would fit easily among his 80's work. Infact there are a number of post 90 songs that are fantastic. So i dont think its accurate to say that he was so good until 1984 that "we" still follow him today, there are some people who might do that but plenty of us like many songs he has done since. "We" dont want it to be good, many of us geniunely believe its good. Just because you dont think any album he has done since is great doesnt mean everybody else feels that way. So saying things like "lets get real" doesnt make any sense, you are simply trying to enforce your opinion on to others. I consider Love symbol and TGE to be among his best works, and its not because i "want it to be", its simply what i believe. Many consider TRC to be among his best works, simply because they love it.

I totally agree with this post! Exactly my thoughts!

tricky99 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I think he should have said at least up to 1988

but I think too many people are skirting around the truth, that it is that period why we are still such huge fans

Emancipation and Come isn't the reason we are still fanatical fans

Speak for yourself. it is the sum of his work that makes me such a dedicated fan. If it was just the 80's I would have been long gone. I don't even listen to the 80's much.

Tricky99, I AGREE with you 100%!

The 80's albums were AWESOME but for me, everything he's done since then is just as AWESOME if not better.

I enjoy and love the range, depth, brilliance, simplicity, complexity, jazz, pop, funk, rock, electronic, synths, horns, ballads, jams, humor, darkness, quirkiness, seriousness, feeling, mood, political, spiritual, story telling, instrumental, experimentation and joy in all of Prince's body of work. That is WHY IS AM STILL AN ADMIRER and FAN of PRINCE!

I am so glad that I am stuck in the mindset of 1980-1988. Although that time period is fantastic, BUT there is so much to PRINCE and so much more incredible music to enjoy and discover.

Happy day to you.

I don't understand why some people pretend that Prince is the only artist in his 50's who cannot match his peak output. I mean he still makes good music, not as consistently as at his peak, but he is still making good music.

When was the last time Stevie Wonder released an album as good as Songs in Keys of Life? When was the last time Rolling Stones released something as good as Exile on Main St or Sticky Fingers? Or Aerosmith with Rocks/Toys in the Attic? People expecting Prince to match Sign O the Times must be living in fantasy land. Its fine to expect good music but to expect an artist who has released an album a year for over 30 years to match his peak is beyond ridicolous.

Quote:

As I have stated many times 99% of the fans are not musical geniuses and will not get everything Prince does because they have their own limitations. Most folks never look at it from that point of reference and take a view that if they don't like it it means its not good. When in actuality it just means they don't like it.

(sorry, i dont know how this quote thing works, i aint no 'genius' in that sense... lol)

Reaction:

So, what you are saying here tricky is that YOU are a genius, and many others dont get it? A bit harsh, dont you think?

I am not agreeing with this 1984 thing, maybe not even with the 1988 year, but it says something that no single album since Sign of the Times has gotten rave reviews from the serious music press. I am not saying these critics are always right, but it is a given...

It also says a thing that the people i know in my surroundings who i see as music lovers and have a very broad taste in music, and who own hundreds, sometimes thousands of CD's, did stop buying new Prince albums during the early nineties... thats what i see.

It surely says a thing that the major consensus among the visitors of this site seems to be that Prince delivered his best work in the eighties, and that he hasnt released a great album since 1995 (there is much disagreement about The Rainbow Children). Aren't all these people not real fans? Why do you think they still visit this site? Maybe because they still put their trust into Prince, because they know what he is capable off, sometimes for better or worse.. but at least they cherish his legacy. Just because they dont like many of his albums from the last 15 years, does that make them 'less genious'? do all these people know less about music then you know? Thats quite a statement, dont you think?

Looking at my own position:

I consider it very impressive how Prince developed the Minneapolis sound between 1981 and 1984, mixing funk, rock, soul, new wave and electronical elements into a signature sound.

I think he was even better from 1985 - 1987 (maybe including 1988): his music getting a bit more experimental, his lyrics a bit more nuanced, the 'colours' of his arrangements more sublte and intricate. And des[ite the experimentation, or maybe thanks to, it was still very strong 'pop music'.

And good pop music falls or breaks with a strong basic element: good songwriting / a strong composition:

And during the eighties he was mostly on top in that sense. Good songs mixing several musical styles and using innovative arrangements, that was his 'niche' in the eighties and he excelled into it.

When it comes to the period 1988 - 1995 i feel the exciting sonical experiments were still there from time to time, but he sometimes did mess these up with styles that didnt suit him (techno, hip-hop, new jack swing: him following, instead of leading). Next to that the songwriting became more inconsistent, so the quality of his albums became less cohesive.

After 1995 (the last 15 years) he took not only one key-element away from his music: innovative arrangements. Lots of his songs are copying what is popular in the charts: plastic R and B, Black Eyed Peas like material, or he is just copying his own older material in a formulaic, uninspired way.

He ALSO took away the other key element what made his music so good in the eighties: strong compositions. Most of his songs from the '00-s lack proper chorusses, the riffs are not direct enough, or the verses are just lazy.

I know you will probably say: the quality of music is subjective. And i agree that how quality is 'experienced' changes from person to person. But its a bit 'weird' to say you are right, when the consensus among so many different groups of people (the mainstream public, the serious music press, the music-addicts who love a broad spectrum of styles and artists AND the majority of the people on this site, including myself, for named reasons) is that Prince has lost a lot of his 'mojo' in the last 15 or 24 years.

I know: loving music is no science, but dont you think these ahem... small group of people have a point?

Riverman37 said:

Quote:

As I have stated many times 99% of the fans are not musical geniuses and will not get everything Prince does because they have their own limitations. Most folks never look at it from that point of reference and take a view that if they don't like it it means its not good. When in actuality it just means they don't like it.

(sorry, i dont know how this quote thing works, i aint no 'genius' in that sense... lol)

Reaction:

So, what you are saying here tricky is that YOU are a genius, and many others dont get it? A bit harsh, dont you think?

I am not agreeing with this 1984 thing, maybe not even with the 1988 year, but it says something that no single album since Sign of the Times has gotten rave reviews from the serious music press. I am not saying these critics are always right, but it is a given...

It also says a thing that the people i know in my surroundings who i see as music lovers and have a very broad taste in music, and who own hundreds, sometimes thousands of CD's, did stop buying new Prince albums during the early nineties... thats what i see.

It surely says a thing that the major consensus among the visitors of this site seems to be that Prince delivered his best work in the eighties, and that he hasnt released a great album since 1995 (there is much disagreement about The Rainbow Children). Aren't all these people not real fans? Why do you think they still visit this site? Maybe because they still put their trust into Prince, because they know what he is capable off, sometimes for better or worse.. but at least they cherish his legacy. Just because they dont like many of his albums from the last 15 years, does that make them 'less genious'? do all these people know less about music then you know? Thats quite a statement, dont you think?

Looking at my own position:

I consider it very impressive how Prince developed the Minneapolis sound between 1981 and 1984, mixing funk, rock, soul, new wave and electronical elements into a signature sound.

I think he was even better from 1985 - 1987 (maybe including 1988): his music getting a bit more experimental, his lyrics a bit more nuanced, the 'colours' of his arrangements more sublte and intricate. And des[ite the experimentation, or maybe thanks to, it was still very strong 'pop music'.

And good pop music falls or breaks with a strong basic element: good songwriting / a strong composition:

And during the eighties he was mostly on top in that sense. Good songs mixing several musical styles and using innovative arrangements, that was his 'niche' in the eighties and he excelled into it.

When it comes to the period 1988 - 1995 i feel the exciting sonical experiments were still there from time to time, but he sometimes did mess these up with styles that didnt suit him (techno, hip-hop, new jack swing: him following, instead of leading). Next to that the songwriting became more inconsistent, so the quality of his albums became less cohesive.

After 1995 (the last 15 years) he took not only one key-element away from his music: innovative arrangements. Lots of his songs are copying what is popular in the charts: plastic R and B, Black Eyed Peas like material, or he is just copying his own older material in a formulaic, uninspired way.

He ALSO took away the other key element what made his music so good in the eighties: strong compositions. Most of his songs from the '00-s lack proper chorusses, the riffs are not direct enough, or the verses are just lazy.

I know you will probably say: the quality of music is subjective. And i agree that how quality is 'experienced' changes from person to person. But its a bit 'weird' to say you are right, when the consensus among so many different groups of people (the mainstream public, the serious music press, the music-addicts who love a broad spectrum of styles and artists AND the majority of the people on this site, including myself, for named reasons) is that Prince has lost a lot of his 'mojo' in the last 15 or 24 years.

I know: loving music is no science, but dont you think these ahem... small group of people have a point?

Its not debatable that his peak was during the 80's. But its also not debatable that most artist his age simply can't match their peak output. As far as sales are concerned, did his public image, name change and disputes with record companies have nothing to do with his sales? I am pretty sure his name change turned some people off.

Riverman37 said:

Quote:

As I have stated many times 99% of the fans are not musical geniuses and will not get everything Prince does because they have their own limitations. Most folks never look at it from that point of reference and take a view that if they don't like it it means its not good. When in actuality it just means they don't like it.

(sorry, i dont know how this quote thing works, i aint no 'genius' in that sense... lol)

Reaction:

So, what you are saying here tricky is that YOU are a genius, and many others dont get it? A bit harsh, dont you think?

I am not agreeing with this 1984 thing, maybe not even with the 1988 year, but it says something that no single album since Sign of the Times has gotten rave reviews from the serious music press. I am not saying these critics are always right, but it is a given...

It also says a thing that the people i know in my surroundings who i see as music lovers and have a very broad taste in music, and who own hundreds, sometimes thousands of CD's, did stop buying new Prince albums during the early nineties... thats what i see.

It surely says a thing that the major consensus among the visitors of this site seems to be that Prince delivered his best work in the eighties, and that he hasnt released a great album since 1995 (there is much disagreement about The Rainbow Children). Aren't all these people not real fans? Why do you think they still visit this site? Maybe because they still put their trust into Prince, because they know what he is capable off, sometimes for better or worse.. but at least they cherish his legacy. Just because they dont like many of his albums from the last 15 years, does that make them 'less genious'? do all these people know less about music then you know? Thats quite a statement, dont you think?

Looking at my own position:

I consider it very impressive how Prince developed the Minneapolis sound between 1981 and 1984, mixing funk, rock, soul, new wave and electronical elements into a signature sound.

I think he was even better from 1985 - 1987 (maybe including 1988): his music getting a bit more experimental, his lyrics a bit more nuanced, the 'colours' of his arrangements more sublte and intricate. And des[ite the experimentation, or maybe thanks to, it was still very strong 'pop music'.

And good pop music falls or breaks with a strong basic element: good songwriting / a strong composition:

And during the eighties he was mostly on top in that sense. Good songs mixing several musical styles and using innovative arrangements, that was his 'niche' in the eighties and he excelled into it.

When it comes to the period 1988 - 1995 i feel the exciting sonical experiments were still there from time to time, but he sometimes did mess these up with styles that didnt suit him (techno, hip-hop, new jack swing: him following, instead of leading). Next to that the songwriting became more inconsistent, so the quality of his albums became less cohesive.

After 1995 (the last 15 years) he took not only one key-element away from his music: innovative arrangements. Lots of his songs are copying what is popular in the charts: plastic R and B, Black Eyed Peas like material, or he is just copying his own older material in a formulaic, uninspired way.

He ALSO took away the other key element what made his music so good in the eighties: strong compositions. Most of his songs from the '00-s lack proper chorusses, the riffs are not direct enough, or the verses are just lazy.

I know you will probably say: the quality of music is subjective. And i agree that how quality is 'experienced' changes from person to person. But its a bit 'weird' to say you are right, when the consensus among so many different groups of people (the mainstream public, the serious music press, the music-addicts who love a broad spectrum of styles and artists AND the majority of the people on this site, including myself, for named reasons) is that Prince has lost a lot of his 'mojo' in the last 15 or 24 years.

I know: loving music is no science, but dont you think these ahem... small group of people have a point?

I wouldn't put my faith in critics and we know people are influenced by what's "hot" and what's "new". Prince stopped being hot. It was inevidable (sp). PR was is best selling work and was praised to high heaven. Does that make it is best work?

I'm not here arguing that Prince is at the pinnacle of his creativity or brillance. That would be simply impossible given all his output. And like any human he as while as fans or jaded by what comes before.

What I am arguing is that prince is still a great talent creating great work. And the need to compare this moment with one 25 yrs ago is down right stupid. We all make assumptions about what's great and what's not based on cultural factors as well. Is "Dreamer" better than "Dance on"? Is the "Cross" better than "Call my Name". How would quantify which is better objectively?

I agree with 'great talent'.

I simply disagree with 'great work', Tricky.

He has the potential to deliver great work, and therefore i still follow his career. But i rarely have seen him use on it record in the last 15 years. And, of course, thats part a subjective view, but as i said, a subjective view that is shared by many others who love 'good music' (not only critics) .. that tells a thing.

Next to that, of course he isnt at a peak anymore... but in my persional opinion, the quality of his recent output not only pales to his 'peak output' but also to so many other artists releasing music nowadays.

And, yes, there are elements in there that can in some ways be objectified: lack of a strong composition, hooks, riffs and lyrics (the base), combined with a lazy, formulaic execution (uninspired arrangement, auto-pilot lyrics).

I can tell you that there a lot of people who dont like Prince's music at all, and have their own favourites, but who can also tell when certain artists they love are making the same artistic 'mistakes'.

You are one of the few people on this site that call Princes recent output 'great', but that doesnt make the music great actually.. lol

Its apparent some of you are going to die unsatisfied fans. If you have not liked his output in 15-27 years then that's just something you're going to have to deal with forever. You cannot force an artist to be who you want him to be. Unless you are in his mind, you cannot speak for his music potential TODAY. I"m happy I'm one of those few who enjoys his recent output. It makes the ride to continue to be even more enjoyable.

Indeed, i cannot force an artist who i want him to be. Maybe he is fine with where he is in his life right now.

But, I CAN express my sorrow about him underachieving and throwing his talent away, at least on record.

Maybe its time to live with the fact that Prince has turned into a 'golden oldies' act, releasing below par records only to sell concert tickets... just like James Brown in his later days.. or Elvis in his Vegas days.

Who knows?

Maybe i should stop trying to share my thoughts about good music with people who care about the DeBarge family, who think that Rick James could have been a contender to Prince, who keep wasting their time with gossip on a Michael Jackson thread, who think that Lady Gaga makes exciting, progressive music (when she is simply Britney Spears in a designer outfit)... Who knows?

Maybe Prince nowadays is just releasing boring, formulaic R and B music. The kind of music that bores me to death... Who knows? The fact is, whenever a new album of him appears, i put it into my CD-player for three weeks, giving him the benefit of the doubt... but i get bored of it very soon, after like 2 or 3 spins.

Maybe its hard to explain Prince has lost his 'mojo' to people who only listen to R and B music, who think Teena Marie is some legend, people who think Cameo and Zap are more important within the history of funk then Prince and his camp. People also who dont seem to have a broad musical taste: instead of listening to funk, folk, rock, pop, world music, country, jazz, classical music... opening their mind and putting away their prejudices... i see a lot of (mostly) black people here claiming the early eighties (with Debarge, Cameo, the Jackson bunch, Rick James etc..) were like some heaven, and it has gone downhill since.

Not all are like that, someone like Timmy seems to be curious and colourblind, but many black people in here seem to have no clue there is more then R and B and hip-hop, and act as smallminded and ignorant as can be.

While the white people in here seem to be the ones with the broad musical taste, its like the black people are the racist ones. Think about that....

meisme said:

This is the only site I come to that is supposed to be for an artist and like most of the people who post here are so hateful. I have said it before and will again just go find someone else who you actually like. Obviously you have all outgrown Prince's music. Move ahead and find something new. This is not 1984. Hell that was way before my time.To love Prince today is to embrace Musicology, 3121, Lotus, Elixir, MPLS, 2010, etc. All great music with expert musicianship involved. Give the man props. Not like oh he's good for a fifty something. He rocks harder than most twenty somethings. Single file now and move on.

Does that mean if my favorite albums by the Rolling Stones are Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, rather than Bridges to Babylon and A Bigger Bang, then I'm not a true Stones fan? Are Joni Mitchell fans required to swear that Shine is her best album of all time in order to post on a Joni Mitchell website?

A few people here seem to define "hate" as "lack of complete, eternal, and unconditional love." Sheesh.

Speak for yourself! I follow Prince today because I love his TODAYS music as much as the 80's.

Some people have a lot of nerve.

[Edited 9/2/11 14:58pm]

Riverman37 said:

Indeed, i cannot force an artist who i want him to be. Maybe he is fine with where he is in his life right now.

But, I CAN express my sorrow about him underachieving and throwing his talent away, at least on record.

Maybe its time to live with the fact that Prince has turned into a 'golden oldies' act, releasing below par records only to sell concert tickets... just like James Brown in his later days.. or Elvis in his Vegas days.

Who knows?

Maybe i should stop trying to share my thoughts about good music with people who care about the DeBarge family, who think that Rick James could have been a contender to Prince, who keep wasting their time with gossip on a Michael Jackson thread, who think that Lady Gaga makes exciting, progressive music (when she is simply Britney Spears in a designer outfit)... Who knows?

Maybe Prince nowadays is just releasing boring, formulaic R and B music. The kind of music that bores me to death... Who knows? The fact is, whenever a new album of him appears, i put it into my CD-player for three weeks, giving him the benefit of the doubt... but i get bored of it very soon, after like 2 or 3 spins.

Maybe its hard to explain Prince has lost his 'mojo' to people who only listen to R and B music, who think Teena Marie is some legend, people who think Cameo and Zap are more important within the history of funk then Prince and his camp. People also who dont seem to have a broad musical taste: instead of listening to funk, folk, rock, pop, world music, country, jazz, classical music... opening their mind and putting away their prejudices... i see a lot of (mostly) black people here claiming the early eighties (with Debarge, Cameo, the Jackson bunch, Rick James etc..) were like some heaven, and it has gone downhill since.

Not all are like that, someone like Timmy seems to be curious and colourblind, but many black people in here seem to have no clue there is more then R and B and hip-hop, and act as smallminded and ignorant as can be.

While the white people in here seem to be the ones with the broad musical taste, its like the black people are the racist ones. Think about that....

you can definately can express yourself, but jeez, if after an artist has been in the game for 30 years, you feel he's an underachiever who throws his talent away and feel sorrow when it comes to him, then like i said, you will forever be an unsatisfied fan. i just don't feel that way when listening to his over all catalog, i enjoy the early and later prince music....thank goodness. If you want to talk about underachievers, wasted talent and sorrow, turn on your radio.

[Edited 9/2/11 15:07pm]

DaveG said:

Even though I strongly prefer his material up to '88, I don't continue to follow him just because of one decade's worth of material... Although I'm not a fan of a lot of the stuff that he's produced over the past 20 years, there is enough greatness throughout that I am still compelled to listen to it all.

He also continues to be one of the greatest live performers on the planet & his quirky, odd personality keeps people interested too...

His work from '79-'88 made me a fan, but I'm still a fan of much of his newer stuff too.

That makes sense. It seems like you are satisfied with what you do like.

NeonCraxx said:

DaveG said:

I have literally thrown Prince CDs in the garbage

I would cut my arms off if I ever did that.

I have too. I decided the only way I was ever going to like him again was if I threw I Love U In Me, the New Power Generation & Gett Off maxi singles and some other shit in the trash. I've come really close to tossing Diamonds and Pearls and even parade, YES PARADE.

Eventually I decided...he is what he is. He'll never be 1984 prince again. That's just the way it is. I still buy what he does, and I appreciate that he keeps doing it, but it's been many years since I've regarded his work as infallible. Or even 30% good. I'm still pissed that I spent $5 on Lotusflower.

wonder505 said:

If you want to talk about underachievers, wasted talent and sorrow, turn on your radio.

... or take a look in the mirror.

digitalelectric said:

That's how tight he was. That's how unreal he was. That's how special he was. Let's face it. His best music-making year was 1983. His parabolic curve ended a couple years after that. Yes, there were some OK jams after that, but don't embellish it. After that it wasn't that good. Period. Yes, we want it to be good., but it was at best less than half as good. You want it to be good, but it isn't. Let's get real.

My point. The only way he can appeal to his real fans is to release the old, unreleased stuff now. If he never gives it to us, then his legacy to the real fans diminishes exponentially daily.

To Prince: Quit wasting our time. It's over. The only way to be relevant is to give up the goods now.

People buying and dancing to the new shit now and the shit for the last 20 years is played out a thousand fold.

Let's get real, org people. Why are we still here talking P when the last perfect song was "If I was Your Girlfriend?"

I'll still watch every live performance, and listen to every new release. Because I'm a fan.

But I'm disappointed every time despite the fact that I'm witnessing a living legend due to his otherworldly output that rocked my world closing in on 30 years ago.

Is it worth it?

[Edited 7/29/11 0:04am]

Timmy84 said:

I disagree. Prince still had great moments even in recent years. Not all legends are gonna have a period like their heyday.

Yep. That was 25 years ago, he is a totally different person now. i like something off every album he has released.