...... if you've opened this post, you've already expressed openness to playing this game. If not, hit the back button and don't type vitriol directed at me....it doesn't affect me and doesn't suit you well either.....

A) Assess, if you were old enough, how you felt about Chaos & Disorder when it came out? Brilliant album? mediocre album? throw-away album? Me? I was 16 when it came out and I LOVED it (still do). I remember, though, it being nearly universally panned by critics and fans alike.

B) Assess the new prince song, Screwdriver, now, in the present. Love it? Masterpiece? (i've read many on here saying it is)? Best in the 2000's? Mediocre? Lame?

Now the hard part....

C) Try to imagine how you'd feel about Screwdriver if it were on Chaos and Disorder at that time. Would you find that it fit the album well? Made the album stronger? Was a weak spot in the album? Too cheesy for the album? Too good for the album?

D) If you found that the song fit nicely on Chaos and Disorder, what, if anything, does it say about the song now? That it is timeless - a good song is a good song no matter the time it's released? That it is dated - sounding like something that should've been on an album 20 years ago?

Post answers: should generate (not vitrliolic, personally insulting) discussion.

[Edited 1/24/13 20:45pm]

Scewdriver is miles better than any of the rock tracks on C&D imo.

jeffreymiller said:

Agreed, 'Screwdriver' is better than most of C&D, although 'I Like It There' is a hell of a rocker...

For the life of me I cannot fathom why that gawd awful playskool tune is so beloved.

I "Like it There"

Rd my brutha ..where the hell ya been i thought u were stoppin over 4 buffalo chicken dip?

Chaos and Disorder is actually my favorite album. I dont think Screwdriver really fits on it. I like it live but don't care too much for the studio version. Its too bass heavy and not enough guitar for me. Also I HATE his voice. Sounds horrible to me. I DO however like the live clips he released and am intrigued to hear him play this live. Studio though..he definately screwed it up to me just like he did with Fury. To answer your question it would be the weakest on Chaos and Disorder but I am one of the few people that LOVE the Chaos cd. I always wished Interactive, Strays of the World and empty room were added to it though.

CAMILLE1CE said:

Rd my brutha ..where the hell ya been i thought u were stoppin over 4 buffalo chicken dip?

Cam! oh shit lol! We are both still alive!

rdhull said:

jeffreymiller said:

Agreed, 'Screwdriver' is better than most of C&D, although 'I Like It There' is a hell of a rocker...

For the life of me I cannot fathom why that gawd awful playskool tune is so beloved.

Word! 'I Like it There' is lousy. I don't get the love for it al all.

rdhull said:

jeffreymiller said:

Agreed, 'Screwdriver' is better than most of C&D, although 'I Like It There' is a hell of a rocker...

For the life of me I cannot fathom why that gawd awful playskool tune is so beloved.

My guess is it's simplicity...Prince writes very complex songs at times. This isn't one of them. Sometimes less is more.

I love it!

NM...I thought you were speaking of Screwdriver.

I Like It There is cool too!

[Edited 1/25/13 15:02pm]

trax said:

Chaos and Disorder is actually my favorite album. I dont think Screwdriver really fits on it. I like it live but don't care too much for the studio version. Its too bass heavy and not enough guitar for me. Also I HATE his voice. Sounds horrible to me. I DO however like the live clips he released and am intrigued to hear him play this live. Studio though..he definately screwed it up to me just like he did with Fury. To answer your question it would be the weakest on Chaos and Disorder but I am one of the few people that LOVE the Chaos cd. I always wished Interactive, Strays of the World and empty room were added to it though.

i listened to it like this tonight:

01. chaos and disorder

02. i like it there

03. dinner with delores

04. da bang

05. same december

06. zanalee

07. calhoun sq

08. into the light

09. i will

10. what's my name?

11. empty room

12. had u

absolutely brilliant album, if i say so myself

when we first got the screwdriver regearsal clip i seriously thought it was

an outtake from chaos and disorder [mainly because it just had that kind

of sound and the end of the clip said something about the vault].

studioversion, not so much. on it's own, i like the song a lot. it grows on

me more and more with every time i listen to it. but i do find myself just

wishing that the Fox9 guitarsolo would be in it. apart from that: good tune!

it will be interesting to see how "screwdriver" fits into an album, but with

the things prince has been saying about albums lately it might not ever

get to be on one.

rdhull said:

CAMILLE1CE said:

Rd my brutha ..where the hell ya been i thought u were stoppin over 4 buffalo chicken dip?

Cam! oh shit lol! We are both still alive!

Gangstahs nevah die! I been around son ...i just usualy go ghost and read rarely add my 2 pennies round hurr...Although i must say i do enjoy the live version of screw driver

i dont understand this notion that music is dated and critics affect how we feel about the music .. chaos and disorder seemed cool to me at the time because it seemed so rebelious and underappreciated .. then i put it on .. it was ok .. better than gold .. some great ideas on it .. i liked gold on first listen as well .. but what really defines a great song or album is how you feel after repeated listen. only then do you really notice all the lyrics and subtleties .. chaos was lyrically pretty lame .. just a bunch of throwaway songs with silly gimmicks like rapping and hokey sound affects .. less stupid than gold exp. which is just unbearable to sit thru .. but still not up to prince level of poetry and delivery .. unfortunately screwdriver sounds more like a rewrite of 'guitar' to me which is the epitome of horrible stupid prince songs in my book .. his vocal delivery and lyrics are cluttered and mostly attempting to sound confident but comes off smug and arrogant in a defensive way instead of a deserved way .. like most prince songs .. the music has some cool parts and his lyrics and singing rapping or talking just kills the song dead .. this is why people have love hate relationship with prince .. u know he can come up with cool music but he always does something to make the song an embarrassment to listen to .. ex .. incense and candles .. super cool keyboard groove .. but the whole 'you can say uh uh' kinda makes me hate prince for ruining yet another song .. the whole concept of i am ur driver and you're my screw is just stupid .. chaos and disorder has much better songs on it than this, flawed as they are

Jatrig said:

...... if you've opened this post, you've already expressed openness to playing this game. If not, hit the back button and don't type vitriol directed at me....it doesn't affect me and doesn't suit you well either.....

A) Assess, if you were old enough, how you felt about Chaos & Disorder when it came out? Brilliant album? mediocre album? throw-away album? Me? I was 16 when it came out and I LOVED it (still do). I remember, though, it being nearly universally panned by critics and fans alike.

B) Assess the new prince song, Screwdriver, now, in the present. Love it? Masterpiece? (i've read many on here saying it is)? Best in the 2000's? Mediocre? Lame?

Now the hard part....

C) Try to imagine how you'd feel about Screwdriver if it were on Chaos and Disorder at that time. Would you find that it fit the album well? Made the album stronger? Was a weak spot in the album? Too cheesy for the album? Too good for the album?

D) If you found that the song fit nicely on Chaos and Disorder, what, if anything, does it say about the song now? That it is timeless - a good song is a good song no matter the time it's released? That it is dated - sounding like something that should've been on an album 20 years ago?

Post answers: should generate (not vitrliolic, personally insulting) discussion.

[Edited 1/24/13 20:45pm]

A. I was 20 when it came out, second year at university (Sophomore?) and I actually loved it. The hard rock sound was great and I thought that all of side one was great. What I Loved was the fact you could turn the album up and rock it out loud.

B. I like Screwdriver a lot, much more than Rock and Roll affair, but not as much as Lotusflow3r/MPLsOUND. Overall I like the lyrics, the basement rock sound and the youthful feel. I am amazed if its not a hit, this song smacks of hit. As good as it is, its not genius as in a Sign o the Times type thing. Still its an 8/10 song for me.

C. It would have fit well, I don't think it would strengthen it, unless you clipped off Dig u better dead and had u in its place. I see it as a track after "I rock therefore I am" or after "I like it there". When I heard Screwdriver I actually thought Chaos and Disorder, the same heavy rock sound. The only thing lacking is the drums as they are too quiet in the mix. I would even add more guitar, basically bring in Michael B on the drums and put Sonny in to add some bass, then you have a Chaos and Disorder sounding track.

D. Not really, Chaos and Disorder sounded fresh with the rock sound and plus good quality rock never goes out of fashion. I actually think Chaos and Disorder would sound better today if released now, like I said jettison the last two tracks and anything by Steppa Ranks and Scrap D (Too mid 90s sounding) add more bass and you have something quite timeless.

I actually prefer Chaos and Disorder to Emancipation, the former is slimmed down and keeps excess to a minimum, whereas Emancipation is overblown and larded with overdubs. The former is much more mired in the Come and Gold esperience period with its fresher rock and rap based sound, the latter album leans towards the overblown excesses of Newpowersoul and Rave.

i dont like games

Let's play a game.

Fart in a wet towel and inhale. Better than anything on Crap & Dysentry wasn't it. Screwdriver my arse. I wont be downloading it for nish, let alone pay for a shiny sealed copy. IMFO.

trax said:

Chaos and Disorder is actually my favorite album. I dont think Screwdriver really fits on it.

I think it would fit perfectly!

I like it live but don't care too much for the studio version. Its too bass heavy and not enough guitar for me. Also I HATE his voice. Sounds horrible to me.

I really like the mix of the studio version, I love it that it is bass heavy for once, and his voice sounds just perfect for this type of song. I agree with you the guitar could have had bit more "spotlight".

I DO however like the live clips he released and am intrigued to hear him play this live. Studio though..he definately screwed it up to me just like he did with Fury.

No, there is no comparison between Screwdriver and the way Prince butchered Fury in the studio. The latter was a serious offense, there should be laws to prevent artists from doing this shit to their songs! Screwdriver studio version sounds much rawer than Fury studio version.

To answer your question it would be the weakest on Chaos and Disorder but I am one of the few people that LOVE the Chaos cd. I always wished Interactive, Strays of the World and empty room were added to it though.

While C&D is not my favorite album, I do really appreciate the rock sound that it has.

Back on topic:

A) Assess, if you were old enough, how you felt about Chaos & Disorder when it came out? Brilliant album? mediocre album? throw-away album? Me? I was 16 when it came out and I LOVED it (still do). I remember, though, it being nearly universally panned by critics and fans alike.

I was old enough and have pleasant memories of C&D. Eventhough it was presented as a throwaway album, I still liked it a lot as it was sort of a fresh breeze in Prince-land to have a rock sound for the bigger part of the album. It is definately in my top 15 Prince albums, maybe even top 10.

B) Assess the new prince song, Screwdriver, now, in the present. Love it? Masterpiece? (i've read many on here saying it is)? Best in the 2000's? Mediocre? Lame?

Again I feel it is a fresh breeze in Prince-land to hear a track like this. It is no masterpiece, but it is catchy and might even become a "hit" perhaps.

C) Try to imagine how you'd feel about Screwdriver if it were on Chaos and Disorder at that time. Would you find that it fit the album well? Yep! Made the album stronger? Yep! Was a weak spot in the album? Nope! Too cheesy for the album? The whole album was quite cheesy to start with. Love it though! Too good for the album? Just about right for that album.

D) If you found that the song fit nicely on Chaos and Disorder, what, if anything, does it say about the song now? That it is timeless - a good song is a good song no matter the time it's released? That it is dated - sounding like something that should've been on an album 20 years ago? I feel that simple, raw and catchy rock will never go out of fashion since it first popped up in the 50's.