my copy arrived off ebay 2day and I gave teh album a few spins....im not 2 keen on The Black Album as a whole.....think it didnt live up 2 its Legend Imo......but I would consider tthose 2 tracks Prince Classics.....more so Bob George.......what do u think of the album?......what are ur fave tracks??......and was the version on the cd The Original album listing?......any thoughts or stories from this period would be much apprciated...thanking ya!

The whole album is amazing, but if I had to choose one it would be Dead On It...there's nothing like it....

TheFreakerFantastic said:

The whole album is amazing....

Optimus2 said:

and was the version on the cd The Original album listing?

The released version is as the original 1987 version, yes.

thedance said:

TheFreakerFantastic said:

The whole album is amazing....

Keep listening to the whole thing loud, over and over. It's all good!

But I agree Bob George is the top outstanding unique track, perhaps the most creative track he has put out there yet.

But I can't get enough of Le Grind.

Its my fave album by Prince.

Yes, I've always found this album addictive, like a drug, which is fitting as P was rumoured to be 'under the influence' during this period...

I dig all the tracks but those and "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton" are the best ones...

My favorite is Superfunkycalifragisexy! Le Grind, Cindy C, and Bob George not far behind.

ufoclub said:

Keep listening to the whole thing loud, over and over. It's all good!

But I agree Bob George is the top outstanding unique track, perhaps the most creative track he has put out there yet.

But I can't get enough of Le Grind.

Its my fave album by Prince.

how intresting...did u own or hear the album b4 its "official" release or not?

Optimus2 said:

ufoclub said:

Keep listening to the whole thing loud, over and over. It's all good!

But I agree Bob George is the top outstanding unique track, perhaps the most creative track he has put out there yet.

But I can't get enough of Le Grind.

Its my fave album by Prince.

how intresting...did u own or hear the album b4 its "official" release or not?

I heard it on cassette bootleg before the summer of '88. Then got many iterations of bootleg copies on vinyl and then CD until it was released in '94.

But it's just the solid mix and cohesivness of the album that I like. It flows well, and has a strong mood. And it is startling the first time you listen to it. It has this underground, aggressive vibe without being obvious, although I guess Bob George is explicitly violent and crazy.

One of his best, and funkiest albums that has not aged one bit.!

callimnate said:

One of his best, and funkiest albums that has not aged one bit.!

wouldnt go that far 2 be honest......but it is funky!! and its retro sounds adds 2 its greatness

callimnate said:

One of his best, and funkiest albums that has not aged one bit.!

Agreed, Although BG and RHIAFP are good. Le Grind, Superfucker and Cindy C are better.

Timmy84 said:

Ya can't beat Le Grind for a party song. I just wish it didn't sound so muddy. Something about the mix doesn't sound right to these ears. At first, I thought it was just bootleg sound issues but then he dropped the real thing and it sounded the same.

Dead On It had my favorite rhythm guitar line from him ever and is both funky and hilarious.

Cindy C...Supercali...just like ufoclub said, it's ALL GOOD. Another record only Prince could do.

My two favs are Bob George and Dead On It

Rock Hard in a Funky Place always sound like it's 4 a different album... love it though, and live Susannah's camille backing Prince

my opinion on the album overall evolved quite a bit over time...

but it helped that the first time I listened to it, I went thru Dirty Mind & Controversy b4hand... seeing as this was his attempt to rekindle that vibe that the black audience was crazy about (compared to afterwards, where they felt he sold out to the white audience)...

in line with those two, the album continues from that train of thought, but a bunch of the songs are about the same subject...

with the exception of Dead on it, Bob George and the West Compton instrumental

now I find Bob George to be the only stand-out on the album because it is so unique and so innovative

plus its hilarious in places...

I'm not quite as naive now as I was when I heard this album the first time... but even so, "Rockhard in a funky place" still kinda rubs me the wrong way but thats just me personally

"When 2 r in love" was another highlight, but now I dont know if I can even listen to it on this album... seeing as its so at home on Lovesexy

I totally agree with relation to When 2 R In Love..it's now found it's home on Lovesexy and seems out of place on the Black Album, which is so raw and dirty! Le Grind is just inspired, full of invention and energy.

At times I've listened to this track and realised that it's just the kind of thing we're unlikely to hear any more of..it's a product of it's time and Prince has moved on and aged.

The black album was the embodiment of youthful passion and lust. I don't believe any artist today could bring it quite like Prince did during those recording sessions.

I still have a Smash Hits magazine review of the album and they panned it..just goes to show the kind of quality they were used to from Prince back in the day, or perhaps just their ignorance at being faced with something so intense.

Bob George and Le Grind really do it for me.

i just don't understand the bob george love .. its cute i guess .. like movie star .. but it is soo fuckin lazy .. prince hit play on a drum machine .. nothing interesting there .. then he did a super boring 3 chord blues structure as simply as possible (not that most of his songs aren't 3 chord blues this one is just his laziest effort) and then he hits some machine gun samples on his pre loaded special effects section of his keyboard .. then he goes on about killing his woman like its funny ..

talk about prince writing a song a day .. i am pretty sure he wrote and recorded this song in about 5 minutes .. sounds a lot like the billy sunglasses live jam .. its got a couple funny lines in it but that is about it .. why do people think it is so innovative? I just don't see or hear it.

TrevorAyer said:

i just don't understand the bob george love .. its cute i guess .. like movie star .. but it is soo fuckin lazy .. prince hit play on a drum machine .. nothing interesting there .. then he did a super boring 3 chord blues structure as simply as possible (not that most of his songs aren't 3 chord blues this one is just his laziest effort) and then he hits some machine gun samples on his pre loaded special effects section of his keyboard .. then he goes on about killing his woman like its funny ..

talk about prince writing a song a day .. i am pretty sure he wrote and recorded this song in about 5 minutes .. sounds a lot like the billy sunglasses live jam .. its got a couple funny lines in it but that is about it .. why do people think it is so innovative? I just don't see or hear it.

In 1987, when I first heard it, it was completely out of nowhere and sounded different than anything I heard before. Keep in mind that "Bob George" was "released" (on bootleg) before gangsta rap--N.W.A. released their debut album the following year. It was also on an album that you couldn't legally buy, which made it even more cool. When I hear the song now it brings back great memories, and it's hard to evaluate it objectively. It's near the top of my "most played" list on iTunes.

Prince did not invent gangsta rap. Ice-T, Schooly D, BDP and even NWA had all released gangsta rap tracks before Bob George surfaced.

TwiliteKid said:

Prince did not invent gangsta rap. Ice-T, Schooly D, BDP and even NWA had all released gangsta rap tracks before Bob George surfaced.

True, but it was nowhere near the mainstream in 1987. I was a white kid in a small town in Colorado and hadn't heard any rap music at all at that point, except maybe Run-DMC. By the time I got to high school, everybody was listening to Straight Outta Compton and Eazy Duz-It, but that was in the early 1990s.

Not a huge fan of The Black Album.

I like most of the songs well enough (except Dead On It which I think is awful), but I don't go back to this album too often.

Le Grind and Cindy C are my favorite tracks.

Don't agree about Bob George, its a lesser track. Totally agree about Rockhardin a funky place, its just classic Camille lyrics and groove and unforgettable lines like "I hate 2 c an erection go 2 waste".

Best track is definitely that followed closely by the accessible dance groove of Le Grind, this surely would have been the single if it had ever been released originally. Le Grind is a dance floor filler and has all his classic call and response lines "All you others say hell yeah!!!"

Superfunkicalifragisexy is great too, I have always loved When 2 R in Love and being my 2nd favourite Prince song of all time, should be on top, but I have always thought of it more as a Lovesexy track rather than this one.

TrevorAyer said:

i just don't understand the bob george love .. its cute i guess .. like movie star .. but it is soo fuckin lazy .. prince hit play on a drum machine .. nothing interesting there .. then he did a super boring 3 chord blues structure as simply as possible (not that most of his songs aren't 3 chord blues this one is just his laziest effort) and then he hits some machine gun samples on his pre loaded special effects section of his keyboard .. then he goes on about killing his woman like its funny ..

talk about prince writing a song a day .. i am pretty sure he wrote and recorded this song in about 5 minutes .. sounds a lot like the billy sunglasses live jam .. its got a couple funny lines in it but that is about it .. why do people think it is so innovative? I just don't see or hear it.

How many tracks have you heard that do the blues chord progression on pitched drums?

When I first realized it I thought it was one of the funniest musical jokes I've heard. Calling it "lazy" misses the point of the track, because Prince obviously intended it to come off as a joke track that was quickly thrown together.

... and most of his songs aren't "3 chord blues" songs. It's okay if you don't like Bob George, but I don't understand why you feel the need to post nonsense like that.

novabrkr said:

TrevorAyer said:

i just don't understand the bob george love .. its cute i guess .. like movie star .. but it is soo fuckin lazy .. prince hit play on a drum machine .. nothing interesting there .. then he did a super boring 3 chord blues structure as simply as possible (not that most of his songs aren't 3 chord blues this one is just his laziest effort) and then he hits some machine gun samples on his pre loaded special effects section of his keyboard .. then he goes on about killing his woman like its funny ..

talk about prince writing a song a day .. i am pretty sure he wrote and recorded this song in about 5 minutes .. sounds a lot like the billy sunglasses live jam .. its got a couple funny lines in it but that is about it .. why do people think it is so innovative? I just don't see or hear it.

How many tracks have you heard that do the blues chord progression on pitched drums?

When I first realized it I thought it was one of the funniest musical jokes I've heard. Calling it "lazy" misses the point of the track, because Prince obviously intended it to come off as a joke track that was quickly thrown together.

... and most of his songs aren't "3 chord blues" songs. It's okay if you don't like Bob George, but I don't understand why you feel the need to post nonsense like that.

huh .. yeah i know its a joke song .. just people are hyping it like its the best thing on the record .. personally i think its the worst thing on the record .. lots of his tunes are based on the 1 4 5 chords .. peach .. cream .. dmsr .. kiss .. bob george .. and lots more are based on just one chord .. its not nonsense .. just an observation