OldFriends4Sale said:

ixtafter7493 said:

I dont think its ruined him at all i mean its his personal decisions and the last thing i'd want him to turn into is a fake product that feels he has to be set in a certain image even if that image was made by himself if the image doesn't represent him currently. everyone needs their own image and that image/persona may change a little or a lot as u gain new experiences. i like his new music and im not just trying to be a kiss up :p i like seeing the progression.

Probably not his music, but from what I know how things go with the JW, his creative side has been stiffled

what does his faith have to do with it? doesn't it happen to every artist because of age? Why is it that most artists who were at their peak in the 70's and 80's rarely release an album, or release one every four years?

the reality is that prince fans are simply delusional. I don't see fans of other 70's and 80's artists complaining that their favourite artist can no longer match his/her peak. Only Prince fans complain that he can no longer reach his peak.

I don't think religion itself messed with him but rather the particular religion that he chose. I mean, Jehovah's Witnesses of all things. I can't think of a more stuffy miserable religion than that one. Hell, they frown on anything fun even down to birthdays. Hell, put up a Christmas tree or burn some Hannakah candles or something or if you don't like those things, find something to celebrate. I just couldn't go through life not having any kind of fun whatsoever.

The early albums had suffered from self-consciousness. Now he seemed dauntless. He was all musics and races and sexes rolled into one: erotic and puckish, furious and ecstatic, filthy and transcendent, barking mad and the sanest man around, the whole shebang in five-minute packets. Listening to "Let's Pretend We're Married", say, as it whirled out of hard-core raunch - "I'm not saying this to be nasty, but I sincerely want to fuck the taste out of your mouth" - and barrelled towards salvation, you might swear this man had no chains. If so, you'd be dead wrong.

Dread was central to him. Perhaps it was inherent, or it may have been scar tissue from his childhood. Either way, it never left him; he merely shouted it down. Unless he laid down rules and ensured he was the centre of attention at every moment, he feared he would be abandoned. Needing to control those around him, he'd put them through tests. If they left, he could feel he had been proved right; nobody was to be trusted. Friends, lovers, business associates, other musicians - all were subjected to the same trials, and none more than God. Prince never stopped yearning for Him or fearing His rejection. Much of his outrageousness was a pose to get His attention. Even the obsession with sex was oddly childish, a schoolboy scrawling dirty pictures on the toilet wall, half-wanting to be caught and punished.

The turmoil made his music great. It was also immensely destructive.

-By Nik Cohn

http://www.gq-magazine.co...con/page/3

partially continued

Scary stuff, The Black Album. It even scared Prince. Before it was released, he had a revelation - the devil had been speaking through him. The record was ditched, and in its place he put out Lovesexy, a paean to spirituality, some of it sappy, much extremely beautiful, with a blissfully ridiculous cover, showing a nude Prince sprawled on a bed of orchids, hand on heart, eyes on the Lord, one thigh raised coyly to conceal the family jewels.

Since then, God has been his only real collaborator and advisor, with decidedly mixed results. The Revolution over, he put together the New Power Generation, highly skilled musicians who were never permitted to express their own personalities as Lisa and Wendy had, albeit briefly. The NPG was essentially a back-up group, no challenge to their leader's autonomy and no goad to his creativity.

hhhhdmt said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Probably not his music, but from what I know how things go with the JW, his creative side has been stiffled

what does his faith have to do with it? doesn't it happen to every artist because of age? Why is it that most artists who were at their peak in the 70's and 80's rarely release an album, or release one every four years?

the reality is that prince fans are simply delusional. I don't see fans of other 70's and 80's artists complaining that their favourite artist can no longer match his/her peak. Only Prince fans complain that he can no longer reach his peak.

It can have a lot to do with it. check out

lovesexy06° reply #37

it's not just 'faith' it can be particular denominational 'bi-laws' structures and rules.

Also I never said anything about him 'no longer matching or reaching his peak'

Rainbow Children is my FAVORITE Prince album of 1990-2012

So I know Prince can be 1. more consistent 2. put out more cohesive 'Prince' music

short answer: YES.

vainandy said:

I don't think religion itself messed with him but rather the particular religion that he chose. I mean, Jehovah's Witnesses of all things. I can't think of a more stuffy miserable religion than that one. Hell, they frown on anything fun even down to birthdays. Hell, put up a Christmas tree or burn some Hannakah candles or something or if you don't like those things, find something to celebrate. I just couldn't go through life not having any kind of fun whatsoever.

My grandmother is a JW. She's the only person in my family who is (they came across her one day some 20 years ago when she was home alone , bored, and open to their love bombing) anyway, during holidays, everyone goes to my aunts great big house, a few houses down from my grandmothers' and has a grand ole time- all the fixins, the tree at Christmas, presents- she misses all of it and sit in her big house all by herself- even my grandfather leaves her so he can partake of festivities-

And it sickens me because I feel that she was preyed upon by some "pioneer" who needed to win someone over to the "truth" and get her "new convert notch" - Ugh. I hate this religion.