I was just thinking ... Perhaps because I'm a newer admirer of P's music ( since Emancipation Era ) and when I read or hear how other admirers of P's music prefers his music / lyrics pre-TRC ( The Rainbow Children ). My question is to the older fans from perhaps the first album ( and the newer admirers / fans ):

Do you think that P's music pre-TRC is better lyrically and musically then say 20Ten?

Or do you like what you like?

I like to say that Prince has never released an album that was not worthy of say S.O.T.T. or Lovesexy or LoTUSFLOW3R / MPLSoUND. I love em all, I believe and feel it's part of the journey with P being at the helm ( with his style of music / lyrics ).

The quick answer is I like what I like - on another thread recently I commented that imo there is at least one gem on every album - lyrically and musically 'Future Soul Song' from 20ten being a recent example.

Musically I guess I miss the consistent complexity of arrangements of The Revolution days; the kaeidoscopic soundscapes. However, dogma aside, TRC was an extremely well produced and fluid concept album of sorts.

Also to my ears, Prince has started to releasing less melodic songs - and seems to favour tight grooves and jams

I don't think P's lyrical ability has changed much over the years - but think there have been inspirational peaks and troughs - and now of course the 'cuss free' element. Perhaps prince writes more himself without collaboration nowadays - it's well documented that W&L and others contributed in the past. Imho recent lyrics seem to lack depth - the last decent lyrics were on TRC for me - whether I agree with the messages or not - Prince obviously wrote with passion and conviction

What I would really appreciate right now would be coherence - an album that merges genres rather than places them side by side (if that makes sense).

I stilll look forward to Prince releases if for no other reason than to pick out and enjoy the inevitable gem(s) contained within.

I like every album. That is why I am a fan. Some more than others. His lyrics are not any worse to me. They are just different now.

80spfantwp said:

Also to my ears, Prince has started to releasing less melodic songs - and seems to favour tight grooves and jams

I don't think he "favoured" funk jams, but that he really wasn't inspired for quite some time and wasn't able to write good melodies. But it became better in the last few years.

His lyrics are less accessible these days. I think that's the main difference for me. In the old days he had albums with songs that told stories, with a couple of 'thinkers' that, even after analysis, you were never 100% sure what they were about. Now it's a paradigm shift and 90% of the songs have lyrics that nobody really fully understands. I still love some of his later stuff, don't get me wrong, but I do wish he'd cut back on the cryptic, insular lyrics a bit and get back to singing about boys and girls, relationships, love and loss.

I think melodically his lyrics have gotten really lazy sometimes - maybe it's being in a comfort zone, or just wanting to wack the song off as quick as possible, but there are many examples from recent years where the lyrics are squeezed awkwardly into the melody/rhythm of the song and it's rather jarring. It's says to me that he has a lackadaisical attitude these days to some of his studio work, which is often reinforced in other areas of his work/career.

Not swearing is neither here nor there to me - I don't believe anyone really cares about the cusswords, that's silly. I will say though - when you sing "what the duck" -- that's bordering hypocritical - you can't say the word, but an exact rhyme? Ridiculous - I'm guessing Prince would say the sound of the exact word has magical properties to influence the listener (as suggested in songs like One Song) - but submitting one consonant, the audience is still fully aware of the submitted word and the intention of the statement, which means the message transmitted is exactly the same had he said fuck, duck, shuck, muck or any other variant. Silly and lazy.

NouveauDance said:

I think melodically his lyrics have gotten really lazy sometimes ....there are many examples from recent years where the lyrics are squeezed awkwardly into the melody/rhythm of the song and it's rather jarring.

I like what I like.

And I have many reasons to believe that his music is as good as ever, but I ain't gonna go in2 this.

PurpleLove7 said:

I was just thinking ... Perhaps because I'm a newer admirer of P's music ( since Emancipation Era ) and when I read or hear how other admirers of P's music prefers his music / lyrics pre-TRC ( The Rainbow Children ). My question is to the older fans from perhaps the first album ( and the newer admirers / fans ):

Do you think that the P's music pre-TRC is better lyrically and musically then say 20Ten?

Or do you like what you like?

I like to say that Prince has never released an album that was not worthy of say S.O.T.T. or Lovesexy or LoTUSFLOW3R / MPLSoUND. I love em all, I believe and feel it's part of the journey with P being at the helm ( with his style of music / lyrics ).

NewPowerSoul is not worthy of the classics or the 90's circus of releases imo. And 50% each of Symbol and D&P isnt worthy of much imo either. A lot of that material I feel was either cruise control, uninspired, or simply overly excessive. Which is to be expected with as much good material he has/does put out so its not exactly a criticism per se.

NouveauDance said:

Not swearing is neither here nor there to me - I don't believe anyone really cares about the cusswords, that's silly. I will say though - when you sing "what the duck" -- that's bordering hypocritical - you can't say the word, but an exact rhyme? Ridiculous - I'm guessing Prince would say the sound of the exact word has magical properties to influence the listener (as suggested in songs like One Song) - but submitting one consonant, the audience is still fully aware of the submitted word and the intention of the statement, which means the message transmitted is exactly the same had he said fuck, duck, shuck, muck or any other variant. Silly and lazy.

Purplelove7 said:

Do you think that the P's music pre-TRC is better lyrically and musically then say 20Ten?

Or do you like what you like?

For me, in the beginnning, and prior to TRC, his music/lyrics and stage presence was more of a 'shock and awe'.- He was a rebel, bold, a teaser, testing the waters, defiant, going against the grain of 'the so-called norm', and slightly touching on questionable and controversial societal issues, with his lyrics and stage performance(s). By the mid 80s his image changed, but his music tastes, continued to surprise many, while staying unpredictable, never fitting into just one, particular category- a little something for everyone, as he covered r&b, rock, funk, pop, slow ballads, etc., and you felt the emotions and messages in many of his songs, where many of his listeners were able to relate or connect to situations in their own lives. He was like a rebel battling the calm, shy side of himself, yet seemed to be searching for something spiritual to fit all of himself in one place.

Post TRC, I still enjoy Prince’s music. Because his music can never be defined in just one category. He gives you a little bit of everything, and that kind of unpredictability keeps him interesting as a musician/artist. The TRC album takes some extra listening to understand where he’s going with the message(s) in it. He mixed religion with uncomfortable, historic truths/events, and he had to know that what he expressed lyrically, in that album would raise some eyebrows, questions/or cause controversy among his fan base, but then again, that was the musically bold, controversial side of Prince, that was always expressed within his music, from the start of his career. It's like he would do an 'in your face' track, which some listeners found or may find to be of a controversial nature, as some of the lyrics, would leave you in question as to the meaning of what was expressed in his lyrics, as he touched on issues, not usually discussed at 'comfort or ease'by many within society at times, and not without controversy, such as, religion, race, societal/political issues, just to name a few.

As for 20Ten, well I liked quite a few of the songs on that album. Some of the ballads like “Future Soul Song’, ‘Walking in Sand’, and “Sea of Everything’ brought back the falsetto love ballads of the days of Smokey Robinson, the Delfonics and the Stylistics, while "Sticky Like Glue', chimed into the "Brothers Johnson' sound, where some new artists today, just couldn’t take you to that place. I also enjoy the funk-rock sound of ‘Laydown’, and with that being said, I look forward to the next chapter in Prince’s music.

[Edited 3/16/12 13:44pm]

databank said:

I like what I like.

And I have many reasons to believe that his music is as good as ever, but I ain't gonna go in2 this.

go in!

80spfantwp said:

NouveauDance said:

I think melodically his lyrics have gotten really lazy sometimes ....there are many examples from recent years where the lyrics are squeezed awkwardly into the melody/rhythm of the song and it's rather jarring.

I have to agree on this one too. I cringe every time.

But the funny thing is, he does this on the new version of Extralovable too. The original sounded fine, but on the new one the lyrics sound forced and contrived. Lazy like he was reading them off a teleprompter for the first time in his life. Al Sharpton style.

He used to be able to make ANY lyrics flow and sound great, no matter how bad they were. Now many times it sounds akward like he is just going through the motions.

[Edited 3/17/12 8:34am]

You like what you like!

I have to laugh at those who insist "Sign O' The Times" is the greatest thing Prince has ever done.

It might be for that person, but there are others who like other albums more.

Art is subjective!

I'm probably one of the people who prefer the so called golden era (dirty mind through lovesexy). Musically, he created something totally unique with 1999. I think the earlier albums had individual songs that hinted at his influences, but that album merged them all together into something new and cohesive. However, I do like the sophistication of many of his post 80's musical arrangements.

Lyrically, im going with the 80's as well. To my ears, Prince's gift was his concepts. When doves cry/if I was your girfriend are really just more songs about couples having problems. But his take on it is totally refreshing. On another song he complains about several woman treating him bad. His answer to why this is happening is "Something in the Water does not compute".. I LOVE IT lol. There are many exmaples of this during that time. While I like alot of his post 80's songs as a whole, lyrically they dont jump out at me as much.

[Edited 3/17/12 14:04pm]

PurpleLove7 said:

I was just thinking ... Perhaps because I'm a newer admirer of P's music ( since Emancipation Era )

Do you think that P's music pre-TRC is better lyrically and musically then say 20Ten?

Or do you like what you like?

I like to say that Prince has never released an album that was not worthy of say S.O.T.T. or Lovesexy or LoTUSFLOW3R / MPLSoUND. I love em all, I believe and feel it's part of the journey with P being at the helm ( with his style of music / lyrics ).

I'm Newer Than You, Since 20ten... Now I feel So, well... New xD

I Believe that there are Great Songs In All His Albums, Even In the Newests, So i'll go with the "You like What you Like" Thing.