I think COME has progressed from being one of the worst Prince outings when it came out (reviewers and fans alike seemed to detest the album) to one of his most distinctive works ever. It truly is an amazing change in perception! No one really seems to diss COME anymore; in fact, the general consensus is that it's a damn good album..!

I think his other early '90's outings (D&P and LOVE SYMBOL) have actually gotten worse over time, 'cause they have come to sound so dated in a bad way... They don't have the nostaligic feel over '80's synths, but instead, the big beats and macho raps of the '90's... While I still love both albums (especially the latter), some of the musical elements take me out of it.

Gomp said:

I think COME has progressed from being one of the worst Prince outings when it came out (reviewers and fans alike seemed to detest the album) to one of his most distinctive works ever. It truly is an amazing change in perception! No one really seems to diss COME anymore; in fact, the general consensus is that it's a damn good album..!

You're exactly right! I just stated this on another thread about Come. When it first came out it seemed that most hated this album. I couldn't understand why as it was slammin' to me. Now it seems it's getting the love it deserves.

I think The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale has also gotten better with time. The reason Come and Old Friends (and even Chaos and Disorder) have aged so well is because the instrumentation is much more organic than say Diamonds and Pearls and (shudders) New Power Soul... New Power Soul, Emancipation (as much as I LOVE it) and Rave Unto The Joy Fantastic just sound so dated now.

For me, Planet Earth and Chaos and Disorder. I probably pull out C&D more than any other. Mostly because of the drumming - Anything with Michael B on it still sounds vibrant. Exodus as well. The whole Gold Era is making a comeback with me, been jamming to the 6/7/94 show all week!

Worse over time: Symbol (too long and Tony-M'ey) or Emancipation (terrible production).

Honestly Batman and New Power Soul got better with time for me. Yes, NPS...no haters allowed!

As for one that has gotten worse with time, I honestly can't think of one, but Purple Rain doesn't get alot of plays from me (with the exception of the B-sides).

Rave, Emancipation and The Truth were a chore to get through when I recently revisited them.

Meanwhile I am currently listening to Musicology and i am enjoying the hell out of it.

KAB said:

I am not sure which are better or worse over time. I like the ones i liked back then. Disagree with comments bout D&P and O+> being dated. Difficult to differentiate between 90s and 00s to present. Its only coz we know its 90s. Whereas the 80s synth led music would be recognisable as 80s to non-Prince fans. Therefore can be dated to the 1980s.

Completely totally disagree... Much like Madonna's 'Erotica', the musical palette is DEFINATELY very 90's. In the case of D&P and Love Symbol, it does not apply to each and every song, I will admit that, but the big, complex (and mostly boringly repetitive) beats (which have become so much more effective and minimalistic nowadays) and especially the forced macho rapping instantly takes me back to the 1990-era... Rapping has changed over the last 15 years; it's become more laid back, and most of all, raps themselves are accompanied by a musical track with a recognizable chord pattern or melody (I think Tupac's Changes was very influential regarding this). Rapping in the '80's and early '90's was mostly just over dominant bass and drum, with a lot of scratch noises, etc. Believe me, it is VERY dated, and it is all over those Prince albums....

The Symbol album for me is the one that I loved at the time of its release, but can barely listen to all the way through now.

And I'll have to agree that Come is one of the ones that has aged well.

I always wish that Loose! had been released as a single from it, though. Given the popularity and success of The Prodigy's Firestarter 18 months later, I think Loose! would have been huge.

Better: Come

Worse: Musicology

Better: New Power Soul

Worse: Emancipation

Gomp said:

I find Purple Rain awfully dated, I love this album deeply of course but it hasn't aged well... Now it's very likely that the very reason it has such a massive success was precisely because it was so much anchored in the atmosphere of 1984, so it kinda makes sense that it now sounds so much like 1984...

On the other hand I find Graffiti Bridge to have aged wonderfully. It doesn't sound contemporary 20 years after its release like, say, Dangerous, but I'm quite sure it could still be released today and no one would really be shocked by the sound of it.

Globally, I'd say that anything until and including ATWIAD sounds a bit dated now, and everything after and including Parade still sounds fresh.

Now does "sounds dated" means "bad", I don't think so: as I said above the best works of art make sense in the context of the time they were made, and sounding dated means it was relevant at the time of production...

Better: For You (used to sound dated in a bad way; now it sounds dated in a good way)

Worse: Diamonds & Pearls (I was pretty enthusiastic about it back in the day, but now I can't stomach it - kinda like that nasty 'Nerds' candy that we all used to think was so good. )

[Edited 8/27/12 9:45am]

Better: Lovesexy

With all the buzz around the then unreleased Black Album, when Lovesexy came out (despairingly called "The Beige Album by some) it was seen as a weak compromise and mild disappointment. Despite the cover, the untracked CD and just the fact that it wasn't "The Funk Bible", I think Lovesexy has over time become one his most beloved albums of that era.

Worse (Ironically): The Black Album

When it was the greatest unreleased album next to Brian Wilson's "Smile" everybody loved it, but really, 25 years later I gotta say it's not held up well in my opinion. Of course if he had never released it it would be the best album EVER!

Better: Parade, The Black Album, Lovesexy, Come, New Power Soul, Lotusflower

Worse: Batman, Diamonds & Pearls, Symbol, and right now 3121 is not aging well at all...I LOVED it when it came out, but now only the title track and The Word get played.

Better: Come. Most definitely. Didn't most of ya'll used to hate this shit a few years ago?

Worse: Around The World In A Day. Hate it! Used to play it.

Batman. Just sounds dated. Movie's still cool though.

Graffiti Bridge. Save for Joy, ? Of U, and Elephants, why did I used to like this so much?

. Maybe this CD is actually god awful.

New Power Soul

Rave. Ok so I probably still like this one, but I definitely don't play it as much as I used to.

Musicology. Really? I was like the spokesman for this when it came out. It totally sucks now!

Yes, those are my real opinions.

KingSausage said:

Worse with time: The Truth.

I agree with this.

All the 90s and 00s albums get reappraised constantly by us lot, but this has only ever gone down in my estimation.

NouveauDance said: