100% yes. It is his career....and his alone.

In terms of the music I feel that Prince's best stuff was released under the Warner Bros. umbrella.

You would be hard pressed to find ANY album he has released on his own or through other corporations that could hold a candle to the Warner Bros era.

With Warner Bros on his side every new album was highly anticipated...not so much since he left them.In fact,many people don't even know he still releases music.

I didn't pay much attention to all the 'slave on my face' hype back then,I just remember not having the same great feeling about the new music as much as I did with the Warner Bros. material.

mask said:

In terms of the music I feel that Prince's best stuff was released under the Warner Bros. umbrella.

You would be hard pressed to find ANY album he has released on his own or through other corporations that could hold a candle to the Warner Bros era.

With Warner Bros on his side every new album was highly anticipated...not so much since he left them.In fact,many people don't even know he still releases music.

I didn't pay much attention to all the 'slave on my face' hype back then,I just remember not having the same great feeling about the new music as much as I did with the Warner Bros. material.

Really? The Rainbow Children and Exodus is just as good as anything WB released.

SuperSoulFighter said:

Yes, 1993 was when good old Prince gave up one of the biggest selling names in rock to become an unpronounceable symbol and everbody called him...well, fill in 4 yerself. But here's a quote from George Clinton: With Prince he'd been scaring the shit out of WB because he could get his records on the air without involving them, and he could do the same for mine as well. They were already thinking he was too big for his britches when I arrived and they weren't let both of us get away with it. (Mojo mag # 34, sept. 1996) So even if P was widely ridiculed for changing his name and all that, there was at least one fellow musician who understood him. And here's another quote, also from Mojo (#39, feb 1997) by journo Alan Light: I think he could be successful both commercially and artistically if he accepts a role as a major international cult figure. The problem comes when there's a disparity between wanting to have the freedom of a cult artist and wanting to be treated like an A-list superstar. So...what do we think? 20 years of fighting the record companies... Was it a good idea or not? [Edited 5/8/13 12:00pm] [Edited 5/8/13 12:01pm]

Except for he wasn't. The only year Prince sold more albums that anyone else was 1984.

*

Look at the US album sales for Sign O' The Times. Now that is (imo) the greatest album anyone ever made. Yet, it's sales paled in comparison to other "big" names of 1987.

Graycap23 said:

mask said:

In terms of the music I feel that Prince's best stuff was released under the Warner Bros. umbrella.

You would be hard pressed to find ANY album he has released on his own or through other corporations that could hold a candle to the Warner Bros era.

With Warner Bros on his side every new album was highly anticipated...not so much since he left them.In fact,many people don't even know he still releases music.

I didn't pay much attention to all the 'slave on my face' hype back then,I just remember not having the same great feeling about the new music as much as I did with the Warner Bros. material.

Really? The Rainbow Children and Exodus is just as good as anything WB released.

Warner Bros actually REJECTED the "Exodus" album twice.

"The Rainbow Children" was average but nothing great.

Prince has not released an album yet on par with his Warner Bros output.

mask said:

Graycap23 said:

Really? The Rainbow Children and Exodus is just as good as anything WB released.

Warner Bros actually REJECTED the "Exodus" album twice.

"The Rainbow Children" was average but nothing great.

Prince has not released an album yet on par with his Warner Bros output.

No argument from me. I like 95% of the material and rarely compare.

I've never really understood the logic of comparing one project 2 the next.

I think it was if only for the fact that without the fight we wouldn't have got the 93 - 96 NPG era which was still under the WB but filled bitterness towards them. although i will say he hasn't released anything as good as he did under WB.

SuperSoulFighter said:

Personally I feel P's music was already getting predictable with Batman/GB/D&P, and Emancipation was better than those, so being with or without a record company doesn't say much about the quality of the music. But in terms of his carreer, was moving away from the record company a good idea...that was my question...

um no, since he has no sense on what the public wants and his business sense isn't that good. which is fine, he's only a musician. let the company deal with the business.

Stop making me feel old!

Graycap23 said:

mask said:

In terms of the music I feel that Prince's best stuff was released under the Warner Bros. umbrella.

You would be hard pressed to find ANY album he has released on his own or through other corporations that could hold a candle to the Warner Bros era.

With Warner Bros on his side every new album was highly anticipated...not so much since he left them.In fact,many people don't even know he still releases music.

I didn't pay much attention to all the 'slave on my face' hype back then,I just remember not having the same great feeling about the new music as much as I did with the Warner Bros. material.

Really? The Rainbow Children and Exodus is just as good as anything WB released.

If I did emoticons, right here you would see the guy spitting out a mouthful of water in disbelief.

GiggityGoo said:

Graycap23 said:

Really? The Rainbow Children and Exodus is just as good as anything WB released.

If I did emoticons, right here you would see the guy spitting out a mouthful of water in disbelief.

will this do?

mask said:

Graycap23 said:

Really? The Rainbow Children and Exodus is just as good as anything WB released.

Warner Bros actually REJECTED the "Exodus" album twice.

"The Rainbow Children" was average but nothing great.

Prince has not released an album yet on par with his Warner Bros output.

Were songs like "Jughead" part of his Warner Bros output? This claim is really thin.

mask said:

Prince has not released an album yet on par with his Warner Bros output.

That's a matter of opinion of course. Personally I agree that nothing has been as great as his 80-88 output, but what about P's first and last albums for WB? I think some of his later material is better than that. That's my opinion.

SuperSoulFighter said:

I think he could be successful both commercially and artistically if he accepts a role as a major international cult figure. The problem comes when there's a disparity between wanting to have the freedom of a cult artist and wanting to be treated like an A-list superstar.
So...what do we think? 20 years of fighting the record companies... Was it a good idea or not?

Yes, but it's in Prince's character and nature to not be controlled by anybody and to have it all. "Every since I was a little baby I had to have double everything. When they tell me that's enough, tat's when I wanna fill my cup, to the top Johnny hear me sing, Emancipation, free to do what I wanna, Emacipation, see u in the Purple rain. Emacipation, break the chain."

Of course the albums were A LOT better back when Prince was at the Warner company:

.

.

Prince albums,
.
from best album to worst:
.
01. Purple Rain (10)
02. Sign "O" The Times (10)
03. 1999 (10)
04. Lovesexy (10)
05. Parade (10)
06. Around The World In A Day (10)
07. The Gold Experience (10)
08. Dirty Mind (10)
09. Controversy (9.5)
10. Diamonds & Pearls (9)
11. Love Symbol Album (9)
12. Come (9)
13. Black Album (9)
14. The Rainbow Children (8)
15. Graffiti Bridge (8)
16. Prince (8)
17. For You (8)
18. Batman (8)
19. Crystal Ball (8)
20. Emancipation (8)
21. LotusFlower / MPLSound (7)
22. 20Ten (7)
23. Musicology (7)
24. Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (7)
25. The Truth (7)
26. Chaos & Disorder (7)
27. Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (6)
28. The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale (6)
29. The Chocolate Invasion (6)
30. Slaughterhouse (6)
31. 3121 (5)
32. Planet Earth (5)
33. Newpower Soul (4)
34. One Nite Alone... Piano (3)
35. N.E.W.S. (2)
36. One Nite Alone... Live (2)
37. Indigo Nights (2)
38. Kamasutra (0)

.

Black font = Prince at Warner albums.

.

[Edited 5/9/13 5:16am]

I love Parade and really like Graffiti Bridge and The Gold Experience, but The Rainbow Children, Musicology, Exodus, and Lotusflow3r/MPLS all crush Parade, Graffiti Bridge, and The Gold Experience for me. So, Prince's war with WB was great for me because he got free from them and continued to produce music that I love.

thedance said:

Of course the albums were A LOT better back when Prince was at the Warner company:

.

.

Prince albums,
.
from best album to worst:
.
01. Purple Rain (10)
02. Sign "O" The Times (10)
03. 1999 (10)
04. Lovesexy (10)
05. Parade (10)
06. Around The World In A Day (10)
07. The Gold Experience (10)
08. Dirty Mind (10)
09. Controversy (9.5)
10. Diamonds & Pearls (9)
11. Love Symbol Album (9)
12. Come (9)
13. Black Album (9)
14. The Rainbow Children (8)
15. Graffiti Bridge (8)
16. Prince (8)
17. For You (8)
18. Batman (8)
19. Crystal Ball (8)
20. Emancipation (8)
21. LotusFlower / MPLSound (7)
22. 20Ten (7)
23. Musicology (7)
24. Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (7)
25. The Truth (7)
26. Chaos & Disorder (7)
27. Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (6)
28. The Vault... Old Friends 4 Sale (6)
29. The Chocolate Invasion (6)
30. Slaughterhouse (6)
31. 3121 (5)
32. Planet Earth (5)
33. Newpower Soul (4)
34. One Nite Alone... Piano (3)
35. N.E.W.S. (2)
36. One Nite Alone... Live (2)
37. Indigo Nights (2)
38. Kamasutra (0)

.

Black font = Prince at Warner albums.

.

[Edited 5/9/13 5:16am]

Well, what else is there to say? I mean, this is clearly a factual and undisputed list.

*

I am sure that is was compiled after tireless surveys and polls amongst, not only Prince fans, but just fans of music in general.

*

Congrats, and thanks, on figuring that out for all of us.

Purple font = sarcasm.

[Edited 5/9/13 20:01pm]

Personally I always found the 'slave' element to be incredibly insulting. A 'slave' who had an incredibly rich contract with WB. It was very crass to have that writtem on his face.

goodfella said:

Personally I always found the 'slave' element to be incredibly insulting. A 'slave' who had an incredibly rich contract with WB. It was very crass to have that writtem on his face.

Why would you find it insulting? Were you a slave? We can be slaves to many things. The word exists outside of just a reference to african slaves. Prince made to me a powerful statement about control. He was in essense a paid slave to WB. They could and did control his art.

goodfella said:

Personally I always found the 'slave' element to be incredibly insulting. A 'slave' who had an incredibly rich contract with WB. It was very crass to have that writtem on his face.

*

So, were field slaves insulted by the privileges enjoyed by house slaves? And where field and house slaves insulted by the privileges enjoyed by artisan slaves who could be loaned to other plantations and keep a very small amount of the fee they generated for their master to purchase their freedom? The point that I'm making, of course, is that the institution of slavery—though the worst possible thing one human can do another—was also very complex in every civilization, especially in America. So, field slaves could have felt the same way about complaining house slaves as you feel about Prince. And both field and house salves could feel the same way about artisan slaves as you feel about Prince. But, more importantly and to the point, I'm amazed that so many people have tried to show that Prince was drawing a direct comparison of his situation to the enslavement of African people. I clearly saw his writing "slave" on his face as a metaphor—an exaggeration of a point or circumstance—to make a point about the exploitation of the music business. That's what artist do. They work in metaphor. Now, one could argue that the metaphor or analogy is flawed, but insulting might be a bit strong since, again, even slaves themselves could and did argue about other slaves being in better situations and having less about which to be angry. It seems foolish, yes, but, to my point, everything is relative, which is why some slaves chose not to flee the planation even when they had the opportunity to flee. Of course, my point is not to diminish at all the evil of slavery, but to show how your point seems to ignore the complexity of slavery as well as to ignore that Prince, like all artists, was simply working in metaphor. And, Prince’s possibly poor use of metaphor didn’t negatively impact my knowledge of slavery any more than Django Unchained did, but it did make me more aware of some of the immoral, if not illegal, practices of the music business.

1725topp said:

goodfella said:

Personally I always found the 'slave' element to be incredibly insulting. A 'slave' who had an incredibly rich contract with WB. It was very crass to have that writtem on his face.

*

So, were field slaves insulted by the privileges enjoyed by house slaves? And where field and house slaves insulted by the privileges enjoyed by artisan slaves who could be loaned to other plantations and keep a very small amount of the fee they generated for their master to purchase their freedom? The point that I'm making, of course, is that the institution of slavery—though the worst possible thing one human can do another—was also very complex in every civilization, especially in America. So, field slaves could have felt the same way about complaining house slaves as you feel about Prince. And both field and house salves could feel the same way about artisan slaves as you feel about Prince. But, more importantly and to the point, I'm amazed that so many people have tried to show that Prince was drawing a direct comparison of his situation to the enslavement of African people. I clearly saw his writing "slave" on his face as a metaphor—an exaggeration of a point or circumstance—to make a point about the exploitation of the music business. That's what artist do. They work in metaphor. Now, one could argue that the metaphor or analogy is flawed, but insulting might be a bit strong since, again, even slaves themselves could and did argue about other slaves being in better situations and having less about which to be angry. It seems foolish, yes, but, to my point, everything is relative, which is why some slaves chose not to flee the planation even when they had the opportunity to flee. Of course, my point is not to diminish at all the evil of slavery, but to show how your point seems to ignore the complexity of slavery as well as to ignore that Prince, like all artists, was simply working in metaphor. And, Prince’s possibly poor use of metaphor didn’t negatively impact my knowledge of slavery any more than Django Unchained did, but it did make me more aware of some of the immoral, if not illegal, practices of the music business.

A very good point, well made. Gives me another angle to consider with Prince's use of the word slave.

War?! Hardly.

Russian roulette. He lost. Sure he recovered to some extent, but he's not been the same since.

[Edited 5/10/13 11:43am]

1725topp said:

goodfella said:

Personally I always found the 'slave' element to be incredibly insulting. A 'slave' who had an incredibly rich contract with WB. It was very crass to have that writtem on his face.

*

So, were field slaves insulted by the privileges enjoyed by house slaves? And where field and house slaves insulted by the privileges enjoyed by artisan slaves who could be loaned to other plantations and keep a very small amount of the fee they generated for their master to purchase their freedom? The point that I'm making, of course, is that the institution of slavery—though the worst possible thing one human can do another—was also very complex in every civilization, especially in America. So, field slaves could have felt the same way about complaining house slaves as you feel about Prince. And both field and house salves could feel the same way about artisan slaves as you feel about Prince. But, more importantly and to the point, I'm amazed that so many people have tried to show that Prince was drawing a direct comparison of his situation to the enslavement of African people. I clearly saw his writing "slave" on his face as a metaphor—an exaggeration of a point or circumstance—to make a point about the exploitation of the music business. That's what artist do. They work in metaphor. Now, one could argue that the metaphor or analogy is flawed, but insulting might be a bit strong since, again, even slaves themselves could and did argue about other slaves being in better situations and having less about which to be angry. It seems foolish, yes, but, to my point, everything is relative, which is why some slaves chose not to flee the planation even when they had the opportunity to flee. Of course, my point is not to diminish at all the evil of slavery, but to show how your point seems to ignore the complexity of slavery as well as to ignore that Prince, like all artists, was simply working in metaphor. And, Prince’s possibly poor use of metaphor didn’t negatively impact my knowledge of slavery any more than Django Unchained did, but it did make me more aware of some of the immoral, if not illegal, practices of the music business.

Good points. One of the things that made me a bit angry was finding out that acts like Prince had a few million albums or so shipped outside the U.S. off book which means Prince did NOT see a dime of that revenue.

Graycap23 said:

mask said:

In terms of the music I feel that Prince's best stuff was released under the Warner Bros. umbrella.

You would be hard pressed to find ANY album he has released on his own or through other corporations that could hold a candle to the Warner Bros era.

With Warner Bros on his side every new album was highly anticipated...not so much since he left them.In fact,many people don't even know he still releases music.

I didn't pay much attention to all the 'slave on my face' hype back then,I just remember not having the same great feeling about the new music as much as I did with the Warner Bros. material.

Really? The Rainbow Children and Exodus is just as good as anything WB released.

i love prince as well...but that quote should be framed and mounted and nominated as THE most delusuional thing i have read in an age!

(IMO)

Prince hasn't been as successful Commercially or in the studio since he had a team of people helping him to realise his ideas in the REAL world of supply & demand and good business..

sometimes having total freedom feels good but,

its also good to not be surrounded by a bunch of people that only say "YES"

and pat you on the back..

in the warner years Prince had high powered management &

a team around him that made sure all his decisions made Commercial & Artistic sense.