Which do you think is Prince's best video effort?

I'm not talking about concerts like Sign O The Times (even though it comes close to fitting in there) or any of the movies. Of the above named or perhaps one unmentioned, which do you think is his best executed storylined video presentation?

Diamonds and Pearls video collection

3 Chains O' Gold

Love 4 One Another

The Beautiful Experience

I always really liked The Beautiful Experience but that's more for the music. Not sure I've seen L4OA

I was not aware of the D&P video collection being linked by a story as such, it is a long time since I last watched it though.

All these video things with these so called stories running through them are abysmal imo, visually they look great, and of course the music is mostly magical, but the "stories" just make me want to reach for the skip button.

TBE would get my vote though, musically it's a treat, but all the Nona Gaye story stuff is just a load of badly acted art wank.

.

I guess you could also add The Undertaker and The Ryde Devine to your list, both have (albeit very vague) storylines running through them.

[Edited 6/7/13 6:10am]

D&P wasn't much more than a video collection despite some segues and interviews. It fit its purpose and was quite cool except for the slaughtering of Strollin'

3 Chains O' Gold was a disaster IMHO. The story made no sense at all, was full of inconsistencies and led nowhere, so we are left with the videos and in the end that's what matters but guess what? All the songs are butchered, edited to death.

L4OA was maybe a bit too short and too focused on the false live stage to be really interesting as a "movie" but it was great musically speaking.

And we are left with my all time favorite: TBE. This one is to be taken in its context, after the intriguing but rarely broadcast live and studio promo tapes that were aired on some radios, it was our first big introduction to the new sound of and it was Prince's statement saying he was back being underground (sort of)! It was sexy, mysterious, intriguing, very promising. The musical material was great and quite innovative at the time (boy! that live use of samples!).

It would be wonderful if this and L4OA were available for purchase in perfect quality! What became of that 3rdeyegorl online store???!!!

I´ve said it before and I´ll say it again , The Beautiful Experience is a very, very underrated masterpiece and ranks high above most of his other video collections.

The performances are tight, the storyline is better than in 3 Chains of Gold or Love 4 One Another or even Sign of the Times. I still love Sign of the Times but it´s not really 100% live whereas The Beautiful Experience has more real live performances by a supertight band , a decent storyline about loneliness and cocooning in the days of the internet (albeit it did come across as a bit corny at times but hey), and it was very futuristic.

I mean, in 1993/94 he was already thinking of downloads, interactive stuff on the internet, internet performances and so on, and you had somewhat of a positive, uplifting message at the end.

The Beautiful Experience deserved more exposure than just a few TV broadcasts and a bootlegged Korean VHS tape sent to fans by Paisley Park.

And keep in mind that Prince delivered some superb performances that night despite all the technical problems he was faced with.

The Beautiful Experience

KoolEaze said:

I´ve said it before and I´ll say it again , The Beautiful Experience is a very, very underrated masterpiece and ranks high above most of his other video collections.

The performances are tight, the storyline is better than in 3 Chains of Gold or Love 4 One Another or even Sign of the Times. I still love Sign of the Times but it´s not really 100% live whereas The Beautiful Experience has more real live performances by a supertight band , a decent storyline about loneliness and cocooning in the days of the internet (albeit it did come across as a bit corny at times but hey), and it was very futuristic.

I mean, in 1993/94 he was already thinking of downloads, interactive stuff on the internet, internet performances and so on, and you had somewhat of a positive, uplifting message at the end.

The Beautiful Experience deserved more exposure than just a few TV broadcasts and a bootlegged Korean VHS tape sent to fans by Paisley Park.

And keep in mind that Prince delivered some superb performances that night despite all the technical problems he was faced with.

The NERVE Prince had to sell this when he actually had it crystal clear

TBE. Love 'Days of wild' performance. Wore that vidoe out back in the day.

motherfunka said:

I'd go with the Beautiful Experience. I was at the actual concert and was hoping for more footage of that, although something happened with the cameras before the Ride was played. Out of all the Prince concerts I've been to, that one is near the top of the list.The Undertaker was cool as well. Just wished they wouldn't have put the effects in. Actually it was pretty true to life, a drunk bitch cruising through Paisley Park looking for Prince. Ha!

Wow! I'd have KILLED to be at that concert

Something I've always been wondering and u must know: is the tape that was sent to radios back then the full concert or was it edited down (save the odd edits on The Jam and Now)? If it was, do u remember what else was played? THX

motherfunka said:

^^^ Yes the show was sent (supposedly sold, actually) to Radio Veronica by Paisley Park and was later broadcast on a few other radios in Europe. It was sent alongside the infamous "promo tape" which was our first exposure to Pheromone, DOW, Now and 319 and both tapes were first broadcast on March 6, 1994 (quite early after the concert, finally). So these recordings are officially released promos. Of course they quickly found their way to CD thanks to bootleggers. The video was first aired on March 3 (though here in France we only had it in late June or early July)

It is very interesting that u mention that All Blues (the jazz instr.) is NOT Prince and the band, I'd never realized that (I thought it came from some unrelated rehearsal). I just checked and u can even read "Jacob Armen" on the drums, so I guess it was supposed to support Armen's CD. I'm gonna take it out of my discog (or, more accurately, merge it with the preceding segue), thanks

I somewhat wish we'd also have the whole Armen jam and that Tony M. thing as well, for the sake of documentation

These were very exciting times, I'm glad I was already a fan and went thru all of it, even if I unfortunately never managed to see the 94-96 band on stage

Diamonds & Pearls bitches

databank said:

^^^ Yes the show was sent (supposedly sold, actually) to Radio Veronica by Paisley Park and was later broadcast on a few other radios in Europe. It was sent alongside the infamous "promo tape" which was our first exposure to Pheromone, DOW, Now and 319 and both tapes were first broadcast on March 6, 1994 (quite early after the concert, finally). So these recordings are officially released promos. Of course they quickly found their way to CD thanks to bootleggers. The video was first aired on March 3 (though here in France we only had it in late June or early July)

It is very interesting that u mention that All Blues (the jazz instr.) is NOT Prince and the band, I'd never realized that (I thought it came from some unrelated rehearsal). I just checked and u can even read "Jacob Armen" on the drums, so I guess it was supposed to support Armen's CD. I'm gonna take it out of my discog (or, more accurately, merge it with the preceding segue), thanks

I somewhat wish we'd also have the whole Armen jam and that Tony M. thing as well, for the sake of documentation

These were very exciting times, I'm glad I was already a fan and went thru all of it, even if I unfortunately never managed to see the 94-96 band on stage

Sucks you didn't get to see them on stage! I was really lucky and saw roughly 40 shows during 94-95, between Paisley Park and Glam Slam. Probably paid around the same amount of money to see the 2 shows at Myth this May!

I didn't watch the whole "Jazz Experience" thing that night, I had to go get my spot in front of the stage for the Prince show. I couldn't wait to see it on film, to see if I could see myself in any of it. Shortly after it was filmed, they played Shhh and the Jam segments at Glam Slam. I noticed myself in the Jam. I did see the Tony M thing, and as always he felt the need to shout the rap/lyrics. I really didn't mind him on the cds, but that whole yelling thing was just not right! He showed up at another Prince gig at Glam Slam later that summer, but I don't even remember what song he came out on. The next time I saw him was at the 7/7/7 show at Target Center. He was in the audience. I had better seats than he did!

Aristotle said:

The Beautiful Experience

right behind is the L4OA special/ incl the VH1 Video break.

motherfunka said:

databank said:

^^^ Yes the show was sent (supposedly sold, actually) to Radio Veronica by Paisley Park and was later broadcast on a few other radios in Europe. It was sent alongside the infamous "promo tape" which was our first exposure to Pheromone, DOW, Now and 319 and both tapes were first broadcast on March 6, 1994 (quite early after the concert, finally). So these recordings are officially released promos. Of course they quickly found their way to CD thanks to bootleggers. The video was first aired on March 3 (though here in France we only had it in late June or early July)

It is very interesting that u mention that All Blues (the jazz instr.) is NOT Prince and the band, I'd never realized that (I thought it came from some unrelated rehearsal). I just checked and u can even read "Jacob Armen" on the drums, so I guess it was supposed to support Armen's CD. I'm gonna take it out of my discog (or, more accurately, merge it with the preceding segue), thanks

I somewhat wish we'd also have the whole Armen jam and that Tony M. thing as well, for the sake of documentation

These were very exciting times, I'm glad I was already a fan and went thru all of it, even if I unfortunately never managed to see the 94-96 band on stage

Sucks you didn't get to see them on stage! I was really lucky and saw roughly 40 shows during 94-95, between Paisley Park and Glam Slam. Probably paid around the same amount of money to see the 2 shows at Myth this May!

I didn't watch the whole "Jazz Experience" thing that night, I had to go get my spot in front of the stage for the Prince show. I couldn't wait to see it on film, to see if I could see myself in any of it. Shortly after it was filmed, they played Shhh and the Jam segments at Glam Slam. I noticed myself in the Jam. I did see the Tony M thing, and as always he felt the need to shout the rap/lyrics. I really didn't mind him on the cds, but that whole yelling thing was just not right! He showed up at another Prince gig at Glam Slam later that summer, but I don't even remember what song he came out on. The next time I saw him was at the 7/7/7 show at Target Center. He was in the audience. I had better seats than he did!

Wow lucky you!!!

I was in France back then, the only shows we had from this era were the ones in Paris and Monaco on spring 1994, both unannounced of course. And I was too young to go to London on my own for the 1995 tour. It's a pity

I agree with u on Tony: he was cool on records but this live shouting... I never understood why he had to do it (and why Prince LET him do it)

motherfunka said:

databank said:

^^^ Yes the show was sent (supposedly sold, actually) to Radio Veronica by Paisley Park and was later broadcast on a few other radios in Europe. It was sent alongside the infamous "promo tape" which was our first exposure to Pheromone, DOW, Now and 319 and both tapes were first broadcast on March 6, 1994 (quite early after the concert, finally). So these recordings are officially released promos. Of course they quickly found their way to CD thanks to bootleggers. The video was first aired on March 3 (though here in France we only had it in late June or early July)

It is very interesting that u mention that All Blues (the jazz instr.) is NOT Prince and the band, I'd never realized that (I thought it came from some unrelated rehearsal). I just checked and u can even read "Jacob Armen" on the drums, so I guess it was supposed to support Armen's CD. I'm gonna take it out of my discog (or, more accurately, merge it with the preceding segue), thanks

I somewhat wish we'd also have the whole Armen jam and that Tony M. thing as well, for the sake of documentation

These were very exciting times, I'm glad I was already a fan and went thru all of it, even if I unfortunately never managed to see the 94-96 band on stage

Sucks you didn't get to see them on stage! I was really lucky and saw roughly 40 shows during 94-95, between Paisley Park and Glam Slam. Probably paid around the same amount of money to see the 2 shows at Myth this May!

I didn't watch the whole "Jazz Experience" thing that night, I had to go get my spot in front of the stage for the Prince show. I couldn't wait to see it on film, to see if I could see myself in any of it. Shortly after it was filmed, they played Shhh and the Jam segments at Glam Slam. I noticed myself in the Jam. I did see the Tony M thing, and as always he felt the need to shout the rap/lyrics. I really didn't mind him on the cds, but that whole yelling thing was just not right! He showed up at another Prince gig at Glam Slam later that summer, but I don't even remember what song he came out on. The next time I saw him was at the 7/7/7 show at Target Center. He was in the audience. I had better seats than he did!

Cool info. I used to watch my tv recording of this almost daily. Also had a bootleg cassette tape of the whole show.

Seem to recall Tony being introduced as 'the deacon.'

As u say very exciting times, I was lucky enough to see the tour in Manchester 95. My favourite era my a mile

dodger said:

motherfunka said:

Sucks you didn't get to see them on stage! I was really lucky and saw roughly 40 shows during 94-95, between Paisley Park and Glam Slam. Probably paid around the same amount of money to see the 2 shows at Myth this May!

I didn't watch the whole "Jazz Experience" thing that night, I had to go get my spot in front of the stage for the Prince show. I couldn't wait to see it on film, to see if I could see myself in any of it. Shortly after it was filmed, they played Shhh and the Jam segments at Glam Slam. I noticed myself in the Jam. I did see the Tony M thing, and as always he felt the need to shout the rap/lyrics. I really didn't mind him on the cds, but that whole yelling thing was just not right! He showed up at another Prince gig at Glam Slam later that summer, but I don't even remember what song he came out on. The next time I saw him was at the 7/7/7 show at Target Center. He was in the audience. I had better seats than he did!

Cool info. I used to watch my tv recording of this almost daily. Also had a bootleg cassette tape of the whole show.

Seem to recall Tony being introduced as 'the deacon.'

As u say very exciting times, I was lucky enough to see the tour in Manchester 95. My favourite era my a mile

Wow there is a boot of Tony's opening?

On the Hoop Dreams sountrack, released that same year, Tony M. is credited as "Tone a.k.a. Deacon", which is something I always found odd and never understood: the guy already wasn't very famous by himself so if he was gonna try and have a career of his own changing his name sure wouldn't help.

I never understood how Prince could write Eye Hate U and be so mad about Tony and Carmen's affair on one side, and still invite Tony to his shows after that. Apparent contradiction. Maybe I should check my premises

databank said:

dodger said:

databank said:

Wow there is a boot of Tony's opening?

On the Hoop Dreams sountrack, released that same year, Tony M. is credited as "Tone a.k.a. Deacon", which is something I always found odd and never understood: the guy already wasn't very famous by himself so if he was gonna try and have a career of his own changing his name sure wouldn't help.

I never understood how Prince could write Eye Hate U and be so mad about Tony and Carmen's affair on one side, and still invite Tony to his shows after that. Apparent contradiction. Maybe I should check my premises

Yes, I remember the Tony/Deacon Hoop Dreams video I've read about the supposed Tony and Carmen thing on here several times but where did that story come from, what's the source?

IDK actually. It's a bloody great question. It doesn't sound like a rumor, people who are usually reliable here were positive about it, but I wish I know where the story comes from

D&P, on the surface, looks the best.
However, the interviews are useless,

and only Michael Bland's statemetns seemed

genuine, though I suspect they were groomed.

Three chains of gold wins because there is

tits and pussy on that.

Prince's drug use was probably pretty rampant

during those years, because the music was insane

and the videos were too. It takes a whole lot of

crack rock to get a black man to wear a one-piece

bikini and skate around naked women...FILMING

the entire time.

Hmmmmm tough very tough to pick a favourite. These mini movies made me a bigger fan of him than Purple Rain or UTCM ever did

I actually think a DVD/Blue Ray box set of these would be amazing. Or just the HD files from 3rdeyegirl or NPGfilms (hint hint Prince)

Diamonds & Pearls: Blew my mind as it was the first of these I saw.. From the first Clip of Thunder whith him screaming "Sydney" through Gett Off Cream and searing guitar of Dr Feelgood, Right through the funkiest version of Willing & Able to the last applause of Live 4 Love with him screaming "London" I was hooked

ACT 1 & The Ryde Divine: Love the part where Levi Is explaining the vocal layers to 7 and the full version of The Continental video (why did he edit it for 3 Chains Of Gold just why?)... Oh and the performance of I Wanna Melt With U is just stunning... Side bar Amazing performance by George Clinton

Sacarifice Of Victor: That version of the Ride is like a reserection of Jimi's ghost, Plus Mavis and The Steeles blowing the roof of with The Undertaker... Even The Game Boyz doing Call The Law was awesome (check Princes funk face during the solo).... The only thing I can't understand is why he edited out Come and Endorphine Machine.... Also that Clip from Wembley at the start I just wanted to watch the whole concert filmed like that (you know he has it ready to go just sitting in the vault)

The Undertaker: This was the reason I picked up the guitar and has probably had the deepest impact of any artistic statement by anyone on my life. After watching this just once I swore to myself that I had to learn an instrument and more years later than I like to acknowledge I still play..... Oh I love every self indulgent Psychodelic frame

3 Chains Of Gold: Gold Chain hat (check), Golden Gun Mic (Check) More layers of funk than you can shake a stick at (check).... Who cares about the story when he tears it up this hard. Would love to have seen a video for The Sacrifice Of Victor and again The Max with all it's live clips just made me want to watch a full ACT 1 concert but that's more of a compliment than a criticism, To short and incomprehensible? Naaah I loved it.

The Beautiful Experience: Awesome songs awesome videos, Very ahead of the times story content... Only critique is a better actress and script would have made this essential outtside the Prince fan base... But that said I remember it so fondly that any real criticism fades away into the fog of affection that makes me regard this as a masterpiece

Love 4 One Another: Again I just love this, Sony T's crazy FX pedals on the inspiration interview just before the best ever performance of The Jam, Kills me everytime. It was in this video that I realised that Prince and Sony used Warwick basses and I've been buying them and trying to perfect the bass work in Days Of Wild ever since

If 3121 The Movie is this format of loose story with live clips and videos, Dude roll it out on the website, I've been waiting for another one since seeing Love4OneAnother in the NPG Store Cafe around 1995/6